A Gentle Yet Terrifying Slaughter - The Book of 2 Chronicles

In this Bible Story, we learn about the battle between God and the Assyrian King Sennacherib, and the Lord provides victory over the Assyrians. This story is inspired by 2 Chronicles 32:1-23 & 2 Kings 18:13-19:37. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 2 Chronicles 32:20-21 from the King James Version.

Episode 150: As the King lay sick on his bed, he begs God to remember him. Asking that God would recall all the good he did in His name. This call was not made in vain. God heard him and sent a word through the prophet Isaiah that he would be spared and live another fifteen years. The nations heard about this miraculous healing and even Babylon came to congratulate the King. But instead of using this visit to point the nations to his God, he used it to show off his wealth. This sin would cost him his nation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray and for this cause, Hezekiah the King
and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, prayed and
cried to heaven, and the Lord sent an angel which
cut off all the mighty men of Valor Second Chronicles
thirty two, twenty and twenty one. Be strong and courageous.

(00:24):
These are the words that I chose to speak over
myself to day, as I continue to grow and expand
in life, I will praise you for being the same
God that gave King Hezekiah and Josiah continual victories in
their quest to take hold of the promises you laid
up for them. I choose to praise you because that

(00:46):
same hand of protection and power rests on my life
as well. May your supernatural hand give me victory over
circumstances where my opposition seems to outnumber and outower me.
Although they may fight with their strength and connection, I
fight by trusting in the Lord and by knowing that

(01:10):
victory is only one prayer away. When you move, I
will be careful not to expect you to come through
for me in the same way every time. Instead, I
will watch where you're going and then move in step
with your plan. I will be strong and courageous, for

(01:32):
victory is in your hands. In Jesus' name. Amen, Thank
you for making prayer a priority in your day. To
learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot Com.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Gentle yet terrifying slaughter. In our last story, we were
introduced to King Hezekiah, the most righteous king Judah has
ever known. Hezekiah clung to God's wisdom and established a
kingdom that honored him. The people were beginning to heal
once again, and joy filled the land. However, a dark

(02:23):
beast still dwelled in the distance. The all consuming nation
of Assyria lay in wait for Judah. In this story,
we learn about the battle between God and the Assyrian
king Sanakarib. Inspired by the Book of Second Chronicles.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham once again with today's episode
of the Bible in a Year. In our prior reading,
we were introduced to Hezekiah, Judah's most righteous king, the
one that held fast to God. He broke the patterns
of idola and unfaithfulness of those before him and restored

(03:03):
the temple and turned the people's hearts to God. Though
He was not a perfect person. No one is. He
did believe in trusting God all the days of his
life and obey him. Today we'll see how even in
the midst of a bright time for Judah, evil and
darkness still alurt nearby. The Assyrians eye the Kingdom of Judah.

(03:25):
But God is faithful to Hezekiah and his people and
shows he will fiercely protect his own less hear now
from the word of God.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
The kingdom of Assyria was like ravenous lions seeking more prey.
It had devoured the entire nation of Israel in a
matter of days. Now it sought to satisfy its hunger
with Judah. Snakarib, the king of Assyria, gathered an entire
army at the border of Judah. They overtook a small
fortified city and made camp there. They waited for Hezekiah

(03:58):
and his armies to mount an attack against them. Most
kings would have been quick to rally their troops and
marched straight into battle, but not Hezekiah. He knew that
there must be some way to defeat them without recklessly
running into battle. Hezekiah gathered his mighty men and commanders
to brainstorm. Together they looked at the maps of Judah.

(04:20):
They spent hours looking for ways to cut through the
fortified city where the Assyrians waited. There was no way
in besides the front gates. However, there was something else
that Hezekiah spotted on the map was a river that
ran from the top of the hills down into the
fortified city. That river was the only source of water

(04:40):
for Sir Nakarib in his troops. Hesekiah's face lit up
and he banged on the table with joy. Immediately he
sent his troops to make a dam to stop the
flow of water into the city. The brook that flowed
into the enemy camp was completely dried up in a
matter of days. The streams were stopped and the brook
it flowed down into the outer country was dry. While

(05:03):
the Assyrians began to deteriorate from lack of water, Hezekiah
had his blacksmiths forge more shields and spears for his troops.
If he was going to storm the city, he wanted
every detail done right. Hezekiah marched with his men on
the hillside and made camp. He looked down upon the
city where the Assyrians camped and turned back to his men.

(05:25):
He strong and courageous. Hezekiah yelled, his armor glimmered in
the sun. The strength and courage of Joshua was upon him.
Do not fear the hoard below you. We outnumber them.
The king paused for a moment. Yes, they had the numbers,
and the Assyrians were weak from lack of water, but

(05:46):
that is not why they should be brave. No, it
was because the Lord was with them. Hezekiah held his
sword up high and shouted, Assyria has the arm of man,
but we fight but the power of the Lord. He
is the one who fights our battles. The armies of

(06:07):
Judah erupted in praise. Hezekiah smiled towards Heaven, and God's
people prepared for the coming battle. They would wait a
few more days for the Assyrians to weaken, then they
would mount their attack. While Judah prepared for their ambush,
the king of Assyria sent messengers to Judah. He sowed
seeds of doubt and fear into their minds. His intention

(06:30):
was to divide them. As Hezekiah cut off their water supply,
Snacharib would cut off their trust. His message was compelling
with deception. The king said, are you really going to
put your trust in Hezekiah and his God. Isn't he
the one who took away your gods and forced you
to worship his God? He could not save Israel from

(06:52):
our hand. We took them easily, as we did many
other nations. Their gods did not save them. No God,
If any nation has been able to defeat me, I
am inevitably victorious. This message was sent to many leaders.
He also had his servants pretend to be Judaeans and

(07:13):
yell at in the city streets. Sanacarib's desire was to
sow chaos and doubt. He had no idea what type
of God he was challenging. Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah
prayed silently in the cool of the night. The gentle
evening breeze caressed the backs of their heads as they
bowed in prayer. The wind whistled down the hills and

(07:34):
through the camp. Down below, with the breeze came a
terrifyingly silent presence. An angel of the Lord's stepped foot
into the Assyrian camp. He walked its alleys unseen. He
passed by tents and fires without casting a shadow. As
a silent thief. The Angel of God stole the life
away from senaca Rib's warriors. One by one, their spirits

(07:57):
were taken from them. It was a gentle yet terrifying slaughter.
And as quickly as the angel came, he left with
the wind. Darkness was still covering the sky, and the
sun was moments away from peeking its head over the hills.
Hezekiah and his men arose early to prepare for battle,
but as they looked down at the city below, the

(08:18):
Assyrians were departing, yet only a few remained. Hezekiah could
barely see because of the dim morning. However, he could
see that at the front of the line, exiting the camp,
Sanacarib rode with his head held low. The tyrant war
lord was shamed by the might of God. King Sanakarib
returned to his homeland in embarrassment. He had lost most

(08:41):
of his men, his best men. The servants who remained
were dehydrated and worthless. The war lord entered into the
temple of his god to pray. He could not fathom
such a defeat. It had happened right under his nose
while he was sleeping. There was no battle, no fighting,
and not even a whisper. As Snagarib bowed his head

(09:02):
at the altar. A few shadows loomed over him. He
looked up to see his sons looking down at him.
Before he could say a word, his sons drove their
blades into his heart and throat. At all so the
Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Judah. Although Hezekiah
was an imperfect man, he was faithful to cling to

(09:23):
God and seek him continually. Hezekiah would struggle with pride,
just like any other king, but he was quick to
repent and slow to argue. The Lord God restored riches, livestock,
and health to the people of Judah. Any rumors once
sowed by the Assyrians were forgotten. People rejoiced over their king,

(09:44):
and they rejoiced, Oh for God.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
As we began today's reading, we find the emboldened Assyrian
king and his army hungry for more power and control.
Their swift defeat of Israel was easy, and now they've
set their eyes on the south. In their minds, Judah
was there for the taking. So they took over a
small border town and waited for Judah to respond and attack.

(10:11):
But as we've seen, Hezekiah is not like the other kings.
He's not quick to rush to judgment or to war.
He waits on God's instructions, and God then granted him
wisdom to lead Judah with courage and discernment. Hezekiah takes
his time to plan, strategize, and seek the council of
the brave and mighty warriors of his army. They realize

(10:34):
that the town where the Assyrian army is camped has
a major weakness they can exploit by damning the only
river running into the city. They cut off the soldier's water,
and no matter how strong an army may be, without water,
strength will falter and fade. Then Hezekiah and his men
waited for the Assyrians to weaken, and their plan worked

(10:56):
for days the enemy went without water. Hezekiah took this
time to make more shields for his army and fortify
his defenses. Finally, he knew it was time to attack.
He gave a very powerful speech to rally the troops,
and he said this in Second Chronicles thirty two, verse seven.
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid and dismayed

(11:18):
before the King of Assyria and all the horde that
is with him, For there are more with us than
with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but
with us the Lord, our God to help us and
to fight our battles. What a tremendous verse of scripture.
When he said there are more with us than with him.
Hezekiah was not speaking of human strength or more battlements.

(11:40):
He was telling his men that it didn't matter what
Issiri has sent their way, that God would overcome them.
All his angel armies were on alert. The words of
Hezekiah remind us of the words of David as he
spoke to Goliath before slaying him. Though the Jias in
our life may come to us with sword and spear,
we rely on the Lord in our spiritual battles. We

(12:03):
know that our God is greater. Greater is he that
is in you than he that is in the world,
says the scripture. So the battle is the Lord, and
we can trust him always for his power and his
strength and ultimately the victory. These were just the words
the army needed to hear. They were filled with confidence
and faith, not in themselves, but in Almighty God. The

(12:27):
king of Assyria knew he needed to gain the upper
hand and weaken the resolve of Judah, so he sent
messengers to spread lies and cast doubt upon the word
of God. Isn't that the oldest trick in the enemy's book.
We saw it back in the Garden of Eden when
the tempter questioned the word of God by saying, has
God said yet even today those words can be effective?

(12:50):
The enemy says, God didn't say this. You can't believe
the Bible? Can you really trust God? But God wasn't
going to let the enemy win. He sent his angels
into the Assyrian camp, and they quietly cut down the
commanders and officers leading the army. The enemy was vanquished
without Hezekiah or his men even raising a sword against them. Sanakarib,

(13:13):
the defeated king of Assyria, ran and returned home, put
to shame by the Great God. The king of angel armies.
Hezekiah gives us a tremendous example of what it is
to fight for the Lord, to remain in faith as
we face our own personal battles. Though Hezekiah was not perfect,

(13:35):
he was counted on as righteousness because he trusted in God,
and he was always willing to confess his sin and
to repent from wrongdoing in his life and for the nation,
and because he led with righteousness and faith. The people followed.
The people followed him, and they followed the Lord, praising
the One True God and rejoicing in his provision and protection.

(14:00):
Dear God, we know that we do not fight our
battles alone, that you are fighting our battles for us.
And because we know Christ in our lives, we have
eternal victory. We also know that we are to always
be vigilant in preparing to face enemies that come against us.
So Lord, we do stay alert, and we stand strong

(14:22):
in You, and we trust and pray and call on
your name. Thank you for your strength, for being our
shield and our salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you
for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. This
is Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot Com
app and make prayer a priority along with Bible study

(14:44):
in your life. And if you enjoy this podcast, share
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dot org. Once again for free resources as to how
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(15:05):
Graham dot org, God bless you.