Day 215 (2 Chronicles 32-33) - Year 4
07:08 Share

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we step into another perspective on the final days of King Hezekiah. Then we're done with him for good. I'm bummed his story had to end like it did. I had such high hopes for him.

Yesterday we read about how God extended his life an extra 15 years, but he wasted that blessing. Those personal details aren't included in this version of the story, because as we've talked about before, Chronicles is concerned more with the high-level details, not the behind-the-scenes information.

In the chapters immediately before today's reading, there are lots of stories of Hezekiah's faithfulness. Then chapter 32 opens with an attack from an enemy nation, Assyria. Just a reminder that we've read this before, so if it felt familiar to you, good. That means you're retaining things. At the start of today's reading, Hezekiah is still a wise leader. His demise hasn't yet begun. He's just living faithfully in Jerusalem and serving God and the people of Judah.

Then, Assyria and its king Sennacherib decide to attack Jerusalem. Hezekiah makes a plan to outsmart them. He cuts off the water supply to the city as a deterrent. He builds up the wall around the city, fortifies their towers, stocks up on weapons, and organizes his army. Then he gives a pep talk to the army, encouraging them with reminders that God is on their side. He doesn't fixate on all the work he's done to defend the city or to prepare them for battle.

He centers his encouragement on the fact that God is with them. That is where their hope lies. This is a big distinction we see in scripture versus what the world teaches us. There's a lot of believe-in-yourself talk out there today. We don't see that in scripture. In scripture, the message is believe in your God. He's at work within you.

We see posts on social media that say things like, you've got this. But scripture's angle on this is usually more along the lines of, you're hopeless on your own unless God helps you. True encouragement, the kind Hezekiah gives here, doesn't put the focus on our own abilities, but on God's. It might make for a clunkier mantra or a less exciting Instagram post, but at least it doesn't miss the point.

After Hezekiah encourages the leaders who follow him, a few of the leaders of Assyria come to intimidate the people of Judah with some trash talk. You probably remember this scene. We talked about it on days 200 and 205. But while the Assyrian leaders are busy crying out to the people of Judah, Hezekiah is busy crying out to the Lord.

Assyria thinks they're fighting a physical battle, but Hezekiah knows it's a spiritual one. And God sends his answer in the spiritual realm as well. He sends an angel, which Isaiah 37:26 tells us is the angel of the Lord, to fight the battle on behalf of Judah. And of course, nothing trumps the angel of the Lord because, as we've talked about before, he's almost certainly a manifestation of God himself. Then we hit what seems to be a noteworthy verse.

32.23 says, Many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward. I can't help but think that this is somehow connected to what happens next. In my Bible, the section heading immediately after that verse says, Hezekiah's pride and achievements.

Hezekiah sought God's help in the battle, and God provided it. But then people brought gifts and praise to Hezekiah. Yes, they brought gifts to the Lord too, but Hezekiah is the one who was exalted in the sight of all the other nations, and his pride seems to lead to his downfall, which we read more about yesterday in 2 Kings 20. All that wealth he showed off, I have to wonder how much of it came from the gifts people brought to him.

How much of what he was flaunting was treasures given to him as a result of God winning a battle that Hezekiah didn't even show up to fight. This kind of pride takes down kings and spiritual giants if they forget their source. That's why I always try to frame encouragement and even receive encouragement by focusing on who is truly doing the work in and through us all.

One other cool thing about King Hezekiah before we wrap up his story for good. Not long ago, archaeologists discovered his ancient clay seal, the kind used for signing royal documents. It was found near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. So we have tangible proof of his reign. Chapter 33 tells us all about the reign of his son Manasseh after his death. He was a terrible king, which is often a given when you start ruling at age 12. But he wasn't just bad, he was evil.

As a reminder, he reversed some of the best work of his father, undoing the good parts of his legacy. He burned his sons as an offering, sought help from mediums and fortune tellers, and set up an idol in the temple. And this is where my God shot came from today. In verses 10 through 11, God speaks to Manasseh and the people, but they don't listen at first. So God brings some drastic measures to get his attention because God's desire is to bless him.

And it turns out that he actually ended up living the reverse story of his dad Hezekiah. Hezekiah started out strong but lost his way. And Manasseh started out evil and repented. And the turning point in both of their stories was the direction of their eyes. Hezekiah turned his eyes inward. We call this navel gazing. He grew prideful and he wandered from God. Manasseh turned his eyes upward and humbled himself. And God redeemed his story.

God is in the business of changing hearts and moving eyes. And I love that he's brought our eyes to the pages of his word today because he's where the joy is. Tomorrow, we'll be reading the book of Nahum. It's three chapters long. We're linking to a short video overview in the show notes that you're going to love. Check that out if you've got five minutes to spare.

If you want to help others find their way to this podcast, one way you can do that is by rating and reviewing us on the platform where you listen. Five-star reviews are our favorite. If you can't review on your platform, check out Apple Podcasts. You can review us there. I love to read through your reviews and remind myself that there are actual people out there listening. You are out there and you are seeing more of God each day. Your reviews don't just encourage me. They position you as someone who helps others decide if they want to take the time to listen or not.

It sounds simple, but you're actually helping strangers around the world connect with God. So drop us a review if you've got a minute to spare. We might even feature your review in an upcoming social media post. The Bible Recap is brought to you by DGroup, discipleship and Bible study groups that meet in homes and churches around the world each week.