Hezekiah does the best thing he could possibly do with the alarming letter: he takes it to the Lord. "Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord." (2 Kings 19:14)
Hezekiah is aware that the Lord---who knows all things---already knows what's in the letter. I don't think he takes it up to the temple because he believes the Lord can't read it anywhere else. The Lord knew what the letter would say before it was ever written! But I think Hezekiah feels closer to the Lord in the house that has been consecrated to His name. The situation is so dire that it's not comforting enough to Hezekiah to lay the letter down on the floor of the palace and to bow on his knees over it to cry out to God. The palace is Hezekiah's throne room, not the Lord's throne room. The Lord is enthroned in heaven but symbolically enthroned on earth between the cherubim atop the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, which is housed within the Most Holy Place in the temple. Hezekiah doesn't enter the Most Holy Place, for it's not lawful for anyone but the high priest to do so, but I think he gets as close to it as he can in the outer room. I think when he bows before the Lord he does so while facing the Most Holy Place. He lays the letter down as close as he can to the throne of the only One capable of doing anything about his problems.
About twenty-three years ago I laid a particular bill down before the Lord in a similar manner because there was nothing I could do about it. I won't go into details but this unexpected and substantial expense was unpayable due to a relative having perpetrated a major theft against me. Not only had I been betrayed by someone, but I now had this bill to pay that I was unable to pay. I still to this day can't really explain how the Lord managed it, but by the time the deadline came to pay the bill, He had provided the money right down to the penny in the envelope into which I was putting every spare dollar. The task seemed impossible when I was confronted with it and I believe it actually would have been impossible if not for the Lord. Not long before this situation came into my life, a women's Bible study group I was a member of studied the life of King Hezekiah and the story of him laying Sennacherib's letter out before the Lord. Because of Hezekiah's example, I did the same, and like Hezekiah I received deliverance from my problem. I feel a special fondness for the portion of Scripture we are studying today because of the way the Lord used it in my own life.
I picture King Hezekiah kneeling in the temple of the Lord, facing the Most Holy Place, with the letter spread out on the floor in front of him. He calls out to the One who can change his circumstances. "And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: '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.'" (2 Kings 19:15)
Hezekiah begins his prayer by reminding himself of the power and sovereignty of God. Sennacherib's letter states that no god of any nation has ever protected a nation from the mighty army of Assyria. This is true but it's true for a reason Sennacherib does not appear to comprehend: the gods of the nations do not exist. Hezekiah's God, however, is the Creator of all things! Hezekiah's God spoke into the darkness, "Let there be light!", and the universe sprang into existence out of nothing. Hezekiah's God made the stars, the planets, every blade of grass on earth, every animal, every human, and space and time itself. The pagan people of the nations Sennacherib has already conquered called out to their gods in vain because their gods were formed by their own imaginations and could do nothing to help or hurt anyone. By contrast, Hezekiah's God created everything that exists out of His own imagination! The God who called all things into existence can easily thwart the plans of the king of Assyria if it's His will to do so.
It's always a good idea at the beginning of a prayer to remind ourselves how powerful God is. Hezekiah demonstrates that to us in our text today. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that to us in the prayer known as "The Lord's Prayer" when He began the prayer by saying, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." The opening sentence of His prayer reminds us that God is our Father who loves us---who loves us far more than a human parent ever could---and that He wants us to come to Him with our concerns. His prayer reminds us that God is enthroned in heaven and is in control of all things. His prayer reminds us that God is holy and that He will see to it that justice is carried out. Some things will be set right while we are all still here on this earth and some things will be set right at His judgment seat, but He will pass sentence on every wicked deed ever perpetrated on the earth. There are thousands upon thousands of unsolved cases on the books in every nation on earth. There are crimes people got away with---crimes of murder, crimes of abuse, crimes of various other natures. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of God and He will judge righteously.
In our final segment of text today, Hezekiah will admit that there is some merit in what Sennacherib says in the letter, for it is true that the Assyrian army has conquered and subjected many peoples of many lands already. It is upon the basis of these successes that Sennacherib boasts of his ability to cause the fall of Jerusalem and Judah. This is why Sennacherib states that Hezekiah has no reason for holding onto any hope at all. But Hezekiah knows something Sennacherib does not know: Hezekiah's God is the one and only living God. It is on this basis that Hezekiah is holding onto hope. He knows that no army can stand against the living God if it is the Lord's will to defeat that army.
"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 alone, Lord, are God." (2 Kings 19:17-19) Hezekiah concludes his prayer by asking the Lord to act on behalf of the nation of Judah. He would not ask the Lord to give victory if he did not believe the Lord was able to give victory. His prayer is a prayer of faith. He displays the type of faith the Apostle Paul spoke about when he said: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) Hezekiah believes the Lord exists. He believes the Lord rewards faith. He believes the Lord acts on behalf of those who earnestly seek Him, and it's important for us to note that Hezekiah earnestly sought the Lord long before Sennacherib threatened to lay siege to Jerusalem. Hezekiah isn't a person who only calls on the Lord when he's in trouble. He loved the Lord when times were good. He loves the Lord now that times are bad. The Lord hears Hezekiah's sincere prayer of faith and we will soon find the Lord moving in a mighty way to defend the king and the people of Judah.
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