King Hezekiah is faced with a very challenging situation during the fourteenth year of his reign, vs 1- The chief advisor of the Assyrian king along with a large army, vs 2, vehemently threatens King Hezekiah’s men commanding them not to trust in Egypt who will prove to be unworthy of their trust, vs 6, as well as, not to even trust the Lord their God for deliverance, for he said that King Hezekiah has not obeyed God’s laws, vs 7, and God Himself had told the Assyrian king to invade and conquer Judah, vs 10!

When told by Hezekiah’s men not to speak in the Judean language so that the local people would not hear and become afraid, he boldly professed that their king’s msg was not just for the Judean king alone to hear, but for all his subjects to hear and take heed as well, vs 12. So, he shouted out loud in the hearing of all the Judeans present that they should not be fooled into trusting either the Lord or the king for deliverance, but instead should surrender to the Assyrian king for that was the only way for them to prosper and stay safe, vs 13 -20!

How does the King of Judea respond?
On hearing this, K. Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the LORD’s temple, Isaiah 37:1, while his aides went to the prophet Isaiah to inform him about how the chief advisor, who was sent by the Assyrian King, spoke against the Lord, vs 2-5. In response, Isaiah gives them the Word of the Lord saying that they need not be afraid for the Lord was going to take control of the king’s mind; and he would receive a report and return to his own land, where God would have him cut down with a sword, vs 6,7.
Yet, on receiving one more threat from the Assyrian King, King Hezekiah takes the threatening letter and reveals it’s contents, (which belittle the God of Israel), to the Lord in prayer, asking God to rescue Judah from the power of the Assyrian King, thus proving that God alone is king over all the earth, vs 14-20.

God was pleased to hear the king pray, once again, and assured the King that on account of the boasting of the Assyrian King, God would ensure his defeat and that he would go back the way he came without doing any damage to Judah for the Lord Himself would defend Judah and rescue it for the sake of His reputation and because of His promise to David His servant, vs 21-35! And that is exactly what God in a very supernatural way, vs 36,37. Eventually, one fine day, the Assyrian King was put to death by his own sons as he was worshiping in the temple of his god, vs 38!

This entire incident encourages to learn to submit every problem that we face into the hands of a sovereign and all powerful God, instead of trying to solve the problem in our own strength and according to our own reason and understanding. Fear often plagues our mind on encountering such situations, but as we seek to clear our consciences before the Lord, and so, walk in love, forgiveness and faith, we will find ourselves perfected in God’s love, and this giant of fear will then be cast out, 1 John 4:18. When fear is thus replaced by faith, it unties God’s hands to intervene in our situations and thus make the impossible possible! This brings about a dual deliverance both in our lives, as well as, in our circumstances, as seen from the above story.

So, may we choose to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, for assuredly we will then find Him directing our paths in ways we could have never even imagined or asked Him to do! Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.