Is. 37-38
Sennacherib made the mistake of attributing his victories to his own might. At one point he rightly said that it was God who sent him against the land of Israel and Judah to destroy it. However, he then mockingly claimed that God could not save Hezekiah and Jerusalem from his hand. He put the living God in the same bucket as the man-made no-gods worshipped by others. God’s response to him was, “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins” (Is 37:26).
God reminded Sennacherib that the victories were God’s, not his. And God put Sennacherib back in his place. Not only did he not take Hezekiah or Jerusalem down, but his army was routed without anybody lifting a finger against it. Some time later his own sons killed him while he was worshipping his own no-god. Ironic.
There was also something in Hezekiah’s prayer, after the LORD healed his sickness, that caught my attention. He was thanking God for his extended life, saying that the dead do not praise God, but the living do. He said, “The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day”, and went on to say, “the father makes known to the children your faithfulness.” (Is 38:19). I find that comment interesting, in light of the fact that Hezekiah’s oldest son, Manasseh, who became king after him, was one of the wickedest kings to ever reign over Judah. If Hezekiah did indeed make God’s faithfulness known to Manasseh, it certainly didn’t take!
Rom. 5
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5:1). That statement says so much! I think about what it means to not be at peace with someone – to be an enemy, to strive with or against, to be in need of reconciliation. But Jesus overcame all of these issues. While we were God’s enemies, Christ died for us, bridging the untraversable gap between us and making reconciliation with God possible. And now, having been brought back together, we can cease striving, know that He is God, and live in unity with Him. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Rom 5:10). We have peace with God.