“A strong message to ‘take away’”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, October 7, 2023
2 Kings 19: 21-36 (Forward, p. 70) CEV p. 406
Are you puzzled in terms of knowing how to ‘handle’ today’s passage—particularly in knowing how to handle it? I certainly am. It constitutes a two-fold message given by God to King Hezekiah of Judah. The first part relates to God’s message of retribution and punishment against the Assyrian king, King Sennacherib, one of the most sadistic and terrible kings of all of world history. (Just as a reminder of one of ways he has outrageously and nastily treated his conquered foes, is mentioned in verse 28b): “I will put a hook in your nose, a bit in your mouth.” Yes, this king was a very ‘nasty piece of work.’ Indeed, Hezekiah is told, this is how God will now treat Sennacherib.
The second part of the passage relates to how God will deliver Judah, provide for it, and protect it in light of the threats posed by the Assyrians. The Assyrian army will be ‘visited’ by a punishing angel from God who will decimate its hosts by 185,000 men in a single night. As a result, that army and its commander, Sennacherib, are forced to return to Nineveh, where he will be murdered by two of his own sons.
Bible commentators often exhort us, when looking at a particular passage of Scripture, to look at its immediate context first and foremost, discover what it saying to that situation, and then, and only then, try to ascertain whether it has something to say to us today.
The passage’s original readers certainly would have seen this as an indication of God’s sovereign rule over all the world, including over nations other than Judah and Israel. After all, part of this passage explicitly says as much:
“Sennacherib, now listen to me, the Lord. I planned all this long ago. And you don’t even realize that I alone am the one who decided that you would do these things. I let you make ruins of fortified cities” (verse 25).
Be that as it may—this may indeed have been the Lord’s doing—it isn’t a doctrine that most of us subscribe to today. Generally, we don’t believe that God planned and orchestrated the Holocaust, or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the serious political infighting we see in Canada and the United States, or today’s outbreak of serious fighting between Hamas and the nation of Israel. And, we would say the same about Covid or about other serious medical conditions that people experience. We see God as allowing these things—and indeed, using these things, but not intentionally planning them. Indeed, as much as we believe in the sovereignty of God, we also hold it in a kind of tension, allowing for human free will and choice to interact with it in some undefinable and mysterious way. So, what we can say, when faced with all this, is to echo what the apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans: “we know that God works all things for good, for those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). And so, we can be confident in the Lord’s love and gracious care, knowing that He is indeed there for us and working for our ultimate good. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “But I know your rising and your sitting, your going out and coming in, and your raging against me” (verse 27).
“A common theme runs through today’s readings, reminding us of God’s constant presence in our lives, and that God knows more about us than we know about ourselves. God understands that sometimes we might mad and ‘rage against’ what God is doing.
“In times of my life when I have been unhappy with an event or person, I have often wondered by God let these bad things happen to me (losing a job, struggling to find new employment, difficulty in a relationship), I remind myself of God’s omniscience and constant presence in my life. One of my go-to prayers in times like these is from the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Thy will be done’.
“These four short works help me to remember to pay attention to what God wants for me in my life and to view the challenging times as opportunities for growth.”
Moving Forward: “Do you tend to focus on the struggle? Offer a difficult situation in your life to God with these words, ‘Thy will be done.’”
A concluding note: Just a short correction: I am pretty sure that the words about ‘raging against’ what God is doing are referring to Sennacherib and not to ourselves. Nevertheless, we believers are still susceptible to such emotions from time to time—and understandably so, given what we often are facing.