Day 344 – Petitions

2 Kings 19:1 It happened, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of JEHOVAH. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that JEHOVAH your Elohiym will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to reproach the living Elohiym and will rebuke the words which JEHOVAH your Elohiym heard. Therefore, lift your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

 6 Isaiah said to them, “Thus you will say to your master, ‘Thus says JEHOVAH, “Do not be afraid of the words which you heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria blasphemed Me. 7 I will send a spirit upon him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

 8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard he had departed from Lachish.

 9 The king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” Then he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you will speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, ‘Do not let your Elohiym in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 ‘Look! You heard what the kings of Assyria did to their lands by destroying them; and will you be delivered? 12 Have the elohiym of the nations delivered those whom my fathers destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’”

 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of JEHOVAH and spread it before JEHOVAH. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before JEHOVAH, and said, “O JEHOVAH Elohiym of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are Elohiym, You alone, of the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. 16 Incline Your ear, O JEHOVAH, and hear; open Your eyes, O JEHOVAH, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he sent to reproach the living Elohiym. 17 Truly, JEHOVAH, the kings of Assyria laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and cast their elohiym into the fire; for they were not elohiym, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore, they destroyed them. 19 Now, therefore, O JEHOVAH our Elohiym, I pray, save us from his hand, that the kingdoms of the earth may know You are JEHOVAH Elohiym, You alone.”

 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says JEHOVAH Elohiym of Israel, ‘Because you prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’ 21 This is the word which JEHOVAH spoke concerning him, ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem shook her head behind your back! 22 Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted your eyes high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By your messengers you reproached JEHOVAH and said, “By the multitude of my chariots I came up to the height of the mountains, to the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, to its fruitful forest. 24 I dug and drank strange water, and with the soles of my feet I dried up the brooks of defense. 25 ‘Did you not hear long ago how I made it, from ancient times that I formed it? Now I brought it to pass, that you should be for crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 26 Therefore, their inhabitants had little power; they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field and the green herb, as the grass on the housetops and grain blighted before it is grown. 27 However, I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. 28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult came to My ears, therefore, I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came. 29 This will be a sign to you: You will eat this year such as grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from the same; also, in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 30 The remnant who escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of JEHOVAH of hosts will do this.’ 32 Therefore, thus says JEHOVAH concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way he came, by the same will he return; and he will not come into this city,’ says JEHOVAH. 34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it for My sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

 35 It happened on a certain night that the angel of JEHOVAH went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses.

 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

 37 Now it happened, as he worshiped in the temple of Nisroch his elohiym, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

God’s names:

JEHOVAH – Self-existent, Eternal

Elohiym – Supreme God

Yeshuwa – Jesus

God’s character:

Deliverer

Do you need tangible, eyes on proof about everything in life? If you don’t see it for yourself, you won’t believe it? Many people need proof, or they won’t act.

Sennacherib boasted about his conquests over the other nations he came against. He named them and told the people of Judah they would be like those nations, powerless against the elohiym of Assyria. However, the people of Judah weren’t like the other nations. Their Elohiym was the true Elohiym, not an idol made of wood and stone, but a living Elohiym who created the earth and everything in it. When Hezekiah heard what Sennacherib said to the people, He went to the house of JEHOVAH and laid out his petition to Him and sent his servants to Isaiah the prophet to learn what JEHOVAH would do for them.

Isaiah told Hezekiah what JEHOVAH would do for them and then did it, confirming His Word with action and deliverance and killing Sennacherib by the hand of his sons, as He told Hezekiah He would do.

When you accepted Yeshuwa as your Savior and Lord, He promised to defend you against every scheme Satan brings against you. You only need to bring your petitions to Him and let Him know you need His help. To many Christians believe they can defeat Satan in their strength alone. It doesn’t work. Satan scoffs at your efforts as Sennacherib scoffed at Judah. However, when you place your petition before Yeshuwa, He will defend you and defeat Satan because you are His child. You have nothing to fear because Satan cannot harm you when you depend on Yeshuwa’s strength. He will flee from you in defeat, and in the end, JEHOVAH will cast him into the lake of fire for eternity. You know his end. Therefore, you don’t need to listen to or stand in fear before him. Yeshuwa will come to your defense when you ask Him.

What lies and schemes has Satan brought against you. Take your petitions to Yeshuwa and watch Him act on your behalf.

Let’s pray: Father, You alone are God. You alone and no one else. Remind me that I can depend on You when Satan comes against me, tells me lies to convince me You are nothing, and tries to make me believe You don’t care about me. Let Your Word be in my heart and on my tongue to send Satan fleeing in defeat. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Copyright © 28 December 2024 by Valerie Routhieaux