Second Kings 19:20

The Bible says in Second Kings 19:20-28, “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.[21] This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.[22] Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.[23] By the messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.[24] I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.[25] Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.[26] Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.[27] But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.[28] Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.” Notice what the Lord said to Hezekiah in verse twenty, “That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” That should not surprise anyone. That is true of every prayer that anyone prays. God not only hears our prayers, but He answers them too. God’s answer to Hezekiah is the same answer that God gives to the world concerning Israel: God is going to destroy Israel’s enemies. The world should take heed and be careful how they treat the children of Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham, and God always keeps His promises. That is what the Battle of Armageddon will be about: Jesus destroying Israel’s enemies once and for all.

God quotes the king of Assyria in verse twenty-three, “With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains.” Like all ungodly people, the king of Assyria took credit to himself for his victories. But he did not know that he was only a part of God’s plans. God used the King of Assyria according to the eternal plan of God for the whole world. That is exactly why God said in verse twenty-five, “Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps?” God raised up the king of Assyria. God determined that it would happen. God gave him all those victories. It was simply part of God’s plan. The King of Assyria did not do it. God did it. But that which God raises up, God can cast down, and that is exactly what God decided to do with the King of Assyria. And so God said to the King of Assyria in verse twenty-eight, “I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.”

The Bible says in Second Kings 19:29-32, “And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.[30] And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.[31] For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.[32] Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.” For three years the Assyrian army would have Jerusalem surrounded. And then God would act. God has His time for everything. We must learn to wait upon Him. In verses thirty and thirty-one God mentions a “remnant.” God always has at least a few on this earth who know Him and who follow Him. He always has and He always will. Those are His sheep, and He will always guide them and take care of them. Jesus is the good Shepherd. There is a great phrase at the end of verse thirty-one: “the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” Many people who call themselves believers lack zeal. Having zeal speaks of having a strong desire to do something. We should have a strong desire to serve the Lord. God has a strong desire to serve us and to take care of us. That is why the Assyrians were defeated and that is why we will see victories in our spiritual battles.

The Bible says in Second Kings 19:33-37, “By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.[34] For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.[35] And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.[36] So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
[37] And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.” When God decides to do something, He can move really fast as in this case. In one night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers die. It does not tell us exactly what they died from, but we know that God took their lives. God gives life and He takes it. It all fits into His plan. And of course, God had a plan for the king Sennacherib also. His time on earth was over also. He was assassinated by his own sons.

The Bible says in Second Kings 20:1-6, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.[2] Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,[3] I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.[4] And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,[5] Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.[6] And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.” Many people are told by doctors that they have only so many months or weeks left to live, but God decides. God gives life and takes it, and so He decides. If you know the Lord Jesus as Savior, it is better to go to heaven. Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” But it is also true that life on this earth is a gift. It is a great honor and privilege to be given an open door to live for Jesus on this earth and to do something for Him. And so God answers Hezekiah’s prayer and gives him fifteen more years to live on this earth.

The Bible says in Second Kings 20:7, “And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.” God already said that Hezekiah would recover, but that does not mean that nothing would be done for Hezekiah. What Isaiah did by putting a lump of figs on the sore boil probably should be viewed as some kind of home remedy. That is the Biblical teaching about sickness. Hezekiah had already prayed, and now he is given a treatment. It says in James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:[15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.[16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The phrase “anointing him with oil” refers to what can be done for someone medically speaking. In the Mediterranean world of that day olive oil was used medically to treat many ailments. Doctors do not know everything: far from it. Get the best medical help that you can, but rely heavily on prayer to the Lord.

The Bible says in Second Kings 20:8-11, “And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?[9] And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forth ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?[10] And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.[11] And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.” God can do anything. Even if the unbelieving scientists were correct about everything that they say (and they are not), God is still God and He can do anything. God can perform miracles. God can do things that are above and beyond the realm of science. This sign to Hezekiah where the sun dial went back ten degrees cannot be explained other than it was a miracle.

The Bible says in Second Kings 20:12-18, “At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.[13] And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.[14] Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.[15] And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.[16] And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.[17] Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house ,and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.[18] And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” It probably was a big mistake for Hezekiah to show all of the treasures to the messengers from Babylon because now they know what they will gain if they conquer Jerusalem. Of course, it all fits into God’s plan. Eventually, the kingdom of Judah will go away from God completely just like the northern Kingdom of Israel. God used the Assyrians to conquer Samaria and the northern kingdom. And God will use Babylon to conquer Judah and Jerusalem. Everything that happens fits perfectly into God’s great plans for the world and everyone in it, including yourself.

___________________________________________________