Read: 2 Kings 19:9-20
Before telephones, mobile phones, email, the fastest means of communication was the telegram. Only important news was sent through telegram, and mostly such news was bad. Anyone receiving a telegram expected bad news.
In our passage for today, we see that Hezekiah was king of Judah. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had attacked and captured the cities of Judah. Then he sent a letter to Hezekiah urging him to surrender. Hezekiah described that day as “a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy” (2 Kings 19:3). Sennacherib boasted of his previous military campaigns, belittling the God of Israel and threatening destruction (2 Kings 19:11-13).
In that frightful moment, Hezekiah did an unusual thing with that bad-news letter. 2 Kings 19:14 says, “Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.” He prayed intensely, acknowledging the power of God over their miserable situation (2 Kings 19:15-19). We see that God intervened in a powerful way (2 Kings 19:35-36).
News can reach us at any time and some of them may be bad news. Hezekiah’s actions when he received bad news should be an example to us. Can we spread out the news before our God and expect Him to work in a miraculous manner according to His will? If we spread out to Him sincerely, we can hear God reassuring us: “I have heard” (2 Kings 19:20).
