Jacob Chronicles for Kids: Volume 1, Issue 34

The One Enthroned Above the Cherubim

The Verse:

2 Kings 19:14, 15 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the lord.

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, "O Lord, the God of Israel who are enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth." (NASB Version)

The Story:

Before Hezekiah became king of Judah, his father, Ahaz, reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. Ahaz was an evil king in the eyes of the Lord. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. Ahaz made sacrifices and burned incense to the false god, Baal, in the high places.

It was a time of war among the kingdoms. So Ahaz formed an alliance with Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, against Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel, which is also called Samaria.

But just as an apple sometimes falls far from the tree, Hezekiah was nothing like his father. Hezekiah became king over Judah when he was twenty-five years old. He reigned for twenty-nine years in the city of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us Hezekiah was a good king who walked in the ways of David.

Hezekiah cut down the false god, Baal, that king Ahaz raised in the high places. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord the God of Israel. The Lord was with him. And the Lord never left him.

Hezekiah watched as kingdoms all around him fell into the hands of the Assyrian army. King Sennacherib was now the king of Assyria. And the alliance between king Ahaz and king Tiglath-Pileser was broken.

Once King Sennacherib had conquered the northern kingdom and the fortified cities of Judah, his eyes were on Judah. His army was strong and vastly outnumbered Judah. 

The king of Assyria was filled with pride and boasted of his victories. Then he sent a letter to king Hezekiah by the hand of his messengers:

"Do not let the God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, 'Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.' Look! The kings of Assyria have taken all the kingdoms around you. They have destroyed them. What makes you think you will be delivered? Have the gods of the other kingdoms delivered them?"

King Hezekiah took the letter to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord God of Israel. And Hezekiah prayed:

King Sennacherib mistook Hezekiah's silence for weakness and surrounded Judah. But then the angel of the Lord came and fought King Sennacherib and his army. The angel took on one hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers and won. Defeated, King Sennacherib returned home, where he was struck down with the sword. 

King Hezekiah reigned over Judah for fifteen more years and then he died and was buried beside his forefathers.

King Hezekiah put his trust in the Lord. His weapon was prayer. And it was more powerful than all the weapons of the Assyrian army.

Don't trust in false gods, earthly alliances, or earthly kingdoms. Instead, put your trust in the Lord God who made heaven and earth.

Remember, God answered Hezekiah's prayer. And the angel of the Lord came and destroyed one hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers and won the battle. God will fight for you, too.

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