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Our theme song is 'I can#039t live with you. Sennacherib was that to Hezekiah, but God heard his prayers. When Sennacherib is troubling us, we shouldn#039t despair, but pray. Let#039s consider why in today#039s message.
First, because God, who is on your side, hears you.
As Hezekiah receives Sennacherib#039s frightening letter and prays before the Lord, the men sent by the prophet Isaiah arrive. And God answers the desperate prayer without delay, saying, ampldquoI have heard you pray to me because of Sennacherib, king of Assyria.amprdquo For Hezekiah, Sennacherib is someone he dreads and hates to think about. We grieve, anger, resent, and despair over these difficult people, difficult problems, and difficult situations. We want to leave, we want to divorce, we want to die, and we have all kinds of reasons and different 'becauses. But the things we do because of the various amplsquoSennacheribsamprsquo lead to another amplsquobecauseamprsquo. Every hardship we face on this earth is not a reason to complain and be bitter, but a reason to pray to God. In verse 22, God identifies himself with his people, saying, ampldquoWhom have you rebuked, whom have you slandered, against whom have you lifted up your voice, and against whom have you lifted up your eyes: the Holy One of Israel.amprdquo In this way, our Lord loves us more than his own life. We are not saved because we are good or deserving, but because He laid down His life to save us. We are broken because of Sennacherib, but it is in times like these that we should pray to the Lord. Prayer is a confirmation that God is on our side.
Second, Sennacherib is just a tool of God.
In verses 23 to 24, God tells us directly what Sennacherib said in his slander against God, ampldquoI have many chariots, and I ascend the tops of many mountains, and I come into the depths of Lebanon, and I cut down the high cedars and the beautiful pines, and I enter into the farthest parts of it, and I come to the lush thickets of his garden,amprdquo and ampldquoI have dug up the earth, and I have drunk the waters of the heathen, and I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my foot.amprdquo The most repeated word here is ampldquoIamprdquo. Sennacherib is all about himself. We have this same pride in us. My ampldquoSennacheribamprdquo is the people and events that trouble me, but it#039s also me. In verse 25, God says, ampldquoHave you not heard that this is what I have done from the beginning, and what I have ordained from of old, that now I will accomplish it, that I will destroy the strong cities, and that they shall be reduced to rubble.amprdquo Sennacherib thought he was moving the world, but God was moving him. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who ruled the world at the time, was just a tool God was using to discipline Judah. God#039s will is in our salvation, so we should not worry, fret, and fear because of Sennacherib, but pray to God because of Sennacherib.
Third, God knows all about Sennacherib#039s evil.
God used Sennacherib as an instrument of judgment, and many peoples and nations who were exalted at the time fell to Assyria and were reduced to rubble. But Assyria#039s wickedness grew greater than those who were judged. Assyria should have realized that they were merely an instrument used by God to protect the fountain, but in their narcissism, they thought they were the star of the show. Verse 27 says, ampldquoI know your dwelling place, your going in and out, and your anger against me,amprdquo ampldquoYour anger against me and your arrogant words have come into my ears.amprdquo ampldquoDwelling placeamprdquo refers to being, and ampldquogoing in and outamprdquo refers to doing, and God knew who Sennacherib was and all of his actions. We believe that every word we speak, every whisper, even the thoughts of our hearts, is heard by God, every word, every morsel, and then later in verse 28 it says, ampldquoTherefore I will bury a hook in your nose and a gag in your mouth, and I will turn you back by the way you came.amprdquo For God to send Sennacherib back the way he came means eternal judgment and destruction. God is pleased that when we are discouraged by our struggles, like Sennacherib, we stand on God#039s side, look at our sin, and pray. Because all times are purposeful and beautiful, and when we obey those small things in this time and space, He gives us a tremendous gift that transcends time and space: freedom.
According to a column by Dr. Sung Joo Hwang, a cooperative pastor at Woori Church, the UK has a large nominally Christian population, but less than 9% are actually born-again believers, leaving the country in a state of spiritual decline. Nigeria, on the other hand, is experiencing a powerful prayer movement and revival despite very poor conditions and corruption. The only reason God#039s powerful presence is enveloping the country is because the prayers and supplications of the church are alive and well. The country has experienced revival in the past when it was poor and struggling, but now it is in a period of spiritual stagnation where even believers are not asking God. Friends, even if the country#039s problems are serious and there are only a few believers, if we pray to God for our own Sennacherib, I believe God will hear and answer our prayers.
I should pray for Sennacherib because God is on my side, because God hears me, because Sennacherib is just an instrument of God#039s discipline, and because God has known Sennacherib#039s wickedness since the beginning of time. I believe that even if there are only a few believers, my prayer of repentance for Sennacherib will save my family and my nation.
