And Hezekiah received the letter...and went and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed...”O Lord, God of Israel that is enthroned between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, open thine eyes and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to mock the Living God. Of a truth, the Assyrians have wasted (warred against) land, have cast their gods (for others to see)..Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the one and only true Living God” Isaiah 37:14-20
King Hezekiah of Judah is commended in his work for service to the Lord; he possessed great faith and did it with all his heart, and prospered. I am reminded of “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.” (2 Kings 18:5) The bible states he sought to bring the people back to a vital faith in the Lord. However, where good is we must be careful that bad may follow.
King Hezekiah faced three tribulations during his kingship: 1.) Health sickness that almost killed him; 2.) National War with Babylon that God allowed to deal with his pride and; 3.) International War with Assyrian who had more firearms than his own country.
After Assyria had captured the Israelites in the north, they were encroaching upon Judah in the south. Hezekiah had a lapse of faith by bribing the King of Assyria with some gold that came out of the Temple. God could not bless this effort. He would rather we bring all our burdens to him in prayer and trust Him alone to answer. Hezekiah repents quickly; humbles himself in the prayer above. This prayer has an abundance of theology. Firstly, he affirms his faith, he admonishes that our God is Jehovah God, Lord of Host, Lord of the armies, that he worships Him only and God is creator of all: hears all and sees all and finally that God’s Character defends His name sake and all that he made will Glorify Him. Because the King of Assyria had try to mock our God, the whole army had to go and they did. It’s worth reading Chps. 37-40. In building up your faith, the Word of God and prayer go together! Trust God Alone and keep walking in the growth of faith!
“So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” Rom10:17
Minister Jessica Dowe MD
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