6/12/2011 7:28:22 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus:
Hezekiah
the commander Part 1
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 2Chronicles 32:1-8
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and
invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them
for himself. 2 Now when Hezekiah saw
that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, 3 he decided with his officers and his warriors
to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city,
and they helped him. 4 So many people
assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through
the region, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find
abundant water?" 5 And he took
courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers
on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of
David, and made weapons and shields in great number. 6 He appointed military officers over the
people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke
encouragingly to them, saying, 7
"Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the
king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with
us is greater than the one with him. 8
"With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God
to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words
of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
“After
these acts of faithfulness,” is recorded in the first verse of 2Chronicles 32,
but what acts of faithfulness does this refer to? Hezekiah had just helped to bring about a
revival in Judah by consecrating the priests, the Levites and also the temple
so that the worship would be able to begin again. Yes Hezekiah had made some mistakes, but he
was humble enough to confess them to the Lord and now it seems that the Lord
brings this trouble to Hezekiah and to this revived people of Judah. Alexander Maclaren writes the following on
this subject, “It is the standing puzzle of the Old Testament how good men come
to be troubled and how bad men come to be prosperous.” I suppose that this is also true of the
people under the New Covenant. Dr.
Wiersbe writes the following to help explain what God seemed to be doing in
Hezekiah’s life: “But God had His divine
purposes to fulfill in Hezekiah’s life and in the life of the nation. It was an easy thing for God to send an angel
to destroy 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, but it was much more difficult to work
with King Hezekiah and transform him into a man of faith. When we allow God to have His way, the trials
of life work for us and not against us, and they bring great glory
to the Lord. The king needed to learn
that he was second in command (see Joshua 5:13-18) and that the Lord alone was
sovereign.”
Today’s
SD begins the second main point in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary “Be Distinct” and there
are three sub-points under this second main point. The first sub-point is entitled “The
preparation,” and that is what this SD will cover.
Hezekiah
prepared for the upcoming battle with the Assyrians by stopping up the water on
the outside of Jerusalem so that the Assyrians would not have any water to
drink. Hezekiah had already made an
underground stream to come into the city of Jerusalem so that the people of
Jerusalem would have water to drink.
That tunnel is still in the city of Jerusalem to this day and many
visitors have walked through it.
Hezekiah
then equipped the soldiers with weapons and he built up the wall around
Jerusalem that had been damaged earlier and he put a new gate along the wall
and built a new gate outside the wall and then strengthened the “Millo,” “the
terraces that butted up against the walls (see 2Chron. 11:8; 1Kings
11:27).
Hezekiah
then gave a speech to the soldiers and the people of Jerusalem, and the speech
that he gave to them had parts that came from the Word of God. The address had words of Moses to Israel and
to Joshua, and God’s words to Joshua.
This was a very wise way to handle this situation using the Word of God.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I too, am going through a battle, but the
battle that I am going through is no of flesh and blood like Hezekiah was
preparing to go through, but a battle in the spiritual realm. I sometimes seem
to arguing with the Lord about what He seems so vividly to be laying on my
heart, and sometimes it seems that the evil one is telling me that I would never
be able to handle what the Lord is giving me to do. I am comforted by doing my devotions and
listening to His Word and listening to sermons.
I am seeing if the Lord will open up the doors for me to do what He
seems to be asking me to do and if He does, by grace, I will go through
depending on the Lord every step of the way.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Proverbs 3:5-6.
2.
Give myself to the Lord this day for worship and for
service.
3.
Continue to learn contentment.
4.
Remember the battle is fierce and I am in need of
the spiritual armor.
5.
Psalm 139:23-24.
6/12/2011 8:18:06 AM
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