Where To Find Confidence In Uncertain Times
Where to Find Confidence in Uncertain Times
I would like you to read an amazing true story to you from 2 Chronicles 32:1-23.
“After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings[a] of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.
6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
9 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:
10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11When Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it’?
13 “Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? 14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!”
16 Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters ridiculing the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 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.
20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.
22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.“
The Jews in Jerusalem were in real trouble. Before the Babylonian empire rose to power the Assyrians were conquering one nation after another all around them, including the their brother Israelites to the north.
If you remember your Bible history after the reign of Solomon, his kingdom divided. His son Rehoboam makes some poor decisions early on and follows the poor wisdom of his young friends. Ten of the 12 tribes of Israel rebel and divide following Jeroboam who establishes the new capitol of the Israelites in Samaria, leaving only the tribes of Judah and the Levites in the south with Jerusalem as their capitol.
Unfortunately after this split, the tribes to the north in Israel gravitate towards evil practices including idolatry. As a matter of fact, not one of Israel’s kings were considered and good and holy king; everyone of them turned their back on the Lord and the covenant that was made at Sinai. So just as the Lord promised in Deuteronomy, He sent a another nation in to humble and capture them. That all took place shortly after Hezekiah became King of Judah. He saw the Assyrians quite literally sweep his fellow Jews to the north away. What few were left and survived the battles were deported and resettled in other regions of the Assyrian empire, and then Samaria was filled with foreigners from other countries to care for the land. (1 Kings 17).
So now all of a sudden the Assyrians are knocking on Judah’s front door and one could think that their lives all of a sudden became full of uncertainty.
One good thing that Judah had in its favor was the fact that Hezekiah loved the Lord, he was a good king who was God fearing, trusted in the Lord and did his best to serve Him. He had reopened the Temple and repaired it after his evil father Ahaz let it fall into disrepair. He had the priest purify the Temple and even reinstituted the Passover celebration which had also been done away with along with other celebrations to the Lord.
I personally believe that the story I read from 2 Chronicles 32 would have turned out quite different if Hezekiah and the people of Judah had not returned to the Lord before this.
Sennacherib may have believed that God had allowed him to conquer the surrounding lands, but there were two big mistake he made here.
#1. He decided to attack God’s chosen people without the Lord’s own instruction to do so. And #2, (which I believe is the biggest mistake of all), he arrogantly insults, dishonors, and make fun of God Himself.
In 2 Chronicles we simply read in verse 21 that the Lord sent and angel, who literally wipes out his fighting men. In 2 Kings 19:35-37 it gives a few more details of this event. It says, “ That night 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! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.” And in the end, own sons attack and kill him with a sword.
Today as we read these stories we get to see the beginning, the middle, and the end without experiencing or feeling the fear and uncertainty those early believers must have had to go thru.
None of us have had to fear for our life and our family’s life like those Jews did as they looked out over 180,000 warriors ready to attack and kill them.
But we do know what it’s like to live in uncertain times.
Not knowing whether you’ll have a job tomorrow.
Not knowing if our economy is going to collapse.
Not knowing what’s going to happen to you health-wise with all this cancer seemingly going ramped not to mention other diseases our there including the new Ebola threat that has now entered our borders.
Not knowing how many of our Christian rights are going to be taken from us as time goes on.
So many things to be uncertain of! But despite the potential uncertainties, I believe Hezekiah’s encouraging words to His people can and should encourages us as well. It says he “encouraged them with these words: 7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.”
We have to remember that as long as we remain faithful and true to our Lord God no one is going to harm us unless He personally allows it to happen. And if He does allow something to happen that we don’t like or understand, there is probably a pretty good reason, because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28)
Hezekiah reassured those people by letting them know that the Lord was going help them with their enemy, and that night He did.
But I also want you to take note of a few things that were important for their success:
#1. Hezekiah and his people had humbly re-dedicated their lives to the Lord and His Law. He went out of his way calling people back to the Lord. (ch. 30) He did not do what was popular, he chose to do what was right in God’s eyes.
#2. They had Faith in the Lord. I believe it was based on how God saved His people over and over before them. They did not forget or ignore Bible History.
#3. After he did all that he could do to protect the city, they Prayed. Even though Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, in verse 20 we read that he and Isaiah plunge into pray and plead their case before Him and ask God to save them from the Assyrian army. (Also see 2 Kings 19:14-19)
While in prison Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:6,7
That’s a promise.. Let me ask you this; Is there any problem that our God can’t handle?
For 11 years, Hezekiah has done everything right, but then trouble came. Now most people would say something like this “God, I don’t understand…I was doing everything right, why did you let this happen?” “God I thought if I followed you I wouldn’t have any more problems!”
Here’s what I think, Hezekiah knew: Life is uncertain, but God is not. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow. He’s got the whole world in his hands. So rather than shaking a fist at God and blaming Him or pouting that God is not playing fair or just being depressed because life was hard, Hezekiah just took what steps he could take to get right with God and fortify the city. And then he just handed the rest over to Father God to take care of.
In times of uncertainty, that’s all we can do. Make sure we are right with God, do our best to do what we can do to make the situation better, Pray, and then just put it in Father God’s hands and trust that He will take care of the problem. Can you do that? Believe me when I say, we are blessed because we have an awesome God who is going to watch out for us when we are powerless to do something on our own.
So even before a time of uncertainty or a pending crisis comes your way learn from this story. Make sure you are right with God, doing His will, and not evil like those He let Assyria conquer. Have faith in His providence and protection. Do what you can do, and then keep an open line of communication with Him, and pray that He will do take care of you.
For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566
All comments can be emailed to: bfronzek@gmail.com
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