“And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” Isaiah 37:36 ESV
Reflection: why does the Lord seem to give us more than we can handle at times?
Heard a story about a Christian couple, who had two children but wanted one more. They were blessed with twins. But at birth, they discovered that one of the children was a special needs child, with Downs syndrome, requiring a lot of extra care. But then, not long after the birth of the twins, they also found out that the other child had a serious health condition that required several surgeries to correct. And to top it off, this all happened during the beginning of the pandemic, which meant they had to bring the two other children home, to mostly homeschool them. And of course this was all in addition to managing the complexity of their own jobs during lockdowns. It seemed like one problem just was being piled on top of another. What was supposed to be such a joyous time for them, with an expanded family, turned into a huge struggle. A very difficult, very trying time. They became frustrated, disillusioned and broken, having nothing left, and wondering why.
Where was God in all of this?
You might remember that king Hezekiah, the king of the southern kingdom of Judah, was surrounded by the massive army of the Assyrians. The Assyrian king taunted Hezekiah; mocking the Lord God. Looking at his enemy and what his people was up against, Hezekiah knew it was humanly impossible for them to win against this mighty army. But he did not surrender. His generals might have advised him to surrender, so that the people would not be slaughtered by the Assyrian army. Instead of surrender, Hezekiah turned to the Lord, and pleaded his case before God. So what happened? Let’s read a few verses of what the Lord did.
“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” Isaiah 37:33-36 ESV. Did you notice that one angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 mighty warriors? Talk about power, right? What was beyond the ability of Hezekiah’s army, was not even a fight for the Lord, who sent one angel to deal with the Assyrians.
But let’s also see what happened to the king of Assyria. “Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.” Isaiah 37:37-38 ESV. Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord was greatly rewarded.
Not sure if you have experienced a situation in life, where you have reached the end of your abilities. And, even after crying out to God, more difficulties just keeps coming. One on top of the other, beyond your abilities. And you face a choice like Hezekiah – either give in and “surrender”, or trust in the abilities of God. And, perhaps that is exactly the point of the situation you find yourself in. Broken, empty, beyond your own abilities. Only there, we truly know we need God, just like when we came to the Lord the very first time.
