19:14 spread it before the LORD. The Lord certainly did not need to read the blasphemous letter of the Assyrian king in order to know what it contained. Nevertheless, it pleases Him when we “remind” Him of His promises and of our dependence on Him.

19:35 hundred fourscore and five thousand. A number of naturalistic explanations have been proffered in an attempt to account for this extraordinary event, but none can suffice. The sudden death of 185,000 soldiers without assistance from any human or other natural agency cannot possibly be explained except as a supernatural event. The phrase “the angel of the LORD” commonly applies to a theophany, God Himself (in the person of the pre-incarnate Christ) manifesting Himself in this capacity. He who is the Giver of all life can surely take it away. An account of Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem has been found on an Assyrian clay prism. It mentions Hezekiah but, significantly, says nothing about his own catastrophic defeat at Jerusalem. His assassination by his sons (II Kings 19:7,36-37) is mentioned in another Assyrian inscription.