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| Destruction of Sennacherib’s Assyrian army |
The Word for today:
2 Chronicles 31:2-32:33
Mark this: 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.
and this: 2 Chronicles 32:21-22
And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.
Hundreds of thousands of Assyrian soldiers are marching upon the city. But Hezekiah steps forward to assure the people that "there are more with us than with them." (2 Chronicles 32:7)
How can Hezekiah say that? The people can see that they are outnumbered by the Assyrian hordes.
He can say that because his vision is not confined to the natural realm. Look at the very next verse:
"With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles." (2 Chronicles 32:8)
Hezekiah was peering into the supernatural arena, where the real battle is being fought.
Scripture gives us a few fleeting glimpses of the forces in the supernatural realm. When Elisha's servant looks around at the Syrian forces, he considers that he and Elisha are doomed. But Elisha prays that God would enable his servant to see beyond the natural dimension:
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17)
Revelation 12:4 tells us that when Satan rebelled, one-third of the angels went with him and became demons. In other words, Satan is outnumbered 2 to 1. Moreover, a single angel is able to cast the devil into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1–3).
The principalities and powers (1) of the supernatural realm are real and they are arrayed against us. But take it from Hezekiah, and from Elisha, and from the apostle John:
Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
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(1) This phrase, designating the ranks of cosmic forces, is found in Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10 and 6:12; Colossians 1:16 and 2:15; Titus 3:1 (KJV).
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