Besieged But Not Defeated
Devotions for Growing Christians
Besieged But Not Defeated
2 Chronicles 32:7-8 - Be strong and courageous; do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. 8With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.
Read 2 Chronicles 32:1-23.
The Bible leaves no doubt that every Christian is involved in spiritual warfare. In fact, Christians are the prime targets of the enemy. (See Ephesians 6:10-18.) Satan knows that Christians are on the winning side, but he does his best to make us ineffective soldiers, or even battlefield casualties. He knows he can't take us to hell with him, but he also knows that many Christians are an easy mark for day-to-day defeat.
Christians who are easily defeated aren’t much of an asset in fighting the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12). An easily defeated Christian certainly doesn’t bring glory to God. Remember that Satan's ultimate aim has always been to put God down and diminish God’s glory. All of us must ask ourselves: "Am I indirectly helping the enemy to accomplish his evil ends?"
In any theater of war there are always areas where the enemy forces are more highly concentrated. The college campus, especially the secular college campus, is one of those spiritual combat zones. Part of the enemy's master strategy is to surround and bombard growing Christians and leave them spiritually disarmed and wounded - in many cases for years to come. The bombardment begins in September and continues throughout the school year. Only Christians who are prepared and armed can resist and outlast the blistering attack. The faithful growing Christian will not only endure - he or she will actually see the enemy retreat in frustration. (See James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:8-9.) Is this your experience?
Spiritual Warfare
The Bible never says that the Christian will be free from enemy attack and siege, but the Bible does indicate that the believer never has to suffer defeat. In fact, being under attack or siege - but not defeated - is a characteristic of spiritual warfare. Listen to the words of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
Our omnipotent God is certainly able to deliver us from any attack or siege of the enemy, but sometimes He will purposely delay His intervention so we can become battle-hardened and experienced soldiers, and more dependent on the wisdom of our Commander-in-Chief. When we fully realize that the situation is beyond our own feeble abilities, and we look away from earning battle medals to the Lord Himself, the power and glory of God can be really seen and appreciated.
Maybe you're undergoing a sustained attack from the enemy at the present time. Don't jump to the conclusion that you're some kind of abnormal Christian, or get the idea that this is an abnormal Christian experience. You're experiencing spiritual warfare. Remember, prolonged siege is not defeat! You can even be joyful under siege, because you know that deliverance is on the way as you look to the Lord. And help will not arrive too late!
Satan’s tactics
An illustration of spiritual warfare is found in 2 Chronicles 32. Remember that all the historical events recorded in the Old Testament are "written for our instruction" (Romans 15:4). Many tactics of our enemy, Satan, as well as spiritual principles for overcoming him, are portrayed in the battles of the Old Testament.
The historical setting is the invasion of Judah in 701BC by Sennacherib, the powerful king of pagan Assyria. God miraculously intervened and delivered His people in the face of attack and siege. Just as King Sennacherib was about to overrun Jerusalem and completely subdue the nation of Judah, the Lord stepped in and brought victory out of the jaws of defeat. The fact that God has recorded this same event three times in His Word (2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36-37) should tell us that there are important lessons here for the growing Christian.
Taunting
Sennacherib’s tactics are strikingly similar to Satan’s tactics in the combat zone of the college campus or your place of employment. Notice, first, that there is taunting (v10). The Assyrians mocked, "What kind of God are you trusting in that lets you remain under siege?" Sound familiar? "Where's all that happiness you're supposed to have as a Christian?" "How can you still believe in that Sunday School God who promises you everything - and then doesn't deliver?!"
Many would-be Christian soldiers fold at this early stage of battle. They can't handle the taunts of the devil. They fail to see that the Lord has not promised us instant and immediate deliverance in spiritual battles. Remember - the view from a mountaintop is enjoyed more if you've spent some climbing up from the valley - and victory is appreciated more if you've struggled in the fight.
Twisting the truth
Another tactic of the enemy is twisting the truth (vs11-12). Sennacherib tried to convince the people that King Hezekiah was misleading them (v11). He twisted the truth by saying that Hezekiah had insulted the very God they were trusting because he had taken away His places of worship (v12). They'd better not trust this deceitful king any longer,Sennacherib said, and they certainly shouldn't depend on the God he had offended! But Sennacherib was distorting the facts. Yes, Hezekiah had removed many high places and altars, but he removed them because they were places where people were wrongly attempting to worship the Lord. God's Law declared that He was to be worshiped only at the altar in the central sanctuary - the Temple in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:5-14). So Hezekiah’s destruction of the altars in the cultic "high places” was a righteous action.
Furthermore, good King Hezekiah was challenging the people to hold on and trust the Lord whatever the cost - even to death. Hezekiah knew that besieged didn’t mean defeated. He knew that God would bring deliverance when He chose to do so. And there was nothing that Sennacherib's puny human army could do to stop God's intervention!
Like Sennacherib, Satan has been twisting the truth from the beginning (John 8:44). How often you hear Sennacherib-type statements fired at you on the spiritual battlefield? "You can't trust Christian leaders. They're all fanatics or slick con artists." Or, "Your narrow Jesus-is-the-only-way ideas are offensive to God!” Or, “Don't you know that God is universal Love, and that there are many ways to peace and light?" We must be careful that what we believe is not contaminated by any of Satan's twisted "truths.”
Threatening
Threatening or terrifying is a further tactic of the enemy (vs13-19). The ancient Assyrians were known for their extreme cruelty to prisoners of war. Sennacherib's henchmen reminded the people of Judah about what had happened to other nations that had resisted the Assyrian war machine. And the threats continued throughout the siege! The sustained scare tactics included written letters that insulted and blasphemed the Lord God of Israel.
How similar to what many Christians face in the secular classroom or on the job today! Secular lectures and literature are humanistic to the core - an insult and blasphemy against the Creator! The threat of lower grades and career suicide continually hangs over the heads of Christians who refuse to keep quiet about their faith. And Christians are expected to acquiesce, and not resist. This, of course, is all part of Satan's unrelenting threat to frighten us to the point of surrender. That way he can turn the siege into defeat and “seize the city" (v18). Don't let Satan take your city this school year.
Tempting
Tempting is another tactic that Satan constantly uses during his sieges. Notice in the parallel accounts (2 Kings 18:23, 31-32 and Isaiah 36:8, 16-17) that Sennacherib used this tactic. He promised the people of Judah a somewhat pleasant exile if they would just yield and give up any idea of defending the city. Behind the bait of a “pleasant exile” was, of course, the hook of slavery. The Assyrian track record left no doubt as to what would happen if they capitulated. How foolish, we might say, for Judah to even think of surrendering! And yet how many Christians have foolishly yielded and surrendered and sold out to Satan's temptations - even when they knew the ultimate consequences.
The tempting pleasures of fraternity parties or office relationships have often left unwary Christians with compromised lives. It would be so much better to simply resist and avoid anywhere there will be temptation! Some Christians have yielded to the temptation of "big money" schemes to the point where their testimonies have been tarnished or even ruined. If only we could be stronger and more patient under the siege of temptation, and wait for the Lord's promised "way of escape" (1 Corinthians 10:13)!
God’s deliverance
God's deliverance finally came to besieged Jerusalem (v20-23). The Angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 enemy soldiers in one night! What a miraculous deliverance! Perhaps the Angel of the Lord used the means of a plague, as the ancient historian Herodotus suggests. In any case, the siege ended with deliverance, not defeat, because God's people looked to Him and waited for Him. They were not deceived by the enemy's tactics. What a great testimony to the glory of God it would be if you could say, in reference to your experiences in the campus or office combat zones, "Besieged - but not defeated!"
- Dave Reid