Part 1
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself” Chronicles 32:1
There are people who think that by doing good God owes them something. I think it is important for us as Christians to realize that we are not in a stock exchange business with God. First; we don’t get anything from God on the bases of what we did. We receive from God by faith in His word trusting in His grace and not in our own righteousness which is based on human effort. Our actions of righteousness are not a commodity to exchange for what we need from GOD. Second; it is our duty to do good. Why should we be praised for doing what we were supposed to do anyway? Next time you do good don’t behave like God owes you something. You did what you were expected to do.
Here is an amazing story that I believe will knock many Christians out of joint. Hezekiah took office as king at the age of twenty five. We read about all his reforms in 2 Chronicleschapter 29 to 30. You will see as you read that his father Ahaz messed things up for him to inherit. Ahaz turned away from the Lord and shut up the house of the Lord. He led Judah into a complete spiritual collapse; encouraging them into moral degradation. When threatened by the Philistines he took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king and from the leaders, and he gave to the king of Assyria. As though not sure this was enough to provoke God’s anger He went on to sacrifice to the gods of Damascus. This was the spiritual condition of the nation when young Hezekiah took offiece.
But Hezekiah was different. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He repaired the doors of the temple and called on the Levites to cleanse the temple. The condition of the temple was so bad it took the Levites sixteen days to remove the debris and cleanse the temple. After all these, young Hezekiah summoned both the nations of Israel and Judah to come together and celebrate the Lords’ Passover. Here is a man who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord – a man who restored the temple worship. If there is anything that pleases the Lord is to be worshiped.
Yet our scripture verse says after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah and God did not stop him. A conventional Christian mentality would expect God to come fuming against the king of Assyria. God left the enemy king to attack the faithful king. Hezekiah had all the right to call up all his righteous works of reformation and accuse God to the face.
But Hezekiah reacted differently. He prepared the army for war. He gathered together the people in the open square of the city and gave them encouragement. He said to them; “be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7,8. The bible tells us that the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah.
I think we can all learn a lesson from Hezekiah’s reaction to a looming battle. He did not consider his good works; he did not question God. I think we should stop raising questions demanding immediate answers from God every time we are been threatened. We may have done good; alright, but He does not owe us a cent. Like Hezekiah when you did all those righteous works it was not for a prize. You were just doing what you were supposed to do. We discount our good works when we think we can bring them forward and trade with God every time we are faced with the enemy.
It pleases God when our act of faithfulness is out of sheer love and reverend to Him and not as stock deposits which can be withdrawn on a rainy day. Hezekiah did not bargain with God; he encouraged the people with his faith. Although in number the Assyrians were more than the Jews, he said; "there are more with us than with him." When he realized his people did not catch the point he explained himself further and said, “…with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and fight our battle.”
May our willingness to serve God not be motivated by any form of reward or recognition but by our love, obedience and reverence to God, our Father. Let us stop asking questions every time our adversary roars like a lion. Let us trust and know that in every situation God is in control. No circumstance takes Him by surprise. It is true; we get frightened when attacked; it is true we get hurt when stricken, but that should not drive us into a situation where we want to square it up with God. The important thing is where this state leads us to. Does it lead us to God or to self-righteousness? Let us trust and know that in every situation God is in control. No circumstance takes God by surprise.
…to be continued
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