2 CHRONICLES 32:1-33:13
ROMANS 15:23-16:9
PSALM 25:16-22
PROVERBS 20:16-18
2 Chronicles 32:13 “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?
Such confidence by the lost. We know that of course none of the false gods of all the other nations would be able to save but Hezekiah and the Israelites knew that they worship the One True God. Sennacherib's threats did not stop Hezekiah because he not only knew the greatness of God but also His faithfulness. It would be difficult for those who don't believe to understand how we can have such faith but once you experience God's greatness and faithfulness for yourself you too can stand in the confidence of who He is even in the face of trials and threats.
2 Chronicles 3220 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.
Sennacherib even went as far as ridiculing the Lord and calling Him out as being no different than the other Gods. I think that is why Hezekiah and Isaiah went to the Lord in prayer. Yes, to protect them but to also show this evil king that he doesn't know what he is talking about. To show him who their God is. And He sure did come through and show the entire Assyrian nation His power.
2 Chronicles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
I am struck by how much evil this young king did. This is not just worldly evils but he also desecrated the temple of the Lord. He committed egregious sins. We all sin and just one sin separates us from God but there are those out there that have lived evil lives and lived a life steeped in sin.
2 Chronicles 33:12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
I have known people who felt that their sin was too great to be forgiven. Who even after they turned to God and trusted their lives to Jesus they still struggled with feeling like they were unforgivable. If God was willing to forgive the evil of Manasseh when he humbled himself and prayed to the Lord, He will forgive you as well. Accept the gift of grace that He gives and know the Lord is God.
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