Spread Your Case Before The LORD
Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush, was marching out to fight against him. So he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: "Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.'
. . . Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. "LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heaven and the earth. Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
"It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God."
2 Kings 19:9-19.
. . . Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. "LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heaven and the earth. Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
"It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God."
2 Kings 19:9-19.
Sennacherib started off with a classic untruth which has been peddled by Satan right from the time of Eden: "God cannot not be trusted; God's word is not dependable; God is shady!" Satan started this lie when he sowed doubts into the minds of Adam and Eve concerning God's warning that they will die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Satan said deceptively to them: "You will not certainly die." He enticed Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree that God had specifically instructed them not to touch. They ended up dying both spiritually and physically.
This timeless satanic strategy of casting doubt on the integrity of our Holy, Faithful and True Living God -- the One who is not a man that He should lie; the One whom Scripture clearly attests to that it is impossible for Him to lie -- has been piped out of hell and successfully used by satan and his demons from the creation of humans!
So Sennacherib, who in a sense is a representation of Satan, was only towing the line of hell when he parroted the same satanic lie: "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when He says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.' "
Satan had spoken. But Satan never has the final word. God does. So King Hezekiah went to the House of God and spread his case before the one who has both the final word and the final authority: Yahweh. Hezekiah's petition to God was simple: The gods of the nations defeated by Sennacherib were gods of wood and clay but you are the Creator God. So, "Deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God."
Hezekiah knew that his God could do something about his situation, so he spread his case before the LORD.
In your journey of life and particularly because you are a Christian, the Enemy will threaten you in many ways. He will threaten your health, your job, your children, your finances, your ministry, your integrity, your family, your mind, your emotional well-being, your future, your success, your peace, your walk with God, your business -- just about every conceivable thing you can imagine, including your very life.
But don't lose heart. Take courage in the midst of it all and spread your case before the LORD. The invitation of Scripture still stands sure: "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). Lift up your head and spread your case before the LORD in prayer! In the end, God always wins!
This timeless satanic strategy of casting doubt on the integrity of our Holy, Faithful and True Living God -- the One who is not a man that He should lie; the One whom Scripture clearly attests to that it is impossible for Him to lie -- has been piped out of hell and successfully used by satan and his demons from the creation of humans!
So Sennacherib, who in a sense is a representation of Satan, was only towing the line of hell when he parroted the same satanic lie: "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when He says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.' "
Satan had spoken. But Satan never has the final word. God does. So King Hezekiah went to the House of God and spread his case before the one who has both the final word and the final authority: Yahweh. Hezekiah's petition to God was simple: The gods of the nations defeated by Sennacherib were gods of wood and clay but you are the Creator God. So, "Deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God."
Hezekiah knew that his God could do something about his situation, so he spread his case before the LORD.
In your journey of life and particularly because you are a Christian, the Enemy will threaten you in many ways. He will threaten your health, your job, your children, your finances, your ministry, your integrity, your family, your mind, your emotional well-being, your future, your success, your peace, your walk with God, your business -- just about every conceivable thing you can imagine, including your very life.
But don't lose heart. Take courage in the midst of it all and spread your case before the LORD. The invitation of Scripture still stands sure: "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). Lift up your head and spread your case before the LORD in prayer! In the end, God always wins!
Prayer: Lord, I come boldly before your throne of grace as scripture exhorts and I spread my case before you today. Amen.