In the Old Testament, particularly in the Book of 2 Chronicles, there reads of a King of Judea named...Hezekiah.....
Hezekiah is recorded as one of the good kings of Judah, and although he had his ups and downs in life, he did do some extraordinary things.
He had witnessed some rough things going on in his region, including the destruction of many cities in the northern kingdom of Israel...by the hated Assyrians.
As a result, even though Israel had split into two separate countries, there were certain times they still tried to watch out for "each other's back".
The word "confidence"....is described as " a certainty or a knowing consciousness that one's abilities and powers can overtake any situation you might be facing."
That's how Hezekiah perceived the God of Israel to be...the True God that could be trusted regardless of circumstances he might face. In fact, King Hezekiah is regarded in history as one of the best of the Old Testament kings that came from Judah.
When Hezekiah became King of Judah, he restored the faith of the Jewish people, returning to the Law of Moses and abolishing idolatry that had risen up through the area.
The meaning of the name Hezekiah itself is "to strengthen, to fortify, to hold on and seize, to gather one's strength, or to take courage"....and Hezekiah lived up to the very meaning of his name.
Hezekiah's commitment to following and adhering to the true God of Israel had built confidence within himself to the point he would encourage and strengthen his people to do likewise.
Like many of us today, we are not all in an environment facing a war in our neighborhoods when we step outside our homes....yet there are many of us that are facing personal and war-like battles...that simply seem too impossible to defeat or overcome.
We need confidence...pure and simple. Perhaps, just as King Hezekiah encouraged his people centuries ago, we might take a moment and listen to the words he spoke...and find encouragement as well.
In chapter 32 of II Chronicles...the setting had been set. The Kings of Assyria had taken over control of both Israel and Judah. To keep things from getting "really ugly", both Israel and Judah had to pay taxes to Assyria to keep things in a "peaceful state".
Sargon II, a king of Assyria had passed away in 705 B.C. King Hezekiah of Judah then decided..."we have more than paid enough taxes"...so he stopped paying any tax...to the Assyrians.
4 years after the death of Sargon II of Assyria, Sennacherib, the son of Sargon II and the current King of Assyria, made " a visit" to the area...in 701 B.C. King Sennacherib and his Assyrian army were able to capture many of the strong cities in Judah...and now he turned his attention to...Jerusalem. Hezekiah initially agreed to pay Sennacherib 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold...to get King Sennacherib and his army to "back-off". But...King Sennacherib decided...that wasn't good enough. King Hezekiah of Judea, who was residing in Jerusalem then thought: "If you think you are going to take down Jerusalem....you won't have any water supply to this city to refresh and strengthen yourself and your army......"
A Gleaning from 2 Chronicles 32: 2-8
" When King Hezekiah soon realized King Sennacherib of Assyria only intent was to attack and capture Jerusalem, he then consulted with the city officials and military advisers as to their next plan of action. It was here the decision was made to shut off the flow of running water that came into the city of Jerusalem.
The people of Jerusalem supported the decision made saying: " Why should the Assyrians come and take Jerusalem only to have plenty of water supply to refresh and strengthen themselves?"
Along with this, King Hezekiah gathered his courage from the Lord and repaired broken down sections of the city walls. They added towers on these newly fortified walls and built another wall alongside the walls that had been repaired.
The people of Jerusalem reinforced the terrace areas in the City of David section of Jerusalem and made sure the landfill areas were also fortified.
Along with all this construction, King Hezekiah and his counsel had weapons and shields made...in abundance.
Then, King Hezekiah appointed military leaders....captains of war...over the people of Jerusalem, and gathered them all together for a meeting at the public square in front of the main city gate. It is at this moment King Hezekiah shows "his true self" by the following encouraging words: " Listen, this is a time for us to be strong...and courageous! Don't let the invading armies of Assyria intimidate or discourage you, and don't let your fears get the best of you! Here is why: There is Another...who is greater than all of us....greater than all the plans we could ever make...and greater than any army that chooses to come against us...including this mighty Assyrian army! This Assyrian army is only...a vast amount of men...but keep in mind...they are merely men. We have the support of a much Greater One...the Lord God Himself!...and He has given His oath to help and protect us...He will be our True Leader and fight our battles for us! This Assyrian army can only depend...on their human power. We, on the other hand...have a much greater power....the One who Rises Above the Cliffs...and takes on our adversaries....for us!"
As a result, the words of King Hezekiah were embraced by his people...into their very hearts...and their morale surged."
Conclusion
So, what happened?
King Sennacherib of Assyria heard about these "encouraging words" of King Hezekiah, and sent some of his own messengers to announce words he wanted the people of Jerusalem to hear...he even had them translated and spoken in the native tongue of the Jewish people...Hebrew...so there would be no misunderstanding as to what King Sennacherib of Assyria wanted to say. His messages included the following"
" King Hezekiah was wrong for tearing down all your "neighborhood gods", now I am here to seek vengeance for his actions."
" There has not been even one...god ...who could stand up against us...Do you really think your God...has a chance?"
" Is this what you really want...to be destroyed and we can tell our children when they ask us...and what is that "notch in your belt " for?"
After the onslaught of verbal threats and abuses spoken by King Sennacherub of Assyria had been sent...verse 20 is where it all happened. It reads that King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, after listening to all these threats.....responded....but NOT to the messages they received from the king of Assyria...instead...they responded by praying and seeking for God's help. They ignored what they had heard...and perhaps what their eyes were telling them...and went to the Lord. This seems to be a key when "life is up against us".
And then what happened?
The Scriptures state the Lord God of Israel sent....one angel...one angel...and when King Sennacherib of Assyria looked out across his vast army....they were dead...all of them...every Assyrian soldier and their commanders. "Game Over"!
Hardships are a part of life...yet it is not the hardships that determine who we are...it's who we put our confidence in when the hard times are here. Our confidence, our courage, and our trust...is to come from spending time with Him. Don't respond to the negative and evil thoughts and threats that often generate in our own minds...and don't let the worries of life...keep you from going to "The One who Rises Above the Cliffs".
OH...and what happened to King Sennacherib, the King of Assyria? Well, he returned to his home...totally ashamed. He never did get the opportunity to tell his kids of his military accomplishments...for one day while the king was worshipping one of his "no-name' gods, this one was called Nishroch...two of his sons decided to kill their father. And that was the end of King Sennacherib.
Hezekiah is recorded as one of the good kings of Judah, and although he had his ups and downs in life, he did do some extraordinary things.
He had witnessed some rough things going on in his region, including the destruction of many cities in the northern kingdom of Israel...by the hated Assyrians.
As a result, even though Israel had split into two separate countries, there were certain times they still tried to watch out for "each other's back".
The word "confidence"....is described as " a certainty or a knowing consciousness that one's abilities and powers can overtake any situation you might be facing."
That's how Hezekiah perceived the God of Israel to be...the True God that could be trusted regardless of circumstances he might face. In fact, King Hezekiah is regarded in history as one of the best of the Old Testament kings that came from Judah.
When Hezekiah became King of Judah, he restored the faith of the Jewish people, returning to the Law of Moses and abolishing idolatry that had risen up through the area.
The meaning of the name Hezekiah itself is "to strengthen, to fortify, to hold on and seize, to gather one's strength, or to take courage"....and Hezekiah lived up to the very meaning of his name.
Hezekiah's commitment to following and adhering to the true God of Israel had built confidence within himself to the point he would encourage and strengthen his people to do likewise.
Like many of us today, we are not all in an environment facing a war in our neighborhoods when we step outside our homes....yet there are many of us that are facing personal and war-like battles...that simply seem too impossible to defeat or overcome.
We need confidence...pure and simple. Perhaps, just as King Hezekiah encouraged his people centuries ago, we might take a moment and listen to the words he spoke...and find encouragement as well.
In chapter 32 of II Chronicles...the setting had been set. The Kings of Assyria had taken over control of both Israel and Judah. To keep things from getting "really ugly", both Israel and Judah had to pay taxes to Assyria to keep things in a "peaceful state".
Sargon II, a king of Assyria had passed away in 705 B.C. King Hezekiah of Judah then decided..."we have more than paid enough taxes"...so he stopped paying any tax...to the Assyrians.
4 years after the death of Sargon II of Assyria, Sennacherib, the son of Sargon II and the current King of Assyria, made " a visit" to the area...in 701 B.C. King Sennacherib and his Assyrian army were able to capture many of the strong cities in Judah...and now he turned his attention to...Jerusalem. Hezekiah initially agreed to pay Sennacherib 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold...to get King Sennacherib and his army to "back-off". But...King Sennacherib decided...that wasn't good enough. King Hezekiah of Judea, who was residing in Jerusalem then thought: "If you think you are going to take down Jerusalem....you won't have any water supply to this city to refresh and strengthen yourself and your army......"
A Gleaning from 2 Chronicles 32: 2-8
" When King Hezekiah soon realized King Sennacherib of Assyria only intent was to attack and capture Jerusalem, he then consulted with the city officials and military advisers as to their next plan of action. It was here the decision was made to shut off the flow of running water that came into the city of Jerusalem.
The people of Jerusalem supported the decision made saying: " Why should the Assyrians come and take Jerusalem only to have plenty of water supply to refresh and strengthen themselves?"
Along with this, King Hezekiah gathered his courage from the Lord and repaired broken down sections of the city walls. They added towers on these newly fortified walls and built another wall alongside the walls that had been repaired.
Along with all this construction, King Hezekiah and his counsel had weapons and shields made...in abundance.
Then, King Hezekiah appointed military leaders....captains of war...over the people of Jerusalem, and gathered them all together for a meeting at the public square in front of the main city gate. It is at this moment King Hezekiah shows "his true self" by the following encouraging words: " Listen, this is a time for us to be strong...and courageous! Don't let the invading armies of Assyria intimidate or discourage you, and don't let your fears get the best of you! Here is why: There is Another...who is greater than all of us....greater than all the plans we could ever make...and greater than any army that chooses to come against us...including this mighty Assyrian army! This Assyrian army is only...a vast amount of men...but keep in mind...they are merely men. We have the support of a much Greater One...the Lord God Himself!...and He has given His oath to help and protect us...He will be our True Leader and fight our battles for us! This Assyrian army can only depend...on their human power. We, on the other hand...have a much greater power....the One who Rises Above the Cliffs...and takes on our adversaries....for us!"
As a result, the words of King Hezekiah were embraced by his people...into their very hearts...and their morale surged."
Conclusion
So, what happened?
King Sennacherib of Assyria heard about these "encouraging words" of King Hezekiah, and sent some of his own messengers to announce words he wanted the people of Jerusalem to hear...he even had them translated and spoken in the native tongue of the Jewish people...Hebrew...so there would be no misunderstanding as to what King Sennacherib of Assyria wanted to say. His messages included the following"
" King Hezekiah was wrong for tearing down all your "neighborhood gods", now I am here to seek vengeance for his actions."
" There has not been even one...god ...who could stand up against us...Do you really think your God...has a chance?"
" Is this what you really want...to be destroyed and we can tell our children when they ask us...and what is that "notch in your belt " for?"
After the onslaught of verbal threats and abuses spoken by King Sennacherub of Assyria had been sent...verse 20 is where it all happened. It reads that King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, after listening to all these threats.....responded....but NOT to the messages they received from the king of Assyria...instead...they responded by praying and seeking for God's help. They ignored what they had heard...and perhaps what their eyes were telling them...and went to the Lord. This seems to be a key when "life is up against us".
And then what happened?
The Scriptures state the Lord God of Israel sent....one angel...one angel...and when King Sennacherib of Assyria looked out across his vast army....they were dead...all of them...every Assyrian soldier and their commanders. "Game Over"!
Hardships are a part of life...yet it is not the hardships that determine who we are...it's who we put our confidence in when the hard times are here. Our confidence, our courage, and our trust...is to come from spending time with Him. Don't respond to the negative and evil thoughts and threats that often generate in our own minds...and don't let the worries of life...keep you from going to "The One who Rises Above the Cliffs".
OH...and what happened to King Sennacherib, the King of Assyria? Well, he returned to his home...totally ashamed. He never did get the opportunity to tell his kids of his military accomplishments...for one day while the king was worshipping one of his "no-name' gods, this one was called Nishroch...two of his sons decided to kill their father. And that was the end of King Sennacherib.
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