Day 173: Isaiah 36-37, 2 Kings 18:9-19:37, 2 Chronicles 32:1-23, Psalm 76

Today's readings from Isaiah, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles all tell of the same events - Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invades Judah and threatens to bring down Jerusalem. The Northern Kingdom has already been taken captive and now Assyria is knocking on the door of Jerusalem in the Southern kingdom. However, Judah has a king who has not forsaken God. Hezekiah prays to the Lord...

“It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.” (Isaiah 37:18-20)

What strikes me about this prayer is the last sentence. He's not simply praying for his own safety and comfort...he's praying that God would be glorified. He sees the bigger picture of what the nations will think of the One True God. It's not about Hezekiah...it's about God's glory. Man, I have a lot to learn about prayer.

Here's God's answer to Hezekiah's prayer:

Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (Isaiah 37:36-37)

There would be no question in anyone's mind whose victory this was. I mean Hezekiah's army didn't even lift a finger.

The account in 2 Chronicles adds an interesting observation that would be easy to overlook:

They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands. (2 Chronicles 32:19)

See, the Assyrians made the mistake of putting God in the same category as gods. Their experience of dealing with the gods of all the other nations was pretty much the same...they were worthless superstition. So when Hezekiah speaks of God it's easy to understand the Assyrians' misunderstanding. It's the same misunderstanding so many make today...even people who claim to know God. I suppose it's an interesting anthropological study to look at and compare the various religious views of the world...but there really is no comparison. It's not that we shouldn't have respect and compassion for people who believe differently than we do...that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that we dare not make the mistake of putting God in the same category as gods.

God is the one who created the people who created the gods.

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, learned the hard...

The valiant lie plundered,
   they sleep their last sleep;
not one of the warriors
   can lift his hands.
At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
   both horse and chariot lie still. (Psalm 76:5-6)