Readings for today: 2 Chronicles 32-34, Psalms 79
One of the most consistent themes throughout Scripture is God’s desire to make Himself known. He will not stop until knowledge of God fills the earth like the waters fill the sea. God will never rest until every person on earth from every tribe, tongue, and nation are given the opportunity to know Him and trust Him. This is God’s great desire, for all to come to know the truth about who He is and His great love for all He has made. We see this on display in a myriad of ways in the Old Testament. God speaks to certain individuals like Abraham and Sarah. God confronts other individuals like the kings of Israel and Judah. God challenges individuals like Pharaoh and the other leaders of the pagan nations of the earth. But the refrain is always the same. God wants to be known. God wants the world to see Him for who He is and has revealed Himself to be. God wants the nations to find their true purpose in worshipping Him alone.
Today we see this mapped out in the conflict between Sennacherib and Hezekiah. Sennacherib was the king of the greatest empire of the time. His armies had rolled through nation after nation, meeting little if any resistance. He saw himself as divinely appointed by his gods to rule over the earth. He even taunts Hezekiah and the people of Israel, claiming God stood no chance against him. “His servants said more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters to mock the Lord, 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. 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. They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands.” (2 Chronicles 32:16-19 CSB) Sennacherib was a bold and arrogant and foolish king who believed the God of Israel was just another pagan idol. But God will not be mocked and He made Himself known as He destroys the armies of the Assyrians and sets in motion a chain of events that eventually leads to Sennacherib’s death. Hezekiah, on the other hand, is lifted up by God and exalted among the nations. Many turn to the Lord in fear after witnessing the great miracle of salvation and God’s name became known among the people’s of the earth. The same dynamics are in play in the repentance of Manasseh and the reforms of Josiah. Over and over again, God making Himself known.
God is still making Himself known today. God is still on the move in our world today. It can be tough to see at times. The news comes at us fast and hard and relentlessly. It’s almost universally tragic and deceitful and bad. Humanity seems to be locked in a death spiral from which there is no escape. We simply cannot outrun our own foolishness. Our own pride and arrogance. Our own idolatry and sinfulness. Everything we do is corrupted by the pursuit of power, love for money, and a lust for personal, selfish gratification. Only God can turn this around. Only God can change the human heart. Only God can give us a new perspective. Pray for the Lord to give you His eyes to see and His heart to understand and His passion to make Himself known.
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Chronicles 35-36, Psalms 80