II Chronicles 32:14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand
Second Chronicles 32 is a prominent story. It must be significant because we find it in the Bible more than once. It is the story of Assyria coming up against Jerusalem, led by Sennacherib, who was hurling accusations and threats against Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Why did he do this? Well, sometimes we think that conquering armies are seeking money, power, or land. That may be true, but the fact of the matter is that this is human nature on display. Conquering armies have never needed more than an excuse to conquer.
Having said that, there was a certain way of thinking that was very obvious as you read the words of Sennacherib the Assyrian as he insults Hezekiah, Jerusalem, and the God of Israel. For instance, he says in II Chronicles 32:13, “Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?” What was his estimation of God based upon? It is clear that it was based upon his experience. “My fathers have conquered…I will conquer. None of the gods of other lands defended those lands and your God will not defend you.”
This goes on for five or six verses. What caught my attention was all the references to the gods of other nations and God Jehovah. It becomes very clear that he is insulting, not Hezekiah or Jerusalem, but God Himself. The concept is that there is a God and that He intervenes in the affairs of His people. Look at verses fifteen through eighteen. Again and again you find Sennacherib appealing to his experience, history, and the fact that no god that was an idol was able to stand against Assyria’s power.
Hezekiah freely admits this in another account of this story. He takes a threatening letter from Sennacherib and spreads it before the Lord as if to say, “God, this is what he said, and they have conquered all these lands. God, what are You going to do for Your people and Your name?” Verse 19 says, “And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth.” They saw Jehovah God no differently than any idol they had encountered.
That is true today. People tend to esteem God based on their experience. So, here’s a politician. He is selfishly ambitious and just wants power. In America, historically, it has been necessary for most politicians to appear to be religious, to have some kind of church affiliation. Does that politician, who certainly invokes God when it is convenient, have any real religious fervor, dependence on, or prayer to a living God? He may or may not, but his religion is largely based on his experience. If he has seen church as simply a social institution or a political power house, then he sees it as a way to either hurt or help his ascendency to power. That is basically where this leader of Assyria was, He saw that all the other gods of these lands had done nothing, and he did not anticipate that God Jehovah would do any better for Jerusalem.
So, what was the answer? It was not to roll over, play dead, and assume that God was too. Verse 20 says, “And for this cause [because this threat was basing his assumptions on his limited experience] Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.”
Now God transcends your experience. It may be that you have had a bad experience with church or perhaps you have seen people who have used the concept of God to grab power or to abuse people. But what have you ever experienced that could account for this universe? Have you experienced time, weather, or force? Have you experienced God? Whatever you think the cause for this universe, you have not experienced it. At least not as you would have if you had been here the day the earth was created. God transcends our experience.
However, there are times when we should ask God to intervene or interfere with life as we see it. In verse 21 God did just that. He sent an angel, gave His people deliverance, cut off Assyria, and caused the death of Sennacherib, who ironically was killed in the temple of his own god. An important element of this is that we should ask God to intervene.
This is most effectively done when we ask God to do so for His own sake. Sometimes I don’t know what God wants and I’m just praying based on God’s mercy, “God help me!” But many times we can ask God for His intervention based on His own name and for His own sake. Hezekiah said, “Lord, this is truth! Assyria has conquered everything in her wake. Dear God, please help!” These were God’s people, Jerusalem was God’s city, and the Assyrians were insulting God’s power.
I don’t know what you may be encountering today, but there are times when you need not some flat, static, black and white, ancient god. You need a living God, in color, alive. You need a God Who intervenes in the affairs of men, helps men, women, and children, answers their prayers, and shows Himself to be true. People tend to esteem God based on their own experience, but God transcends that experience. And, there are times when we should ask God to intervene in our lives and the experience of those around us.