I can’t help but think that sometimes we forget who we are really serving. Who is God? What sets Him apart?
The Bible is pretty clear – and should be what we as Christians turn to as our point of reference. God is not interested in us “serving Him” while also serving other gods. He is not one of many. He is the one and only. God is not created by man. God created mankind. God is not passive. He is active and alive.
Frankly, God is not a god.
Maybe it’s time we start asking ourselves some difficult questions about who we believe God is and who we are serving. Do we worship a “capital G” God or a “lower case g” god? There is a difference.
In 2 Chronicles there is a time where King Hezekiah has called the people of Judah – and has appealed to those in Israel to return to God. He has begun to bring about a spiritual return to a “capital G” God. The people, following the King’s lead, begin to return to the word and direction of the LORD. They purify themselves. They obey the instructions Moses left them regarding Passover celebrations and more. There is a recognition that God is able to restore and heal the land and that obedience to Him is linked to it.
Things begin to change in the land. God’s hand of blessing is becoming more and more obvious. It is then, that King Sennacherib shows up on the scene. He has come to conquer. He has come to destroy. Sennacherib is powerful. He is cocky. He does not believe in a “capital G” God. To him, all gods are equal, and from the sound of things, not all that powerful.
And so the words from the two kings are very different. Hezekiah, when faced with the threat of Sennacherib’s attack reveals his view of God by saying: “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” (2 Chronicles 32: 7-8)
Hezekiah knew that God was completely different than any other god.
In the meantime, Sennacherib’s words reveal who he actually believed God to be: “The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, “Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail.” (2 Chronicles 32:17)
Sennacherib had no clue who God was. In fact, his lack of knowledge actually led to his downfall. You see, God is no common god. Politically correct or not, there is only One True God. One who was and is and always will be. There is only One who is strong enough, and powerful enough to save. There is only One. Period. God is not one of many. He is the Captial G God. The rest are merely idols. False deities. Powerless.
So who do you serve? Who do you know God to be? Whose words do you most relate to, Hezekiah’s or Sennacherib’s?
When we cry out to the One true God, He hears. He responds to the cries of His people. His love for us is great and His knowledge of us is intimate.
Blessings!