Week of Monday October 19- Saturday October 24
The Great Defender - Man as Chaplain
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde 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.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. - 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 (ESV)
During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, American forces at Bastogne found themselves surrounded by a much larger German force. The Germans demanded their surrender. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division, sent back one of the most famous replies in American military history: “NUTS!” His men were surrounded, outnumbered, and facing a battle-hardened enemy, but surrender wasn't part of the plan.
During my years in the military, I learned that the character of leaders becomes especially important when the odds seem overwhelming. Soldiers need leaders who will realistically assess the threat and make every possible preparation, but they also need leaders who can steady their nerves and give them confidence when fear starts spreading through the ranks. That's exactly the situation King Hezekiah faced in 2 Chronicles 32.
The Assyrians were the most feared military power of their day. They had already swallowed the northern kingdom of Israel, and now Sennacherib's forces had steamrolled through the fortified cities of Judah. Jerusalem was next. Sennacherib expected an easy victory. Hezekiah had every reason to give it to him.
However, Hezekiah immediately made practical preparations for defense. He consulted his military leaders, secured Jerusalem's water supply, repaired the walls, strengthened the city's defenses, manufactured weapons and shields, and organized the people under combat commanders (vv. 2–6). Hezekiah trusted God, but faith did not make him passive. He did everything within his responsibility to prepare for the threat.
Yet Hezekiah understood that his people needed something even more important than strong defenses. They needed strong faith. So, he gathered them and said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed.” Then he told them why: “With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”
That's what a Chaplain does. He points people to the God who is greater than the threat. He reminds them that what they can see isn't all there is. Sennacherib had a massive army, but Judah had the Lord. Scripture says, “And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (vv. 7–8).
When Sennacherib launched a psychological attack, even delivering the threat verbally in Hebrew so people could understand it, Hezekiah did what a spiritual leader must ultimately do: “Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven” (v. 20). The parallel account tells us Hezekiah took Sennacherib's threatening letter into the Temple and “spread it before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). What a picture of spiritual leadership. Hezekiah couldn't solve this problem himself, so he literally laid it before God in prayer.
And God answered. The Lord sent one angel who devastated the Assyrian army. The parallel account tells us 185,000 Assyrian soldiers died that night. The enemy Sennacherib said God could not defeat what was destroyed without Judah having to fight the battle.
Men, there will be moments when those entrusted to us face something bigger than we are. Our families don't need us pretending to have all the answers. They need men who will realistically face the problem, faithfully do what they can, and then remind everyone around them who God is, and then take it to the Lord in prayer.
That's what Hezekiah did. And through it all, he pointed his people toward the Great Defender.
The Great Defender - Man as Chaplain
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde 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.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. - 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 (ESV)
During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, American forces at Bastogne found themselves surrounded by a much larger German force. The Germans demanded their surrender. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division, sent back one of the most famous replies in American military history: “NUTS!” His men were surrounded, outnumbered, and facing a battle-hardened enemy, but surrender wasn't part of the plan.
During my years in the military, I learned that the character of leaders becomes especially important when the odds seem overwhelming. Soldiers need leaders who will realistically assess the threat and make every possible preparation, but they also need leaders who can steady their nerves and give them confidence when fear starts spreading through the ranks. That's exactly the situation King Hezekiah faced in 2 Chronicles 32.
The Assyrians were the most feared military power of their day. They had already swallowed the northern kingdom of Israel, and now Sennacherib's forces had steamrolled through the fortified cities of Judah. Jerusalem was next. Sennacherib expected an easy victory. Hezekiah had every reason to give it to him.
However, Hezekiah immediately made practical preparations for defense. He consulted his military leaders, secured Jerusalem's water supply, repaired the walls, strengthened the city's defenses, manufactured weapons and shields, and organized the people under combat commanders (vv. 2–6). Hezekiah trusted God, but faith did not make him passive. He did everything within his responsibility to prepare for the threat.
Yet Hezekiah understood that his people needed something even more important than strong defenses. They needed strong faith. So, he gathered them and said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed.” Then he told them why: “With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”
That's what a Chaplain does. He points people to the God who is greater than the threat. He reminds them that what they can see isn't all there is. Sennacherib had a massive army, but Judah had the Lord. Scripture says, “And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (vv. 7–8).
When Sennacherib launched a psychological attack, even delivering the threat verbally in Hebrew so people could understand it, Hezekiah did what a spiritual leader must ultimately do: “Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven” (v. 20). The parallel account tells us Hezekiah took Sennacherib's threatening letter into the Temple and “spread it before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). What a picture of spiritual leadership. Hezekiah couldn't solve this problem himself, so he literally laid it before God in prayer.
And God answered. The Lord sent one angel who devastated the Assyrian army. The parallel account tells us 185,000 Assyrian soldiers died that night. The enemy Sennacherib said God could not defeat what was destroyed without Judah having to fight the battle.
Men, there will be moments when those entrusted to us face something bigger than we are. Our families don't need us pretending to have all the answers. They need men who will realistically face the problem, faithfully do what they can, and then remind everyone around them who God is, and then take it to the Lord in prayer.
That's what Hezekiah did. And through it all, he pointed his people toward the Great Defender.
- When your family faces a crisis, do your words increase their fear or strengthen their confidence in God?
- What problem are you carrying right now that you need to “spread before the LORD” in prayer?
- Pray and ask God to help you serve as Chaplain this week by reminding those entrusted to you that “with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”