THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU, OH LORD
Song: Who's like unto thee, O Lord (twice) / Above the gods, O Lord / Who is like thee, O Lord / Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Halleluyah.
"The letter that the emperor wrote defied the Lord, the God of Israel. It said, "The gods of the nations have not saved their people from my power, and neither will Hezekiah's god save his people from me." The officials shouted this in Hebrew in order to frighten and discourage the people in Jerusalem who were on the city wall, so that it would be easier to capture the city. They talked about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they talked about the gods of the other peoples, idols made by human hands. Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed to God and cried out to him for help. The Lord sent an angel that killed the soldiers and officers of the Assyrian army. So the emperor went back to Assyria disgraced. One day when he was in the temple of his god, some of his sons killed him with their swords. In this way the Lord rescued King Hezekiah and people of Jerusalem from the power of Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, and also from their other enemies. He let the people live in peace with all the neighbouring countries. Many people came to Jerusalem, bringing offerings to the Lord and gifts to Hezekiah, so that from then on all the nations held Hezekiah in honour." (II Chronicles 32:16-23)
Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, is one monarch who hit a winning streak in terms of invasion and conquest of other lands and territories. So successful was he in his expeditions, one might even mistake his middle name to be 'Conqueror.' Or better still, he might do just fine parading himself with an epithet (adjective or descriptive phrase that can be used to portray the character of someone or something). 'Sennacherib the Conqueror', how does that sound? The adjective 'conqueror' wouldn't have been such a bad epithet, or what do you think? If Sennacherib and Alexander the Great had been contemporaries, the former would have given the latter a good run for his money. Or should we say a good run for his epithet, as in this case.
It happened that on this occasion, his target was Jerusalem. Hezekiah happened to be the monarch of Jerusalem at that time. Little did the emperor of Assyria realize that not only was he making a bad choice of target, history was in the making. Because of his streak of success, he thought Hezekiah and Jerusalem would be easy touch. Sennacherib was full of confidence. Continuous success had served as reinforcement for his confidence.
Previously, the emperor had come across nations who have the confidence that their values or ideals will protect them. Most of these values or ideals were based on the worship of gods. Experience had proved to Sennacherib that even in societies that base their safety, trust and hope in deities, they end up being vulnerable to attack and defeat all the same. As he overran kingdoms after kingdoms (despite the acclaimed capability of their gods) his contempt for deities and the values they represent began to soar at about the same rate as his confidence in battle. One thing he seemed to have overlooked was that there are limits. Even though there are gods, there is God. There are deities, and there is Deity. There are values, and there is Value. There are ideals, and there is Ideal. There are powers, and there is Power.
Prior to the attempted invasion of Jerusalem, Sennacherib wrote a letter to Hezekiah, "the Lord's servant". The letter that the emperor wrote defiled the Lord, the God of Israel. It was, "The gods of the nations have not saved their people from my power, and neither will Hezekiah's god save his people from me." Seems like there is a mistake in the letter. The mistake may seem minor, yet quite significant. A small letter 'g' was used to depict "the gods of the nations" that "have not saved their people from my power,......" . Right. Now the continuation. ".......and neither will Hezekiah's god" was spelt with a small letter 'g' - just like the gods of the nations. You know what comes to mind? Either the error was not detected when the letter was proof read or the letter was not even proof read before it was delivered to Hezekiah. Or the letter was proof read quite alright; just that comparing the Most High God to some idols was not considered an error. The letter must have been proof read by individual(s) who share the same mind as the person who dictated its content - minds that are apt to arrogating superiority to themselves and their seemingly superior ideals while demonstrating contempt to Deity / deities and Supreme Being / supreme beings.
That letter explained lots. It is not so hard to understand how the emperor perceived the Almighty God. In his mind, the Lord of the whole universe, Creator of heaven and earth is no more than a piece of wood or metal that is produced by the hands of men. When Hezekiah proclaimed his confidence in God, which god did Sennacherib thought he was referring to? The emperor had enough audacity to demean the Rock the Ages, the King of Glory, Eternal God, The One who has no beginning and has no end, Everlasting Father, Glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent God, I am who I am, ............ . He saw no difference between the invisible God of Hezekiah and the tangible images the nations revere. "They talked about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they talked about the gods of the other peoples, idols made by human hands." No wonder he was full of confidence and arrogance.
From his experience from leading invasions, the Assyrian monarch knew the importance of psychological warfare on inhabitants before attacking their territories. Psychological ploys can prove effective in weakening the hands of opponents. That accounts for the reason why Sennacherib sent officials to go to Jerusalem and fill their minds with words that were capable of disorienting the people, and weaken their mental stability.
"Don't you know what my ancestors and I have done to the people of other nations? Did the gods of any other nation save their people from the emperor of Assyria? When did any of the gods of all those countries ever save their country from us? Then what makes you think that your god can save you? Now don't let Hezekiah deceive you to mislead you like that. Don't believe him! No god of any nation has ever been able to save his people from any Assyrian emperor. So certainly this god of yours can't save you!" The Assyrian officials said even worse things about the Lord God and Hezekiah, the Lord's servant........ The officials shouted this in Hebrew in order to frighten and discourage the people of Jerusalem who were on the city wall, so that it would be easier to capture the city." (II Chronicles 32:13-16, 18)
Launching a successful attack will be made easier if and when the individual(s) being attacked becomes weak hearted and fearful. But do keep in mind that,
"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7)
"And fear them not which are able to kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)
How did Hezekiah respond to all these?
"Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed to God and cried out to him for help. The Lord sent an angel that killed the soldiers and officers of the Assyrian army. So the emperor went back to Assyria disgraced. One day when he was in the temple of his god, some of his sons killed him with their swords. In this way the Lord rescued King Hezekiah and people of Jerusalem from the power of Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, and also from their other enemies. He let the people live in peace with all the neighbouring countries." (II Chronicles 32:20-22)
The God we serve is indeed a powerful One. He is described in the scriptures as being mighty in battle. The same God was asked to "Rise, O Lord, let your enemies be put to shame; and let they that hate You flee before You." The same God was described as the One who "stretched His right hand against the anger of my enemies." God is more than able to prove faithful to His children. "They that call upon the name of the Lord," the scriptures say, "shall be safe." For "the name of the Lord is like a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe."
Some regard the Most High God, our God, strictly in the context of what they can explain or comprehend. Some don't even accord him any regard. Rather, they choose to subscribe solely to ideals that are founded on areas of scientific knowledge such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, politics and other courses in humanities, social sciences, etc. Such individuals readily cross the line between reverence and contempt for Divinity and His values.
More often than not, we meet individuals who approach us with arrogance and contempt for the Lord and His ways. Such individuals tend to look down on you by reason of your affiliation to the household of God. Many unbelievers may claim having the upper hand in the past when dealing with others. They may have over-ran people whose values (just like theirs) are based on one 'god' or the other.
Many do not believe in God and His ideals. Even those who claim they do tend to be lukewarm, and their level of commitment to Him is often superficial. Many prefer to follow their hearts and do as they feel. Many have subscribed to ideologies that deludes human beings into thinking that all they need is to belief in themselves, and the product of their intellect. Many prefer to subscribe to ideals that lays great emphasis on human ability, human power, human strength, human ability, human knowledge, human...... name it. An average person who use such doctrines as guideline for their lives do pass the test of glamour and prestige. Hardly can you come across one that stands the test of time.
The Lord Jesus cautioned us in the scriptures about the kind of ideals that we base our lives on.
"Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon a sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Indubitably, in life there will be unfavourable moments that can be likened to adverse weather conditions such as flood, hurricane, etc. It doesn't matter what the adversity is. What matters is what you are standing on. Are you standing on the rock. When I mentioned rock, I mean Rock. Rock as in Rock of Ages, that is The Most High God. Reminds me of a popular Christian song: There is none holy as our God / there is none besides Him / neither is there any rock like our God / there is none holy as thou art! Another Christian chorus goes thus: From north to south, there is no other God; from east to west I say there is no other God. When you are set and established on the Rock, great and mighty and strong indeed is your foundation.
"To whom can God be compared? How can you describe what He is like? He is not like an idol that workmen make, .... He brings down powerful rulers and reduces them to nothing ........ To whom can the holy God be compared? Is there anyone else like him? (Isaiah 40:18,19,23,25)
"The LORD, the king of Israel, has this to say: "You gods of the nations, present your case. Bring the best arguments you have!......... When I looked among the gods, none of them had a thing to say; not one could answer the questions I asked. All these gods are useless; they can do nothing at all - these idols are weak and powerless." (Isaiah 41:21, 28-29)
"The Lord, who rules and protects Israel, the LORD Almighty, has this to say: "I am the first, the last, the only God; there is no other god but me.......... Is there any other god? Is there some powerful god I never heard of?" All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prized so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and arrogant - and they will be disgraced........ Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth." (Isaiah 44:6,8,9,18)
"You felt sure of yourself in your evil; you thought that no one could see you. Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray, and you said to yourself, I am God - there is no one else like me.' Disaster will come upon you, and none of your magic can stop it. Ruin will come on you suddenly - ruin you never dreamed of! (Isaiah 47:10,11)
"Turn to me now and be saved, people all over the world! I am the only God there is. My promise is true, and it will not be changed. I solemnly promise by all that I am: Everyone will come and kneel before me and vow to be loyal to me. "They will say that only through me are victory and strength to be found; but all who hate me will suffer disgrace." (Isaiah 45:22-24)
Face it friend, ideals that downplays God and His values - no matter how glamorous they may seem - are miry sand. Sennacherib can successfully invade territories that brag of gods other than the Living God because the ideals constructed around those gods are similar to constructing houses miry sand. Wait till the likes of Sennacherib attacks. Wait till circumstances similar to the Assyrian invasion takes place. Then will you realize how shallow and how weak some people's foundation is.
Needless to say, Sennacherib bit more than he can chew. There was no indication of this notion when his insatiable appetite for invasion was getting welled up against Hezekiah and Jerusalem. He underestimated the extent of the power of Hezekiah's God. He mistook Him for one of the idols of other nations. And the King of the whole universe took it upon Himself to prove to the king of Assyria that indeed "I am first, the last, the only God; there is no other god but me."
God bless
Yours
Adekunle O Majek'
H I A F E M
Of impact, quality and excellence
That's the Spirit!
P.S: Found this piece of great blessing to you? Why not share it with others!
To return HIAFEM HomePage, click here.
