July 10

Last Years of Hezekiah's Reign - 2 Kings 18:13-16; Isaiah 36:1; 2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38:1-8, 38:21-22; 38:9-20; 2 Chronicles 32:25-30; 2 Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39:1-8; 2 Chronicles 32:1-15; 2 Kings 18:17-25; Isaiah 36:2-10; 2 Kings 18:26-37; Isaiah 36:11-22; 2 Chronicles 32:16-19; 2 Kings 19:1-36; Isaiah 37:1-37; 2 Chronicles 32:17, 20-23; 2 Kings 20:20-21; 2 Chronicles 32:32-33

These are piles of the dead at the Civil War battle of Antietam.  As horrific as this picture is, it's nothing compared to the picture of 185,000 dead Assyrians.

They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world -- the work of men's hands. 

2 Chronicles 32:19

The attacking Assyrian's chide and ridicule Hezekiah and the people for believing their god will save them when no god has saved any of the other nations they've conquered.  Ironically it's the God they mock that has made it possible for the Assyrian's to be as successful as they have been.  

God blesses the whole world.  Some acknowledge it and others choose to ridicule it and write books like The God Delusion.  Yikes.  

The Assyrians are made believers when the Angel of the Lord kills 185,000 in the night.  Imagine waking up in the middle of 185,000 corpses? 

Will it take even more for us to believe?  I pray not.  

Lord knows.