"Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: 'Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!'" (2 Kings 19:20-22)
Scholars are divided in their opinions as to why the Lord refers to Judah as "Virgin Daughter Zion". Some believe that this title is used because the nation of Judah has not yet defiled itself with idolatry as did the northern kingdom of Israel. Others believe the term is used because the Lord is protecting the safety and virtue of Judah like a father protects the young unmarried daughter of his household from the unwelcome advances of an unworthy suitor. There are others who think the term is used because no nation has yet defeated and plundered Judah. Whatever the Lord meant by calling the nation of Judah "Virgin Daughter Zion", He is assuring her that He is about to protect her honor. When we study the books of the prophets and find the Lord deploring the idolatry of the northern kingdom of Israel (and the later idolatry of the kingdom of Judah), we will find Him comparing these nations to unfaithful wives. But during the reign of Hezekiah, who loved the Lord, many religious reforms were carried out and many of the people gave their hearts fully to the Lord. To the faithful the Lord shows Himself faithful. (Psalm 18:25)
The Lord's message to Hezekiah regarding Sennacherib continues: "By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, 'With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests. I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt." (2 Kings 19:23-24) It's true that King Sennacherib has done these things to other nations. But that doesn't mean he will be able to do the same things to Judah. He can't do anything the Lord doesn't allow him to do, and in our next segment the Lord makes it clear that the only reason the king of Assyria has been able to defeat other nations is because it was the Lord's will for him to defeat them.
"Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up." (2 Kings 19:25-26) The Lord says to the prideful king, "You could not have lifted your hand against any nation if I had not allowed it. You are my instrument of judgment upon the nations that have rejected Me. But beware! Your nation is a nation that scorns my name and I have already chosen to reject both it and you. You are standing now but it is only by My permission that you stand. You too will fall."
Sennacherib can be sure his sins will find him out. There is no place on earth where he can hide from God or from His judgment. When the day of judgment dawns, the Lord will know exactly where to find him. "But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against Me. Because you rage against Me and because your insolence has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came." (2 Kings 19:27-28)
The Lord is in control of all situations at all times. There is nothing anyone can plan against us---not even the devil of hell---that will come to pass unless it's the Lord's will for it to come to pass. And if it is His will for it to come to pass, He never intends any hardship to mean the destruction of the one who trusts in Him. If He allows hardship it is for a purpose, for the word of God promises us: "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) The circumstance itself may not be something anyone with a human might might consider good, but the Lord is able to bring something out of that circumstance that is to our benefit.
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