:: ACA Faith Ministries ::

Introduction    II Kings 19:19-20 “Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. 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.”   We see Hezekiah faces a real trouble in his life. He had to face the hosts of Assyrian army in front of him. All of Hezekiah’s effort did not help him to escape himself from Assyrians. In verse nineteen we see he makes a supplication to the Lord God. The Lord answers his supplication in II Kings 19:35 ‘And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.’ The Lord commands a massive victory to Hezekiah by sending an angel for the battle at the last moment. The angel slaughters the whole army of Assyrians (1,85,000 of them) and brings in victory to Hezekiah. Today, let us meditate on how the Lord God helped Hezekiah in various stages of his life.  Deliverance amidst distress  II Kings 18:14 “And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.”    The situation over here was too dangerous as Assyrians were coming against Hezekiah and his people. In order to protect himself Hezekiah offered all his treasures to him. This we read in II Kings 18:15-16 ‘And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.’ Hezekiah tried to fix the issue by transferring all that he had in his house. At the time of distress, he did not reach out to the Lord God but went by his own will. Unfortunately, his self-effort did not let him get away with Assyrians.       The Assyrians did not stop troubling Hezekiah even after receiving treasures from him. In II Kings 18:17 ‘And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field.’ The Assyrians were so tactful that they started to threaten Hezekiah. They got what they wanted and betrayed Hezekiah. Considering the current situation, the people advised Hezekiah in three different ways to deal with the Assyrians. One, to go against Assyrians. Two, to seek Egypt’s help and three to trust in the Lord and delivered by the guidance of Isaiah.    One of the key reasons why the Lord permitted these confusions in Hezekiah’s life is to let him learn to call out on God at the time of distress. Even in our lives, we might think that we can tackle a problem by ourselves. But we must put God first before we go forward. We should make it a point to place our Lord God in front of all our problems. When we do so, the Lord God will deliver us and bless us.   Answer to prayer amidst fear  II Kings 19:1-2 “And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.”   Here we see everyone seem terrified on hearing the words of Rabshakeh. In verse one, Hezekiah enters the house of the Lord as situation became hard to handle. Hezekiah knew that he cannot manage the current situation so he seeks the help of the Lord. He reaches out to the Lord when fear surrounds him. In II Kings 19:6-7 ‘And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ In these passages we see the intervention of the prophet Isaiah. The moment when Hezekiah opens up to Isaiah, fear departs from him. The Lord speaks from Isaiah and assures Hezekiah that he will take in charge. Hezekiah receives a favorable answer from the Lord God. We see Hezekiah prays when he was surrounded by fear. The Lord comes to the rescue and troubled everyone that troubled Hezekiah. As we read in II Kings 19:19 ‘Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.’ The foundation of our prayers should glorify the Lord God.   Gift amidst mockery  II Kings 19:20 “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.”   The Lord we worship is the Lord who not only listens to our prayers but also answers them. The Lord grants our request at the due time. The Lord also knows concerning who we shed tears for while praying. We might be made fun of our own belief or we might be ridiculed for the kind of life that we live in this earth. But the Lord Almighty is watching us from the above. The Lord will surely answer for all the scorn that we have faced in our lives. We read in Zechariah 2:8 ‘For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.’ If anyone speaks against us, speaks against the Lord himself. We read in II Kings 19:28-29 ‘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. 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.’ This is how the Lord of God will reward his children. The Lord shows his zeal towards his children. He will put his hook and bit and puts an end to all the troubles. The Lord God gave an abundant harvest in return for his children. Even in our lives, we should submit ourselves in the presence of the Lord. Whatever the problem is, we should always seek the help from the above. The Lord that helped Hezekiah is faithful to help us and will work out miracles at the last moment. 

Amen.

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Miracles at the last moment -9