Surrounded...

I read today about one of the few righteous kings of Judah, Hezekiah.  2 Kings 18 starts off with a glowing report about his zeal for the Lord and that, unlike all his predecessors, he struck down even the high places where false gods were worshiped – even the few other good kings failed to that, leaving the high places, well, in place.  It is noteworthy that Hezekiah took pains so thoroughly.

Hezekiah also ceased paying tribute to Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, which provoked him to attack.  He tried to appease the king with gold and silver - much of it from the temple - but this was not to last.  Assyria's army shows up, its leaders telling Hezekiah's advisors that they had provoked the Lord's wrath and that they were sent to implement it.  The Assyrian king’s official then addressed the people, telling them not to listen to any reassurance of the Lord's protection Hezekiah might later offer.

To Hezekiah, things must have looked very dark.  What if the Assyrians really were delivering God's punishment as they had claimed?  The Assyrians had brutally defeated nation upon nation.  Certainly, he must have added up his defenses, agonizing over his options.  The Assyrian leaders had promised certain destruction, and in the next breath, had reasonably undermined Hezekiah's influence with the people.  The equation was simple: he could not defend his people, and he was a risk of losing the allegiance of the nation.

Things were about as dark as could be imagined, in every imaginable scenario.  But he entered the house of the Lord and sent out for the advice of Isaiah, a prophet of the Lord.

With the written Assyrian ultimatum in hand, Hezekiah “spread it out before the Lord”…

…and the Lord’s answer is beautiful and His deliverance is sudden.  That night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were stricken by the angel of the Lord. Later, as predicted by Isaiah, the Assyrian king falls in treachery at the hands of Adramelech and Sharezer.

Later today, I listened to a sermon by Dr. Michael Youseff as he studied King David.  He contrasted King Saul, looking across the valley at a super-soldier named Goliath.  Saul was big, Goliath was bigger – much, much bigger.  Saul’s army was afraid.  Saul seems afraid too.  Enter: David, young shepherd who is first written off as naïve, then as proud.  You likely know what happened next…

David the shepherd had spent vast amounts of time in the fields – communing with the Creator.  He had experienced God’s deliverance firsthand in defending his flocks against a lion and a bear.  Goliath was nothing more…

The moral of the stories can be summed up in Hezekiah’s actions as he “spread it out before the Lord”.  Time with God to “spread it out” is the common thread in these stories.  So often, we (I) measure the situation in human terms and things can get pretty dark in a big hurry.  Spreading it out before the Lord, talking to Him about the situation is too often the last thing that occurs to us.  Whether you are in the thick of it like Hezekiah, or in the fields, prepare yourself for battle by calling in the ultimate in reinforcements.

Philippians 4: 6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

This concludes my sermon to myself – one that I will have to daily repeat, I am afraid.