Today’s passage: 2 Kings 19:1-37
Helpful thoughts:
- By God’s grace, King Hezekiah’s thoughts were turned back to the Lord. Sennacherib had picked a fight with God, the only right thing for Hezekiah to do was to cry out to the Lord and be faithful to His side along with the rest of God’s people.
- The gods of all these other people groups did not defend them because they did not exist. Hezekiah prayed this way in verses 15-19. His faith was not in vain because his faith was in the God who is sovereign…and real.
- People who do not believe in God or reject Him as their lord are also guilty of taking all of the blessings of His common grace for granted. Unbelievers are not in some third category, independent of the spiritual warfare of this world. They are in direct opposition to God and guilty before Him. They need to hear the Gospel and be saved.
- The sign which starts in verse 29 is directed to Hezekiah and Israel.
- The Lord’s protection of Judah from Assyria was to be seen as a guarantee of the future kingdom.
Questions to consider:
- Why did Hezekiah pray for the protection of Judah? What was the goal (Verse 19)? What is the chief goal of God working in our lives still today?
- Why had Sennacherib won any of his previous battles (Verse 25)? Did the gods of Assyria give him those victories? Did he muster up the powerful strength himself? To Whom did Sennacherib owe his successes? Even in his opposition, who was in complete control of the king of Assyria (Verses 27-28)?
- After the death of so many troops, without a single fight, what should Sennacherib have realized? What did he go home and do (Verse 37a)? Why do you think he chose to worship Nisroch? What would we have been hoping for?