Sennacherib King of Assyria

Sennacherib

Imagine living within the city of Jerusalem during the siege of Sennacherib. (700BC) He has already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, (722BC) and many of the fortified cities of southern Judea. Talk about a panic attack! Sennacherib's armies were full of blood lust, and they loved to torture. Skinning people alive was one of their specialties, nailing the human skin to walls as warning to others who might rebel from his control.

Imagine now that you are the King of Judah, and you must decide what to do when the massive Assyrian army is outside your gates. The threats of Sennacherib as read by his general were not idol.

"Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, 'The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.' "Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?" (2Kings 18:28-35)

What would you do? Could you make a stand? In the natural it would seem suicidal. But to surrender meant deportation, slavery, and who knows what horror. Resistance however, seems to mean certain death.

Perhaps you have lived through "no win" situations? Perhaps you face extreme difficulty now. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we find ourselves at the end of ourselves, at the end of our own resources, where few if any, can understand the personal despair and fear of the choices that must be made.

King Hezekiah chose to take the written threats of Sennacherib's General and spread them out before the Lord.

"Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD . And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD , God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD , and hear; open your eyes, O LORD , and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. "It is true, O LORD , that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD , are God." (2Kings 19:14-17)

Perhaps this is a good place to spread your collection notices, the threats of others, your divorce papers, your pink slip. Perhaps you could write down the situation and offer a prayer of desperation to the Lord. God defeated the dreaded Sennacherib, and He will defeat your enemies as well. Place the results in His hands with the rest of your entire life. Be ready to change when God makes His will known. And prepare for a glorious praise and worship when you realize that the Lord God has delivered you in a truly unimaginable way. Have faith dear one and pour out your heart to the Lord.