Chapter 7: The Letter Before God

When Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his robes, put on sackcloth, and went straight to the Temple. He sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah.

HEZEKIAH (speaking to his officials before they depart)“This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh and rebuke him for the words that his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God.”— 2 Kings 19:3-4

The officials carried the message to Isaiah the prophet. When they found him, he answered without hesitation.

ISAIAH“Tell your master: this is what the Lord says. Do not be afraid of what you have heard. Those are the words of the underlings of the king of Assyria who have blasphemed Me. I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country. And there I will have him cut down with the sword.”— 2 Kings 19:6-7

But the crisis was not over. Sennacherib, now fighting at Libnah after hearing that Tirhakah king of Cush was marching against him, sent a letter directly to Hezekiah. The letter repeated every threat. The gods of every nation had failed their people. Your God will fail you too.

Hezekiah took the letter, went up to the Temple. He unrolled it and spread it open before the Lord. Then he prayed.

HEZEKIAH“Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You, Lord, are God alone.”— 2 Kings 19:15-19