2 Kings 19:14-19--Hezekiah's Prayer

2 Kings 19:14-19
English Standard Version

Hezekiah's Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 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. 19 So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”

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The letter being referred to here is the boatful, arrogant words of the king of Assyria after he retreated from Jerusalem to deal with Libnah and the possibility of also having to fight with the nation of Cush.  Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD (that is the Temple) and spread out the letter before the LORD and prayed.  He directed his prayer to "The LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim."  While this is true, it's an inaccurate view of who the LORD is.  He wasn't just confined to the Most Holy Place between the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant, nor is He only the God of Israel.  I say this because our prayers tell us a lot about what someone believes about God, and it seems that while Hezekiah had some biblical facts correct (the next thing that he'll say is that the LORD is the Creator of heaven and earth, and all that is in them), he has a "small" view of the LORD that makes Him not that different from how the pagans viewed their gods as the creators of the world, but then dwelling within the temples made by the hands of men and then being confined to that space and only having power within the land of that people.

We speak to the LORD like Hezekiah did in verse 16 sometimes and He's not offended by it, but is it really necessary for us to tell the LORD to look and listen?  I'll answer that question for you.  No, prayer does not make God pay attention to us, but it directs our attention to Him and what He is doing or about to do.  There are times that the LORD wants our full attention when we are no longer looking at everything going on around us and finally lift our eyes to Him.  It is us that needs to open our eyes and ears to what He is about to do and to hear what He is about to say.  We do not force Him to act, but praying puts us in a position where we are more ready to see and hear Him act on behalf of Himself and His people.

Hezekiah then prays for the LORD to act for the sake of His own great Name.  That is the proper way to pray that we've seen since at least the book of Exodus, and we see the LORD respond to such prayers throughout the Bible.  Yes, the LORD will respond sometimes when His people cry out for compassion or mercy, but the LORD's primary concern throughout the Old and New Testaments is to act in such a way that brings glory to His Name, and He acts when His great Name is on the line.  Hezekiah points out that the Assyrians, specifically Sennacherib, their king, are mocking the LORD saying that He is neither good enough, nor powerful enough to defend His people, and He is mocking the Living God.  I love that name for the LORD because it shows that people understand that He is not like the idols of wood, stone, or metal that are crafted by men who are not just deaf and dumb, but dead.  He is the God who sees and hears us, and He is the Living God who acts according to His will for His good pleasure and for the sake of His great Name.

Hezekiah then realizes that the LORD has allowed Sennacherib to conquer all these other lands and part of His reason in doing so is to prove to Sennacherib and all the others around the area that the LORD is not like the idols that Sennacherib destroyed by throwing them into the fire.  Now the world will see that the LORD is different, and that He is God alone.