Fear, Faith, and the God Who Answers

Take our Bibles here this evening and turn over to 2 Chronicles chapter 31.

2 Chronicles 31 · chapter mention

! And so we'll find 2 Chronicles chapter 31 tonight.

2 Chronicles 31 · chapter mention

!

Because we know the days of Hezekiah were filled with blessings.

But you know, like anybody's days, they're also filled with challenges.

You know, oftentimes I think we forget that God can give us seasons of blessings,

but also there's going to be seasons that come with challenges.

There's going to be things that come into our life that are sometimes put to test to our faith.

And we're going to look at a test of faith here tonight in the life of Hezekiah and for the children of Israel.

Because those are the moments that make the difference in your life,

is when, not when things are going good, but when things are not going well.

When things are struggling, when things that don't make sense sometimes, you know,

sometimes when you don't have that answer of why something is happening,

is some of the greatest challenges.

And that's when we have things of doubt and we have things of fear that creep in.

And how we respond to that is important in our life.

And we're going to look here tonight at Hezekiah.

And we're going to see some things about his life here tonight that might help us.

Because if you remember the first part of Hezekiah's reign, he right out of the gate,

he organized the house of God.

He got everything back in order.

Got the priests lined up.

The people had a revival after the Passover celebration.

You know, lives were changed.

And they put away the gods that they'd been worshiping and sought the Lord himself.

And we see all these things taking place.

And the Passover was restored in the land that hadn't been accomplished for a long time.

And we know the Bible tells us that Hezekiah saw blessings both, you might say, politically or socially, but also spiritually.

And there was a great blessing upon the land.

And here in 2 Kings chapter 18, let's take a look down here in verse 18 here tonight.

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

As we see in verse 7, as we get here tonight, it tells us this.

It says,

You know, we see that Hezekiah enjoyed political gain.

But we see also, if you turn over to chapter 31 of 2 Chronicles here, we find also down in verse 20,

the Word of God tells us this.

And it says,

You know, we see something here from Hezekiah that his faith in God was strong by the choices and the actions that he did.

And so, let's pray here as we start our lesson here tonight.

Heavenly Fathers, we just come before you tonight, Lord, as we see the test of faith.

And Lord, even the test of our faith in our life, Lord, there's things that are going to challenge our trust in you and our faith in you.

Lord, we pray Jesus would work upon each heart, each life might be encouraged and strengthened, Lord,

even in those moments to say, Lord, we keep our eyes upon you.

And Lord, we pray Jesus would work in a mighty way, might be encouraged and strengthened as we meet together here this evening.

Lord, we just give you all the praise in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, we see here that the Hezekiah, in his time, he had seen why he was having blessing,

and God was working in the lives of people and in his life, the decisions he made.

We know the northern tribes during that time because the king of Assyria had come in at the fourth year of Hezekiah's reign.

And in the seventh year, he conquered Samaria and took all the northern tribes captive.

You know, he took them out and away, and we see they were exiled.

And it was really a vivid testimony of God's accountability and judgment upon those that had rejected him.

Because flip back in 2 Kings chapter 18 here tonight, and we'll look down at verse 11 here in chapter 18

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

as we set the stage here for this tonight.

Because we see here in verse 11,

the king of Assyria did carry away Israel into Assyria and put them in Halah, in the harbor, in the river of Gozan,

in the city of the Medes, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God,

but transgressed his covenant and all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded,

and would not hear them nor do them.

And so we see here that the children of Israel, that had separated out from Judah,

they made a choice to turn their back on the things of God.

To say, we're not going to trust God.

Now, I want you to understand, as we've talked about,

because sometimes trusting God is kind of this, people put it on a scale,

where really God doesn't put our trust on a scale as far as,

okay, I'm going to trust him this much.

You know what God says?

He wants you all in.

But oftentimes we try to separate or segregate it out,

and we see that even in lives of people today,

where they say, well, I'll trust God in this area of my life, but not this one.

And the children of Israel, one of the things that they suffered from the northern kingdom,

it's not that they didn't understand there was a God that brought them out,

it's they wanted to do things their own way,

incorporate their own things, and serve God the way they wanted to,

instead of the way God prescribed it to come about.

And we see this as a very important, as we see here tonight,

this dynamic, they refused the covenant,

and this was in the middle of Hezekiah's reign in the beginning of it,

and then we find in the middle Hezekiah faced the test.

The Bible tells us in his 14th year of his reign.

Now, we know Hezekiah reigned for 29 years.

That's what the Bible tells us.

So, the 14th year would be right about smack dab in the middle of that time frame.

And so, things have been going very good for him.

Remember, he had thrown off the yoke of the Assyrians.

He wasn't paying them tribute.

He had been able to subdue the Philistines and others.

He was thriving.

The nation of Judah was thriving.

Things were going well.

Everybody was comfortable, you might say,

in the blessings that God had given.

But now, we come to this 14th year and the Assyrians return.

The Assyrians returned to the land,

desiring to finish what they'd started seven years before.

Because remember, seven years before,

they had taken Samaria and all that region and put them into exile.

Now, we know that now they come with the intent of capturing Jerusalem and Judah and doing the same thing.

And we see this happening here.

And Sennacherib was now the king of Assyria.

He arrives with a mighty army that had conquered the people and cities.

And as we're going to look here tonight,

Sennacherib had a pride issue in the fact he said,

I'm greater than the gods of the land.

And we're going to see he treats the God of Israel,

he treats the God that created heaven and earth in the same manner.

He's lifted up with pride,

thinking I can accomplish all these things on my own means.

And we're going to see how God works through these things,

even in the life of Hezekiah and in the life of the people of Israel.

And so when he comes and begins to lay siege to the land,

it becomes a test.

A test of faith of Hezekiah and the people.

Do you really trust me?

You know, the one thing,

if you don't have to be saved very long to realize,

it's easy to trust God when things are going easy.

A true trust in God happens when it's tested.

There's a test that comes,

and we need to understand this dynamic of a test of faith,

because your faith is easy to say you trust God when things are going well.

You know, think about Job.

Turn back to Job for a moment.

Job chapter 1.

Job 1 · chapter mention

And we see here in the life of Job,

because this is one of the accusations that the devil threw

at God about Job.

You know?

Think about what he says here in Job chapter 1 and verse 9.

Job 1 · chapter mention

The Bible says this.

It says,

And Satan answered the Lord and said,

Doth Job fear God for naught?

Hast not thou made a hedge about him and about his house,

and all that he hath on every side?

Hast thou blessed the work of his hand,

and his substance is increased in the land?

You know?

If you read that chapter 1 of Job,

you'll find out the devil's accusing Job of saying,

Job serves you just because you do all these good things for him.

Because you've blessed him, does he serve you?

And the accusation is,

if you take it all away, he'll curse you.

You know what that is?

That's a test of faith that Job was being put through.

You know, I don't think anybody here,

if you've read the book of Job,

wants to be tested of your faith like Job was tested.

You know?

I wouldn't wish what Job went through on somebody I didn't like.

But Job went through that challenge.

God put him through a test of faith,

and we know that Job's faith was greater than what God's blessings were.

He didn't trust God because he blessed him.

He trusted God because of who God is.

That's the difference that we see,

and we even need to look at in our own lives.

Because such as Hezekiah,

God had blessed him greatly,

and now we see a test that God allowed,

was that of Assyria.

Hezekiah is said to let his fear of man direct his course of actions.

We're going to see this tonight,

that when initially come,

he's distracted by the things,

or the fear overcomes him.

You know, sometimes when something comes suddenly,

fear comes with it.

When the unknown happens or hits you,

when you don't realize what's going on in life,

or life situations turn life upside down.

I mean, when the Assyrians came into the land,

it had been rumored for a long time

as they had conquered people.

In other words, it wasn't like,

oh, the Assyrians are here.

No, it's like, no, the Assyrians are here.

And everybody knew why.

And everybody knew what was going to take place.

And it was, as you read through this passage,

you'll find out that basically they besieged cities

until people were willing to do horrible and horrific things

just to survive.

And we see this dynamic taking place.

But we find here in 2 Kings chapter 18.

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

Take a look with me tonight,

because we see, look down at verse 13.

It says,

Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,

did Sennacherib, king of Assyria,

come up against all the cities of Judah,

and took them.

And Hezekiah, king of Judah,

sent to the king of Assyria, to Lachish,

saying, I have offended.

Return from me.

That which thou puttest on me I will bear.

And the king of Assyria pointed unto Hezekiah,

king of Judah,

three hundred talents of silver,

and three hundred talents of gold.

And Hezekiah gave him all the silver

that was found in the house of the Lord,

and in the treasuries of the king's house.

And at the time did Hezekiah cut up the gold

from the doors of the temple of the Lord,

and from the pillars which Hezekiah,

king of Judah, had overlaid,

and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Now think about this for a moment.

What happened?

Here's Hezekiah.

His faith in God had transformed the nation.

The Assyrians had come and captured

all the cities outside of Jerusalem.

What's Hezekiah's first response?

He responds in fear.

What's he do?

He sends a messenger.

I'm sorry.

I'll pay you whatever you want.

And we see a man who opened the house of God,

take from the offerings people had given to God,

because of his fear.

The fear of man is a devastating thing.

When we allow others to take things that happen,

and we see this coming about,

as Hezekiah sends messengers to Sennacherib,

desiring terms, basically,

to fall back under their oppression,

just as his father had been under.

Remember, at the beginning of his reign,

he threw that off.

He hadn't been paying tribute to him.

He said, I serve God,

and we're not going to be subject unto you.

He'd done that for 14 years.

Now Assyria returns,

and he has a knee-jerk reaction.

You know what fear does?

Sometimes it gives us knee-jerk reactions.

We respond,

because we'll notice something here.

When fear took over,

instead of going to the Lord,

what'd he do?

He did,

what's my solution?

How do I solve the problem?

How do I buy my way out of this?

You know,

that's not much different than people today.

When something tragic happens in life,

you know what?

Most Americans do,

the first thing they do is check their checkbook.

How can I cover this?

Where do we get the resources from?

You know,

do I have enough money to handle the problem?

We look to the wrong thing,

don't we?

Because there's nothing wrong

with God blessing you with resources.

The problem comes

when those resources become our solution

instead of God becoming our solution,

God maintaining,

being the solution.

We see here that

as the Assyrians come,

you say,

well,

why did he capitulate so quickly?

You know,

he remembered what happened to Samaria.

And only seven years earlier,

Samaria wasn't that far away.

Trust me,

he knew exactly what happened to the city,

and what took place.

And I think he let fear

cause a reaction.

You know,

when we're scared,

sometimes we do things

we wouldn't do otherwise.

But you know what?

When we trust God,

we have to slow down

and understand exactly

what's taking place.

Because in this moment

of where fear distracted him,

he goes and tells the king,

oh,

I'm sorry,

I'm offended.

I've offended you.

What can I do?

And that puts a large

tribute upon him.

And so he goes back

and starts stripping the gold

off the walls

of the house of God.

Takes the silver

out of the offerings

that people had given.

And he gives it

unto them.

Because notice here

what's happening.

Look down

in the verse,

the next verse here,

as we look down

in verse 14,

or back up in 14.

Notice what appointed

Hezekiah,

the king of Judah,

300 talents of silver

and 30 talents of gold.

Now let me tell you,

that's a lot.

That's tons of both.

Hezekiah is going

to try to pay it.

But I want you

to understand

that fear,

we have to be careful

because fear

can be a motivator

for good

or fear can be

a motivator for bad.

How we deal

with our fear

in those moments

is.

Now let me rephrase

because you might

look at fear

in other ways,

insecurity.

When we feel insecure

it's because we're scared.

Because something in life

has knocked us off.

Hezekiah didn't,

life had turned

upside down suddenly

when Assyria came in,

took the cities.

You know,

you think about it,

here's a king,

he's been blessed

and all of a sudden

God allows him

to take all these cities

around him.

Look over to Proverbs

Proverbs 29 · chapter mention

chapter 29

for a moment.

Proverbs chapter 29

Proverbs 29 · chapter mention

and verse 25.

Notice what the word

of God tells us

here tonight

because this is important

because look what Proverbs,

very simple Proverbs

of Solomon.

It says,

the fear of man

bringeth what?

A snare.

But whoso putteth

his trust in the Lord

shall be safe.

This verse applies

to Hezekiah

as we're going to

look at it tonight.

Because Hezekiah

is the epitome

of both of them.

You know what?

Sometimes we can be

the epitome

of both of them.

When we allow

circumstances of life

to dictate,

but the good thing is,

the question is,

do you come to your senses

about what you really

need to trust

and who you can trust?

We're going to find

that Hezekiah

didn't remain fearful

but he did respond

with fear.

You know,

people can respond

with fear,

you know.

Think about some other

examples in Scripture.

Who are some others

you can think of

that responded in fear?

Within a few chapters

of Genesis,

you have a couple people.

One's Abraham.

Oh no,

she's my sister.

Why did he respond

that way?

That was based out

of what?

Fear.

A few decades later,

his own son shows

back up

and Isaac with Rebekah

and what happens?

She's my sister.

Why did they do that?

It was out of what?

Fear.

You know,

I want you to understand

that sometimes

we fear

and security,

why were they scared?

Because they didn't

feel secure.

They said,

God can't really

handle the situation

is what they thought.

Even in our own lives

oftentimes,

we can be caught

very quickly

when something happens

instead of stopping

and saying,

in whom do I place

my trust here?

Is it in myself?

Because fear oftentimes

as we see Hezekiah,

we see Abraham,

we see Isaac.

What was the fear?

It's how do I survive

myself?

How do I use

what I have

to accomplish it

instead of

what has God done?

You know,

we see here

that when fear comes,

we need to keep our guard

because in the moment

of fear,

we can lose sight

of the Lord

and respond in fear

and not faith.

You know,

because I want you

to understand,

I'm not looking down

on Hezekiah

because you know what?

Every one of us

is guilty

of the same thing

Hezekiah did.

Where we can seem

overwhelmed

and let fear dictate

instead of faith.

Because look what

the Scripture tells us

for us today.

Look over to Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

You know,

Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

look here in verse 15.

Because if you're

a child of God today,

God has given you

something.

God has given us

His Spirit.

Notice what Romans

8, 15 says,

For ye have not

received the Spirit

of bondage again

to what?

Fear,

but have received

the Spirit

of adoption

whereby we cry

Abba, Father.

You know what it is?

It's like,

hey, when I'm scared

I can go to Dad.

That's the picture.

You know what

little kids do?

What do little kids

do when they're scared?

They go to Dad.

Or they go to a parent.

They go to that

one that they have what?

Trust.

That they trust in Him.

Look a little later.

Go to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

Look at verse 7.

You know,

these are things

that we need to keep

in our mind

because I want you

to understand

it's easy to respond

in fear sometimes.

Fear of what

other people think.

Fear of how other people

are going to respond.

Or fear because

of how somebody responded.

Those things

all drive us.

Notice what here

in 2 Timothy chapter 1

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

and verse 7.

For God

has not given us

the spirit of what?

Fear,

but of power

and a love

of a sound mind.

Because I want you

to see here's

Hezekiah

paying out

to the king

of Assyria

in fear.

But now look

at verse 17

because

there's a change

happens between

16 and 17.

And we'll look

and see.

But look at verse 17.

It says this,

And the king of Assyria

sent Tartan

and Rabish

from Lachish

to King Hezekiah

with a great host

against Jerusalem.

And they went

and came up to Jerusalem

and when they were come up

they came and stood

by the conduit

of the upper pool

which is in the highway

of the fuller's field.

And when they had

called to the king

there came out

one Elkema

the son of Hezekiah

which was over

the household

and Shebna

the scribe

and Joah

the son of As

the recorder.

And Rosheth

said unto them

speak ye now

to Hezekiah

thus saith the great king

the king of Assyria

what confidence

is there therein

thou trustest?

I want you to understand

there's something

changed here

because Hezekiah

had been sending him

the tribute

in verse 16

and in verse 17

Shennacherib

sends his servants

to say

why hasn't it showed up?

Why hasn't it all

been delivered?

He says

who are you trusting in?

Why would he ask

that question?

Well I think

as we're going to

look at what

happens here tonight

something changed.

Things in the life

of Hezekiah

changed

because Hezekiah

went from operating

in fear of the moment

back to focusing

upon God.

There was a change

in his life

we find there's a change

that had taken place

and an Assyrian king

now sends messengers

to Jerusalem

a declaration

not to trust

in the Lord God

of Hezekiah.

We're going to look here

because there's something

that changed

in this situation

as you find

a little later

I think

because Hezekiah

had another life

changing situation.

Look a little later

look over there

to chapter 20

in 2 Kings.

I want you to understand

2 Kings here

is not all in

chronological order

on some of these

because you said

at that time

where you'll find

these other phrases

here as we look

in chapter 20

notice what it says

here in chapter 20

in verse 1

it says

in those days

in other words

while this other

was happening

over here

this took place.

Doesn't that sound

like life?

You've got problems

over here

and you've got problems

over here.

Wouldn't it be nice

if you only had

one problem at a time?

The reality is

life is filled

with what?

Lots of problems.

Hezekiah had a problem.

Notice what happens here.

It says

in those days

was Hezekiah

sick unto death

and the prophet Isaiah

the son of Amos

came to him

and said unto him

thus saith the Lord

now think about

this conversation

the prophet brings him

you know

this is always good news

this is not

hospital etiquette

let me tell you.

You know

you don't show up

at the hospital visit

and say

set your house

in order

you're going to die

but notice what

he says there

he does exactly that

set your house

in order

for thou shalt die

and not live

you know

in those days

Hezekiah became sick

Isaiah comes to him

and tells him

get things arranged

because you're not

making it.

I want you to understand

we know this was

in the same year

that Assyria came

because Assyria came

what?

In the 14th year

now I'm telling you

the rest of the story

this is kind of like

that Paul Harvey moment

you know

where you tell

the rest of the story

some of the older ones

know who Paul Harvey is

maybe some of the younger ones

don't

he always had to show

that that was just saying

now for the rest

of the story

the end of the story

with Hezekiah

in regard to this

is God gives him

another 15 years

of life

now it doesn't take

a major math person

to figure out

if you're in the 14th year

and you're getting 15 years

you got a 29 year reign

what year did this

take place?

in the 14th year

the same year

that the Assyrians came

so we need to ask

what changed

well what changed

as Hezekiah got sick?

we don't know

what the sickness was

but we know

that God sent

the prophet to him

and said

hey

you're not going

to make it

and we see

Hezekiah

change a direction

to get back

on track

look at verse 2

of chapter 20

it says

then he turned

his face to the wall

and prayed unto the Lord

saying

did you notice

something in the first part

where he was operating

in fear

what didn't happen?

he never prayed once

he didn't ask God

is this what should I do?

he just tried to solve

his fear problem

by what he possessed

how can I buy myself

out of the problem?

I want you to understand

the things that people

do in today's culture

is no different

than people used to do

how can I buy things out?

you know

think about the problems

we have today

I mean you hear that

all the time

government will solve it

if you just give them

what?

more money

you know

there's a lot of things

in life

you don't solve

with money

because it doesn't matter

whether you're rich

or poor

it's not going to

be a solution

you know what

when the doctor

shows up

and says

you're not going

to live very long

it doesn't matter

how much money

you have

you're in trouble

you can't buy

yourself out of it

and we see here

Hezekiah's response

was praying to the Lord

look here at verse 3

it says

he said this

I beseech thee

O Lord

remember now

how I have walked

before thee in truth

and with a perfect heart

and have done that

which is good

in thy sight

and Hezekiah

wept sore

now I want you to understand

when you see how this

plays out

and you understand

other principles

from scripture

I think Hezekiah

realized

what he'd done

when it says

he wept sore

he realized

that yeah

I had been walking

with God

but now I wasn't

I had been

but now I'm not

you know what

sometimes one decision

in life changes course

Hezekiah had a course

correction

because we're going to

see from this point

Hezekiah changed

from fear

back to faith

it took faith

to do what he did

at the beginning

but you know what

sometimes we can get

coasting along

and forget that

faith is still important

of trusting God

so we see here

notice what takes place

Isaiah had come

and notice how quick

God responds

in this situation

look at verse 4

it came to pass

afore Isaiah was gone

out in the middle

of the court

that the word of the

Lord came to him

saying

turn again

and tell Hezekiah

the captive of my people

thus saith the Lord

the Lord God of David

thy father

I have heard thy prayer

and have seen thy tears

behold I will heal thee

on the third day

thou shalt go up

to the house of the Lord

and I will add unto thee

fifteen years

and I will deliver thee

in this city

out of the hand

of the king of Assyria

and I will defend

this city

for mine own sake

and for my servant

David's sake

and think about

God's promise

to Hezekiah

He says

number one

you're going to get better

number two

He says

in three days

you're going to be

well enough

to go stand

and go to the temple

to worship me

He says

and then don't worry

because I'm going to

defend Jerusalem

that's some big promises

isn't it

I mean

God came to him

and made him

some big promises

remember

what was his health condition

he was what

going to

die

in three days

he's going to be up

and walking

being able to walk

into the house of God

and worship the Lord again

and God says

don't worry Hezekiah

I've got this

He said

Hezekiah

don't operate in fear

but operate in faith

because we're going to see

why did

Snackarib send people

to Jerusalem

because there was a change

Hezekiah said

yeah I messed up

but there's going to be

a course correction

I'm not going to be

operating in fear

I'm going to operate

in faith

I'm going to operate

I'm going to trust

the Lord

in these things

and you know

the answer that

Hezekiah received

was great

it was a wonderful

response

it's great to know

that God can handle

any crisis

in your life

no matter the situation

yet it's important

to note

that when we find

ourselves in these

situations

we have a responsibility

to pray

to turn our face

towards Him

to cry out to Him

if we genuinely

want to turn

our life over to God

you know what

God responds

to genuine

repentance

and humility

before Him

the Bible tells us

if you come humbly

before God

He will no way

reject you

a humble spirit

says I realize

who I am

and I realize

who you are

and when we

understand who God

is and His authority

you know

if we turn our life

over to Him

you know

I want you to understand

this case

He miraculously healed

but I want you to

understand

sometimes God

gives you strength

to walk through

the situation

you know

there was a lot

of strength

needed

not just physically

but Hezekiah

had to trust God

for what was to come

and God told him

He was going to

defend the city

and Hezekiah

is going

I have no idea

how this is going

to happen

I have no concept

of how you're going

to do this

He just had a promise

from God

that God would

defend the city

and as we read

through this

you're going to find out

God did something

miraculous

that put fear

even in the nations

around him

and Hezekiah

trusted God

God didn't give

Hezekiah

a great

military victory

in the sense

of Hezekiah

didn't go out

and face him

in battle

as you're going

to find a little

later

as you read

through this

passage

God got involved

and the Assyrians

decided it was

time to go home

because the mighty

army that had

crushed all the

other gods

found out

that the God

could take care

of himself

you know

sometimes we

forget that

the Lord God

of heaven

doesn't need us

to defend him

he is more

than capable

sometimes I think

we need to

keep that in mind

as we work

through

but you know

look over to

Psalm 91

for a moment

Psalm 91

look at verse 1

the Bible tells us

this

he says

he that dwelleth

in the secret

place of the

Most High

shall abide

under the shadow

of the Almighty

I will say

of the Lord

He is my refuge

and my fortress

my God

in Him

will I

trust

you know

a prayer

that God

heard and

answered clearly

for him

even giving him

a sign

you know

God says

hey

three days

you're going

to get up

and go

into the temple

and Hezekiah

goes

well I want

a sign

so God

moves the sun

in the sky

back

you know

we don't have

time to get

into all that

tonight

but I want you

to understand

that God

gave him a sign

I mean

you think about

that looking

for a sundial

if you ever

watch a sundial

you see the

shadow going

imagine

that day

the sundial's

going

and all of a sudden

it goes

and everybody's

going

okay

it was distinct

there was no

question

something took

place

God gave him

a sign

and it's clear

that something

happened here

even in the

heart of the

king

between

2nd Kings

18

and verse

17

so now

let's look over

to 2nd Chronicles

chapter 32

because here

in 2nd Chronicles

notice what

says

after these

things

at 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

and when

Hezekiah saw

that Sennacherib

was come

he had purpose

to fight

against Jerusalem

he took

counsel

with his

princes

and his

mighty men

to stop

the waters

and the

fountains

which were

without the

city

and they

did help

him

so they

would gather

much people

together

who stopped

all the

fountains

and the

brook

that ran

through the

midst of

the land

saying

why should

the king

of Assyria

come and

find much

water

you know

I want

you to see

here

here's

the land's

changed

now I want

you to see

here there's

something distinct

because remember

originally

Sennacherib was

at Lachish

which is about

30 miles south

this passage

says he actually

came up

towards Jerusalem

or at least

sent his army

up to actually

attack the city

so in other

words we see

this time frame

taking place

as he sends

his men

and the others

but I want

you to understand

he now takes

counsel with his

princes and

mighty men

and he takes

action because

he stops

the wells

out around

because he's

basically saying

why should we

give the enemy

water

you know

that's pretty

good logic

you know

you know

what we need

every day

water

you know

how hard it

is to keep

a large army

in the ancient

world with

water

that was a

task to

itself

he says

we're not

going to

just let

them come

in

now look

down at

verse 7

of chapter

32

and he

says this

as he

sets over

them

and he

says

verse 7

be strong

and courageous

be not

afraid

nor dismayed

for the

king of

Assyria

nor for

all the

multitude

that was

with him

for there

be more

with us

than with

him

and 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

word

of

Hezekiah

king

of

Judah

now

I want

you

to

understand

there's

a lot

contained

right there

because

Hezekiah

makes a

declaration

he says

I don't

know how

God's

going to

do

it

but he

says

I know

God

has

more

with

him

than

the

Assyrians

have

let's

ask your

Bible

trivia

where

did

you get

that

idea

he got

over

in

2nd

Kings

chapter

6

remember

the

prophet

Elisha

when they

came out

after

Elisha

and

Elisha

servants

trembling

in his

boots

going

hey

do you

see all

these

people

around

Elisha

goes

they're

outnumbered

you know

2nd

Kings

6

16

Elisha

answered

his

servant

and said

this

fear

not

for

they

that

be

with

us

are

more

than

they

that

be

with

them

it

says

Elisha

prayed

and opened

his

eyes

the

servant

eyes

and they

saw

the

hills

filled

with

the

angels

of

the

Lord

now

when

you

study

that

out

that

ought

to

scare

you

because

you

understand

God

wiped

out

entire

armies

by

sending

one

angel

you

imagine

what

the

hills

filled

full

of

them

would

look

like

I

mean

you're

well

protected

you know

what the

king

said

he

said

guys

were

well

protected

!

because

God

with

God

there's

more

with

us

than

there

is

with

them

we

find

that

the

people

rested

upon

the

words

of

the

king

you

know

that's

a

powerful

statement

right

there

you know

what

that

let me

put it

out

to

you

it

says

the

people

trusted

God

and

they

trusted

what

Hezekiah

had

said

about

God

trust

makes

a

difference

doesn't

it

look

over

to

the

book

of

Isaiah

Isaiah

41

look

down

in

verse

10

that's

a

good

verse

to

remember

it

when

you're

afraid

one of

the

things

you

got to

keep

in

mind

is

who

do

I

trust

to

get

our

focus

on

the

right

thing

and

not

just

the

circumstance

but

upon

who

are

you

trusting

in

this

one

thing

you

can

count

on

is

if

you

declare

your

trust

in

the

Lord

God

is

going

to

come

through

look

at

Isaiah

Isaiah 50:7

50

verse

7

it

says

for

the

Lord

God

will

help

me

therefore

shall

I

not

be

confounded

wherefore

have

I

set

my

face

like

a

flint

and

I

know

that

I

shall

not

be

ashamed

he

is

near

that

justifies

me

he

who

will

contend

with

me

let

us

stand

together

who

is

my

adversary

let

him

come

near

to

me

you

know

what

when

you're

!

with

God

there's

more

with

you

than

against

you

and

we're

going

to

see

this

because

we're

going

to

see

faith

is

going

to

be

challenged

because

yeah

he had

a

restored

faith

but

that

doesn't

mean

it's

still

not

going

to

come

without

a

challenge

it

wasn't

long

before

the

king

of

Assyria

sends

his

three

jokers

with the

message

to say

hey

don't

trust

in

Hezekiah

don't

trust

in

the

God

of

Hezekiah

you

know

take a

look

at

what

it

says

here

look

down

back

in

2

Chronicles

32

look

down

in

verse

9

after

this

did

Sennacherib

king

of

Assyria

send

his

servants

to

Jerusalem

but

he

himself

laid

siege

against

Lachish

and

all

the

power

with

him

and

they

and

to

Hezekiah

king

of

Judah

and

all

Judah

and

they

were

at

Jerusalem

saying

thus

saith

Sennacherib

king

of

Assyria

wherein

do

you

trust

that

ye

abide

in

the

siege

of

Jerusalem

doth

not

Hezekiah

persuade

you