2 Chronicles 32:1-8

Song: Sister Yolanda Hawkins

Prayer: Elder Roger Cooper

Scripture: Elder Phydesia Lewis

Give Scripture: 2 Chronicles 32:1-8

2 Chronicles 32:1–8 KJV 1900

1 After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. 4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? 5 Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. 6 And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, 7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Give A Review

In Chapter 31 we saw and learned a great many things. Hezekiah goes in and makes offerings to God’s house as the leader. He then commands that the people should give into the lives of the Levites that they can be restored to the financial security God had ordained for them. While your spiritual health is important, and it is, Chapter 31 reminds us that I wish above all things that you would prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. So your soul must prosper first, but when it does God would also have you to prosper.

And so, in following the command of the King, the people give into the Levites for Four months, and when the period of giving is over… the King works with the High Priest as Chief of the Levites and establishes a process for the acquisition, storage, and distribution of the resources given unto the Levites.

So now, Hezekiah has blessed God, he has blessed the people, and he has blessed his other leadership through Chapters 30 and 31. And the scripture makes it clear that because of his faithfulness and action, Hezekiah prospers.

Three Key Takeaways

We see the importance of honoring leadership in this text as the priests indeed constitute leadership within the Kingdom.

We also see the importance of leaders working diligently in the field to maintain God’s work and get beyond the glory of the altar/ or the pulpit.

Finally, we see the value in Order as Hezekiah and the priests all worked to maintain order.

Allow for Questions?

Write some of the questions down if possible.

Scripture Study

Today it is important that we recognize our lesson runs parallel to 2 Kings 18:13- 2 Kings 19:37. This parallel scripture reveals to us some key details we will miss by just reading Chronicles, but we also do not necessarily have the time to read all of 2 Kings either. So what I will do throughout our lesson is recount some of the details of 2 Kings 18-19 as we read 2 Chronicles 32. Amen.

To that point, I do not know if we have taken time to discuss the difference, meaning, and purpose of the 2 books of the Kings and the 2 books from the Chronicler.

The 2 Books of the Kings serves as a historical reference point that traces the line of the monarchy through men and shows it from beginning to the end. Theologians disagree over who wrote the book and whether it had one author but in either case it is accepted that Kings was written by someone with a concern to preserve the history of Israel (on both sides of the monarchy) which had become divided following Solomon’s death.

I love this quote from Donald Wiseman in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries on 1 & 2 Kings, which says:

1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary 1. The Value of the Books of Kings

Kings then is not just a chronicle, political or religious, but ‘sacred’ history with appropriate theological comment, that is, a religious commentary on history (see Themes and theology, pp. 18–27). Without the details given, little would be known of the outcome of the experiment in kingship following the promise given to David of an everlasting dynasty. Nor would the wisdom and splendour of Solomon, the exploits of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, the event and explanation of the exile of Israel and of Judah, to all of which reference is made elsewhere in Scripture, be known or understood.

Then we have the Books of the Chronicler which are written not as an addition to the the history offered in Kings. Nor is it written as a correction to the history given by the writer of Kings. However, Chronicles is written indeed as a spiritual and theological interpretation of the events of Kings that shows us the genealogy of David thereby helping us to trace the movement of the Davidic line throughout history and see the movement of God throughout. In this way, it can be seen more as a theological genealogy, hence the focus on Judah which is the tribe of origin both for David and Jesus.

I have a quote below from a journal called Old Testament Theology, written by Christopher North in 1963 where he talks about the Theology of the Chronicler.

1 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary 2. What Kind of Book Is Chronicles?

According to one view, ‘the person and dynasty of David’ are ‘the heartbeat of all the Chronicler’s theology’, though another thinks that the interest in David indicates the Chronicler as ‘the guardian of the messianic tradition’.

And so we see that their is a significant difference between the two. I wanted to highlight that because I wanted us to understand the difference in purpose between the two as we go forward reading, especially because of the differences between the two that can create differences in opinion and interpretation.

2 Chronicles 32:1 KJV 1900

1 After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.

Just when you get the Kingdom restored and have order, the enemy will come in to stand against you.

We see here that Hezekiah has just completed, more or less, the restoration of the Kingdom and almost immediately here comes trouble seeking to uproot the progress he has just made.

God allows things to come your way to determine your level of faith and dependency.

It was one thing for Hezekiah to be faithful and mindful of God when he is peaceful towards the people of Israel and to its King.

But now we get to see if Hezekiah can uphold the same standard when he was under attack and therefore under pressure.

2 Chronicles 32:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.

He consulted with those of Earthly wisdom to create a good strategy for defending the city against the attacks of the enemy.

We as the saved people have a tendency and proclivity to over-spiritualize everything as though God did not do the favor of giving us independent and earthly knowledge and wisdom with which to govern ourselves.

This does not mean you can substitute your Earthly knowledge for the knowledge of God but you must be just as wise about knowing to consult God but must also know when God has given you the tools and resources you need to succeed within yourself.

We sometimes use God as a crutch where he supports you and prevents you from using your leg out of fear of pain or damage. But God was never intended to be a crutch but was meant to serve as our strength, which means he is the well from which we dig to execute our actions.

When God is your crutch you blame God for why everything is wrong in your life… its not in his will, he didn't do it yet… blah blah blah.

When God is your strength you allow God to elevate you beyond the wrong’s in your life and carry you forward into your calling.

Furthermore, when you come into true relationship with God you do not need to stop and ask everything because your relationship informs your action. If someone asks my wife, do you and your husband want to come to dinner with us at Arigato’s… She does not need to ask me for two reasons… we communicate so much that she knows my schedule and is therefore in a place where she can make appointments for me that I will keep. She also knows me well enough to know that I like Arigato’s so I would not mind eating there. Lastly, you she knows who I like and who I do not like, so she knows how I would be inclined to respond to that particular person or group of people.

We have to get like that in our relationships with God where we walk and talk with him so much that his will becomes second nature to us.

In other words, when you are in true relationship with God you do not have to worry about displeasing him...

Use intelligent strategy and principles to overcome your enemies and strengthen yourself.

They then instituted a plan wherein they dammed up the rivers around the city and thereby built up water within the confines of the city itself. Doing so fulfills two different objectives;

It allowed them to deprive their enemies of water, an important resource when you are trying to supply a group of soldiers and people. As such, they literally allowed their enemies to thirst to death as they worked to overcome them.

However, it also has the added benefit of allowing them to maintain sole access to their water and use it as a resource to improve irrigation, reduce flooding, and prevented their water from being tainted by the actions of the enemy armies.

Chronicles displays this as a uniform and singular collection of events by eliminating the middle portion, but in 2 Kings we see that before Hezekiah commenced with preparation for war that he actually paid tribute to Sennacherib by paying him 20 talents of Gold and 300 talents of Silver.

Furthermore, Sennacherib makes several vague and some direct threats to Hezekiah and the people of Judah through messengers who went to Jerusalem.

This process of paying homage and being threatened occurs over a period of time after which Sennacherib had actually began attacking some of the fringe cities of Judah.

The stories reconnect where Sennacherib actually begins to march towards Jerusalem itself and abandons his attacks of the fringe cities in the Kingdom.

2 Chronicles 32:4–5 KJV 1900

4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? 5 Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

It is the responsibility of the people of God to work together to execute the vision of the leadership.

So we see the result of Hezekiah’s commandments which result in the people of Judah commencing work to fulfill his work and improve their potential for success against their enemy.

We see the ultimate goal of their plan because the people collectively agreed that the people of Assyria should not be allowed to find water when working against the people of God.

You do not see the Man of God out digging the moats by himself, just because it was his God given vision. But yet I know churches all around the country where the people only support their own ideas and leave the Pastor all by himself.

We have a responsibility to get behind leadership and support what they are doing otherwise we may find ourselves in a situation where the work is not getting done… not for lack of vision but for lack of people willing to heed the vision.

It does you no good to have spiritual strength and fortification if you do not fortify yourself physically.

Sometimes in the Church we neglect the physical things of this world and abandon it all to the responsibility of God to figure out. However, the scripture tells us that faith without works is dead, meaning it does not do well enough to have faith in God if you do not do the work to execute the will of God for which you held your faith.

2 Chronicles 32:6–7 KJV 1900

6 And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, 7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:

We need to put leaders in warfare at the forefront to maintain the integrity of our structure.

This means we must have prayer warriors in the House of God to maintain our borders and lead our people into victory.

We can no longer afford to let prayer take a backseat in the house of God but we must put it at the forefront. Intercessory prayer team, prayer service’s, and all other manner of prayers need to happen.

And not just for a new car, a new house, or your sick family members… but we must pray for the land where we live, leaders, teachers, students, the air we breath, the water we drink...

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Spiritual wickedness in high places.

Leaders must, upon hearing the Word of the Lord, obey it and speak it over your people to maintain their confidence.

He speaks to his warriors and other leaders in a way that makes them feel more comfortable and relaxed about what is impending against them.

We all are responsible for the hearing of the Word of God but leaders have a special responsibility to not only hear God but use his voice to provide vision.

Now, what we do not see here in these verses is the Word of the Lord which actually did come from the Prophet Isaiah.

Upon learning about was coming to Jerusalem and hearing the words of Sennacherib's messengers, Hezekiah began despondent and began to rent his clothes.

However, because of the Godly example he led in front of his people, they went of their own accord to the Prophet Isaiah and he gave them a word of encouragement that helped them to stay the course.

See, sometimes good leadership is not actually making all the right choices but can be done through the selection of good undersheperds (if you will) who serve under you and by doing so you can help to minimize the wicked and foolish decisions of your life.

How many kings have we seen fall, how many presidents, business leaders, and others have we seen fall in the Bible and even now and its not because of what they did but who they kept around them.

On the subject of differences between Chronicles and Kings, it is important to note that the words of the Chronicler, in some ways, seek to minimize the role of prophets and other vessels of God to (in some ways) elevate the perception of the Kings themselves.

In so doing, they somewhat work to establish a mythical figure in the Kings of Judah.

This lends itself to the viability and power of the Davidic line which would give rise to Jesus Christ through Mary.

2 Chronicles 32:8 KJV 1900

8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Leadership must be clear to give God the claim to victory within their own lives and the lives of their people.

So many times we as leaders are so quick to take acclaim for good works and we ignore God’s contribution or try to give God secondhand credit as though it was not all through and by the grace of God.

For that matter, it is important we take an inventory as leaders to know and understand our own abilities so we can take rightful credit for what God does through us but also acknowledge that some (if not many) things are beyond your ability to do beyond the support and will of the Father.

The people should choose leaders and support leaders who instill confidence in them.

It is important that we put trust and faith in people who deserve it and that we support those who have taken time to earn our trust.

We cannot turn our backs on our leaders but then wonder why they never communicate with us, or why they do not do a particular thing. We have to be careful that we support our leaders in word and act.

Even when you know God has your back, it is still nice to get some support because we are all human.

Furthermore, despite being told that God would give them the victory, they still prepared for battle because they do not allow themselves to become overconfident in the Lord that they should appear exalted or uplifted.

Provide Key Takeaways

Many tests and challenges in your life will come when you least expect it and are used as a test to determine your willingness and ability to do for God.

We must use wisdom in our actions to ensure we make the best decisions for all people involved By drawing strength from the Father.

Leaders must engage in effective warfare that represents and guides the people as we work against the powers of darkness in this world.

Allow for Final Questions?

Write some of the questions down if possible.

Roll Call & Prayer Requests

Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led