Isaiah 37:21-38 Deliverance
Sennacherib is on round two of trying to subdue Jerusalem. Stand still and watch God’s deliverance! It will BLOW YOU AWAY!
King Hezekiah knew exactly where to take his trouble. And he knew what to focus on; Sennacherib’s attitude towards God. I have a question here. Did Hezekiah choose this direction on God’s behalf or because he thought it was the most likely to get a favorable answer? Was he outraged for God or looking for a way to put his problem in terms that God wouldn’t refuse?
Hezekiah came PRAYING that God’s desires would line up with his needs. This is something we need to be aware of when we bring our petitions to God. Not that we are always bring God instances of someone disrespecting His name or dismissing His power. We need to examine what it is that we are asking for. Is it something that honors Him? Is it something that we can point to and share His wonders about? Is it something He has already told us He would do for us? Or is it something selfish? Something that would only benefit you and no one else? Something that you would have to keep hidden from others? Something that would hurt someone else or you? Examine your motives before coming to pray.
In our story, God’s desires did indeed line up with Hezekiah’s needs. God would show all the nations that He was NOT like the gods of the other nations. He was, is, and will always be, the ONLY TRUE God. And Sennacherib was about to learn this lesson first hand. History wasn’t enough to convince him. He needed a personal lesson.
Can you imagine being one of the VERY FEW men who woke up the morning after God moved in the camp of Assyria? Sennacherib was one of them. I would have LOVED to see the look on his face as he steps from his tent!
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Sennacherib is confused. He is used to being awakened before dawn by the sounds of his men preparing for the day. The sounds of men talking with one another. Of pots clinking as the morning meal is prepared. Sounds from the horses as they are fed and watered. Even the sounds of someone arguing over some small matter. But as he opens his eyes to morning light, his face scrunches into a frown.
“What’s wrong? How could I have slept so long? Where is my guard to waken me? Why is it so quiet?”
It’s not quiet for long. The sound of running feet draws near. Sennacherib throws off the skins that covered him in the night, grabs his dagger and gets ready to defend himself. His first thought is for his own safety, not what message may be coming on the feet that are approaching.
On the other side of the curtain of Sennacherib’s tent lies a sight NO ONE would have predicted. Soldiers dropped where they stood. Not a wound in sight but neither is there breath in their bodies. In the tents lined up for the soldiers, not a man stirs within them. The only men moving about are the ones who came off the last watch of the night. And they are terrified!
“How could this have happened? No one passed us in the night. And WHO would have had the ability to do such a thing?”
“What if it is the God of Judah? I’ve heard stories of His deeds for Israel in the past.”
“But He didn’t help Israel. We easily conquered them.”
“It has been said that they left their God for other gods. Judah is rumored to have held fast to that same God.”
“We conquered all the other towns of Judah. Why would He let us do that, yet move so decisively when we came up against their capital city?”
“Have you not heard that this city is where He has placed His name? Maybe it is for that reason He fights against us.”
“There is NO us to fight against anymore! Look around you! We are all DEAD!!!”
“What of the king?! Does he still live?”
The contingent of men run to the center of the camp where the king’s tent is pitched. This is what Sennacherib hears from the inside his tent. The men will not cross the threshold of the king’s tent without an invitation from him, so they stop just shy of his doorstep.
“O great king of Assyria, are you within?” calls out the Rabshakeh.
Sennacherib relaxes a little from his coiled stance for a moment. He isn’t sure if this is a trap but the voice is familiar to him so he answers back. “I am here. I am safe within. Where is my servant?”
“I do not for certain of the whereabouts of your personal servant, but most of the camp lies at our feet, dead.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN!” demands Sennacherib.
“As far as the eye can see, there is not a living soul within the camp, save we who have just returned from the watch and you yourself our king.”
Sennacherib rushes to the flap of his tent and pushes past it. He looks in every direction and all he can see are the bodies of his men, unmoving on the ground. Fear clutches his heart and he comes to an immediate conclusion. “This is the work of the God of Judah! I have angered Him. If I don’t leave NOW He may strike me down too!!!”
He addresses the small contingent of men still standing before him. “Hurry! Bring me a horse, ready for travel. We are leaving NOW!”
“But what about our comrades? Are we to leave them here?”
“There is nothing we can do for them now. Unless you wish to join them in their eternal slumber, we need to leave, immediately.”
“Should we pack supplies? What about your tent for the journey home?”
“LEAVE IT ALL! We have our lives. We may not even have those if we do not leave this country NOW.”
As fast as humanly possible, Sennacherib and his small contingent of soldiers make a hasty retreat for their own country. They cannot wait to be beyond the borders of Judah. They are fortunate in that they are able to gather supplies from some of their forces along their path back home.
On top of the walls of Jerusalem, the morning light brings a sight sure to bring a shout of praise to any who behold it. The dust rising behind the hooves of the horses carrying Sennacherib away from Jerusalem. And a camp with not a man alive. THIS IS TRULY the hand of God; HIS work on behalf of His children!
King Hezekiah didn’t even have to be told of this amazing work of the Lord. He had felt in his spirit the anticipation of this day. He didn’t know what God was going to do, but he KNEW it would be something beyond words!
It takes days for the dead to be disposed of and the spoils to be gathered. With the abundance gathered on this one day, there is enough to feed everyone in Jerusalem for more than a year!
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God said there would be enough that would grow from what couldn’t be gathered to feed the people for another year. Only in the third year would the abundance run dry, but not before the crops planted can be harvested. LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!
God is still moving in our world today. Not on as grand of scale as He did on that one night outside Jerusalem, but just as poignant in the lives of His people. I, alone, can count MANY times He moved on my behalf. Times where I KNEW without a shadow of a doubt that it was God who worked out the issue I was facing. From the cares of a little girl to provision beyond belief for my family. My heart SOARS when I think about all the ‘fingerprints’ He has left in my life!
THANK YOU Father God that You do move in my life as surely as You moved in the lives of Your people in today’s story. THANK YOU for letting me share those stories as a way to praise You and give You thanks for ALL You have done. I cannot even imagine the excitement and praise that went up that morning! I would LOVE to hear You tell me the story from Your vantage point someday. The smile that must have been on Your face as You watched Your children wake up and discover what You had done for them. And the laughter in Your heart as You watched Sennacherib RUN from the destruction left behind when he realized Who had done this to him! I bet he NEVER lumped You in with all the false gods again!
