Today’s Scripture
Reading (July 1, 2013): 2 Kings 19
In Canada,
today is a day of national pride. It is the day when we remember the forming of
a nation and a day in which all of the strengths of a nation are celebrated. It
is a day that we remember all of the things that have been done by Canadians on
behalf of the world, and the miracles that have happened in the past that have
shaped our nation. Every country has – and needs –one of these days. We all
need days of national celebration when we are encouraged to revel in the deeds
of the nation.
As the people
of Jerusalem found their beds on this night, there was no guarantee that
morning was going to come for the nation of Judah. Israel was already gone –
and now it looked like maybe Judah would be the next country to fall to the
Assyrian dynasty. For Judah, this vulnerability was brought on by the decision
of Ahaz to bow his knee to the Assyrian king – but it would be his son Hezekiah
that would end up paying the price for the decision.
So as the
sun sets, Jerusalem was not looking forward to the next day of national
celebration, their concern was whether or not the nation would last another day
before it was swallowed up and forgotten. But Hezekiah trusted God. His
prophets had said that God’s intention was for the nation to continue and that
was all Hezekiah needed to know. (God had given Ahaz the same, assurance, but
he had trusted more in the might of Assyria than he did in God.)
So Hezekiah
trusted – and waited. It was the moment that it seemed his rule had been
leading up to. And on this night, something happened. We are not really sure
what the something was. Some have suggested that there was a suffocating dust
storm and brought on by the warm desert wind that had simply suffocated the
waiting army – it had happened before. Or maybe it was disease introduced to
the army by the rats (or more precisely the fleas on the rats) that seems to be
an ever present reality wherever it is that people seem to go. But whatever the
cause of the death, the reason was that God was protecting the people of a king
that trusted in him to move. The next day Jerusalem would wake up surrounded by
the dead left by an army that had decided to simply go home – and they had
found a new reason to celebrate the continued existence of the nation.
We all need
to recognize the miracles that have kept our nations alive and the
contributions made by the people that call it home – and we should celebrate
them. So, Happy Canada Day – Canada!
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings
20
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