It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives." – 2 Kings 19:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 15, 2020): 2 Kings 19

Here is some free parenting advice (and yes, I know that you didn't ask for any). If you are busy doing something and you tell your children to go watch T.V. to get them out of your hair, you cannot later be angry with your children for watching too much television. You were the one who issued the directive. In the same way, if Grandma stops over for a visit and finds the kids glued to the television, and criticizes the kids for watching too much T.V., the appropriate response from the children is that you told them to watch, and therefore, Grandma's issue is not with them, but with you. You were the one who issued the command.

There is no doubt that the appearance of Sennacherib's advance party at Jerusalem scared Hezekiah. He knew, as good as the city might have looked, that Sennacherib was the world power and no one, as of yet, had been successful in standing up against the Assyrian war machine. Hezekiah may have even believed that a number of the decisions that he had made might have been wrong and on him. Hezekiah, at the advice of the Prophet Isaiah, had rejected the entreaties he had received to form alliances with other powers in the area. It was the King's duty to defend the land, and Hezekiah had not done a great job at that task.

But one thing that probably stuck out to Hezekiah was the Assyrian accusation that he had acted against God by removing the high places. The commander that had been sent to Israel had spoken these words. "But if you say to me, "We are depending on the Lord our God"—isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?" (2 Kings 18:22). The words were misspoken because of all the actions that Hezekiah may have questioned; this was not one of them. Many of his ancestors had failed because they had not taken care of the high places where false gods could be worshipped, or where Yahweh could have been worshipped outside of the guiding hand of the priests. Even for many good kings, this was the one complaint that God had against them; they had not removed the high places. Removing the high places was not something that Hezekiah felt he had done wrong. God had commanded that the high places be removed, and Hezekiah had removed them. If the Assyrian commander wanted to complain about the removal of the high places, his issue was not with Hezekiah; it was with God.

And so Hezekiah goes to the Temple with this message. The Assyrians have spoken against God, not against me. So pray that God hears and stands up for his commands. Adam Clarke sums up this action of Hezekiah this way.

"The impudent blasphemy of this speech is without parallel. Hezekiah treated it as he ought: it was not properly against him, but against the LORD; therefore he refers the matter to Jehovah himself, who punishes this blasphemy in the most signal manner."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 1