Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 19:9b–11, 14–21, 31–35a, 36
In 722 B.C., the Assyrian army conquered Samaria and brought the Northern Kingdom of Israel to an end.
Nearly twenty years later, in 703 B.C., the same empire came against Judah and surrounded Jerusalem.
But here the story becomes complicated.
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 own account, King Hezekiah paid him a large tribute, including his daughters, palace women, and male and female singers.
Two perspectives. One event.
Which one tells the truth?
The Books of Kings and Chronicles present Hezekiah as a king genuinely committed to the Lord.
He receives the letter from Sennacherib, takes it to the temple, spreads it before the Lord, and prays for deliverance.
God answers through the prophet Isaiah.
He has heard Hezekiah’s prayer. He will defend the city. He will save Jerusalem.
At last, it seems, there is a king like David, trusting in the Lord wholeheartedly.
But was it really so simple?
In the speech of the Assyrian envoy, we hear another side of the story.
Hezekiah had turned to Egypt for help.
Instead of turning first to the Lord, he prepared for war. He stored weapons. He strengthened the city walls. He secured access to drinking water (see Isaiah 22:8–11).
Perhaps only when Egypt’s help failed did Hezekiah finally turn to the Lord.
And then the deeper question comes:
Did the people learn?
In today’s passage, the Lord gave Judah a foretaste of His power.
Jerusalem was saved from the mighty Assyrians.
But the miracle was also a call to repentance.
If Judah wanted to avoid the fate of the Northern Kingdom, the people had to change their way of life.
But they did not.
Instead of repenting, they turned the city and the temple into a den of robbers (see Jeremiah 7:11).
And in time, the Babylonians came.
Jerusalem fell.
The temple was destroyed.
The people went into exile.
So today’s reading is not only about trusting God in danger.
It is not only about the power of prayer, the sovereignty of God, or the downfall of the proud.
It is also about the danger of wanting rescue without conversion.
Many of us are like Hezekiah.
When our plans fail, we turn to God.
When danger comes, we pray.
When all other help disappears, we ask for a miracle.
But often, we do not want repentance.
We want God’s protection, but not His word.
We want His blessing, but not His correction.
We want deliverance, but not a different life.
This is the mistake Israel and Judah learned the hard way.
And this is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ begins not only with trust, but with repentance:
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (see Mark 1:15).
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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