2 Chronicles 32.1 After these things and these acts of
faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped
against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. (ESV)
2 Chronicles 31 ends with these words: Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and
he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every
work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance
with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart,
and prospered. It sounds like Hezekiah lived such a life that there was
never a ripple on the pond. He was blessed. He prospered (succeeded). He was
strong in his faith.
I find it so predictable that right on the heels of 2
Chronicles 31 are the toes of 2 Chronicles 32: After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Hezekiah gets
sucker-punched by the King of Assyria who came and invaded Judah and encamped
against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. Things were
going so well – so well in fact, the King of Assyria (a much larger and
stronger nation than Judah) decided he wanted in on the act; he decided he was
going to take all of Hezekiah’s toys and kick Hezekiah out of the game…
Isn’t life like that? We barrel along: God is good,
church is good, giving is good, and everything seems splendid… when all of a
sudden, something upsets the whole apple-cart: the car massively breaks down,
the kid vigorously gets expelled from school, somebody gets terminally sick,
the paycheck bounces (eewww!). After living so right, things quickly go so
wrong.
Hezekiah wasn’t surprised by the invasion of Sennacherib,
the king of Assyria. He probably thought it wouldn’t be in his lifetime. But
the tendency to think we’re being punished when ‘bad’ things happen is so
common. We often build our little fantasy-lands on a foundation of works,
Americanism, and good(ish) behavior. Everybody wants to rule the world.
I think it’s why it’s called a fight of faith – because we have to fight through the temptation of
thinking God is somehow punishing us for something we’ve done wrong: After all the good stuff I’ve done, this is
the thanks I get!? C’mon God!
Faith is not built when the times are good but it sure
can get lost when times are good. Maybe it’s why Peter said in his first epistle:
In this you rejoice, though now for a
little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that
the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes
though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.(1 Peter 1.6-7 ESV)
Maybe God wanted Hezekiah to see the genuineness of his
faith. Maybe God wants you and me to see the genuineness of our own. Maybe bad stuff happens to good people so the rest of the world can
see why they’re called good people: good people trust God unswervingly no matter the
circumstances. Hezekiah was a good king who faithfully served the Lord all of
his life.
Will we be counted and remembered as faithful when we
face the “Sennacherib’s” of our own in the midst of living a good and godly
life? Lord, may I be faithful!
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