Thursday, September 30, 2010

God vs. the nations' gods

“Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” 2 Kings 18:35
Imagine the scene: the Assyrian army, buoyed by its conquering and annihilation of the northern kingdom, has laid siege to Jerusalem. The Assyrians were renown for their cruelty; many cities, when they were besieged by the Assyrians, chose to commit mass suicide rather than fall captive to them. But ruling in Jerusalem at the time was king Hezekiah, and he trusted in God.
The Assyrians had heard how Hezekiah had destroyed the high places and Asherah poles (2 Kin. 18:4). But they didn’t realise that these things were contrary to the worship of the Lord. Instead they mocked Hezekiah for pulling down God’s own altars – when they were in fact the altars of idols (2 Kin. 18:22).
The Assyrians were making a big mistake by comparing the true and living God with the false gods of the other nations, which Hezekiah had purged from the nation. God is indeed mighty to save, and anybody who dares God to show Himself may well get more than they bargained for. In the Assyrians’ case, He sent the destroying angel to wipe out 185,000 soldiers from the army, in one night.
We see these same attitudes in our world today. People compare Christianity with other religions, as if they are all equally valid. They try to reconcile all the world religions, but it cannot be done. There is only one true and living God. Do you know Him? And does He know you?

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