Have you ever pondered the question of, “what do I really like about the Bible?” As with most questions that are asked of each of us, answers immediately come to mind, and we might say, “it helps me,” or “it challenges me.” Let me challenge you with a point that may not make me popular. If you do not have a regular period set aside to spend time in God’s Word, then you may not really have an answer that is applicable to our discussion. If you do not regularly read the Bible, and truly seek to hear, listen, and act on God’s direction for your life that is in the Bible, perhaps this can be the starting point. Trust me, you want the wisdom that is present in God’s Word, you want the challenges that are there waiting for you (as uncomfortable as that could be at times), and you want to know more and more of God.
For the next few paragraphs I want to share with you from 2 Chronicles 32. The entire book of 2 Chronicles is about the rise and fall of kings. I feel pretty comfortable that what we learn is if you are with God things go well, and when one goes against God…you can read 2 Chronicles to figure out that answer. 2 Chronicles 32 is about two kings, one named Sennacherib, and the other named Hezekiah. As we read this narrative, we can extract some very good applications for ourselves.
One of the first pieces of application or perhaps we should say more to the point, wisdom, is found in verse 8. Confidence, when push comes to shove, is truly only found in the Lord, and His strength and wisdom. As we read this verse, we find Hezekiah saying, “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” Have you, as of late, been putting too much trust in everything except the Lord? Hezekiah faced some danger as he spoke these words, yet he knew that his planning was good, his strategy was good, but more importantly he knew the Lord was with him. He was not guaranteed perfect success and an easy victory, but he knew he would get through his situation, but more importantly he was walking with the Lord. Be smart, use the brain that God gave you, but do not forget who is sovereign over all things.
I am just going to cover one more verse in 2 Chronicles 32, and that is verse 14. In my notes that I have written about this chapter I stated, “One of the ultimate rhetorical questions is written right here.” Sennacherib was challenging Hezekiah’s faith in God. Now we know that when that happens it does usually not bode well for the one doing the challenging. To summarize what Sennacherib was saying we might consider it as him putting his own pride and worldly successes up in comparison to what God had done. Do we ever say, “well I have done great without consulting God, what could stop me now?” Maybe you think that I am being dramatic, perhaps, but is not the question one that we should consider?
I am going to wrap up this blog post here, as I went a little longer than I normally do. I will offer to you that after you read the rest of 2 Chronicles, and in particular verses 20 through 33, that you email me your observations. See how the Lord speaks to you, what do you see in particular when you read verses 20, 25, 26, and 31. Be honest, and push yourself to apply it to your life. I do not want anybody to miss out on all that God’s Word has for you. God Bless. (www.pastortom@gracebaptistct.com)