When Assyria marched against Israel and threatened Judea, both the king of Israel and Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent messengers to Egypt for help, hoping to forge an alliance to defeat the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser.
What would you have done if you had been in Hezekiah’s place?
You are the King.
You do have responsibilities. Can you responsibly just sit on your hands and do nothing, expecting the Lord to deliver you?
Actually, that is precisely what God expected Hezekiah to do and you see it plainly in chapter 31. Israel’s alliance with Egypt had done nothing to stop the judgment of God against her. It would do nothing to stop the judgment of God against Judah. Because God was behind it all, Judah’s sole recourse was to place her trust in God. But even in God’s eyes, it wasn’t that simple. Trust in God didn’t mean getting on with your life and ignoring the political danger. It meant God’s people repenting of their idolatry, changing their lives to live in accordance with God’s law, AND ignoring the political danger, demonstrating a total reliance on God.