3 Easy Taunts

Chapter 16 - The Story

Sennacherib is just fun to say.  Even as I'm typing this, I'm saying it in my head: "Sennacherib".  Son of Sargon II (fun, but not as fun as his son), Sennacherib was the powerful king of Assyria around 705 BC.  He wasn't so much a military strategist as he was a builder, renovator, and all-around expansionist.  There was some bad blood between Father and Son, and it seems he wanted to be remembered differently from his dad.

But he wasn't a slouch.  He didn't take too kindly to a young king of Judah named Hezekiah.  Hezekiah wasn't interested in Assyria, their god Nisroch, or paying tribute anymore.  He wanted to worship the Lord - and he systematically went about destroying any of the idol worshiping in Judah to do that.  The Lord was with Hezekiah, and things were about to go down.

Nothing says, "Release the Kraken" like one tiny province thumbing their nose at you.  Sennacherib sends his generals on a vicious military campaign that decimated some of the fortified cities on their way to Jerusalem.  Hezekiah closed in the town, readied for what's to come.

Here is where things get weird.  Instead of just fighting the city, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers set up camp, and the field commander called out for Hezekiah.  The palace administrator comes out with the scribe, and the field commander begins to make some suggestions.  "Listen...no one is coming to help you.  I'll even give you some horses if you have enough soldiers to ride them.  You are on your own.  Let's just cut a deal and I won't completely destroy you."  No response.

Then he calls out in Hebrew: "Look - your king is lying!  He won't save you!  He's telling you the Lord will deliver you, and he won't.  I'll even take you to a land that's just like this, but better! Give in!"

Sennacherib gets a message that Hezekiah's not budging.  So they send the final salvo - "We are coming for you.  No one has survived us.  We're taking you down.  Love, Sennacherib."

Hezekiah prays.  He lays it all out before God.  And God listened.  An angel of the Lord shows up, and smites 185,000 soldiers in the night.  185,000 dead bodies at the dawn's early light.

Isn't that like our enemy?  He rages and thrashes, and then stands outside making fun of us when we are at the end of our rope.  He'll even use our own language.  He shoots at us 3 easy taunts when crisis hits:
1. You are all alone in this.
2. God is lying.  He's not that good.  Your life can be just as good without following Him.
3. You're not going to survive this.

The truth is, the Lord hears.  And he doesn't take too kindly to be taunted with lies.  The direct quote was, "Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?  Because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth."  Ouch.  Total domination.

Again - Jehova Shaw Mah'.  The Lord who hears.  He is motivated on our behalf!  Not just the Lord who hears.  He is the Lord who responds.  Amen!

Eliza Cortés Bast