King Hezekiah was in a pickle. How to respond to Sennacherib, that mighty warrior from Assyria? Sennacherib had conquered many of the small fortified cities of Judah and now surrounded Jerusalem. The might of the Assyrians was well known, and now Sennacherib set about to woo King Hezekiah and the people of Judah.
"Why bother taking any notice of King Hezekiah? You know he won't be able to deliver you from the might of Assyria. Make peace with Assyria and come and live in prosperity, in a land which is just waiting for you. You really don't know what you are missing out on by remaining here". At a time of such uncertainty, one could not be blamed for considering the options and taking the easy way out, but King Hezekiah held his nerve. And the basis for this? "So now O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone"
( 2 Kings 19:19).
From the time of Abraham, this was God's purpose for what would become the Hebrew nation, the people whom God had chosen. Their mission was to worship him and only him, and God's part of this agreement was to bless them so that other nations would see that the Hebrew God was the true God.
The New Testament version of this is not so very different in that Jesus told his disciples to 'go and make disciples of all nations'. Christianity is not a self indulgent religion, but one to be shared with the whole world and in today's world, that can be just a difficult for many people as it was for King Hezekiah.
But with Jesus command to 'go', he provided that wonderful promise " and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age". ( Matthew 28:20)
"Why bother taking any notice of King Hezekiah? You know he won't be able to deliver you from the might of Assyria. Make peace with Assyria and come and live in prosperity, in a land which is just waiting for you. You really don't know what you are missing out on by remaining here". At a time of such uncertainty, one could not be blamed for considering the options and taking the easy way out, but King Hezekiah held his nerve. And the basis for this? "So now O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone"
( 2 Kings 19:19).
From the time of Abraham, this was God's purpose for what would become the Hebrew nation, the people whom God had chosen. Their mission was to worship him and only him, and God's part of this agreement was to bless them so that other nations would see that the Hebrew God was the true God.
The New Testament version of this is not so very different in that Jesus told his disciples to 'go and make disciples of all nations'. Christianity is not a self indulgent religion, but one to be shared with the whole world and in today's world, that can be just a difficult for many people as it was for King Hezekiah.
But with Jesus command to 'go', he provided that wonderful promise " and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age". ( Matthew 28:20)
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