Today’s scripture is II Kings 18:14 “And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear”. And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.”
The enemy is at Hezekiah’s doorstep, and disaster seems crouching nearby. Other huge well defended cities have been destroyed, the unthinkable is all around Hezekiah.
The culture of the day was to arrange a Suzerain/Vassal treaty – this was a treaty that allowed autonomy for Hezekiah in Judah and protection and alliances in times of trouble. The Suzerain was the stronger (Assyria in this case) and the Vassal was the weaker kingdom (Judah).
Hezekiah is trying a last-minute dive into the “culture of the day” to save his people and himself from what seems like a certain disaster. There is nothing wrong with a culture in itself, but when we see culture as the answer to all our problems – we have a new problem.
In the words of Hezekiah “I have done wrong, withdraw from me” Hezekiah is basically saying – I have sinned, please turn back from me.
Hezekiah is speaking to Sennacherib the king of Assyria. Sennacherib means “sin has increased the brothers”.
It might be easy to stand back a little and maybe judge Hezekiah now – but let’s reserve that human reaction till we see how the story unfolds?
Hezekiah is about to learn that he cannot make an arrangement with sin – it desires to have him, and its wages are death.
This raises interesting questions for me, which areas of my life do I maybe try to bargain on, or to make excuses for, where perhaps, do I look to the culture before I look to God?
Do I consider daily as I guard my heart that sin has no boundaries and one aim – my total destruction?
Doubt, fear, and lies mixed with elements of truth are the enemies tactics. Let’s see how Hezekiah comes out of this over the next few readings……
For us today – it’s good to be aware, and to guard our hearts well (Prov 4:23) – having all our armour (Eph 6:11) on daily.
My prayer for us is from 1Samuel 2:26 where we see that “and the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and favour with the Lord and with people”.
Let us pray that as we stay connected to the people and purposes of God that will also be our journey.
Principle 18 – intentionally stay connected to the people and purposes of God each day
Strength – Focus, People exceptionally talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritise, then act.