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2 Kings, Chapter 17, recounts the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria because they did not wholeheartedly follow the Lord God and were ensnared in the sin of Jeroboam. The Assyrian emperor, who dominated nations, could never have foreseen why his 190,000 troops were slain overnight. He did not understand that one who wholeheartedly relies on the Lord can overcome armies.

Questions for Reflection:

From what instances can we discern Hezekiah's trust in God?

What characteristics do you think a person who wholeheartedly trusts in God would exhibit?

How can one discern if a person wholeheartedly trusts in God?

Do you believe you wholeheartedly trust in God in your daily life? Try to share your insights gained from this chapter.

God Helps Those Who Wholeheartedly Trust Him

From Chapter 1 to Chapter 18, the author of 2 Kings writes about wicked kings who did not wholeheartedly trust in God. In Chapter 19, he writes about Judah's King Hezekiah, who wholeheartedly trusted in God. This is a stark contrast, showing us what a person who wholeheartedly trusts in God should be like. Today, we must know that God is the victorious God, who created the universe. Dealing with the King of Assyria, or anything else in this world, is trivial and simple for Him. Therefore, it is a great grace and honor to know God today – a precious treasure!

Having come to know the true God who created the universe, when faced with a life-and-death situation like King Hezekiah, it depends on whether you are wholehearted or not. There is a world of difference between those who are wholehearted and those who are not. A Christian who does not wholeheartedly trust in the Lord and is double-minded is useless because the works of God are not seen in him. The foundation of our church's construction is to wholeheartedly trust in your God. Thanks be to God, our brothers and sisters in the church, from top to bottom, even the youngest, are beginning to learn the lesson of being wholehearted. Those who are wholehearted can accomplish extraordinary things because God wants those who are wholehearted.

In fact, the root of many problems in the world is a lack of wholeheartedness, such as affairs and promiscuity. Therefore, being wholehearted is very important. The wholeheartedness within a person can overcome armies, and true wholeheartedness will withstand the test of crisis. When the small city of Jerusalem was besieged by 200,000 elite soldiers, the people of the city were watching King Hezekiah. If King Hezekiah was afraid and terrified, then the people of the city would be afraid and terrified. Thank God, what King Hezekiah did at this time was the most correct choice in the face of crisis: When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the temple of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim the steward, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz (2 Kings 19:1-2). This shows King Hezekiah's humility. Because in this critical situation, there was no one to rely on but our God, humbling himself before God. In fact, God wants us to rely on Him at all times. If King Hezekiah had not chosen to rely on God but had sought the help of the Egyptians, he would have ended up with a bitter result. So, how do we learn from King Hezekiah to become a person who wholeheartedly trusts in God?

Characteristics of a Person Who Wholeheartedly Trusts in God

First, we must understand a spiritual principle: Those who humble themselves before God will surely overcome the proud. King Hezekiah knew that he could not compare with the King of Assyria in terms of strength; but in terms of humility, he absolutely surpassed the King of Assyria, because the King of Assyria was very arrogant! Today, we must learn from King Hezekiah. When we face the enemy, we must compare ourselves with them in those attributes that God delights in. If the opponent is arrogant, you humble yourself before God; if the opponent is strong, you learn to be weak, because your weakness can bring God's strength.

A person who wholeheartedly follows the Lord must first be humble. In 2 Chronicles 7:14-15, it says: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. There are several things very important here: first, these are my people, who are called by my name—you and I are both people under God's name; second, humble yourselves, pray, and seek my face—we do not need to put on sackcloth today, but are you willing to kneel down and start praying and seeking God? Since you and I are people under God's name, then in times of crisis, we should wholeheartedly trust in God.

Many of our brothers and sisters were facing crises when they first came. But we did not take you to find interpersonal relationships, nor did we use our own methods to help you solve problems, but we held your hands and knelt there to pray for you together. As a result, we saw everyone beginning to find jobs one by one, and then becoming permanent employees, overcoming the difficulties of the boss, and everyone was turning around. Therefore, brothers and sisters should not rely on human methods when encountering crises, as long as you are wholehearted, humble, and pray to seek God's face, God will surely hear you.

Third, turn from their wicked ways—what is the most deadly wickedness? It is not being wholehearted to God. If you wholeheartedly follow our God, your life will experience countless graces; but those who are double-minded should not expect to receive anything from God. The generation we are in today is a generation of being unwholehearted because the dark forces of the devil cause people to be unwholehearted. So how important is being wholehearted! A person can be humble, pray, and seek God's face, which is the beginning of being wholehearted. The quality that King Hezekiah had immediately overcame armies.

Second, we must begin to learn three do nots: First, do not compare strengths; the amount of strength is a human perspective. If King Hezekiah began to compare his strength with the King of Assyria, comparing how many soldiers he had and how many soldiers I had, I think it would be very troublesome, because the difference was too great; second, do not look at the environment. If King Hezekiah had gone to the city tower to inspect, after seeing the dense Assyrian army, he should have been frightened and sweating all over. He really did not know when the army would break through the city gate, nor did he know how to resist.

Therefore, people must not look at the environment, but must rely on faith, because the solution to the problem is not because of what we have, but because of what God has done for us. I often advise some brothers and sisters not to look at the environment, but to trust in God. If you see piles of work, you will be overwhelmed by the work; if you see the Almighty God, you can get wisdom from God—God is the best engineer, scientist, designer, accountant... As long as you can get 0.01% of wisdom from God, you will become a very remarkable person.

Third, do not listen to the words of the enemy. In times of crisis, what the devil and the enemy like to release most is lies and deception. It likes to put terrible facts before us (see 2 Kings 18:19-35), trying to make us despair, so as to obey its words and surrender. But today you and I worship the true God who created the universe. Even if we are facing the scene of imminent destruction, God will reverse us through our faith! Even armies will be completely destroyed by God overnight! Therefore, we must not be soft-hearted or retreat.

In fact, there are many such stories in the Bible. For example, Jacob (see Genesis 34), his sons killed all the men in Shechem's house and that city. As a result, those cities that had signed a defense alliance agreement with the Shechemites were going to kill Jacob. If viewed from a human logic, Jacob's family must be finished, because he and his twelve sons could not stop the people of several cities at all. But the Bible says this: God instructed Jacob to go up to Bethel. Jacob removed the idols from his house and began to draw near to God, building an altar and praying there. Then the people of the surrounding cities who originally wanted to kill Jacob suddenly became afraid and did not chase him (see Genesis 35:1-5). Why is this? Because Jacob drew near to God and prayed to God, so God made those people fear Jacob. We must also have this faith, wholeheartedly listen to God's voice, instead of being half-hearted, and listen to the words of the devil and the enemy.

Third, it is necessary to start learning to be close to people of faith, which is very important. Why did King Hezekiah go to the great prophet Isaiah at the moment of life and death? Because going to people with great faith will build up one's own faith; going to people with little faith will corrupt one's original faith. People of faith can release the word of God. The prophet Isaiah said: This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—the words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword (2 Kings 19:6-7). These words are well said, God causes your enemies to fall under the sword!

Some brothers and sisters often come to me when they encounter difficulties. I usually say to everyone simply: I don't want to give you any ideas, but I want to tell you that you must have the faith to die for it, because our God can definitely lead you out! Thank God, after everyone listened to my words, their faith was lifted up, and then they all came out of their difficulties! I also often say when I pray for everyone: I have a feeling that God will surely make you victorious. In fact, this feeling is not mine, it is the promise in the Bible, because God's will is to make people victorious! Wholeheartedly trusting in God is the answer to solving all the problems in our lives, so we must begin to learn from King Hezekiah, identify the path of wholeheartedly trusting in God, and constantly be close to those who have faith. Don't be afraid of your boss, your work, God can deal with the King of Assyria and armies, can't he still deal with those problems you face in life? Later, I found that those who are not afraid among us live very well.

Fourth, is prayer. The prophet Isaiah said: The Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.(2 Kings 19:20) This is God's response to King Hezekiah's prayer. In fact, the grace that is revealed in the entire Bible is that God hears our prayers. God says very clearly: if you humble yourselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from your evil ways, I will hear your prayer. It is also because God is a prayer-hearing God that we have established a prayer church, and then we triumph in prayer, trample on the devil and the enemy, and everyone begins to enter into a blessed day. However, some people have time to wait for death but no time to pray, and have time to endure the pain but no time to pray, which I think is a great pity.

Brothers and sisters, it is a great grace for us to be able to pray! If I had not trusted in God or prayed more than 20 years ago, I don't know what I would be like today. Thank the Lord! It is because he is a God who hears prayers that I have received so much grace, so I must lead everyone to walk the path of prayer. Why do I oppose some brothers and sisters listening to sermons online? Because God never said: If you humbly listen to sermons and seek my face, I will listen to you listening to sermons. Correct? Do not be sermon listeners, be prayer people!

When brothers and sisters are facing very difficult situations, learn from King Hezekiah's wholehearted prayer, do not think wildly, and start to walk the path of faith. Because what you think in your heart, God will accomplish it for you. If you believe, God will open up a path for you in front of you, what a grace! Isaiah then said: Virgin Daughter Zion despises you (2 Kings 19:21). This is very good! It means that those who trust in God, even if they are as weak as a virgin, can trample on the devil's army. Even if you have never held a knife, sword, or gun like a virgin, don't be afraid. Because you are a prayer person, you can trample on the devil's army! Our God is the Lord of hosts, and all the power in heaven and on earth cannot compare with his ability, so your victory is not based on your muscles, but on the almighty God!

Isaiah continued: Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in haughtiness? Against the Holy One of Israel! (2 Kings 19:22)! Do you believe it? The devil attacks you and me, which is attacking God. But if we do not follow King Hezekiah, do not wholeheartedly follow God, are half-hearted all day long, and compare strengths all day long, the devil will attack you.

Everyone must know a simple truth: if your faith collapses, your world will collapse; if your faith stands up, the world will be trampled under your feet. Therefore, pray and be close to people of faith, so that you can hear God's words to you, and then your faith will be rebuilt. Thank God, in English, faith is just a singular word. It does not add an s after faith—faiths. Everyone must learn to believe simply, and do not think too much. Because thinking is not the way to solve problems, faith is the key to solving problems. When we have faith in God, God begins to solve our problems.

It goes on to say: Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on a roof, scorched before it grows up. “But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me.(2 Kings 19:25-27) These words refer to the King of Assyria. In the eyes of men, the King of Assyria was the most powerful man in the world at that time, and Assyria was the country with the strongest military equipment - but, he was just a tool in God's hands. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of him at all. Because you and I are the people of God, if a tool despises us and boasts of its arrogance, then it is despising God, and God will surely judge it.

Days of Peace Begin with Wholehearted Trust in God

Let us examine ourselves now. Are we those who wholeheartedly trust in God? If you are someone who wholeheartedly trusts in God, you must often be humble, pray, and seek God’s face. You must not compare strengths, look at circumstances, or listen to the words of the enemy. You must always be close to those who have faith. You must be someone who prays with faith. Then, you will live a peaceful life: This shall be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. (2 Kings 19:29). A comfortable life begins with wholeheartedly trusting in God! If a person does not wholeheartedly follow God, it will be too difficult to live a peaceful life. Because the devil, the enemy, surrounds you like the Assyrian army, and you have no plan to retreat! Was the Assyrian army defeated by King Hezekiah of Judah? No, God himself sent his angel to destroy them. Sometimes, after you pray continuously, you will find that the problem you face has disappeared. This is not because you are lucky, but because God has solved your problem.

Therefore, to this day, I still serve with a grateful heart. If I had not trusted in God, I do not know how many disasters I would have experienced in these past twenty years! Everyone must understand that you are alive not because you have a good job or a good salary, but because you have begun to trust in God. The days when we did not trust in God were really difficult! Now that we trust in God, wouldn't it be a foolish act not to wholeheartedly follow Him? Such people are like those of Jeroboam. The Bible clearly states that whoever walks the path of Jeroboam will perish. Conversely, whoever imitates Hezekiah or David will surely walk a prosperous path.

Someone forwarded a passage online that I found very strange after reading it. It roughly said: believing in the Lord does not necessarily make you rich, but something something. Why can't believing in the Lord make you rich? Is God not a rich God? Our thoughts and intentions are very important because God will fulfill our future according to our faith! I want to live a prosperous life. I am willing to wholeheartedly follow the Lord my God forever. Because He is the answer to all my problems in life, He is my wealth, He is my healer, He is my banner of victory, He is my everything, how wonderful! I advise everyone not to search for these things randomly online. Do not think that these words are from Christians; they are lies from the devil! From today onwards, let us often declare in the name of Jesus that I will surely become a prosperous person, Amen!

Grasp God’s Promises, Those Who Trust in Him Will Never Be Put to Shame

Finally, there is one most important thing, which is God's faithfulness. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. (2 Kings 19:34). What does it mean for God's own sake? It means that God will surely fulfill what He has said! Our God never goes back on His word, and those who trust in Him will never be put to shame. God's name will never be taken lightly, so God will save you for His own sake!

What does for the sake of my servant David mean? It refers to those who imitate David in everything. If you and I are willing to be like David, then God will save this city for your and my sake. There are tens of thousands of people in the city of Jerusalem, and there are many who do not wholeheartedly trust in God. But as long as there is a king like Hezekiah who is willing to imitate David, God will surely protect and save this city! If you are the head of your household, you must firmly grasp God and wholeheartedly trust in Him, and God will save your family for your sake.

With God, what else do we fear? As a result, the next day, 185,000 Assyrians were killed by God's angel. I was thinking that King Hezekiah also had a big problem, which was how to bury these 185,000 bodies. Perhaps we will face the same problem in the future, but this is a good problem! Burying the bodies of our enemies, isn't that a good problem? Because God has given us victory, allowing us who were supposed to die to live!

Scripture

2Ki 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and entered the temple of the LORD.
2Ki 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
2Ki 19:3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
2Ki 19:4 Perhaps 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 he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
2Ki 19:5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah,
2Ki 19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
2Ki 19:7 Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
2Ki 19:8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
2Ki 19:9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king, was coming out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word:
2Ki 19:10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’
2Ki 19:11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?
2Ki 19:12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar?
2Ki 19:13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”
2Ki 19:14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
2Ki 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
2Ki 19:16 Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
2Ki 19:17 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.
2Ki 19:18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.
2Ki 19:19 Now, LORD our God, I beg you, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God.”
2Ki 19:20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
2Ki 19:21 This is the word the LORD has spoken against him: “ ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee.
2Ki 19:22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
2Ki 19:23 By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, “With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest heights, the finest of its forests.
2Ki 19:24 I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk water there; with the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
2Ki 19:25 “ ‘Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone.
2Ki 19:26 Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on a roof, scorched before it grows up.
2Ki 19:27 “ ‘But I know where you sit and when you come and go and how you rage against me.
2Ki 19:28 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.’
2Ki 19:29 “This will be the sign for you: “ ‘This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
2Ki 19:30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.
2Ki 19:31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.’ “The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
2Ki 19:32 “Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: “ ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.
2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the LORD.’
2Ki 19:34 “I will defend this city and save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
2Ki 19:35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!
2Ki 19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
2Ki 19:37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer murdered him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.