2 Chronicles 32:1-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 32:1-22. Let’s go!
On verses 1-8: King Sennacherib of Assyria invades King Hezekiah’s nation of Judah, laying siege to various fortified cities. So Hezekiah takes several steps to prepare for battle and to make it difficult for King Sennacherib of Assyria to attack the capital city of Jerusalem:
- Hezekiah cuts off King Sennacherib’s water supply (v2-4)
- Hezekiah repairs the broken sections of Jerusalem’s walls (v5)
- Hezekiah erects new towers from which he can see Sennarcherib from far away and defend the city (v5)
- Hezekiah builds a second wall outside the first wall (v5)
- Hezekiah strengthens supporting terraces (v5)
- Hezekiah makes large numbers of weapons and shields (v5)
- Hezekiah prepares his soldiers and military officers for battle, speaking encouraging words to them and reminding them that God is on their side, while the Assyrians are merely men (v7-8).
What can we learn from this? Don’t make it easy for the enemy to attack. Don’t wait for the enemy to attack before doing something to defend yourself. Realize that attacks from the enemy will come and prepare yourself in advance for them. How do you prepare yourself in advance for Satan’s attacks? Store up God’s Word in your heart – that’s like arming yourself with new weapons to fight offensively and shields to protect yourself defensively. Pray often, both on our own and with others – that’s like building a first and second wall around your life. And don’t allow yourself to be put in unnecessarily tempting situations – that’s like cutting off the water supply from the enemy).
In addition to all this, it’s also important to be able to identify the common ways the enemy likes to attack so that you can be ready to defend. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” In verses 9 to 19 that follow, we see some of the enemy’s common attacks.
2 Chronicles 32:11 (NIV)
11 When Hezekiah says, ‘The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst.
On verses 9-11: Here King Sennacherib’s messenger tries to cast doubt on the Lord’s words spoken through Hezekiah. Likewise, the first of the enemy’s strategies is to make you question and doubt what the Lord has already spoken to you. That’s what Satan did with Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-5). That’s what Satan did with Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:3 compared to Matthew 3:16-17). And that’s what he will try to do with you too. To protect yourself against this attack, you need to know the Word of God well, store it up in your heart, and stay closely connected to Christian community.
2 Chronicles 32:12 (NIV)
12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it’?
On verse 12: Another tactic of the enemy is to distort your perception of reality, to make you believe things that are simply not true, even if it means twisting facts. Satan’s goal is to derail your faith in God and your faith in your God-given leaders, so that you end up trusting in something other than God. The better you know God’s Word and keep a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, the better you will be at discerning truth from error.
2 Chronicles 32:13-14 (NIV)
13 “Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?
14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand?
On verses 13-17: A third tactic of the enemy is to use comparison to discourage you and make you feel small, to make you think that you are not special compared to others. When attacked in this way, remember that your worth was decided at the cross where Jesus died. You are uniquely precious to God. Also, remember that Jesus is uniquely powerful. He’s not like any other founder of a religion who said a bunch of things about God and the afterlife and then died. No, only Jesus backed up His words by rising again from the grave. You don’t just worship any god. You worship Jesus, the one true God and the name above every name!
2 Chronicles 32:18-19 (NIV)
18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city.
19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world–the work of men’s hands.
On verses 18-19: A fourth tactic of the enemy is to use fear. Satan likes to terrify you and make you afraid so that you are immobilized against the enemy. When attacked in this way, remember God’s promises spoken in His Word – promises like, “I will never leave you or forsake you”, “Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world”, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?” (I haven’t included verse references to these promises because I assume you know them already. If you don’t know where to find them, it’s time to memorize these verses and their verse references!) The greatest antidote to fear is faith in God’s Word.
2 Chronicles 32:20 (NIV)
20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this.
On verse 20: King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah stand up to the enemy’s attacks by praying. Prayer is our greatest weapon against the enemy’s attacks. Prayer renews our perspective, strengthens our will, and protects us from worry and fear. When we pray, we’re depending on God more and depending on ourselves less. When we pray, we give God room to act on our behalf. Prayer is the most powerful thing you can do when you are under attack.
2 Chronicles 32:21-23 (NIV)
21 And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.
22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.
23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.
On verses 21-23: In response to Hezekiah and Isaiah’s prayers, the Lord annihilates all the fighting men and leaders of Assyria (v21), even Sennarcherib himself (v22), and delivers His people from the attack (v22). After seeing the way the Lord delivered them from Assyria, many people bring offerings to the Lord and gifts to Hezekiah. Hezekiah becomes highly regarded among the nations (v23).
What can we learn from this? Notice that God allowed Hezekiah to face a scary and difficult situation, but in the end God was writing a greater story in Hezekiah’s life. God allowed an attack that threatened to destroy Hezekiah’s kingdom, but it was all part of God’s plan to expand Hezekiah’s territory.
Maybe today you are under attack or facing difficult circumstances. You may be inclined to ask God, “God, why did You let this happen?” Remember: whenever things don’t go your way, God is writing a greater story with your life.
Also, just as the people responded to God’s great deliverance by giving offerings to God and also gifts to their leader Hezekiah, when God shows you special grace, be sure to bring a thank offering to God and appreciate the God-given leaders who prayed with you and helped you during that tough time.
Heavenly Father, thank You that You don’t leave us defenseless against the enemy’s attacks, but through Your Word You prepare us for those attacks. Thank You that You give me everything I need to stand up against the devil’s schemes. And thank You that You are faithful to defend me and that You will use whatever attacks come against me to write a greater story than anything I could write for myself. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
