20250211

what’s in your heart?

2 Chronicles 32:1-33

2 Chronicles 32:1 After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them.
2 Chronicles 32:2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem,
2 Chronicles 32:3 so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him.
2 Chronicles 32:4 Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”
2 Chronicles 32:5 Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David and made an abundance of weapons and shields.
2 Chronicles 32:6 He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,
2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.
2 Chronicles 32:8 He has only human strength, but we have Yahveh our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So, the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
2 Chronicles 32:9 After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,
2 Chronicles 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?
2 Chronicles 32:11 Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “Yahveh our God will keep us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”?
2 Chronicles 32:12 Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”?
2 Chronicles 32:13 ” ‘Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power?
2 Chronicles 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?
2 Chronicles 32:15 So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ‘”
2 Chronicles 32:16 His servants said more against Yahveh God and against his servant Hezekiah.
2 Chronicles 32:17 He also wrote letters to mock Yahveh, the God of Israel, saying against him: Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power.
2 Chronicles 32:18 Then they called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city.
2 Chronicles 32:19 They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the land, which were made by human hands.
2 Chronicles 32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven,
2 Chronicles 32:21 and Yahveh sent an angel who made every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria to disappear. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.
2 Chronicles 32:22 So Yahveh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest on every side.
2 Chronicles 32:23 Many were bringing an offering to Yahveh to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.
2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to Yahveh, and he spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.
2 Chronicles 32:25 However, because his heart was proud, Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So, there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 32:26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — so Yahveh’s wrath didn’t come on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.
2 Chronicles 32:27 Hezekiah had abundant riches and glory, and he made himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every desirable item.
2 Chronicles 32:28 He made warehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and pens for flocks.
2 Chronicles 32:29 He made cities for himself, and he acquired vast numbers of flocks and herds, for God gave him abundant possessions.
2 Chronicles 32:30 This same Hezekiah blocked the outlet of the water of the Upper Gihon and channelled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.
2 Chronicles 32:31 When the ambassadors of Babylon’s rulers were sent to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.
2 Chronicles 32:32 As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and his deeds of faithful love, note that they are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
2 Chronicles 32:33 Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.

what’s in your heart?

The chronicler has a unique perspective on why Hezekiah made the mistake of showing the Babylonian envoys his treasures. He says that “God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart. ” (31).

We are not to blame for the bad situations we get in, but we are being watched to see how we respond to them. The world needs to see what is in our heart.

LORD, help us to seek your will in every decision we make. We do not want to presume that we are smart enough to make decisions that honor you.