#76 “Great
Intercessors of the Bible”
(Hezekiah – God Gives Strength)
“I
beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have
walked before thee in truth and with a perfec heart,
and have done
that which is good in thy sight."
(2 Kings 20:3)
The Message
(MSG)
Many of you have no doubt heard of King Hezekiah who ruled
over Judah, his reign was considered as one of good and not
evil. There were many kings, who
preceded King David but very few honored God like David did, this is one of the
reasons God called him, “A
man after My own heart.” There are two great prayers we are going
to cover regarding King Hezekiah. The first one will be his prayer for
deliverance from the Assyrian army the second one will King Hezekiah’s prayer
for personal healing.
The king of Assyria had
launched a campaigned to conquer as many kingdoms as possible and was so
successful that he decided that King Hezekiah’s would be next on his list. The Assyrian king’s general Sennacherib sent word to King Hezekiah which was designed to be a fear
tactic one of impending doom and destruction by the Assyrian army.
“Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of
Assyria: “What confidence is
this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do
you trust, that you rebel against me? Now look!
You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man
leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it
not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to
Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?”’
Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king
of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your
part to put riders on them! How then will you
repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in
Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Have I now come
up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”
(2 Kings 18:20-25)
As the
people of Jerusalem heard the taunts of this Assyrian general they became
afraid. Then King Hezekiah did the only thing he knew to do, he prayed!
And so it was, when
King Hezekiah heard it, that he
tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of
the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim, who was
over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered
with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him,
“Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is
a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to
birth, but there is no strength
to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach
the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” Here we see King
Hezekiah going into the temple with the letter sent by the king of Assyria and
spread it out on the alter before the Lord God. He did not try to pretend that he wasn’t
troubled by this letter, he was honest and open before the Lord.
Hezekiah
approached God boldly with confidence that He would not turn Him away. He acknowledge that without God he and his
people were as good as dead, the needed His help in fact were depending upon
it. Finally Hezekiah was assured that God would deliver them, “Hezekiah prayed, “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his
hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” The Lord
God heard the prayer of Hezekiah and sent the prophet back with this word.”
‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which
the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall
hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the
sword in his own land.” King Hezekiah’s faith in trust in the Lord God
was the only thing he had to stand on and that he did with firm confidence. He know that God had promised to protect and
keep the children of Israel and God would not go back on His promise.
This same kind of faith had played a major
role in the healing of Hezekiah when he was sick unto death. When the prophet Isaiah told him that he needed
to get his affairs in order and prepare to die, King Hezekiah, “Turned
his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal
heart, and have done what was
good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”
But before
the prophet Isaiah could get outside to the courtyard the Lord God spoke to
him, “Return and tell
Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have
seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to
the house of the Lord. And I will add to your
days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king
of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My
servant David.” God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and extended his life an additional
fifteen years...Wow!! Now that’s impressive!
Beloved
just remember that there is no situation which you will encounter that God will
not deliver you from if you will call upon His name in prayer. Like King
Hezekiah we must remember that God is on our side and He will not fail us. Whether
it’s in battle or in personal struggles He will provide and answer for each of
our life challenges.
My Prayer:
Ahhh…Lord God who is mightier than you? When our enemy comes at us one way you
will cause him to flee seven different ways. We have no fear of the lies of the
enemy when he comes to tell us we will be defeated, cast down and destroyed because
you have promised that we are more than conquers in Christ Jesus. We are confident that you will drive the enemy
back to his own camp and cause him for be defeated in his own realm just as you
did with the King of Assyria. Thank You Lord God that You have promise that
with long life you would satisfy us so we will live in your promise. Keep us in your perfect peace in Jesus name we
pray Amen!!!
Have A Bless Day…Go in
God’s Peace!
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