Sermon Notes + 5.10.2026
SERMON NOTES
She Wags Her Head Behind You
2 Kings 19
Dr. Tony Chute, Lead Pastor
Overview: The Rabshakeh continues to taunt the people of God on behalf of the king of Assyria by pointing to recent victories over other nations. His strategy of wearing them down through repetition and breaking their will by reducing Yahweh to just another territorial god misses its mark as Hezekiah turns to the Lord in prayer. Hezekiah acknowledges that Yahweh alone is God, and he calls upon the Lord to defend His name. The Lord hears the prayer of Hezekiah and assures him that Sennacherib’s plans will not come to pass because the Lord has raised him up and the Lord will cause him to fall. God promises to protect and provide for His people, a promise that is further fulfilled when the Assyrian armies depart, and the sons of Sennacherib strike him down with the sword. The fear that once gripped Hezekiah and the people of Judah no longer has a hold on them, thus giving them the right to wag their heads behind a once formidable enemy.
01. Our confidence in the Lord is rooted in the fact that there is no other God but God.
02. Our hope in the Lord stems from the fact that He promises to defend His own.
03. Our strength in the Lord comes from the fact that He is the sovereign Lord over all.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & DISCOVERY
1. What is Hezekiah’s initial reaction to the threats of the Rabshakeh (2 Kings 19:1-3)? At what point in the text does his attitude begin to shift from fear to faith? At what points in your life have you experienced genuine fear that was ultimately followed by the peace of God? What changed to make this happen?
2. Note how the Rabshakeh continues to badger the people of God in 2 Kings 19:8-13. What arguments does he now employ in order to cause them to lose their faith? Do you find yourself eventually giving in to fear or doubt or temptation when there seems to be little evidence of God’s grace toward you?
3. Read Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Kings 19:14-20 in full. What points of his prayer stand out to you? What points of his prayer can you incorporate into your own prayer life as you pray for yourself, others, our church, and our nation?
4. What application points from the message stand out to you? Are you confident in the Lord because there is no other God but God? Are you confident that the Lord will defend His own even when the world seems to have the upper hand? In what way is God’s sovereignty evident in this text, and how does it speak to Him having the final word over all history?
5. What do you make of the imagery of the daughter of Jerusalem wagging her head behind a once formidable enemy (v. 21)? Is swagger toward the world, the flesh, and the devil ever appropriate for the people of God? Pray that the Lord will increase our confidence in Him so we will not give in to the taunts of those who despise the Lord and His church.
For Further Reading: John Feinberg, No One Like Him (Crossway, 2006)