The Almighty God

Introduction

2 Kings 18:28–37 KJV 1900

28 Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: 29 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: 30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: 32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. 33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? 35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? 36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. 37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

Pray - Be Seated

Body

Going into chapter 19, detail how Hezekiah responds to the tactics of the enemy. The enemy:

Uses fear to cause doubt in God

Details all his victories over the other nations that don’t serve the One True God

Concludes Israel’s results will be the same if they think to trust in their God

Hezekiah’s response

He rent his clothes and covered himself in sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord

He acknowledged that a response was in order, but that there was no strength in Israel to mount that proper response

He concludes that God Himself will mount the response necessary for this reason

Because the enemy was not reproaching Israel, he was reproaching Israel’s God

In other words, for His great Name’s sake

He sent to inquire of God at the hands of Isaiah the prophet hoping for a response from Him

God answers, but almost dismissively.

“don’t be afraid Hezekiah. I’ll take care of it. He’ll return to his own land and perish there.”

Then the enemy comes back even more persuasively in the form of a letter.

Hezekiah spreads the letter out before the Lord, and prayed.

He acknowledged what the enemy was saying was indeed true

He acknowledged it was true because they worshipped idols and not the One True God.

He prays that God will deliver Israel “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.”

This time, the Lord’s answer is quite a bit different.

2 Kings 19:20–34 KJV 1900

20 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 thy 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. 29 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. 33 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.

It concludes with Sennacherib king of Assyria fleeing back to Nineveh, only to be killed by two of his sons in the house of his god.

Conclusion

God fights for us!

When we don’t have the strength left to fight, God fights in our behalf

When we can’t mount a proper response to the enemies machinations, God will do so for His great Name’s sake

When we’re battle weary and the enemy comes to us with discouragement and despair, fear and doubt, God is a bulwark for us against the enemy.