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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 24 December 2025:
2 Chronicles 32:1 — After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself.
The text is deliberately clear about timing: after faithfulness comes attack. Obedience does not purchase immunity from opposition. In fact, it often invites it. Hezekiah’s reforms, worship restoration, and covenant faithfulness provoke resistance from the most powerful empire of the day. This is a recurring biblical pattern. Faithfulness exposes and threatens systems built on pride. The enemy assumes that what has fallen everywhere else will fall here too. Sennacherib “thought to win them for himself,” revealing human arrogance that mistakes momentum for sovereignty. God allows the test, not because faithfulness failed, but because it must be proven and strengthened.
However, also notice, “God did not permit the pious prince to be disturbed till he had completed the reformation which he had begun.” (Adam Clarke). God has and will equip you and prepare you for the challenges you will face, and He promises He will be with you too – has He not called you?
- 1 Peter 4:12 — Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
- Proverbs 24:10 — If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
- 2 Peter 1:3 — His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence….
- Joshua 1:8-9 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Note: The Chronicler assumes the reader is familiar with the greater details of these events provided in 2 Kings 18-20.
2 Chronicles 32:2 — Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem….
Hezekiah is neither naïve nor passive. Faith does not deny reality. He recognizes intent and prepares accordingly, confident in the Lord’s perfect providence. God-honoring leadership does not spiritualize away danger; it discerns it and boldly faces it head on. Awareness is not fear, and courage isn’t the complete absence of fear but rather faith overcoming fear. Scripture consistently affirms sober-minded vigilance alongside trust. Hezekiah models leadership that faces threats honestly while refusing to panic.
2 Chronicles 32:3 — He planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him.
Prayer and planning are not rivals. Planning can actually be an act of great faith, investing in God’s yet unseen victory with anticipation rather than anxiety. God’s people prepare responsibly while trusting God fully. Hezekiah acts strategically, denying the enemy resources while stewarding what God has provided. This is not self-reliance; it is faithful stewardship. Scripture never commends laziness cloaked as faith. Obedience works with what God has given while looking to Him for what only He can do.
Hezekiah’s faithfulness did not remove problems from his life, did not eliminate the need to plan, and did not remove the need to trust and obey God. In fact, in his faithfulness, problems only seemed to get far worse for Hezekiah. What do you do when your faithfulness doesn’t seem to be “working”?
2 Chronicles 32:4 — A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?”
Unity matters in moments of pressure. The people act together, understanding that covenant faithfulness is communal, not merely individual. This is a shared responsibility. God’s work advances when His people move in coordinated obedience rather than isolated conviction.
“No doubt the Assyrian army suffered much through this, as a Christian army did eighteen hundred years after this. When the crusaders came, in a. D. 1099, to besiege Jerusalem, the people of the city stopped up the wells, so that the Christian army was reduced to the greatest necessities and distress.” (Clarke)
2 Chronicles 32:5 — He set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and built another wall outside. And he strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
The word “resolutely” matters. Faithfulness is not tentative. Hezekiah strengthens what was neglected, repairs breaches, and prepares defenses. Restoration precedes resilience. Spiritual renewal often exposes weak walls that must be rebuilt. God’s people are not called to be defenseless idealists but faithful stewards who prepare diligently while trusting God ultimately.
2 Chronicles 32:6 — And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them….
Leadership speaks into fear before fear speaks into the people. Hezekiah gathers, not scatters. He addresses the whole community and speaks encouragement grounded in truth, not bravado. Godly leadership does not manipulate emotions; it anchors hearts.
2 Chronicles 32:7-8 — “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.
This is covenant theology spoken aloud. Power is not measured numerically but relationally. “More with us” echoes Elisha’s words centuries later. Hezekiah contrasts flesh with the living God. The people take confidence not from circumstances, but from truth rightly spoken. Faith is strengthened when leaders speak God-centered reality into human fear.
“For there are more with us than with him” – “These words he quotes from the prophet Elisha, 2 Kings 6:16. This was soon proved to be true by the slaughter made by the angel of the Lord in the Assyrian camp.” (Clarke)
- Psalm 20:7 — Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
- 1 John 4:4 — Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
“With us is the Lord our God” — Emmanuel (or Immanuel) is a Hebrew name meaning “God with us,” a significant biblical title for Jesus Christ, prophesied in Isaiah and identified in the Gospel of Matthew as the divine presence of God dwelling among humanity. This a key message of the Christmas, of the Gospel – God with us.
“How can an infinitely holy God dwell with His people when they’ve constantly ruined themselves by rebelling against Him? Why would He even choose to dwell with them, given He has no need to?
God dwells in the midst of His people, first in the tabernacle — a temporary structure in the wilderness — and then later, in the temple built by Solomon. But as Paul says in Acts 7, ‘The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands.’ These places of dwelling were temporary and symbolic. They were looking forward to a time when God truly would dwell with us.
That’s why John chapter 1 is such a lightning bolt. Jesus is spoken of like this: ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ — literally, Jesus ‘tabernacled’ among us.
Here, finally, was God dwelling with us. Immanuel.
In that moment, God was ‘with us’ in a way He had never before been in the entire span of human history. And though, after His death and resurrection, Jesus returned to the Father, yet He left with us His Spirit so that we ourselves are now God’s dwelling place on earth. ‘Do you not know,’ says Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, ‘that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?’ Immanuel! God with us!
There’s a beautiful bookending that happens in Matthew’s gospel. Have you noticed it before? At the start, Matthew announces that Jesus Christ is ‘Immanuel . . . God with us.’ Then, right at the end, Jesus says, ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
It is as if Jesus Christ is saying to His people as He goes: ‘Remember My name. Immanuel. God with you. Now and always.’” (Barry Cooper, Ligonier Ministries)
2 Chronicles 32:9 — After this Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem….
The enemy attacks from a position of apparent success. Assyria has momentum. Pride grows loud when it has never been challenged. The enemy’s confidence is rooted in experience, not truth. Scripture shows that worldly success often emboldens blasphemy.
2 Chronicles 32:10-15 — “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”
Sennacherib’s message is psychological warfare. He mocks faith, redefines trust as deception, and equates the Lord with powerless idols. This is the core lie of every age: that God is no different than the gods of culture, no more faithful than false saviors that have already failed. The enemy always attacks God’s character before attacking God’s people.
The world wants you to believe that all religions are equal, equally powerless. The world’s attacks against Christianity will grow, teaching that our faith is an illusion. Only those who truly know Jesus (know Him personally, not just facts about Him) will survive such attacks.
The world is blinded by its own apparent successes. The world will point to its great achievements to lure you away from faith in God and make you trust substitutes for God. Faith calls you to trust God’s ways rather than human ways.
2 Chronicles 32:16-19 — And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
Blasphemy escalates. The enemy speaks loudly, publicly, and persistently, aiming to produce fear, shame, and doubt. He attacks worship, mocks prayer, and belittles God’s uniqueness. Evil is always loud when it senses its limits.
The mockers of Christianity speak the language of the people. They are often very knowledgeable of what is written in the Bible (though they don’t have Holy Spirit enlightenment) and can quote the Bible better than many true believers. They often seek to relate on a personal level in order to lure people away from Jesus. They are also usually very passionate about the lies they personally believe. They can be very persuasive to those who are not strongly united with Christ.
2 Chronicles 32:20 — Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven.
Here is the turning point. Preparation ends where dependence begins. Leadership joins prophecy. Authority bows. Strategy gives way to surrender. They cry to heaven because help will not come from earth. Prayer is not the last resort; it is the decisive act of faith.
2 Chronicles 32:21 — And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria.
God fights without fanfare. No army marches. No weapon is raised. One angel undoes an empire’s confidence. God does not need human strength to overcome human arrogance. The victory belongs unmistakably to the Lord.
God accomplishes His purposes in ways that the world can’t understand or perceive to be from God.
2 Chronicles 32:22-23 — So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.
Either you will turn to the world for your provision and security or you will turn to God. You cannot turn to both. God provides through worldly means; for example, God feeds you through everyday farmers and markets, but never lose sight that it is God that is providing.
God delivers, protects, and exalts His name. Worship follows rescue. Testimony spreads. Deliverance becomes proclamation. When God saves, it is never merely private — it magnifies His glory.
2 Chronicles 32:24-26 — In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s illness reveals another danger: pride after deliverance. God heals, but the human heart remains vulnerable. Humility is required not only in crisis but in success. Repentance restores alignment and restrains judgment.
You are always in danger of responding to God’s blessings with foolish pride, taking credit rather than giving credit to God and trusting in your own strength. God does not share the glory. Hezekiah was very successful in the LORD, until pride became his downfall.
2 Chronicles 32:27-29 — And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels; storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions.
Pride turned into self-centeredness and materialism. God blesses abundantly. Wealth and honor are not condemned here; pride is. Blessing is not the problem, forgetting the Giver is. God entrusts resources to faithful servants, knowing they will be tested by them.
2 Chronicles 32:30-31 — This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.
Even success becomes a proving ground. God leaves Hezekiah momentarily to reveal what was in his heart. Testing refines awareness. God already knows the heart; the test is for the servant’s sake.
“God left him to himself, in order to test him….” Remember your days in school? During tests, the teacher was silent. How do you respond when your faith is tested and there appears to be no response from God? Remember in John 11 how when Lazarus was sick, Jesus stayed away two more days so that Mary and Martha would receive an even greater revelation of Him than they had seen previously (Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life)? Perhaps the silence you are feeling is God building your faith and preparing you for far greater things than you ever anticipated. God may also be revealing to you the limits of your own faith. In your doubt, what is God revealing to you about what you truly believe? In your doubt, draw nearer to God, not further away.
2 Chronicles 32:32-33 — Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Faithfulness to God is the measure of a person’s life. Legacy is shaped by repentance, humility, and trust in God.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 24 December 2025: When opposition follows obedience, do not interpret it as failure. Strengthen what God has entrusted to you, speak truth boldly, pray earnestly, and trust completely. Prepare responsibly, depend fully, and remember that the battle belongs to the Lord.
Pray: “Lord God, You are not an arm of flesh. You are the living God who fights for Your people. Teach me to prepare wisely without trusting in my preparation, to lead courageously without trusting in myself, and to pray faithfully without delay. Guard my heart from pride in success and fear in adversity. When the enemy speaks loudly, help me listen more closely to Your truth. Help me to strengthen my walls through the disciplines of a true disciple, humble my heart, and fix my confidence on You alone. I trust You to fight our battles, refine our faith, and glorify Your name through our lives. Amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 