The Prayer Of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:15-19).
It is almost impossible for us to appreciate the tension which Hezekiah must have been experiencing at this time. Outside the city walls were the enemy. Inside were what remained of his people. It was to be his decision as to what to do next. And he did not know what to do. His prayer was simple and to the point.
· Firstly he considered just Whom it was to Whom he was speaking. It was the God of Israel, the One Who sits between the cherubim, the one Who is the only God and God alone, the Creator of Heaven and earth.
· Then he called on God to hear and look and consider the situation, and especially these words that he had received from the king of Assyria, which He should note were in defiance of Him as the living God.
· Then he humbly acknowledged the truth of what Sennacherib had written. It was true that the kings of Assyria had laid waste the lands and cities mentioned, and had cast their gods into the fire. But that had been because they were no-gods, and simply the works of man's hands (he had been well taught by Isaiah - see Isaiah 40:18-20; Isaiah 44:9-20). It was that that explained how they could be burned.
· And finally he called on YHWH to demonstrate to all the kingdoms of the earth that He was different from all others, so that they might know that He alone was God.
Thus having reached the end of his resources Hezekiah had recognised that his only hope lay in God, and his approach was not on the basis of his own need, nor of the need of his people, but on the basis that Sennacherib had insulted YHWH and that YHWH should vindicate His Name for His own glory. His concern was for the honour and Name of YHWH. That should be at the root of all prayer.
Analysis.
a And Hezekiah prayed before YHWH, and said, “O YHWH, the God of Israel, who sits between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth” (2 Kings 19:15).
b “Incline your ear, O YHWH, and hear; open your eyes, O YHWH, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, by which he has sent him to defy the living God” (2 Kings 19:16).
c “Of a truth, YHWH, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone, therefore they have destroyed them” (2 Kings 19:17-18).
b “Now therefore, O YHWH our God, save you us, I beseech you, out of his hand (2 Kings 19:19 a)
a “So that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you YHWH are God alone” (2 Kings 19:19 b).
Note that in ‘a' he calls on God as the One Who alone is God of all the kingdoms of the earth, and in the parallel it is that all the kingdoms of the earth might know that he is God alone. In ‘b' he points to the threatening words of Sennacherib as defiance of the living God, and in the parallel he asks to be delivered out of his hand. Central in ‘c' is the admission that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all other gods, but that that was simply because they were no-gods.
‘And Hezekiah prayed before YHWH, and said, “O YHWH, the God of Israel, who sits between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” '
Performing his responsibility as an intercessory priest of YHWH Hezekiah first contemplates Who YHWH is. (It is always wise to consider exactly Who God is before we pray). And he considered Him as the One Who sits between the Cherubim, of which the Ark with its Cherubim was the symbol. But this was not to limit Him to the Temple, for both the Psalms and Isaiah (2 Kings 6:1-7) make clear that YHWH was seen as sitting between and borne by the real Cherubim (see 2 Samuel 22:11; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1; compare also for the idea Numbers 7:89). Thus He was the God of Heaven. But He was also the only God of all the kingdoms of the earth. For He was the sole Creator of heaven and earth. And it was as the only God that he now approached Him.
‘Incline your ear, O YHWH, and hear; open your eyes, O YHWH, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, by which he has sent him to defy the living God.”
Then he called on YHWH to specifically hear and see what Sennacherib had written, words which were in clear defiance of the living God, in the same way as Goliath's had been in the time of David. Indeed it was clear that Sennacherib had deliberately gone out of his way to defy YHWH the living God (although not of course believing that He was the living God). So Hezekiah's dependence was on the fact that YHWH was the only God, and that He was the living God, active and aware in man's affairs, and able to intervene at will.
“Of a truth, YHWH, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone, therefore they have destroyed them.”
Then he basically admitted that Sennacherib's words were right. It was true that all these other nations had been laid waste, and that their gods had been burned. But that was because they were no-gods. They were simply the work of men's hands, and made of wood and stone. That was why they could be destroyed. And that was why they had been destroyed.
“Now therefore, O YHWH our God, save you us, I beseech you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you YHWH are God alone.”
Having laid the foundation of his prayer Hezekiah now entered his plea, And that was that YHWH, the God of Judah (‘our God'), would save Judah out of Sennacherib's hand so that all the kingdoms of the world might recognise His uniqueness as the only God.