2 Kings 19:20-28 – Be secure in God’s safe hand

The wisest move Hezekiah made when he felt threatened was to bring his problem to his covenant LORD. For there would never be a problem too big that He could not handle. After all, He is the Sovereign LORD of the universe. He heard Hezekiah’s prayer. Second Kings 19:20 says so. God said he had heard the prayer that the king brought before Him concerning Sennacherib. It is so wonderful to know that God knows exactly where we are and what we are experiencing. This tells us to be specific in our prayers. We don’t need to beat around the bush and sermonize to God. He knows exactly what’s happening. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24 that all things for which we pray, we must believe that we have received, and they will be granted to us. So be assured that whatever we commit to Him by faith believingly, He will undertake to answer our prayer. Don’t be hesitant to bring our problem to Him.

God assured Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:21-28. Here Isaiah told Hezekiah that God had taken note of all that was happening. He had particularly taken note of Sennacherib’s insults. Poetically, the prophet told the king that soon Jerusalem, the virgin daughter of Zion, would scornfully mock the fleeing Assyrians. In taunting Judah, Sennacherib had also disparaged the Holy One of Israel. God knew all about Sennacherib’s arrogant boast concerning the Assyrians’ exploits. He heard all his condescendingly brags when he said in verses 23-24:-

“With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its highest peak, its thickest forest.
I dug wells and drank waters,
And with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of Egypt.”

Ironically, Sennacherib failed to realize that in his menace he was executing the LORD’s plan. We learn from verses 25-28 onwards that the God, whom he had insulted and said was unable to save Judah was the One whose plan He was executing. He was merely a player in the divine drama that God Himself had planned and was directing. Like helpless vegetation that was unable to withstand the solid and unremitting ray of the sun, the cities that he had terrified and brought to ruin, he was doing it at God’s bidding. However, what he was doing was not hidden from the watchful eyes of God. He saw and knew his every move. God saw his arrogance and would soon lead him back to where he came from, like an animal being led home with hooks and bridle.

One thing is very clear, like Sennacherib or Hezekiah, every one of us is an instrument in God’s hand. He put us where we are to accomplish His purpose and plan. The sooner we realize this we will not boast of our successes or be in utter despair in our hard times. If God has not ordained it, we will never be able to accomplish anything. Whatever our experience may be, remember to fight on, hang on, or walk on, because we are right smack in the center of His plan, whether we know it or not. As a believer in Christ, be assured that all things are working out for our good and for His glory. We live to fulfill His will and to bring Him the glory and the praise!