Ruin and Restoration

In verses 9-12 the writer reminds the reader of what was going on in the northern kingdom. This context puts the bold faith of Hezekiah in perspective. In his sixth year Assyria took Samaria. What will happen to Judah? They will be threatened too. Will they trust in God?

Hezekiah’s trust is challenged in various ways in the following chapters. His challenges are like our challenges. As we identify with them, let’s also consider the appropriate response to them: prayer. Hezekiah’s prayer life is worthy of emulation.

Challenge 1: Crisis

2 Kings 18:13–19:37

The opening chapters don’t begin the way we would anticipate. The new king of Assyria, Sennacherib, comes against Judah, and Hezekiah caves in. He gives Sennacherib silver, gold, and treasures from the temple and from the king’s house. You might wonder, “I thought he rebelled against Assyria?” He did. But we must remember that verses 1-8 summarize his whole life. This opening story shows us a particular lapse, but that doesn’t mean his whole life is measured by this one mistake. We’re reminded that even the most faithful can have periods in which they cave in to pressure.

We expect to read no more of Sennacherib, but he decides the gold isn’t enough. He sends his army to Jerusalem trying to persuade Hezekiah to surrender. This introduces a competing voice. Rabshakeh, Sennacherib’s official spokesman, says, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?’” (v. 19). What does he focus on? Trust. It’s mentioned in verses 19,20,21,22,24,30, and 19:30.

In his speech Rabshakeh tries to sow seeds of doubt in Hezekiah’s heart. Like the evil one he mixes truth with error. He first questions Hezekiah’s trust in Egypt. While Egypt apparently served as an ally, Isaiah said it was folly to trust in Egypt (Isa 30:1-7; 31:1-3). Sennacherib thinks it’s folly to trust in Egypt because they cannot provide support. He was right about the folly of trusting Egypt, but for the wrong reason.

Rabshakeh then arrogantly asks if Hezekiah’s focus of trust is “the Lord our God” (v. 22). He views Hezekiah’s reforms negatively. Then he claims, “The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it’” (v. 25). He was right in that the Lord had just used them to bring judgment on the people (17:1-23; 18:9-12). And we know that Isaiah prophesied about the Assyrians being the “rod of God’s judgment against Israel and Judah” (Isa 10:5-19). But that was only part of the story (Olley, Message of Kings, 323).

So an ultimatum is offered in verses 26-37. The basic thrust of the ensuing dialogue is that the people shouldn’t trust in Hezekiah but should choose life and not death by surrendering to Assyria. The dialogue begins with the officials requesting that Rabshakeh speak in Aramaic, the language of international diplomacy, so that the people on the wall cannot understand them. But he thinks the people should be allowed to hear his offer; otherwise they will be left to the horrific realities of a siege (eating excrement and drinking urine). He proceeds to tell the people that Hezekiah “can’t deliver” them out of their hand and that they shouldn’t listen to Hezekiah’s words about “trusting” in the Lord. He tells the Judeans that if they will yield to Sennacherib, then they can live, and they will live in a land similar to their current land. He then insists that no god can match up against Assyria; in other words, Yahweh is no match for Sennacherib because He is as powerless as other gods. In obedience to Hezekiah’s command, the people don’t respond. Then the king’s ambassadors report the situation to Hezekiah. How will Hezekiah respond to this rival voice? Will he cave in again?

Express Trust in God by Requesting Prayer (19:1-7)

This time Hezekiah responds appropriately. He first seeks help from Yahweh through Isaiah. He humbly puts on sackcloth and goes into the temple. His sackcloth actually represented a heart of desperation, unlike some previous examples. Then he seeks help from Isaiah. Remember, the first time he emptied the temple of wealth; now he goes into the temple for the right reason: to seek God’s help. He sends his messengers to Isaiah, confessing the humiliation and powerlessness of the nation, but he holds out hope that Yahweh has heard Rabshakeh’s mockery and will punish him. He tells Isaiah to “offer a prayer for the surviving remnant” (v. 5). Isaiah responds by saying,

Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land where I will cause him to fall by the sword. (v. 6-7)

It’s a short, powerful promise. Will it come true? Spoiler alert: yes. Check out the end of the story in 20:36-37. But let’s pause and just point out how Hezekiah is asking for the prayers of the prophet. Are you seeking the prayers of God’s people in your crisis?

In response Sennacherib counsels Hezekiah against trusting in God. After all, those who have tried this sort of thing before have all been destroyed. So basically nothing has changed. Jerusalem is still in a desperate position. Sennacherib is still mocking God. Isaiah’s prophecy has accomplished nothing so far.

Express Trust in God by Praying (19:14-19)

Hezekiah’s first response had been to seek the prayers of Isaiah. Now he prays himself. The following verses are powerful. They show us how one who trusts in Yahweh responds to fear and doubt: with faithful prayer. Consider the acrostic, TRUST:

T—take it before the Lord (v. 14). Notice the imagery as Hezekiah takes Sennacherib’s threatening letter and spreads it before the Lord in the temple. He physically lays his burden before God. Biblical writers tell us to cast our burden or care on God (Ps 55:22; 1 Pet 5:7) and to let our requests be made known to God (Phil 4:6). Come to God like this: helpless and in need of grace. Why don’t we do so? We must admit that at the root of prayerlessness is a feeling of self-sufficiency. If we think we can do things on our own, then why pray? Take a cue from Hezekiah and remember the words of Jesus: “You can do nothing without Me” (John 15:5).

R—recognize the greatness of God (v. 15). Hezekiah prays with an elevated view of God. He recognizes the majestic presence of God, who’s “enthroned above the cherubim.” He affirms the exclusive nature of God, who is God “alone.” He affirms the total sovereignty of God, who is the God of “all the kingdoms of the earth.” And he recognizes the unparalleled power of God, who “made the heavens and the earth.” Oh, that we had a vision of God like this when we pray! Is our prayerlessness not often rooted in a low view of God? Let’s “ponder anew what the Almighty can do!”

U—unload the problem to God (vv. 16-18). Hezekiah asks God to “listen closely” and “hear” and “see.” He calls on God to consider the mockery of Sennacherib, who taunts “the living God.” His prayer then includes a lament, a description of the dire situation. He states that Assyria has destroyed other nations and their gods but affirms, “They were not gods.” Hezekiah isn’t complaining against God; he is taking his complaint to God. He is lamenting the situation, pouring out his heart. Talk out your issue in God’s presence. In our crises we get tempted to complain to other people before we pour out our hearts to God. Here’s a great example for us. Unload it to the One who can carry it.

S—seek the help of God (v. 19a). His supplication is simple: “Now, Lord our God, please save us from his hand.” You don’t have to have big, impressive words when you pray. Present your request to God (Phil 4:6). If you are the Father’s child, tell Him what you need like a child. Jesus said that God heard the prayer of the tax collector, who simply said, “God, turn Your wrath from me—a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).

T—treasure the glory of God (v. 19b). The purpose of his prayer is also simple but so important: “so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God—You alone” (emphasis added). Hezekiah isn’t just praying for his own sake or for the people’s sake, but for the sake of God’s glory. Davis says, “When we are concerned with God’s glory we are likely to be heard” (2 Kings, 289). Is this “God, glorify Yourself” not reflected in the opening of the Lord’s Prayer? “Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy” (Matt 6:9) or “make Your name great.” Oh, that we might be consumed with this desire: the glory of God being made known among the nations!

Do you see how simple prayer is? Hezekiah faces the threat of the Assyrians. Instead of planning, plotting, or seeking outside help, he looks to God. Prayer doesn’t eliminate the need for human solutions (for example, Hezekiah had a great solution to get water into the city in 20:20), but our ultimate trust must always be in God alone. Corporately, Christians sometimes look to pastors/leaders instead of to God first. And when they bring their problems to pastors, instead of first seeking the Chief Shepherd, the pastors fail to seek God’s help. They take on a messiah complex instead of taking problems to God. Please don’t misunderstand. I think believers should always seek godly counsel. But nothing should substitute for dependence on God. Perhaps you should stop and pray this passage in your own words right now.

God’s response. In verses 20-37 God heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and He will reverse the situation. Isaiah brings God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer in three parts.

First, we read a mocking song, or dirge (vv. 21-28). God speaks through the prophet in a poetic way concerning Sennacherib. Tracing the big picture, Sennacherib has spoken to Hezekiah about God; Hezekiah has spoken to God about Sennacherib; and now God speaks to Hezekiah about Sennacherib (Oswalt, Isaiah, 659).

In this dirge God refers to Israel as a virgin daughter who is being oppressed. But everything will change because to mock Israel is to insult God Himself. Then God says that Assyria’s success has only come because of His sovereign will (vv. 25-26; cf. Isa 10:5-19). This statement is intended to humble them. In the last part of the dirge, God promises that Assyria will go home. He says, “I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came” (v. 28). House says, “The reference to the ‘hook’ and ‘bit’ reminds the original readers of the Assyrian practice of using these instruments to lead people into exile as if they were animals [cf. Amos 4:1-3]” (1, 2 Kings, 370). God will treat them the way they have treated other nations.

Second, the Lord will provide a sign for Hezekiah (vv. 29-31). The sign will occur when the Assyrians’ leave. It will take two years for the land to be replenished from the Assyrian invasion, but in three years it will be back to normal. Like the crops, a remnant of surviving Israelites will grow up out of Jerusalem (House, 1, 2 Kings, 370). How will this happen? “The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this” (v. 31).

The third response to Hezekiah’s prayer is God’s specific promise that the Assyrians will not conquer Jerusalem (vv. 32-34). God will defend the city for His name’s sake and for the sake of His servant David.

The execution of God’s promises is found in the closing verse of the chapter. The angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 soldiers. God delivers His people. “Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Then we read of the fulfillment of the promise in 19:7. Sennacherib returns home and is put to death by the sword.

Are all gods the same? We hear this question a lot. The Assyrians believed that Yahweh was like the other gods—basically powerless. But God humbled the mockers and proved otherwise. David expressed what Hezekiah experienced: “There is no one like You among the gods” (Ps 86:8).

Challenge 2: Illness

2 Kings 20:1-11

The report of Hezekiah’s illness probably isn’t in chronological order. House notes that “in those days” apparently refers to the general period of Hezekiah’s reign. His illness must have occurred before the Sennacherib invasion (House, 1, 2 Kings, 373n76). Regardless of when it happened, it did occur, and it serves as another case study on faith and prayer.

Hezekiah is sick and is told that he will die. Will he not live to enjoy the victory over Assyria? Once again Hezekiah takes his trouble to God in prayer. He appeals to his own personal character in this prayer, saying, “Please Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You” (v. 3). Then he “wept bitterly.” Some view this petition as self-centered, but Hezekiah is really following a common Israelite pattern of the lament prayers in Psalms. He’s praying a lot like David (Pss 7:3-5; 17:1-5; 18:20-26; 26:1-7; 44:17-22). Davis says, “There is no thought of sinless perfection but only of covenantal obedience” (2 Kings, 301).

Isaiah immediately returns to give him a revised word—that God has heard and will heal the king. God promises to give him 15 more years. Did God change His mind? Davis says, “Sometimes what sounds like a final decree is a subtle invitation” (2 Kings, 301). See Exodus 32:7-14 as an example.

What we should learn is that our prayers matter. Interestingly, Hezekiah will rise on “the third day” (vv. 5,8), becoming a “resurrected” king. Additionally, God says, “I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David” (v. 6). God not only heard his prayer and promised healing but also promised that He would continue to defend the people from the Assyrians. Isaiah then calls for “a lump of pressed figs” to be applied to the infected area (v. 7). In this example we see that God may choose to work His healing through human means.

Hezekiah asked for a sign of healing (unlike his father Ahaz, who rejected Isaiah’s sign in Isa 7:12). The prophet gives him a choice of signs: “This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?” (v. 9). Hezekiah opts for the more difficult sign, “Let the shadow go back 10 steps” (v. 10). Thus, “His healing takes on miraculous proportions. . . . He lives under God’s blessing, while Sennacherib lives under God’s judgment” (House, 1, 2 Kings, 373).

God doesn’t always heal us when we pray, but sometimes He does. Regardless of the outcome, we should trust in God with our lives. Hezekiah shows us a good example of crying out to God when we’re sick (Jas 5:13-14).

Challenge 3: Pride

2 Kings 20:12-19

Once again we have an interaction between Isaiah and Hezekiah. We might call his final challenge the challenge of pride. Like other kings before him, Hezekiah became his own greatest problem. He gets puffed up with his success and his stuff, and in his pride he looks to the Babylonians instead of God for help.

It’s often easier to look to God in suffering than in prosperity. When things are going well, we often lose sight of our dependency on God. As a church, it’s easy to get puffed up with big numbers or “success” and start trusting in ourselves instead of God for advancing the kingdom. As a nation, prosperity often crushes dependency. How quickly we can forget the giver of gifts. As individuals, it’s easy to turn into Hezekiah, failing to crush pride and cultivate humility. But we must remember that “pride comes before destruction” (Prov 16:18).

So here’s what happens. Hezekiah has company over. The Babylonians pay him a visit, bringing him a present, ostensibly because the king’s son “heard that he had been sick” but also to bring “letters and a gift” (v. 12; Isa 39:1ff). These letters probably had something to do with a hidden agenda (Motyer, Isaiah, 240). When we read that Hezekiah showed the Babylonians everything, being “pleased” to receive them (Isa 39:2), he is doing more than giving them a tour. He’s showing them his resources and discussing an alliance against Assyria. Motyer captures what might have been going on in Hezekiah’s heart: “Imagine them coming all that way to see me! Imagine Merodach-baladan wanting me as an ally!” (ibid.).

Isaiah knows it isn’t acceptable for the king to seek such an alliance (Isa 30:1-5; 31:1-3). He takes the opportunity to tell the king about the future. He tells him that that one day Babylon will take everything in the palace, and some of the king’s sons will be eunuchs in the palace of the Babylonians. We have the privilege of knowing that this won’t happen for over a century, but Isaiah’s word will indeed be fulfilled.

What’s the problem? The Chronicler says, “God left him [Hezekiah] to test him and discover what was in his heart” (2 Chr 32:31). If this event was intended to test him, then the test had to do with pride, especially given his earlier problems with pride (see 2 Chr 32:24-29; House, 1, 2 Kings, 375). Hezekiah was flattered by Babylon’s interest in him and thrilled by a possible alliance, but all of it was idolatrous and arrogant. What happened to his humble trust in Yahweh to fight the enemies? We have another example like Uzziah: “But when he became strong, he grew arrogant” (2 Chr 26:16). Let us remember that “no matter our age or vocation, humility is our greatest friend and pride our greatest enemy” (Mahaney, Humility, 14).

Hezekiah responds strangely, “‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,’ for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?” (v. 19). Either this is a self-serving and unrepentant response, meaning he doesn’t care about the future but just his own day, or he sees this as a “good” word because God is delaying His judgment in His grace (Davis, 2 Kings, 306). I prefer to take the former position, given the problem of pride in the story.

Remember That Ultimate Restoration Is Coming

2 Kings 20:20-21

The end of Hezekiah’s life reminds us of the challenge of consistency. It reminds me of the 2009–10 Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. They dominated the regular season, losing only two games, but didn’t reach the Final Four. Their amazing season ended with a “clang” as they shot 4 for 32 from the three-point line, including missing their first 20 three-point attempts. They go down as an impressive team that fell short of glory.

As we close the books on Hezekiah’s tremendous season as king, we recognize that his reign ended with a “clang.” He couldn’t bring ultimate restoration. Judah’s exile is coming. He accomplished a lot, but he died, and Manasseh reigned in his place. Manasseh will lead Judah into evil like Ahaz did, and soon Judah will be in captivity.

The best of kings fall short of glory. Only one King can bring true restoration: Jesus. As we finish this section, we recognize the absolute importance of worshiping and trusting in the living God. We can do this through our union with the Son of God. Jesus is the King of kings. Hezekiah was like David, but he wasn’t the David that was to come. Jesus alone is the King who lived a totally sinless life, who died for idolaters, taking their judgment, and who rose on the third day to give them life in His eternal kingdom. Let’s rejoice in our King!

Reflect and Discuss