2 Chronicles 32-33 Truth

by Jill Ice

Speaking truth to ourselves. So important, yet often so hard to do. We let the voices of the world and other people speak louder than the Voice of truth.

Read what the people of Judah heard from King Sennacherib of Assyria when he was about to invade their land:

¹⁰ “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? ¹²  Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”?¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? ¹⁵ Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’” -2 Chronicles 32:10-15

Total in-your-head, psyche-you-out mind games going on here. The speech from Sennacherib escalates until it culminates with this throwdown – “no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!”

Have you heard variations of this accusation? Maybe nobody has actually said it to you, but Satan may have hurled this missive at you – “How is God possibly going to deliver you out of __________(insert seemingly hopeless situation)?”

Wrong. It is just plain wrong thinking.

King Hezekiah of Judah spoke truth to the people of Judah, even before Sennacherib arrived on the scene with his taunting. Here is truth, spoken by Hezekiah:

⁷ “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7-8

Truth! How can we discern truth amidst all the voices and noise that bombard us daily? By being drenched with the Spirit. Immersed in the Word. Knowing God so well that we recognize His voice above all others.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:14