2 Kings 19: 14-31
Many people often contemplate why God permits what seems like misfortune to happen.
We often find ourselves in situations where we try to understand God’s goodness from our mundane understanding. But our standards of goodness are not His. We forget that God’s standards are righteous and cannot be confined to our definition of good or bad.
So, when we are in difficult situations and our faith is tested almost to the limit, we wonder whether God has forgotten the promises he made to us. Does He not know what we are going through? Yes, He does. All He needs from us is that we go before Him and talk to Him, as exemplified by Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Kings 19:14-31.
The story of King Hezekiah helps us find the answer to the question: what are God’s plans and purposes in our suffering?
Hezekiah’s Difficulties Were Part of God’s Plans
God allows trials as a means of demonstrating His power and faithfulness, encouraging us to trust in His sovereignty.
In times of trials, we often struggle to respond well because we fail to see the situation clearly. Jerusalem’s dire state, however, was something Hezekiah understood fully.
Hezekiah had every reason to be humble before God. His alliance with Egypt and rebellion against Assyria were disastrous choices, leading to the fall of many cities and the exile of countless people — a failure Hezekiah bore responsibility for.
As noted by Motyer in his commentary on Isaiah, despite these mistakes, Hezekiah still turned to God in prayer, knowing that even when our troubles are self-inflicted, we can trust in God’s mercy and compassion.
Hezekiah’s humility before God led to three key outcomes: a faithful surrender, a demonstration of God’s sovereignty, and the deliverance of Israel.
His faith in God, rather than his military strategy, became the catalyst for divine intervention.
Despite his grief, Hezekiah entered the house of the Lord to seek God’s help. His prayerful response shows how difficulties, when viewed with the right perspective, lead to a deeper reliance on God and align with His plans for salvation and deliverance- not just for us but others.
When We Align with God, He Fights Our Battles
God’s mercies exceed our understanding, even in His anger. In 2 Kings 17, the Israelites combined their fear of God with the worship of other gods, and the Lord’s anger was stirred up against them.
Despite His anger on the Israelites for failing to keep their covenant, He proves that through His mercy, He can still work with remnants.
The Assyrian leader Sennacherib assumes that just like with different gods in other nations, the God of Judah cannot protect the Kingdom of Judah from impending destruction.
Unlike the previous kings of Judah, Hezekiah had gained favor with God and prospered because he uprooted Baal temples and returned his kingdom to God’s true worship, as seen in 2 Kings 18:4.
Even when under threat, God chooses to keep his covenant with His people who have remained loyal and upheld His true worship. In doing so, Hezekiah’s battle becomes the Lord’s battle.
What Can We Learn from Hezekiah’s Prayer?
- Our humility and behavior as we present our petitions to God are key to making powerful prayers. By abiding by God’s covenant, Hezekiah has the authority to ask God to intervene without fear of reproach. In Psalms 51:17, David also tells us that God has mercy on those who present themselves with “brokenness of our spirit and our contrite hearts.” Similarly, Hezekiah teaches that we can never approach God in sin or disobedience and expect to activate his mercy.
- God knows and is sensitive to the challenges we undergo. In 2 Kings 19:25, God says that he was actually aware of how other nations had been decimated by the Assyrians and had planned for it long ago as a consequence of the deviation of the Israelites from God’s covenant.
- Becoming remnants. Even when a majority of people appear to have abandoned their steadfastness in God, we should not follow suit but stand out from the crowd. God’s mercies allow Him to work with remnants even when our whole family, community, or nation has turned away from Him. God says He will not just rescue His remnants, but they will be fruitful and firmly rooted in Him and His promises [1 Kings 19:29-31].
The Takeaway
In 2 Kings 19:14-31, King Hezekiah’s suffering is portrayed as part of God’s greater purpose, birthed through his difficulties. This period of trial led Hezekiah to fully surrender to God, seek divine deliverance, and confirm to the other nations that the God of Israel is truly sovereign among the gods of the world.
Over to you.
Do you have a relationship with the Sovereign God- the God of Israel? If your answer is no, this is a very personal and loving call to you. The God of Hezekiah is still God today.
You can experience Him now if you want. Just send us a message here and we’ll be more than happy to lead you.
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