The Bible Says Commentary on 2 Kings 19

King Hezekiah sends a delegation to Isaiah the prophet for advice and to seek the Lord’s direction of how to withstand Assyria’s superior forces.

Learning that Sennacherib had shifted from Lachish to Libnah and faced the approach of Tirhakah of Cush, the Assyrian envoy hurried back to Jerusalem and delivered a second, more desperate missive to Hezekiah. In it the emperor flaunted the ashes of conquered nations and taunted Judah’s king not to trust in Yahweh-thereby turning impending military conflict into a showdown between the living God and the counterfeit deities toppled by Assyria’s pride.

King Hezekiah humbly unfolded Sennacherib’s threatening letter in the temple, turning Assyria’s blasphemy into a prayer that exalted the LORD as the sole Creator and ruler of every kingdom. He pleaded for deliverance not merely for Judah’s survival but so the entire world would recognize that Yahweh alone is the living God.

God responds to Hezekiah’s petition through Isaiah the son of Amoz.

Yahweh promised that the Assyrian king would “not shoot an arrow there, come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege ramp” against Jerusalem, declaring He would defend the city for the honor of His name and His covenant with David. In one decisive night the angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 soldiers, driving Sennacherib back to Nineveh-where his own sons assassinated him-demonstrating that the Most High directs history and humbles every proud empire.