Sennacherib's Showdown with the Living God. 2 Kings 19:1-37; Isaiah 37:1-38 How often do we need to be rescued or delivered from a crisis? How many people suffer oppression by others: domination, verbal abuse, assault, enslavement, heavy and abusive taxation, exorbitant payments and interest?How many of us suffer physical ailments, disease, or accidents? How many of us have had to face financial difficulty, extreme worry, or pressure within the home or workplace or school?God's power to rescue His people—those who genuinely trust Him—is the lesson to be learned from this chapter. King Hezekiah of Judah was facing the crisis of his life, the intimidating threat of total destruction by the Assyrian army. Surrounding the capital Jerusalem, the Assyrians were poised to conquer the city and unmercifully slaughter Hezekiah and many of his people.No matter what confronts us—disease, accident, financial difficulty, divorce, or any other trial or hardship. If we will turn to the LORD for deliverance, cry out to Him in prayer, genuinely trust Him to deliver, He will give us the power to overcome the obstacle or to walk through it victoriously.God could have used human means to wipe out the Assyrian armed forces, but here He chose a supernatural means. He chose to send out "the angel of the LORD" to smite the Assyrian army. No matter what confronts us—disease, accident, financial difficulty, divorce, or any other trial or hardship—God promises to deliver us. If we will turn to the LORD for deliverance, cry out to Him in prayer, genuinely trust Him to deliver, He will give us the power to overcome the obstacle or to walk through it victoriously. |