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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter
Speaker 1: thirty two and we'll be reading from the Message. And
Speaker 1: then after this exemplary track record, this Sanacarib, king of Assyria,
Speaker 1: came and attacked Judah. He put the fortified cities under siege,
Speaker 1: determined to take them. When Hezekiah realized that Sanacarib's strategy
Speaker 1: was to take Jerusalem, he talked to his advisors and
Speaker 1: military leaders about eliminating all the water supplies outside the city.
Speaker 1: They thought it was a good idea. There was a
Speaker 1: great turnout of people to plug the springs and tear
Speaker 1: down the aqueduct. They said, why should the kings of
Speaker 1: Assyria march in and be firmished with running water. Hezekiah
Speaker 1: also went to work repairing every part of the city
Speaker 1: wall that was damaged, built defensive towers on it, built
Speaker 1: another wall of defense further out, and reinforced the defensive
Speaker 1: rampart the millow of the old city of David. He
Speaker 1: also built up a large store of armaments, spears and shields.
Speaker 1: He then appointed military officers to be responsible for the
Speaker 1: people and got them all together at the public square
Speaker 1: in front of the city gate. Hezekiah rallied the people, saying,
Speaker 1: be strong, take courage, don't be intimidated by the King
Speaker 1: of Assyria and his troops. There are more on our
Speaker 1: side than on their side. He only has a bunch
Speaker 1: of mere men. We have our God to help us
Speaker 1: and fight for us. Morale surged. Hezekiah's words put steel
Speaker 1: in their spines. Later on, Sanakarib, who had set up
Speaker 1: camp a few miles away at Lakish, sent messengers to Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: addressing Judah through Hezekiah a proclamation of Sanakarib, King of Assyria,
Speaker 1: You poor people, Do you think you're safe in that
Speaker 1: so called fortress of Jerusalem. You're sitting ducks. Do you
Speaker 1: think Hezekiah will save you? Don't be stupid. Hezekiah has
Speaker 1: fed you a pack of lives. When he says God
Speaker 1: will save us from the power of the King of Assyria,
Speaker 1: he's lying. You're all going to end up dead. Wasn't
Speaker 1: it Hezekiah who cleared out all the neighborhood worship shrines
Speaker 1: and told you there is only one legitimate place to worship.
Speaker 1: Do you have any idea what I and my ancestors
Speaker 1: have done to all the countries around here? Has there
Speaker 1: been a single god anywhere strong enough to stand up
Speaker 1: against me? Can you name one god among all the
Speaker 1: nations that either I or my ancestors have ravaged that
Speaker 1: so much as lifted a finger against me? So what
Speaker 1: makes you think you'll make out any better with your God?
Speaker 1: Don't let Hezekiah fool you. Don't let him get by
Speaker 1: with his bare faced lives. Don't trust him. No god
Speaker 1: of any country or kingdom ever has been one bit
Speaker 1: of help against me or my ancestors. What kind of
Speaker 1: odds does that give your God? The messengers felt free
Speaker 1: to throw in their personal comments, putting down both God
Speaker 1: and God's servant Hezekiah. Sanakarib continued to send letters insulting
Speaker 1: the God of Israel. The gods of the nations were
Speaker 1: powerless to help their people. The God of Hezekiah is
Speaker 1: no better, probably worse. The messengers would come up to
Speaker 1: the wall of Jerusalem and shout up to the people
Speaker 1: standing on the wall, shouting their propaganda in Hebrew, trying
Speaker 1: to scare them into demoralized submission. They contemptuously lump the
Speaker 1: God of Jerusalem with the handmade gods of other peoples.
Speaker 1: King Hezekiah, joined by the prophet Isaiah, son of Amos,
Speaker 1: responded by praying, calling up to Heaven. God answered by
Speaker 1: sending an angel who wiped out everyone in the Assyrian camp,
Speaker 1: both warriors and officers. Senacarib was forced to return home
Speaker 1: in disgrace, tail between his legs. When he went into
Speaker 1: the temple of his God, his own sons killed him.
Speaker 1: God saved Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem from Senacarib,
Speaker 1: King of Assyria, and everyone else, and he continued to
Speaker 1: take good care of them. People streamed into Jerusalem, bringing
Speaker 1: offerings for the worship of God and expensive presence to Hezekiah,
Speaker 1: King of Judah. All the surrounding nations were impressed Hezekiah's
Speaker 1: stock sword. Sometime later, Hezekiah became deathly sick. He prayed
Speaker 1: to God and was given a reassuring sign, but the sign,
Speaker 1: instead of making Hezekiah grateful, made him arrogant. This made
Speaker 1: God angry, and his anger spilled over on Judah and Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: But then Hezekiah and Jerusalem with him repented of his arrogance,
Speaker 1: and God withdrew his anger. While Hezekiah lived, Hezekiah ended
Speaker 1: up very wealthy and much honored. He built treasuries for
Speaker 1: all his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and valuables,
Speaker 1: barns for the grain, new wine and olive oil, stalls
Speaker 1: for his various breeds of cattle, and pens for his flocks.
Speaker 1: He founded royal cities for himself and built up huge
Speaker 1: stocks of sheep and cattle. God saw to it that
Speaker 1: he was extravagantly rich. Hezekiah was also responsible for diverting
Speaker 1: the upper outlet of the Gihan Spring and re routing
Speaker 1: the water to the west side of the city of David.
Speaker 1: Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did, but when the rulers
Speaker 1: of Babylon sent emissaries to find out about the sign
Speaker 1: from God that had taken place earlier, God left him
Speaker 1: on his own to see what he would do. He
Speaker 1: wanted to test his heart. The rest of the history
Speaker 1: of Hezekiah and his life of loyal service you can
Speaker 1: read for yourself. It's written in the vision of the
Speaker 1: prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Royal Annals of
Speaker 1: the Kings of Judah and Israel. When Hezekiah died, they
Speaker 1: buried him in the upper part of the King David Cemetery.
Speaker 1: Everyone in Judah and Jerusalem came to the funeral. He
Speaker 1: was buried in great honor. Manassa, his son, was the
Speaker 1: next king. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word,
Speaker 1: and we thank you for the privilege of being able
Speaker 1: to look at this portion of scripture today. And it's
Speaker 1: a good reminder Lord of the fact that when all
Speaker 1: seems lost, that you remain faithful, that you can defeat
Speaker 1: any human power, that you can stand up against any
Speaker 1: human obstacle, and the things that seem so impossible to
Speaker 1: us are not impossible for you. Lord. We're grateful for that.
Speaker 1: We're grateful for the new life that you've given us
Speaker 1: through faith in your son Jesus Christ. We were living
Speaker 1: as your enemies. We were distant from you, we were
Speaker 1: going our own way, and we were destined to be
Speaker 1: eternal recipients of your wrath. But in mercy and with
Speaker 1: grace you rescued us through your son Jesus Christ. You
Speaker 1: invite us to trust in Christ as our Lord, and
Speaker 1: you empower us to walk with you faithfully. Lord, we're
Speaker 1: grateful for your presence with us and for reminders like
Speaker 1: we see in this passage of scripture. We commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care, and we thank you for all
Speaker 1: of these things in Jesus's name, Amen,