Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Acts 21:1-17, Psalm 149:1-9, Proverbs 18:8

And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see!
Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”
2 Kings 19:15-16, 19

Relate: Imagine a lopsided x. I am talking about the letter, not making a statement about the bias of a specific social media site. Cmon. Stay on track. You have an x, but flatten it a little bit and then slide the center, the crosspoint of the x to about two thirds of the way towards the left. In case your imagination is struggling to get going this morning, here you go.

So on the top left of this x you have the Philistine city of Ashkelon. On the bottom left, that’s Gaza. The line moving northeast from Gaza terminates at Jerusalem. The line moving southeast from Ashkelon ends at Hebron. And the center of this “x” is Lachish. Lachish first makes an appearance in the Bible as one of the Canaanite cities Joshua defeated on the southern campaign. Later it was highlighted as the city Rehoboam focused on fortifying after the kingdom was divided. Later, Amaziah was here when on the run for his life. It was a defensive fortress city against the Philistines. It was a safe space. And it was a pretty big deal. Both Egyptians (the Amarna tablets), the Assyrians (Ninevah palace relief), and the Greeks (Eusibius) all make note of the city. Depending on who you listen to, the etymology of the city name can be “he walks by himself,” “invincible,” or “impregnable.”

But I am guessing most people reading this knew next to nothing of the city. I primarily know of it thanks to living in the West Bank a couple summers back. Nobody lives there today. Why? Assyria. Today, Hebron is the largest city in the west Bank. Jerusalem is the capital city of Israel. But Lachish? It is just a cautionary tale like the Titanic. Being a strong city with high walls didn’t help.

React: Hezekiah’s first line of defense was in his military strength. He fortified and strengthened both Lachish and Jerusalem. But when it was clear that this plan was going to fail, he went to plan B. He poured money at the problem. He sent a message to Assyria, “I will pay you whatever you need if only you will go away.” Sennacherib sets a price and Hezekia empties his treasury, the Temple treasury, and pawns off anything he can find to give it in tribute. How does Assyria reply? I will come and take this city. And when I put it to siege, your people will be eating their own dung and drinking their own urine to survive. Military strength didn’t help. Money wasn’t enough. And his allies (Egypt) had abandoned him. It was only when all other options were exhausted that God stepped in and saved the day. The miracle of 2 Kings 19 only exists because of the desperation situation of 2 Kings 18. And it makes me wonder. If Hezekiah relied first and only on God, would Lachish exist today in more than just our history and archaeology?

When trouble comes our way, what are we relying on? Is it our strength and ability? Just muscle through this. Is it our financial resources. Just pour money at the problem. Is it our friends and allies? One quick call can make this problem go away. Or do we put our trust in God? How often do we act just like Hezekiah and only turn to Him when all other options have been tried and failed?

Respond:

Dear God,
Help me to trust first and only in You. So often You become little more than my fall back position. So often, I only cry out to You when all other options have been exhausted. While I need to use wisdom and diligence, I also need the faith to trust You first and foremost. Whenever trouble comes my way, help my immediate response to bring it first to You.
Amen

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