Good morning, today we read 2 Chronicles 32-34. We’re just about caught up. Remember, Chronicles is a recap of everything we have studied so far. Told from a different perspective.
Just as the four different men wrote the Gospels, with different backgrounds, and for unique audiences, that is what Chronicles is.
Intimidation
Here in chapter 32, we encounter Sennacherib. You may recall from Kings, Sennacherib as brutal. He led the Assyrian army against the Babylonians and then conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.
People also knew him as innovative for restoring Nineveh and overseeing constructing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
He has his aim set on the two tribes of Judah.
Hezekiah is the king, and he is trusting in God for deliverance.
Sennacherib mocks him and tries to wear down the resolve of the guards on the walls around Jerusalem.
He asks why they think their God can protect them, when the gods of all the other nations he had conquered could not.
People make this same mistake today.
We see portrayals of gods in movies and in literature. We even read about God in the Bible, but without fully comprehending the difference.
The God of Israel is the creator of all there is. He was outside of time and space and spoke everything into existence.
When we dilute our understanding of what a god is, we come up with something like Loki, the god of mischief in Norse mythology. As the character The Hulk states in the movie “The Avengers”, he’s a puny god. (1) We end up with a reduced fear of God.
Sennacherib is attempting to win over the hearts of the Israelite guards. Replacing the fear of the Lord with a fear of himself.
Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah are crying out in the streets. They’re warning the people not to waiver.
As the troops with Sennacherib sleep, the Lord goes through their camp and slays them all. In the morning, there is nothing but death. Sennacherib rethinks his opposition to God and withdrawals.
But, the people’s hearts are already affected.
When Hezekiah dies, his son Manasseh has no problem leading the people astray. They sin worse than they had before Hezekiah. Rebuilding the idols and desecrating the temple.
In America, I have watched our morals continue to decline. I would say each generation gets worse, but I have seen some hope in the younger generations.
Unfortunately, their schools instruct them to ignore their knowledge of God.
We have made our own gods. Science, technology, wealth. These are like the gods Sennacherib had defeated. They could not protect the nations he subdued. They won’t protect us.
Youthful Mistakes
There is hope in our youth, however.
This is reminiscent of Josiah. He was only eight years old when he became king of Judah (v34:1).
Because of that, I always picture this bright-eyed child seeing the Word of God when Hilkiah finds it. This was not the case.
In verse 34:3, we read eight years had passed, which puts Josiah at sixteen, when he sought God.
Four years later, he tells them to destroy the idols, tear down the high places, crush the Asherah poles and burn the bones of the priests of Baal.
We hear about God and He works in our lives. Though we did not believe in Him before, we are seeing Him move. The reality of His existence becomes clearer to us.
It was around the time in my life I gave up smoking cigarettes and spending money on beer every day. These things had been a part of my life since I was a teenager, but I knew they didn’t belong there anymore.
I was standing in line at Walmart with a twelve-pack in the cart, knowing I need to buy a carton of Marlboros. The pastor from the church we attended walked up behind me. There was an awkwardness, followed by guilt and embarrassment.
He never said a word, or even acted like he noticed what I was buying. There was no reason to. The Lord was convicting my heart. I had been praying for financial help and realized I was wasting the resources He was providing.
I will have a drink one day a week now. The Bible teaches against drunkenness (see Gal. 5:21). Because Jesus turned water into wine in Cana in John 2:9, I don’t believe drinking is a sin in moderation.
There was a time in my life I enjoyed getting drunk. I don’t do that anymore.
Igniting a Fire
The Bible does not mention cigarettes, though it instructs us to glorify God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20). But, in that moment, I felt God say, for me, it was a sin. I had placed this habit at a level I should not have. I haven’t smoked in over twenty years.
Around that time, I started desiring the Lord. He had been my enemy, became my Savior, was now my Lord. I wanted to serve Him.
This is when I wanted to read through the Bible. I had to know every Word that it contained.
Then, for Josiah, in the eighteenth year of his reign (v34:8), he sends Shaphan and Maaseiah with Joah to repair the temple. We read they worked diligently and went from job to job (v34:13). Therefore, I am assuming some time had passed.
The Bible doesn’t specify what year Shaphan took the Book of the Law from Hilkiah (v34:15).
Josiah ruled for thirty-one years. Therefore, between the time he was twenty-six and forty-nine, he finds the Word of God. It transforms him, and he inspires the nation to turn back to God.
Therefore, I read the Bible every day. It’s why it matters that we let the whole Word of God speak to us, the way it did to Josiah.
It’s not enough to know who God is. Even the demons know that (Jam. 2:19). We should want more than God’s knowledge of us.
God wants a relationship with each of us. A relationship is a two-way situation. He hears our prayers. For us to hear His voice, we must let His Word speak to us.
Interrupting someone mid-sentence is incredibly impolite. We must hear everything He has to say.
