1 Kings 18-19: A King Who Did It Right (Part 2)

2 Kings 19:34 "For I will defend this city to save it,

for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David."

On Wednesday, we took a look at the biblical character of Hezekiah, and how he was a king who did it right. Although almost all of the other kings of Israel and Judah had failed, Hezekiah was a king who did it right. However, what does that look like? In the first part of 1 Kings 18, we are told that Hezekiah is righteous, but in the rest of the chapter and the one following, we see it.

A brief phrase in the first part of 1 Kings 18 tells us that Hezekiah, in his own reliance upon the Lord, rebelled against Assyria. However, the powerful and mighty Assyria (who I will remind you, just conquered the northern kingdom of Israel) did not care for this too much. Thus, they seized Judah and demanded that Hezekiah give him 10 tons of silver and 1 ton of gold (last time I checked, that wasn't a small fee). Hezekiah paid the price, but the King of Assyria still wasn't happy, so he threatened to destroy the entire nation. At this point, Hezekiah is hopeless. The biggest and badest nation has a problem with his nation, and the odds are stacked up against him. Yet, we were already told that Hezekiah was a righteous man. Thus, our question for this morning is this: what does a righteous man do when times seem hopeless?

Answer (and you might have guessed it): pray. In 2 Kings 19:14-19, we see Hezekiah offering one of the best prayers to God I've at least ever heard. He first acknowledges God's superiority and then asks him to incline his ear to his petition. Then, Hezekiah does something outrageous in his prayer: he acknowledges the problem: "Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed" (2 Kings 19:17). In other words, Hezekiah is saying here that the strongest army in the world is surrounding him, and he is hopeless. Or in other other words, Hezekiah is saying to the Lord, "We're doomed unless you come to help us." Hezekiah then asks the Lord to deliver him, all for God's glory.

And of course, God being the God he is, loves to hear the cry of his children, and he also loves to save his children. In summary, the rest of the story goes like this: God hears the cry of Hezekiah and sends Isaiah to prophesy of Judah's deliverance. Then, God sends angels to kill 185,000 of Assyria's men, leaving them hopeless, and they return home.

What a story. But let us realize one thing really quickly: this story is not primarily about Hezekiah's righteousness. Although I sought to draw that point out so that we could see it and apply it to our lives, it is not the main point of the passage. The main point of the passage is God's salvation. God is a God who delivers his children when they cry out to him. When his children seem hopeless, distraught, overcome, and overwhelmed, he has a plan for their salvation. All we must do is cry out to him, and he will comfort (see also Phil. 4:6-9).

So, have you cried out the Lord, like Hezekiah did, amidst your hopeless situations? Have you gone to your God with your groaning? Have you petitioned to the Promiser in your pain? Have you leaned on the Lord in your longing? Have you sought your Savior in your situation? Have you messaged your Messiah in your mess?* If you haven't, I'd encourage you to. The Lord is there to hear your pain and carry your burdens. Cry out to him, and he will deliver. He might not do it quickly, but he will do it, and not in this life, then in the life to come...

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." - The Holy Spirit/Paul (Romans 8:28)

*I could do this all day.