[0:00] I'd like us to turn this morning to 2 Chronicles chapter 32 and this passage we read from the beginning down to verse 23. In these portraits of kings that we're looking at in 2 Chronicles, we've looked at a couple of features of this portrait of Hezekiah that we find.
[0:21] And we've noticed especially in our previous two studies that Hezekiah is brought before us as a great reformer. Up to now that's been the emphasis how he came to reform the situation that he was born into really where there was massive decline away from God.
[0:39] And how he set in motion such reforms as we've looked at and how he reformed the people themselves as well but also the temple and the worship of God.
[0:49] And we missed out a bit with the Passover which was a significant feature of restoring the worship and the practices of God in Judah as well. But then we're coming to another side of Hezekiah's portrait or another feature of it at least.
[1:05] Another side to what he was like as a king. And that's Hezekiah the political leader. The leader in terms of the nation amongst the nations that were around them.
[1:17] Not only was he a great reformer but he was also a great political leader. And he led the people at this very difficult and very critical time when they were under great attack from the Assyrians.
[1:32] From the Assyrian king Sennacherib and the Assyrian Empire which was then very very strong indeed. And had taken over many of the nations as we read here round about Judah.
[1:44] And in fact had overrun Israel and the northern kingdom. And were really pressing in upon Jerusalem itself. Some of the outlying areas even of Judah. The country of Judah had also fallen to the Assyrians.
[1:58] And really it was just Jerusalem and the people in Jerusalem that were holding out against him. And what you find is that the picture you have here emphasizes again something we've seen very strongly in the previous parts of the portrait.
[2:15] That is the faithfulness of Hezekiah. Now the faithfulness of Hezekiah didn't prevent the Assyrians coming and setting up this siege.
[2:26] The faithfulness of Hezekiah didn't prevent troubles actually coming into his life. Coming into his experience. It didn't actually prevent these great threats to himself and to his people from the Assyrians.
[2:43] But the great thing is as is emphasized there as you see in the first verse. After these things and these acts of faithfulness. Sennacherib came and encamped and invaded Judah.
[2:56] The great thing is that Hezekiah brought the faithfulness that he showed before into this new situation.
[3:07] He didn't stop being faithful to God because these troubles broke out. He brought the faithfulness that he had for God for his ways into this new situation.
[3:18] And what he really said is pretty much the same as he'd always been saying. Well I have the Lord. And although this is a new situation with all of this threat from the Assyrians.
[3:29] All I need to do is just do what I've always been doing. And that's trusting in the Lord. And of course you can see how much there is in that for ourselves. In our own daily experience.
[3:41] In our own following of the Lord. That our faithfulness to God is not going to prevent troubles. It's not going to prevent things threatening us. It's not going to prevent opposition from various enemies to the gospel and to what we believe.
[3:56] The important thing is that you don't let go of your faithfulness. That you take that with you. Into that situation. Into every situation for the Lord.
[4:07] Now we have a series of contrasts you might say throughout the chapter. There's a string really of contrasts. Because obviously there's a contrast between Sennacherib the king of Assyria.
[4:18] This pagan king. And Hezekiah this faithful king of Judah. The people of God. There's a contrast secondly between the two peoples themselves.
[4:29] Because Judah represent the covenant people of God. Under their king Hezekiah. And of course against that you've got the unbelieving the pagan Assyrians. Who represent all that opposes God and his people and his teaching and his methods and his gospel.
[4:46] And thirdly you've got a contrast then. It logically follows between the gods represented by the Assyrians. And the Lord God.
[4:57] The God of Hezekiah. That's the contest between two kings and two peoples. And gods against God.
[5:08] And that's what the chapter really brings out so brilliantly in this part of the boardhead of Hezekiah. Let's look at that under two headings.
[5:19] First of all Sennacherib's ambition. His ambition is very plain. And there's a strategy behind the ambition to try and actually bring it about and complete it.
[5:30] And against that you've got Hezekiah's action. To confront and indeed to overcome the ambition of Sennacherib. The enemy of the Lord and the Lord's people.
[5:41] Hezekiah has his own action. And we'll see what that includes and how it applies to ourselves as well. Look at Sennacherib's ambition first of all. He came and invaded Judah.
[5:53] And encamped against the fortified cities. He's thinking to win them for himself. You know sometimes we come across words in the Bible which don't seem to be all that important.
[6:05] And yet when you stop over them and ask well why is that there? Why does it mention that? And what's important about that other than just saying this is really what Sennacherib was planning on doing or aiming at in those days?
[6:19] Well what it says to us is that that is what enemies of the Lord always have us their ambition. To take over the territory that belongs to God.
[6:30] Because remember that this land that Judah occupied. That the people of Judah under Hezekiah occupied. It was actually God's land.
[6:41] And God had granted it to them. As so often in the Old Testament you find from the days of Moses onwards. I am going to give you this land.
[6:52] And the Lord brought the people into the land. Conquering the Canaanites. Driving them out partially at least. And settling in that land in their tribes. This was the grant.
[7:03] This was the gift of God to these people. This was God's territory. This was marked by the Lord's name. It was the Lord's possession. And He had given it to them as a people for their inheritance.
[7:18] In other words. When you come to see an invader coming into this territory. That's marked out as the Lord's. Or it belongs to the Lord's people as God's gift.
[7:30] What you're really seeing is that here is an enemy of God. An enemy of God's people. An enemy of God's ways. An enemy in the sense that he's come to invade.
[7:41] Intending to win all of this for himself. He wants to take it all under his control. And that's the ambition of the enemies of the gospel always.
[7:56] We seek to occupy territory for God. There are various ways in which you can think of that. Whether it's in education.
[8:09] In politics. In medical things. In medical ethics. In how you deal with human life. Whether it's unborn life.
[8:20] Young life. Old life. We occupy territory for God. In the sense that. We want to actually apply. The teachings. The principles.
[8:31] Of God's word. Of God's gospel. To all of these areas of human life. To every area of human life. And it is always the strategy. And the ambition of the enemy. To come into that territory.
[8:43] To take over that territory. For himself. To apply his beliefs. And his principles. And his philosophy. Instead. Of what you and I believe in.
[8:56] Is best for human life. And human society. In accordance with the teaching of the Bible. That's what the invasion is set on. That's the ambition. Of Sennacherib. That's the ambition of.
[9:07] Every enemy of the gospel today. Especially those that are set. Deliberately. On its destruction. That's what you're facing. You're not facing.
[9:18] An enemy who's just lying back. And taking it easy. In your own personal life. As well as in our life. As a people. You're facing an enemy.
[9:29] Who if you will let him. Will just take over your life. And will take over your thinking. And will replace the thinking. That's governed by the Bible.
[9:40] By your own thinking. Or by the thinking of. Modern human beings. Or the world in which you live today. Humanistic. Secularistic.
[9:51] Atheistic. These are the forces. Represented by Sennacherib. That are today. And indeed today. Have invaded. God's territory.
[10:02] And sadly taken over so much of it. For the enemy. That's what we're facing. And in order to. Try and. Have his ambition fulfilled.
[10:14] You see in this chapter. Sennacherib's ambition. And how he tried to bring it about. Was. Especially to destroy. Moral. To destroy the morale.
[10:25] Of these people. That was really. What Sennacherib. Set out as the chief. Part of his strategy. In order to try and fulfill. His ambition. To just take it all over himself.
[10:37] For himself. And how did he try. And undermine morale. Well in two ways. Two. Very closely related ways. First of all. By undermining.
[10:47] Confidence. In Hezekiah. And then secondly. By undermining. Or trying to undermine. Confidence. In the Lord. By trying to get the people.
[10:59] To lose their confidence. In their king. And in their God. And that too. Is part of a strategy. Very much today. With yourself.
[11:09] With myself. With the church. With the situation. As we have it. Today. To undermine confidence. In Hezekiah. That's. Always been one of the main.
[11:20] Methods. Of the enemy. You remember. Paul in his writings. The number of time. Paul. Speaks. About. False brethren. About people. Who were. Out.
[11:30] To actually. Discredit him. You'll find it. Throughout his writings. That. The people. Who were. Really against Paul. One of their main ways. Of trying to. Undermine him.
[11:41] Was to destroy. His credibility. As an apostle. He's not really. An apostle at all. And even if he claimed. To be an apostle. Just look at him. He's not much to look at. He's not much to listen to. He doesn't even have.
[11:52] Great oratory. How can that person. Possibly be. A chief instrument. Of God. God. And all the way through.
[12:03] The history of the church. The enemy of God. In various guises. However. Whatever it was. Whether it's a nachherib. Or. Whatever other form.
[12:14] The enemy takes. One of the things. That you and I. Have to always be aware of. Is that he seeks. To undermine. Leadership. He seeks.
[12:26] To undermine. The leadership. Of the church. He wants you. To lose. Your confidence. In your elders. In your minister. And the people. Who lead. In that sense. That God has appointed.
[12:37] The things of the gospel. In our own locality. In the church at large. Or in the world. In which we live. To discredit. To actually bring. Something about. That makes you lose. Your confidence.
[12:48] In the leadership. That's why. We covet your prayer. So much. That's why. It's vital. That your prayers.
[12:58] Include. This is not being selfish. This is not being. In any way. Self-promoting. This is. Very much. Part of our. Preservation. And the preservation. Of the Lord's cause.
[13:10] And the advance. Of his kingdom. Brethren. As Paul put it. Pray for us. Why did he say. So much about that. To the churches. When he wrote to them. Brethren. Pray for us.
[13:20] Because he knew. That one of the chief. Methods. Of. The enemy. Seeking to. Fulfill his ambition. Was to undermine. The leadership. Brethren.
[13:33] Sisters. Pray for us. But he also wanted. To undermine. Their confidence. In God. You see.
[13:44] He said about. About Hezekiah. Has this Hezekiah. This king. You're trusting in. This leader. Is this not. The same person.
[13:55] Who actually. Tore down. The altars. Of God. You see. He's saying. Then verse 12. Has not. The same Hezekiah. Taken away. His. That's the Lord's.
[14:06] High places. And his altars. And commanded. Judah and Jerusalem. Before one altar. You shall worship. And on it. You shall burn. Your sacrifice. You see. The skill. With which.
[14:16] The enemy. Operates. What he's really saying is. Actually. Were you not. Worshipping. At all these altars. Other than the ones. Centrally. Here in Jerusalem. All these ones. Out in the country.
[14:27] That you set up. Were you not. Worshipping your God. At these altars. And isn't this Hezekiah. The one that has taken away. These altars. How can you trust him. You are worshipping God.
[14:38] Through these things. And now he's taken them. Away from you. What he didn't say. Of course. Was that. As Hezekiah. He knew. These altars. In all of these places. Were against the direct command.
[14:49] Of God. Because God had specified. You shall only have one altar. In the temple. Yes. Of course. The people.
[14:59] Had. Become. Used to the habit. Of worshipping God. And other gods. Indeed. As well. Through these altars. Scattered around the place. Things. But the enemy. The enemy. Doesn't focus in.
[15:10] On what's wrong. And what's really against God. In all of that. He presents it in a way. That's just. It's unfair of Hezekiah. Not to give you all that choice. It's unfair of him.
[15:21] To have actually cut down. Your options. As far as. The worship of God. Is concerned. He didn't actually. Of course. Say. Even though. That's not. What God himself. Commanded.
[15:33] And when it comes. To God. That's really. Pretty much. The same thing. As he says. He sent. Indeed. Messengers. With. Letters. Later on.
[15:43] As we'll see. But. Here is. The messenger. First of all. Here. That's saying. In the name of. Zanacharib. From verse 13. There. Do you not know.
[15:54] What I and my fathers. Have done. To all the peoples. Of other lands. Were the gods. Of those nations. At all. Of those lands. At all. Able to deliver.
[16:04] Their lands. Out of my hand. Who among all. The gods. Of these nations. That my fathers. Devoted to destruction. Was able. To deliver his people. From my hand. That your God.
[16:16] Should be able. To deliver you. From my hand. Now therefore. Don't let. Ezekiah. Deceive. Or mislead you. In this fact. In this fashion. Don't believe him. For no.
[16:26] God. Of any nation. Or kingdom. Has been able. To do this. And so on. And so on. In other words. If you put it.
[16:37] Into modern parlance. So now. It was really saying. To the people. Of Judah. And to Ezekiah. You've been watching. The 24 hour. News channel. Recently. What have you seen. On the 24 hour. News channel.
[16:48] You've seen. How the Assyrians. Have come. And conquered. All of these nations. And taken them over. And the gods. Of these nations. And you know. If you go to. The 2nd Kings.
[16:59] Chapters. That tell you about. Hezekiah. 2nd Kings. 18. And these chapters. Around there. You'll actually get more detail. Go back. And read that. When you get home. When you have time. And you'll see more detail.
[17:09] And he mentions. All of these nations. And these gods. That belong to them. And what he's saying to them is. That's what's been. That's what you've been seeing. In the. In the ongoing. News.
[17:20] Of the day. All of this has already happened. And it's true. You know. None of these gods. Have been able. To stand against. My master. Sanacharib. And our Assyrian gods.
[17:33] So you might as well. Just throw the towel in. And of course. He came later. To throw contempt. At God. As he puts it there.
[17:44] He wrote letters. To cast contempt. On the Lord. The God of Israel. To speak against him. And they shouted. With a loud voice. In the language of Judah. To the people of Jerusalem.
[17:54] Now there's. There's. There's things in that as well. That you could. Expand on. As part of the enemy strategy. They knew. The language of Judah. The enemy gets to know.
[18:06] How you think. The terms that you use. And one of the dangerous things. About. The enemy strategy. Is that. It's couched. In language. Or it's couched.
[18:17] In ideas. Which actually seem. To be right. And are very plausible. But actually behind them. Have his ambition. And that's what it's about. That's why you find.
[18:29] So many ideas today. That really. Present themselves. As good theology. Or. The best sort of. Philosophy. Or the best kind of things. For people to believe.
[18:40] You'll find that it's really. Got quite a number of. Biblical ideas. Mixed into it. But the mixture. Is really the enemy's.
[18:51] Ambition. Hidden from you. So that. They'll be able to take over. The territory. That belongs to God. And.
[19:02] All of these events. Were very plausible. Hezekiah. And the people. Could say. Well yes. What you're saying is true. All that territory. Has been lost.
[19:13] Yes. The Assyrians. Have taken it over. Yes. It's true. The nations. These gods. Of these other nations. Were totally impotent. Against the advance. Of the Assyrians. They weren't able.
[19:24] To help them at all. And you know. You could say today. With regard to the things. We mentioned before. In education. Look how much ground. Has been lost.
[19:35] To the enemy. Look how much the enemy. Is wanting to take over. More of that territory. In the way we teach our children. In what's taught at schools. In what is and isn't allowed. To be put to children.
[19:46] In schools. In the ways. In which. All of that. Is actually governed. Look at what's happened. In terms of politics itself. Look at what happened. In terms of the Lord's Day.
[19:57] Look at what's happened. In regards to. Human relationships. Marriage. All of these sorts of things. The enemy has invaded. So much territory. Has taken over.
[20:08] So much territory already. And what he wants you. And I. To conclude today. As you look out at that. And say. Yes you know. All of that is true. So we might as well. Just give him everything else.
[20:20] Let's just. Let's not try anymore. He's going to take it over anyway. Euthanasia's going to come in. We can't stop that.
[20:30] Parliament's going to legislate. That's what he wants you to think. And really. How many people are responding to the gospel anyway. We're witnessing to people.
[20:41] And we have a small group. Attending church services. Compared to. The many people out in our districts. And. Why really should we. We've done it so often. We're doing it so much.
[20:52] Why. Why should we go on with that. We've lost the territory anyway. And it's getting worse by the week. So. Let's just listen to what Sanacharup is saying. Let's listen to what the enemy is saying.
[21:02] Isn't he right? Let's just. Let's fold our hands. Let's just. Look after ourselves. That's what he wants you to think. That's the conclusion he wants you to come to.
[21:16] That's why secondly. Hezekiah's action. Is so incredibly important. How did Hezekiah face that threat? What were his actions?
[21:27] First of all. He strengthened his defenses. You see there. In the early part of the chapter. He focused on. The water. And the wells. And the weapons.
[21:37] Very easy to remember. All beginning with W. Water. Wells. And weapons. That's what he actually focused on. He made sure. That they had a supply of water. And that it was cut off from the Assyrians.
[21:49] Outside of the city. That's absolutely vital. If you want to maintain. People under a siege. You've got to make sure. That they've got water. You can survive.
[22:00] A lot longer without food. Than you can without water. That's the first thing. He strengthened his defenses. By looking at the water. Then the walls. He provided strengthening.
[22:12] He added some outer walls. He also made shields. In abundance. And weapons. In all of these things. Hezekiah strengthened himself. Internally as it were.
[22:24] How do you face. The invasion of an enemy today. Spiritually. How do we confront. The invasion. That's already taking place. Strengthen yourself inwardly.
[22:34] First of all. It's absolutely vital. It's then that you've really got to get. To grips with. What the Bible is teaching. That's not to say. You don't do it at other times. But it's really important then.
[22:46] Because you see. The enemy is going to throw something at you. In your own language. And unless you know your truth. Well. You're going to believe him. Instead of your God. You've got to strengthen your fellowship.
[23:03] Your unity. Your love for each other. Your life and prayer. Your reading of scripture. All of the things that.
[23:14] Spiritually are vital. To our health. Spiritually. When we see an invasion. Under way. You've got to strengthen these things. You've got to work at actually. Improving them.
[23:25] And making them stronger. And enabling you to face the enemy. By doing that. The second thing Hezekiah did. Was he taught the people.
[23:36] Where their strength lay. He did all of these things. But then he said to them. Don't be afraid or dismayed. With. Before the king of Assyria.
[23:48] All the horde. There was a vast army. Along with Sennacherib. Don't be afraid. Said Hezekiah. He spoke encouraging to the people.
[24:00] For there are more with us. Than with him. What do you make of that? The army of Israel. Wasn't that big.
[24:11] That it had. More in it. Than. The numbers that made up. The Assyrian army. We'll see in a minute. That. The intervention of the Lord.
[24:22] As you find in the second Kings episode. It gives you the numbers. It gives you the statistics. 185,000 Assyrians. Died. When the Lord's angel came.
[24:34] And struck them down. Hezekiah knew. That he didn't have. That strong. Or that big an army. To take on the Assyrians. Militarily.
[24:45] What does he mean? And more. There are more with us. Than with him. Well of course. That takes in. The Bible's description. Elsewhere. Of God. As the Lord of hosts.
[24:58] And there's a great incident. Again. In 2nd Kings chapter 6. In the days of Elisha. This time. When the Assyrians. When the Assyrians. Not the Assyrians. The Assyrians. The Assyrians.
[25:08] Were the invader. Or the threat. And there was panic. And the prophet Elisha. That great man of God. This young man.
[25:20] That was with him. As Elisha. Tried to give him. To focus. Get him to focus. Upon the reality. Of the situation. He prayed. And his prayer.
[25:31] Elisha's prayer was. Lord open the eyes. Of this young man. That he may see. And the Lord opened his eyes. Now that means. He opened his eyes.
[25:41] To see things. You don't normally see. Spiritual beings. The angels of God. That make up the armies. Of the Almighty. And it says.
[25:52] In that passage. That the young man saw. Surrounding Elisha. A huge host. Of horsemen. And chariots. The army of the Lord.
[26:04] That's what. Hezekiah means. There are more with us. Than with him. And they're still there. And they're surrounding us.
[26:14] Today. Though you can't see them. The army of the Lord. Is much superior. To the army of the invader. For your protection.
[26:28] That's still the case. But there's more than that to it. The people's strength. Lay not so much. Even in that great army of angels.
[26:38] The hosts of the Lord. It was rather in the Lord himself. With them. He says. Is an arm of flesh.
[26:49] That which is just human. Even though it might be. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands. It's still just human. And even if on your side. You've got hundreds and hundreds.
[26:59] Of thousands. Perhaps millions. Of angels. They're still created beings. And what Hezekiah says. Ultimately is. Yes. They have an arm of flesh.
[27:10] With them. But we have the Lord. Our God. You see. The enemy is trying. To undermine. Their confidence. In the leadership.
[27:21] And their confidence. In God. And Hezekiah counters it. By stressing. Where their strength lies. It's ultimately in God himself. If God leaves us.
[27:33] We're done for. Then you can give up. If God leaves you. Forget it. You'll never win the fight. But what Hezekiah is saying is.
[27:45] He's actually here. And he's on our side. And that's where our strength lies. And that's where your strength lies today. That's the great mistake. The Assyrians made.
[27:56] They were putting the Lord God. Along with all the other gods. And just this one category of gods. What they were saying was. Look at all the gods of the other nations.
[28:08] They've not been able to stand against us. Therefore your God. Because He's just one of them. It's just another variety of the gods. That people worship. Therefore He's not going to be able to stand against us also.
[28:22] Big mistake. He's not like any other god. He's not lumped together in the category of gods.
[28:33] He is the Lord God. For all the gods are idols dumb. Which blinded nations fear. But our God is the Lord.
[28:44] By whom the heavens created were. And that's who our great God is still.
[28:58] That's the mistake. Atheism. Humanism. Secularism makes. Isn't it? Listen to the likes of.
[29:10] The prominent writers amongst them. What do they do? They lump all faiths. As they call it. Together. It's just. One religious mass.
[29:22] And it's all nonsense. And it's all harmful. That's not good for you. And of course. The idea of God. To these people.
[29:33] Is a human invention. And if it's a human invention. Yes. Logically. You can see what they're getting at. When all of these human inventions. Of gods. Down through the ages.
[29:44] Have come and gone. The bales. They were overtaken by. The gods of some other nation. Then some other nation. Came along and conquered them. And their gods were put in their place.
[29:54] And so on. And so on. But you know from your bible. How foolish that is. When you come and show contempt for God.
[30:06] You're not just talking about idols. You're not talking about the invention of human hands. You're casting something in the teeth. Of the creator of the world.
[30:18] Of the judge of all the earth. Somebody might say. Looking at that situation. I would hate to have been in Hezekiah's shoes.
[30:31] Surrounded by all of those Assyrians. Who'd want to be in that situation. No. It's actually the other way about. I wouldn't like to have been in Zanacharib's shoes.
[30:47] Surrounded by the hosts of the Lord. And having taken on the Lord God. Directly. I wouldn't want to be there. As the last place.
[30:59] I would ever want to stand. In direct confrontation. Of the Lord. I am bound. To be defeated.
[31:13] He taught the people. Where their strength lay. And finally. Thirdly. Hezekiah's action. He and Isaiah prayed. That's what he's saying here.
[31:25] That. Verse 20. Hezekiah the king. And Isaiah the prophet. And as we saw last time. How invaluable Isaiah would have been. To Hezekiah in this situation. This man of God.
[31:37] Who had access to God. And to whom God revealed things. This great prophet Isaiah. He and Isaiah. They turned to pray. Because of this. They cried.
[31:48] To heaven. Now. That's really as important. As anything else in the chapter. They had done all of this.
[32:01] Strengthening inwardly. They had carried out. All of this preparation. They had gone through. All of this. Encouraging of the people. And telling them. Where their strength lay. But then they prayed.
[32:13] And along with that. They prayed. And that's how vital it is. For you. And for me as well. Yes. We have to strengthen ourselves. Inwardly. We have to build ourselves up. Spiritually.
[32:24] We have to actually. Do all of the things we've mentioned. But then you pray. Because. It's prayer. That connects you. To the superpower.
[32:35] You know. People today will tell you. These. Kind of people. That don't believe in God. And will say. Well. Praying is just. Actually. That's just a relic of. Past superstitions.
[32:45] That some people are still carrying on. Because they don't know any better. Prayer is not a relic of superstition. It's a root to God. Prayer is not a creation.
[32:55] Of superstition. Invented by human beings. As a crutch. To help them through their situations. Prayer is your connection. With the superpower. Power. Prayer is your connection.
[33:06] And if we stop believing in that. We're really in trouble. And if we stop exercising that. We're really in trouble.
[33:19] He prayed. And as we said. Second Kings gives us the statistics. The Lord sent his angel. And that same night he struck down.
[33:30] the camp of the Assyrians. The 185,000 died. You know when Sanaharib got home he escaped, he wasn't killed there and then the Assyrians had a practice of recording their exploits on these stone sort of pillars and tablets of stone that you get some of them have survived and one of them is called the Taylor Prism which is in the British Museum and the Taylor Prism is a steely or a stone tower kind of pinnacle thing and on it are inscribed the record of this campaign against Hezekiah. The details are inscribed on it and there King Sanaharib waxes eloquently about how he hemmed Hezekiah in how these people of Judah were just so compressed in siege conditions that he had achieved all of this doesn't say anything about his defeat and that's why historians who don't believe the Bible prefer to take these records that Sanaharib wrote and make that the account that's really trustworthy rather than the Bible. I prefer the book God wrote and the book God wrote tells me that the Lord's angel in one single night in one devastating action killed 180,000 of the enemies of the Lord it's not difficult to believe is it?
[35:11] you believe in God Lord Byron wrote a poem the destruction of Sanaharib I'm not sure what other meanings there were in the poem I haven't studied it but and I'm not commending Lord Byron as a person for you he wasn't a very nice person in many ways but this is what he wrote this is the last verse of that poem the destruction of Sanaharib and it's especially the words at the end I want you to notice there lay the rider these are the Assyrians of course in their destruction there lay the rider distorted and pale with the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail and the tents were all silent the banners alone the lances uplifted the trumpets unlifted the trumpets unblown and the widows of Assyria are loud in their wail and the idols are broken the temple of Baal and he says this and the might of the Gentile unsmote by the sword has melted like snow in the glance of the Lord and that's powerful it wasn't the sword that killed him it wasn't the army of Judah that killed him what killed him was the glance of the Lord the Lord looked on him with his killing glance and wiped them out that's why Hezekiah said with them is the arm of flesh but with us is the Lord and with God don't lose your confidence in God don't lose your confidence in what God still is able to do
[37:03] Son Aharab too was killed it was another 20 years before that happened he went back home and 20 years later some of his own sons killed him and it's interesting and it's significant and it's powerful that he was killed by some of his own sons while he was worshipping his own God here's the man who had challenged the Lord God and gone back home and supposed a triumph to worship his own God and for 20 years he'd been left to do that and then on this day in the act of worshipping this God this false God his son struck him down what does that tell you?
[37:44] it tells you that God answers prayer not just immediately but even if it's 20 years after it's still the prayer of Isaiah and Hezekiah that God is answering don't lose your confidence in prayer just because God doesn't answer you today or just because God doesn't answer you in the way that you think remember prayer is not governed by your timetable but by God's Sennacherib's ambition it's overcome through Hezekiah's action but it's especially thwarted by Hezekiah's God believe in your God serve your God go all out for your God because victory is on your side let's pray Lord help us to believe all that your word tells us and encourages us to believe help us to act upon it in a way that would go forth confidently in your service bless us now for Jesus' sake
[38:56] Amen Amen