2 Chronicles 32:9-23 After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish… We have here brought out in very vivid contrast - I. THE HISTORY OF THE HAUGHTY. 1. Appearances are all on its side. It has apparently overwhelming numbers, superior military training and equipments, the prestige of previous success and acknowledged worldly power. 2. It is honeycombed with spiritual evil. It is (1) lamentably ignorant of the truth which it distorts (ver. 12); (2) scornful (ver. 11), indulging in a contemptuous spirit and correspondingly contemptuous language; (3) pride, and its accompanying vain-gloriousness (vers. 13-15); (4) impiety, speaking of the living God as if he were to be classed with the gods of the heathen (vers. 13, 15). All these evil tempers and baneful utterances are serious sins, either against self or against others, or directly against God. 3. It draws down upon itself the decisive displeasure of the Divine Ruler. For the vauntful Sennacherib, who made so sure of an easy victory and an added honour, there was reserved, in the righteous providence of God, a calamitous disaster (ver. 21; and see 2 Kings 19:15) and bitter shame. "So he returned with shame of face to his own land" (ver. 21). Thus he that exalted himself was abased; and thus the haughty may expect to be brought low, for there are two powers working against them. (1) The moral condition of haughty-heartedness is one that conducts almost certainly to negligence, to imprudence, to some fatal error of either action or inaction. (2) God's high displeasure is kindled against them. Again and again has he "revealed his wrath" against this evil and baneful passion. To fall under its power is penalty indeed, but it leads on and down to other sorrows. II. THE HISTORY OF THE HUMBLE. Humility, in the person of the godly Hezekiah, presents an opposite picture to that of his formidable and defiant enemy. 1. It is apparently in great peril. The outward and visible forces - those of this world - are decidedly against it. If the race were always to the swift and the battle to the strong, there would be no chance for humility. It would never clasp the goal, nor win the victory. 2. Its character is one of beauty and of piety. There is no little moral comeliness in humility; it is "fair to see;" it attracts the gaze of the purest eyes above and below. Moreover, its spirit is reverent; it knows its own helplessness, and it looks upward for the aid it needs; it "cries to Heaven" (ver. 20); it leans on God. 3. Its end is not only deliverance, but honour. The Lord saved Hezekiah from the hand of Sennacherib (ver. 22); and to the King of Judah were brought valuable gifts, and "he was magnified in the sight of all nations" (ver. 23). Concerning humility now, as it may appear in all men's hearts, we may say that (1) it is a fair and beautiful grace in itself, most worth possessing for its own sake, really enriching its subject; (2) it brings with it the favour of God our Father (Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 5:3; Matthew 18:4; Matthew 23:11; 1 Peter 5:5, 6); (3) it will be honoured in due time. Not only is it the case that humility introduces us into the kingdom of Christ, but it is also true that it leads us on to an advanced position in that kingdom. "The lowly heart that leans on thee" is not only "happy everywhere," but it is spiritually prosperous everywhere; it is certain to receive proofs of Divine regard, probably in human estimation (as with Hezekiah); but, if not thus, in some other way of gracious and gladdening enlargement. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, |
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