Have you ever felt like you have clung to the Lord as never before, faithfully offered yourself to Him for His purposes? Have you taken captive wayward thoughts and pursued peace for all you are worth? Have you experienced HIS joy in you and actually begun to experience in reality His promise of the abundant life instead of just merely “making it through” each day?
Have you then found yourself totally blind-sided “out of the blue” by something that you had no warning about and wondered if you had been walking around with a Divine Target on your back that said, “Kicketh Thou Me!”
You are in good company.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 says: This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.
Hezekiah was a good, right, faithful, obedient King according to this passage.
All of this and, yet, we are told in 2 Chronicles 32:1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah.
Maybe you have done everything you know how to do to love, honor, serve and obey the Lord and yet somehow you are now inexplicably under attack. In spite of everything that you have done, how you have clung to the Lord, pursued him for all you are worth, you now find yourself a target for a “Sennacherib.”
Our Sennacheribs can come in various forms. They can come in human form 🙂 or as a series of circumstances, for instance.
Here is a mini-bible study for you that I hope can encourage you. Feel free to share your answers in the comments section if you like. We can dialog a bit about it if you want. Blogs can be interactive! Let’s do it if you want!
1. Read 2 Chronicles 32.:1-22. Make two columns. In one column list all the things that Sennacherib (and his people) did, his tactics, his motives. In the other column, list all the things that King Hezekiah did.
If you want to share your insights in a blog comment, do so by summarizing the character of Sennacherib and the character of Hezekiah. Compare and contrast the type of men each represents.
Compare and contrast their ultimate end.
2. Have you ever felt like the tactics used by Sennacherib have been used against you? Has anyone ever tried to get you to doubt what you were convinced the Lord had said to you? Has anyone ever attempted to undermine your trust in God or in godly friends? Have they attempted to demoralize you? How did you respond to these assaults?
3. For Thin Within participants, how does this story apply to your situation when you consider the earthly, wordly wisdom offered by the media, well-meaning friends and family about how to break free from ungodly eating patterns and body image compared to what God is trying to develop in your personal life? Are people trying to get you to doubt what God has said to you? Based on this passage and the example of King Hezekiah, what are some tactics you can employ to remain true to what the Lord is leading you to do?
4. WHO is it that provided (and provides) the victory?
5. Some might think, “Well, that is all well and good. But why didn’t God protect Hezekiah and the people from the attack of Sennacherib in the first place?” How would you answer this question?
How does this story and your answer to question 5 apply to your personal life and your desire to “do the impossible” in the strength the Lord offers?
6. Who (or what) is your Sennacherib? By what do you feel assaulted right now? What tactics are being employed and for what purposes? What can you do practically speaking to resist allowing your “city” to be “taken?”
7. In verse 22 we read: 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.
Journal a prayer of response to the Lord thanking him for the fact that he takes care of you even as your Sennacherib comes at you. Use the time to praise Him for all you can learn even when you have been faithful and He allows an assault from the enemy.
Hope this mini-bible study encourages you in some way to cling all the more to Your Faithful Lord and King!
Thank you for another great study. I posted my experience on my site.
Heidi, I came across your blog from another blog. I really like it. I think I’m going to use the mini-bible study. Looks great. In Him,Kaytlynn