A call to genuine repentance and trust
June 25, 2024 - Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
In 721 BC, the Assyrian army conquered Samaria, ending the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Nearly twenty years later, in 703 BC the Assyrians came against Judah surrounding Jerusalem. According to the biblical author, it was the angel of the Lord who "struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp" (2 Kings 19:35). According to Sennacherib's accounts, "King Hezekiah paid him a large tribute, including his daughters, palace women, and male and female singers" (see Jewish Study Bible, commentary on 2 Kings 18:13-37, 762).
We can view this story from various perspectives, including trusting God in challenging situations, the power of prayer, God's sovereignty, and the downfall of the proud. Hezekiah takes the letter from Sennacherib, spreads it before the Lord in the temple, and prays for deliverance. God responds to Hezekiah’s prayer through the prophet Isaiah, assuring him that He has heard his prayer and will act. Finally, Sennacherib, the proud king of Assyria, returns home defeated and is ultimately killed by his sons.
However, we can also ask: Why did God not save Samaria from the Assyrians in 721 BC but saved Jerusalem in 701 BC? An even more perplexing question is: Why did God not save Jerusalem in 586 BC from the Babylonian conquest? The answer lies in the people's response to God’s calls for repentance. God tried to save Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel through the ministry of Amos and Hosea, but the people did not listen and were unwilling to change their way of life. In today's passage, the Lord gave the people a foretaste of His power by saving Jerusalem from the mighty Assyrians, but this miracle was also a call to repentance. If the Judeans wanted to avoid the fate of their northern counterparts, they needed to change their way of life as well.
The authors of the Books of Kings and Chronicles present Hezekiah as genuinely committed to the Lord. But from the prophetic books and the speech of the Assyrian envoy, we realize that it was not so straightforward. Hezekiah, whose father Ahaz submitted to Assyria, turned to Egypt for help. The Assyrian envoy despised "the virgin daughter of Zion" (2 Kings 19:21), but by relying on Egypt, Hezekiah repeated his father's mistake. Instead of turning to the Lord, he prepared for war, stored weapons, fortified the city walls, and ensured access to drinking water (see Isaiah 22:8-11).
Although the Assyrians did not conquer Jerusalem, and the city was spared, its inhabitants did not learn from that miracle. Instead of repenting, they turned the city and the temple into a den of robbers (see Jeremiah 7:11). Consequently, the Babylonians came and conquered Jerusalem.
While discussing themes like trusting God in challenging situations, the power of prayer, God's sovereignty, and the downfall of the proud, we should also reflect deeply on our way of life. Many of us are like Hezekiah. When our plans fail and we are in need, we turn to God. However, we often neglect genuine repentance. We desire miracles but resist changing our lifestyle. We seek God's blessings but do not want to heed His word. This approach is flawed, and many, like the people of Israel, have learned this the hard way. Let us remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with a call to repentance and trust (see Mark 1:15).