11/11/2023 - SHALL NOT ENTER YOUR LIFE

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Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 2 Kings 19.32

Sennacherib was the king of Assyria, a country that had ruled the world for 13 uninterrupted centuries; therefore, he thought he had the right to invade, destroy and wipe out many nations. No doubt, his rulers thought themselves special and forced people to submit to their wishes. Otherwise, if they did not do it for good, they would do it for evil, and of that they were masters. It is said that for 1,300 years this was the norm. Wherever rights are not respected, fear prevails!

The madness to dominate and enslave the world made the Assyrians a feared people – not loved – by everyone around the world. They were readily catered to in whatever they said or demanded, because no one wanted trouble with these people. Gradually, the greed to be a global power grew, and Assyria went further and further from home. As mankind was increasing, this was happening.

It is probably impossible to measure the lives that the greed of the Assyrians led to despair and death. Some nations did not yield to their despotism and were annihilated. Their philosophy can be summed up in the following phrase: submit to us or cease to exist. In order to increase their territory, they did not think twice about the evils inflicted on anyone who rebelled against them.

We have to recognize that, as long as life on earth lasts, we will see “enlightened ones” considering themselves entitled to make people submit to them at any cost, assuming that this is good for them. Now, where force operates outside of what is right, there are those who think themselves superior to others. One day, however, all this will come to an end with the return of Jesus, who will slay the man of sin, with the breath of His mouth, when he is reigning (2 Thessalonians 2:7,8).

What mattered most to the Assyrians and the other “enlightened ones” who had no respect for others was to know that they commanded whomever they wanted, and those who did not submit were eliminated. Faith in the Creator was always persecuted in a cruel way, killing those who surrendered to Him and preached good. This shows that behind all this is the angel who rebelled and became our adversary. Those who stand firm will be victorious!

Sennacherib wanted Judah to surrender at any cost, and to this end he went so far as to speak against the Lord, comparing Him to the false gods of other nations. Here the man’s folly ended, for when he invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, demanding that it capitulate, he found a king of that small country and a prophet of the Most High who served the Lord with integrity of heart. There will always be a servant of God with the solution!

Responding to the petulance of the Assyrian monarch, the prophet Isaiah was very clear, saying that nothing he said or promised to do would come to pass. The bottom line is: no one should give the enemy any credit, because there is no way the forces of the evil one can get past the Lord!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares