2 Chronicles 32:1–19

Read the passage.

Hezekiah’s reign was not all sunshine and roses, of course. After Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, Sennacherib its king saw no reason to stop there. As the Assyrians start their campaign through northern Judah, Hezekiah has the people prepare for the siege that will eventually come to Jerusalem. Walls are repaired and built up, water sources outside the city are blocked, and weapons and shields are forged. Because Hezekiah has been faithful to the Lord, he encourages his people by reminding them of the promises the Lord had made to protect His people. The people’s faith in the Lord had been renewed by the reopening of the temple and the Passover celebrations in previous years, so they believed their king’s words.

While Sennacherib is still besieging Lachish in northern Judah, he sends envoys to Jerusalem for some psychological warfare. The envoy addresses the people defending the walls, saying that the Lord has abandoned them because of the policies of their king to remove all the altars and high places from the land, leaving only the one altar in the temple for sacrifice. In a pagan, polytheistic system, that kind of thinking makes sense. The gods of the people would want more and more honor and sacrifice from their worshippers, so it was normal to have shrines, altars, and idols all over the place dedicated to them. The envoy also presents the Assyrian gods’ credentials by reminding the people of Jerusalem of all the military victories they have provided by conquering the gods of other nations. Again, if limited, regional gods were a real thing, that would make sense. Verse 20 makes this explicit: “they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.”

Because of the Assyrians’ worldview, they believed in Yahweh, but only as the “god” of Judah, not as the Almighty God of heaven and earth. It’s the same kind of respect afforded to heads of foreign nations, which won’t be very much when you’re at war with that nation. The lesson here is to remember if someone sees the world in a different way, they will say different things are true. Even when evidence goes against someone’s worldview, they are probably more apt to rationalize what they already believe rather than change their mind.

You are the ultimate source of all truth, and only You can reveal it to our sinful hearts.