2 Chronicles · chapter 32 of 36
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2 Chronicles 32 tells how Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invades Judah and threatens Jerusalem. Hezekiah fortifies the city, secures the water, encourages the people and prays with the prophet Isaiah; the Lord sends an angel who destroys the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib returns in shame. The chapter then recounts Hezekiah's illness, his pride, his humbling and his prosperity.
Hezekiah's reform (chapters 29 to 31) is followed by the greatest test of his reign. The Chronicler says Sennacherib's invasion came after these acts of faithfulness, to show that obedience does not exempt from crisis, but the Lord sustains those who trust him. This is one of the most important accounts in the history of Judah.
After these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria invades Judah and besieges the fortified cities. Hezekiah sees that he has come against Jerusalem. With his officials and mighty men he decides to stop the springs outside the city, repairs the broken wall, raises towers, builds another wall and makes weapons and shields. He gathers the people in the square and encourages them: be strong and courageous, do not fear the king of Assyria, for with him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and fight our battles.
Sennacherib, who was besieging Lachish, sends servants to Jerusalem. They ask what the people are trusting in and accuse Hezekiah of deceiving them. They say no god of the nations delivered his people and neither will Hezekiah's God. They write letters to insult the Lord and shout in the language of Judah to the people on the wall to frighten them.
King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, pray and cry to heaven. The Lord sends an angel who destroys all the mighty warriors, commanders and officers in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib returns in shame to his own land, and when he enters the house of his god, some of his sons strike him down with the sword. So the Lord saves Hezekiah and Jerusalem and gives them rest on every side.
Hezekiah becomes ill to the point of death, prays and the Lord gives him a sign. But his heart grows proud, and wrath comes on him and on Judah; then he humbles himself and the wrath does not come in his days. He has riches and honor and brings the waters of Gihon to the city of David. When envoys come from Babylon, God leaves him to test him and know his heart. He dies and is buried with honor. His son Manasseh reigns in his place.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Hezekiah encourages the people: with the king of Assyria is an arm of flesh, but with them is the Lord their God to help them and fight their battles. It is a practical confession of faith that does not replace work but places it under God's hand.
Sennacherib says that no god of any people could deliver them from his hand, and neither will Hezekiah's God. The Assyrian king puts the Lord among the gods of the nations, and that is his mistake.
Hezekiah and Isaiah pray and cry to heaven, and the Lord sends an angel who destroys the Assyrian army. Jerusalem's salvation comes from God, in answer to prayer, not from walls or weapons.
Hezekiah did not respond to the good done to him, and his heart grew proud, but he humbled himself with the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the wrath did not come in his days. The Chronicler shows that pride threatens even a faithful king, and that repentance holds back judgment.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: With the help of his officials and mighty men, he stopped them up so the Assyrians would not find much water. — 2 Chronicles 32:3-4
Answer: That there was one greater with them than with the king of Assyria: with him an arm of flesh, with them the Lord their God to help them and fight their battles. — 2 Chronicles 32:7-8
Answer: He was besieging Lachish with all his forces. — 2 Chronicles 32:9
Answer: Isaiah, son of Amoz. — 2 Chronicles 32:20
Answer: He sent an angel who destroyed all the mighty warriors, commanders and officers of the Assyrian army. — 2 Chronicles 32:21
Answer: God left Hezekiah to test him and to know all that was in his heart. — 2 Chronicles 32:31
Hezekiah combines preparation and trust. He stopped the springs, repaired the walls and made weapons, yet told the people that the Lord fought for them. A class can talk about working diligently without ceasing to depend on God. Doing what is within our reach and praying are not opposites.
The chapter also warns us about pride after victory. Hezekiah was delivered, healed and honored, and still his heart grew proud. After moments of great blessing we need to watch for humility. And Sennacherib's words remind us that many voices today compare God to anything else; Scripture calls us to trust the Lord, who is more than any human power.
2 Chronicles 32 ends with Hezekiah's honorable death, after a life marked by reform, prayer and the deliverance of Jerusalem. But the next king, his son Manasseh, will be a painful surprise: chapter 33 will show how much evil the son of a faithful king can do, and also how much grace God can show.
Hezekiah contrasts the Assyrian army, an arm of flesh, with the presence of the Lord. Although Judah was weaker in number, it had the God who can fight for his people. It is not a promise of automatic victory but a declaration of where true strength lies.
The text says the Lord sent an angel who destroyed all the mighty warriors, commanders and officers in the Assyrian camp. It does not explain the method. The book of 2 Kings gives a number and sets it during one night.
The Chronicler says Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. It is usually connected with Jerusalem's water tunnel, an engineering work that secured the water supply inside the city.