"Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him. Sermons
I. THAT TROUBLE MAY FOLLOW FAITHFULNESS AS IT DOES FOLLOW SIN. We never read of Israel's serious departure from their loyalty to Jehovah without reading of appropriate penalty coming in due course. Suffering always waits on sin - suffering in some form. But sometimes, as here, trouble comes to the right-hearted; to the nation which has Hezekiah for its king, and Isaiah for its prophet; to the man who is zealous in the cause of his Divine Lord. "Many are the afflictions [even] of the righteous, and sometimes great as well as many. They have a work to do within and beyond, the value of which will immeasurably outweigh the "grievousness of the present" (Hebrews 12:11). II. THAT IT SHOULD BE MET WITH COURAGE, ENERGY, INTELLIGENCE, AND PIETY. These qualities Hezekiah was now showing. He had given way to trepidation, and he had resorted to means which were unworthy of his position and his piety (see 2 Kings 18:9-16). But now he was in a nobler mood. His courage rose to the occasion (ver. 7); his energy was manifested in the effective measures (vers. 4, 5) he took to distress and to disappoint the enemy; his intelligence was shown in his taking counsel with the strongest and wisest of his people, in the rapidity of the measures he adopted and in their sagacity, and also in his effort to inspire the people with confidence and security; his piety shone forth in his address to the people, calling on them to remember that they had not an "arm of flesh," but "the Lord their God," to lean upon. Let us meet any form of trouble - disappointment, loss, bereavement, sickness, or any affliction whatsoever - in this spirit and with these qualities, and it will not master us; we shall prevail over it. It will not leave desolation and ruin in its track; it will rather leave benefit and blessing behind it. III. THAT WHEN WE ARE ATTACKED OUR AIM SHOULD BE TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY'S INTENTION. This is not altogether the truism it may seem. Too often men think that their duty and their wisdom under attack is to reply to the enemy in the same form in which he is assailing them. But that may be most unwise. Just as Hezekiah considered what Sennacherib was aiming at, and took prompt and able measures to defeat that purpose; so we should always consider, not the kind of warfare, but the "real objective," the ultimate purpose of our enemy, and should set to work to prevent its realization. He may only be wanting to provoke and disturb us, and we shall absolutely defeat his purpose by not allowing ourselves to be provoked or disturbed; he may be desirous of inducing us to take some compromising step, and we shall gain the victory by refusing to be drawn in that direction; he may want to bring himself into notoriety, and we shall defeat him by quietly letting him alone, etc. Consider his aim, and move so as to thwart that. IV. THAT RECTITUDE IS THE STRENGTH OF ANY CAUSE OR KINGDOM. Sennacherib's multitude of soldiery was nothing whatever when he deliberately and ostentatiously arrayed them against the living God. Hezekiah's army was indifferent in size and (probably) in military equipment and training, but what mattered that so long as they had righteousness in their ranks and God for their Leader? We are not, indeed, to despise the means which we employ, but it is so much that we may say that it is everything to know and feel that our cause is just, that we ourselves are upright in our heart and character, and that, with perfect purity and simplicity of spirit, we can ask God's blessing on our efforts. - C.
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God. Monday Club Sermons. The story of Hezekiah and his preservation is one of the most vivid and thrilling. Rightly interpreted, it echoes the words of our text to all time. The king of Assyria is a representative character. The powers of this world are joined against the children of God, and they are variously commanded. Some Sennacherib rises from hour to hour and threatens, often with formidable front and fell purpose. But God's people may always say, "There be more with us than with him," etc.(Monday Club Sermons.) II. THE SOURCE, OF OUR SUPPORT, AND CAUSE OF VICTORY. "But with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." This denotes — 1. Possession. 2. Presence. 3. Support. 4. Victory. 5. The Father is with us. 6. The Son is with us. 7. And the Holy Ghost is with us. III. THE RESULT OF GOD'S MANIFESTED PRESENCE. "And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah." (T. B. Baker.) I. At the NEGATIVE SIDE.1. Numbers are no surety. Gideon's army had to be reduced before it could conquer the Amalekites. 2. Worldly wisdom, policy, shrewdness, enterprise, will not ensure success. 3. Unlimited creature resources of every kind are insufficient. 4. The most seemingly favourable outward circumstances, as to time, place, auspices, expectations, combinations, oftentimes but deceive into carnal security and insure the worst kind of defeat. II. At the POSITIVE SIDE — the assured, unfailing conditions of victory in the sense of Righteousness and Godliness. 1. We must have God on our side. There must be no doubt on this point. 2. We must be careful to be on God's side. 3. This brings out the point which the Apostle John emphasises so strongly (1 John 5:4, 5). (J. M. Sherwood.) And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah I. THE KIND OF MAN WHOSE WORDS ARE LIKELY TO BE RESTED ON. He must be —1. A great man. 2. A good man. 3. A courageous man. 4. A hearty man. 5. In such a case God will add His sanction by granting success and he will be a prosperous man. 6. A man who has respect for God's word. II. In the second place let us TURN THE OTHER WAY AND LOOK AT THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO REST ON SUCH A MAN'S WORD. 1. Children do so with their parents. 2. Illiterate people who cannot read. 3. Unconverted persons who have no spiritual discernment. 4. Persons who naturally run in a groove. Having attended at such a place of worship, and having been brought up in the midst of a certain set of godly people, they scarcely deviate one jot from the teaching that they have received. Almost by the necessity of their nature they rest on what they hear. 5. Persons who profess always to do their own thinking. If you will trace them home, they are in nine cases out of ten the veriest slaves that ever lived. They are the bondservants of some heretic or other who has put it into their heads that in following him they become free men. III. THE KIND OF WORDS YOU MAY REST ON. You may safely rest on — 1. Words which urge you to faith in God. 2. Words which are the words of God Himself. 3. Words which are sealed by the Lord Jesus. 4. Words which have been blessed to other men. 5. Words which breathe a sense of rest into the soul. ( C. H. Spurgeon.) People Amoz, David, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Manasseh, SennacheribPlaces Assyria, Babylon, Gihon, Jerusalem, Lachish, MilloTopics Account, Afraid, Army, Asshur, Assyria, Cast, Courage, Courageous, Discouraged, Dismayed, Face, Fear, Greater, Heart, Horde, Multitude, Power, Strong, Troubled, VastOutline 1. Sennacherib invading Judah, Hezekiah fortifies himself, and encourages his people9. Hezekiah and Isaiah pray against the blasphemies of Sennarchib 21. An angel destroys the host of the Assyrians 24. Hezekiah praying in his sickness, God gives him a sign of recovery 25. His proud heart is humbled by God 27. His wealth and works 31. His error in the ambassage of Babylon 32. He dying, Manasseh succeeds him Dictionary of Bible Themes 2 Chronicles 32:7 8220 courage, facing enemies 8107 assurance, and life of faith 1060 God, greatness of Library A Strange Reward for FaithfulnessAfter these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came.'--2 CHRON. XXXII. 1. The Revised Version gives a much more accurate and significant rendering of a part of these words. It reads: 'After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came.' What are 'these things' and 'this faithfulness'? The former are the whole of the events connected with the religious reformation in Judah, which King Hezekiah inaugurated and carried through so brilliantly … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Some Buildings in Acra. Bezeiha. Millo. The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal Temporal Advantages. Gihon, the Same with the Fountain of Siloam. The Girdle of the City. 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