Three kings
Day 281, Monday, May 19
2 Chronicles 31:2 – Chapter 33
Today is the account of three kings: Hezekiah, Manasseh and Amon. Most of the reading is about the first of these, Hezekiah, who was a good and faithful king.
Hezekiah did much to restore proper worship to the temple and to destroy vestiges of pagan worship from the land, and his reign was prosperous, leading him to add store rooms to hold the gifts and tithes of the people.
As Chapter 31 concludes: “In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”
For the most part, his reign was peaceful, except for an attack by Sennacherib, king of Assyria.
Hearing the siege against Jerusalem was coming, Hezekiah prepared for it and stayed in the city.
In addition to sending his army, Sennacherib engaged in what we would call psychological warfare, sending letters mocking Judah and God in an effort to demoralize the defenders of the city.
Hezekiah gathered the people in the city square and encouraged them with the same words David had said to Solomon: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
He reminded them that God was their defender, while Sennacherib had only human strength. “With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
While our situation may be different than living in a surrounded besieged city, the advice is still good.

Monday meditation

Proverbs 28:8-9
Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

Prayer focus
God, remind us that our enemies come at us with all the limitations of the flesh, but you are our strength and defender.

-Mark Fleming