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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second King's Chapter nineteen,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. As
Speaker 1: soon as Hezekiah heard the news, he tore off his
Speaker 1: clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he went
Speaker 1: into the temple of the Lord. He told Prime Minister
Speaker 1: Eliah Kim, Assistant Prime Minister Shebnah, and the senior priests
Speaker 1: to dress in sacloth and tell the prophet Isaiah. These
Speaker 1: are difficult and disgraceful times. Our nation is like a
Speaker 1: woman too weak to give birth when it's time for
Speaker 1: her baby to be born. Please pray for those of
Speaker 1: us who are left alive. The king of Assyria sent
Speaker 1: his army commander to insult the living God. Perhaps the
Speaker 1: Lord heard what he said and will do something if
Speaker 1: you pray. When these leaders went to Isaiah, he told
Speaker 1: them that the Lord had this message for Hesekiah. I
Speaker 1: am the Lord. Don't worry about the insulting things that
Speaker 1: have been said about me by these messengers from the
Speaker 1: King of Assyria. I will upset him with rumors about
Speaker 1: what's happening in his own country. He will go back,
Speaker 1: and there I will make him die a violent death. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king
Speaker 1: had left the town of Lakish and was now attacking Libna,
Speaker 1: so he went there. About this same time, the King
Speaker 1: of Assyria learned that King Trhika of Ethiopia was on
Speaker 1: his way to attack him. Then the King of Assyria
Speaker 1: sent some messengers with this note for Kiah, don't trust
Speaker 1: your God or be fooled by his promise to defend
Speaker 1: Jerusalem against me. You have heard how we Assyrian kings
Speaker 1: have completely wiped out other nations. What makes you feel
Speaker 1: so safe? The Assyrian kings before me destroyed the towns
Speaker 1: of Gozen, Heron, Resif, and everyone from Eden who lived
Speaker 1: in Tallassar. What good did their gods do them? The
Speaker 1: kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hennah, and Iva have all disappeared.
Speaker 1: After Hezekiah had read the note from the King of Assyria,
Speaker 1: he took it to the temple and spread it out
Speaker 1: for the Lord to see. He prayed, Lord God of Israel.
Speaker 1: Your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the
Speaker 1: heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms
Speaker 1: of this world. But just look how Sanakarib insulted you,
Speaker 1: the Living God. It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian
Speaker 1: kings have turned nations into deserts. They destroyed the idols
Speaker 1: of wood and stone that the people of those nations
Speaker 1: had made and worshiped. But you are our Lord and
Speaker 1: our God. We ask you to keep us safe from
Speaker 1: the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth
Speaker 1: will know that you are the only God. Isaiah went
Speaker 1: to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of
Speaker 1: Israel had said, Hezekiah, I heard your prayer about King
Speaker 1: Sanakarib of Assyria. Now this is what I say to
Speaker 1: that king. The people of Jerusalem hate and make fun
Speaker 1: of you. They laugh behind your back. Snakarib, you cursed,
Speaker 1: shouted and sneered at me, the Holy God of Israel.
Speaker 1: You let your officials insult me the Lord. And here
Speaker 1: is what you have said about yourself. I led my
Speaker 1: chariots to the highest heights of Lebanon's mountains. I went
Speaker 1: deep into its forest, cutting down the best cedar and
Speaker 1: cypress trees. I dried up every stream in the land
Speaker 1: of Egypt, and I drank water from the wells I
Speaker 1: had dug Snakarib. Now listen to me, the Lord, I
Speaker 1: planned all this long ago, and you don't even realize
Speaker 1: that I alone am the one who decided that you
Speaker 1: would do these things. I let you make ruins of
Speaker 1: fortified cities. Their people became weak, terribly confused. They were
Speaker 1: like wildflowers or tender young grass growing on a flat roof,
Speaker 1: scorched before it matures. I know all about you, even
Speaker 1: how fiercely angry you are with me. I have seen
Speaker 1: your pride and the tremendous hatred you have for me.
Speaker 1: Now I will put a hook in your nose, bit
Speaker 1: in your mouth. Then I will send you back to
Speaker 1: where you came from. Hezekiah. I will tell you what's
Speaker 1: going to happen. This year, you will eat crops that
Speaker 1: grow on their own, and the next year you will
Speaker 1: eat whatever springs up where those crops grew. But the
Speaker 1: third year you will plant grain and vineyards, and you
Speaker 1: will eat what you harvest. Those who survive in Judah
Speaker 1: will be like a vine that puts down deep roots
Speaker 1: and bears fruit. I the Lord all Powerful, will see
Speaker 1: to it that some who live in Jerusalem will survive.
Speaker 1: I promise that the king of Assyria won't get into Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: or shoot an arrow into the city, or even surround
Speaker 1: it and prepare to attack. As surely as I am
Speaker 1: the Lord, he will return by the way he came
Speaker 1: and will never enter Jerusalem. I will protect it from
Speaker 1: myself and for my servant David. That same night, the
Speaker 1: Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians,
Speaker 1: and he killed one hundred eighty five thousand of them,
Speaker 1: and so the next morning the camp was full of
Speaker 1: dead bodies. After this, King Sanakaib went back to Assyria
Speaker 1: and lived in the city of Ninevah. One day he
Speaker 1: was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok when
Speaker 1: his sons Adramelek and Shariza killed him with their swords.
Speaker 1: They escaped to the land of Ararat, and his son
Speaker 1: Esar Haddan became king. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you for the privilege
Speaker 1: of being able to look at it today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of scripture, we see
Speaker 1: that King Sanakarib had set his heart against you. He
Speaker 1: was filled with pride, he was filled with conceit, and
Speaker 1: he failed to realize that the things that had been
Speaker 1: accomplished during the course of his reign were only accomplished
Speaker 1: because you allowed them to take place. And he failed
Speaker 1: to give you credit, and he failed to honor you
Speaker 1: as Lord, and ultimately he suffered a terrible fate. Lord,
Speaker 1: these are things that all humanity wrestles with, and we've
Speaker 1: wrestled with these things as well. But Lord, we pray
Speaker 1: that we would trust you with our lives. We pray
Speaker 1: that we would trust you with our futures. We pray
Speaker 1: that when we have needs and concerns and things that
Speaker 1: weigh heavy on our hearts, that we would lay them
Speaker 1: out before you, just as Hezekiah did, and that we
Speaker 1: would trust that you will accomplish your purpose and your will,
Speaker 1: and that whatever you decide is what's best. Lord, we
Speaker 1: know that you have our futures secure in your hand.
Speaker 1: Through faith in your son Jesus Christ, we have been
Speaker 1: set apart. We have been sealed by your Holy Spirit,
Speaker 1: and you call us your children, and you remind us
Speaker 1: that we have an inheritance in your kingdom that will
Speaker 1: never be taken away. It's gone, it's never going to rust,
Speaker 1: it's never going to disappear. So we're grateful Lord for
Speaker 1: these promises, and we're grateful that, in the midst of
Speaker 1: whatever we face this side of heaven, that we can
Speaker 1: be confident that you're working all things together for good
Speaker 1: and that you have good things in store for those
Speaker 1: who love you. So we do love you, Lord, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for your presence with us, and we
Speaker 1: pray that throughout the course of this day that we
Speaker 1: would honor you as our Lord and our God. And
Speaker 1: we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.