Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 19
The king of Assyria was preparing to bring his powerful army to Jerusalem, to destroy it. However, first he sent three of his most important army commanders to tell his demands to King Hezekiah of Judah. They told Hezekiah’s government officials to accept complete defeat and to hand over the city to Assyria. They also urged the inhabitants of Jerusalem to turn against Hezekiah. They even dared to speak proud and bold words against God. They said that God was unable to save Jerusalem from their great army.
As soon as Hezekiah’s officials reported this to him, Hezekiah tore his clothes. He saw that he must pray at once. Although he was the king, he put on sackcloth – in other words, the poorest, roughest clothes. He did this to express to God how desperate he was for God’s help. Like a poor man who must depend on the kindness of other people, Hezekiah now had to depend on the kindness of God. So, Hezekiah went to the temple, the house of God, to pray.
Hezekiah also needed other people who had a strong relationship with God to pray about this situation. In particular, he wanted the prophet (holy man) Isaiah to pray. He sent his chief government officials with the leaders of the priests to Isaiah.
In his message to Isaiah, Hezekiah told him how dangerous and terrible this situation was. If a mother is not strong enough to give birth, both her life and the life of her baby are in danger. Hezekiah had made Jerusalem strong (2 Chronicles 32:1-8), but its defences were not strong enough to save the people in it. So, Jerusalem and its people were like the mother who might die with her children.
However, Hezekiah told Isaiah that he (Hezekiah) was still trusting God. God could act in judgment against the proud words that Assyria’s king sent his commander to say. Previously, Assyria’s army had forced the people in northern and central Israel to leave their country. So, Isaiah must now pray for those people who remained in Judah (southern Israel).
Next part: God's message to Isaiah about the defeat of Assyria's king (2 Kings 19:5-7)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2025, Keith Simons.