Miracle – 185,000 Murdering Terrorists Killed Overnight
Miracle n. An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.
Around 700 B.C. “The Assyrians” captured most of Judah and Israel. Sennacherib, their king with 185,000, fully-equipped, crack troops surrounded a weak Jerusalem. He blasphemed God through his chief spokesmen, while proclaiming his power to save the city. (I don’t know about you, but this situation sounded hopeless for the people of Jerusalem. Soon, everyone in Jerusalem would die.)
Let’s consider how large Sennacherib’s fully-equipped army was. (The city of St. Louis is approximately 345,000 people in an area of 62 square miles.) His army with its horses, supply wagons, battering rams, support staff, cooks/kitchens, etc. would have had taken up considerable space. But let’s say it was only 25% of St. Louis’ land area or 15 square miles. That’s a formidable army!
Gravely concerned, Hezekiah ordered Jerusalem’s inhabitants to pray while he sought a prophecy from God’s man Isaiah. (I Corinthians 14:3 defines prophecy as edification, exhortation and comfort to men NOT prediction of the future.) Hezekiah was told Fear Not! Sennacherib shall NOT come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, etc. For I(God) WILL defend this city to save it for My own sake.
Question: Who would you choose to believe? A hostile national leader backed by 185,000 troops at your doorstep – or GOD? Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem chose GOD!
Just a God Miracle
Isaiah’s account says: The next day when the people of Jerusalem awoke, there were all the corpses – 185,000 crack troops – dead! The Angel of the Lord had killed ALL the Assyrian soldiers. Jerusalem’s situation was changed swiftly by God! This event was so significant, it has been documented in 3 books by different authors in 3 different locations – Isaiah 36-37; II Kings 18-19 and II Chronicles 32.
Question: How could 185,000 crack troops occupying 15 square miles surrounding Jerusalem, be killed overnight without making enough noise to awaken the city? In world history the largest number killed in one day by mankind was about 70,000 by a very noisy Atomic Bomb at Hiroshima with lots of collateral damage! Yet, the Angel of the Lord did it selectively and silently.
Is it likely or even possible that another army could have sneaked up and killed the 185,000 Assyrians? Wouldn’t it have erupted into a battle that would have awakened the city? But NO! Isaiah’s eyewitness account reads “when the people of Jerusalem awoke, there were ALL the corpses.
How do you feel about Miracles?
Some folks refuse to accept miracles, but they are impossible to explain away. When people can’t understand them, plausible stories are fabricated. For hundreds of years people said; Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn’t have God’s child, but was promiscuous, became pregnant and made up the story so she wouldn’t be condemned to death as unfaithful to her husband. Today, doctors routinely help women get pregnant through artificial insemination. (This would be no big deal for an Almighty God!)
Others discount a miracle. The Red Sea’s waters parted so Moses, with 1,000,000+ Israelites walking 5,000 abreast, could cross in only 1 night. Doubters say the water was only inches deep, so it was no big deal. They don’t acknowledge a potentially even greater miracle – Pharaoh’s army chased after the Israelites, got mired down, drown in pursuit, in that same few inches of water.
You can choose not to believe to explain a miracle. But for me and my household we will follow the Lord and benefit from His miracles. All Scripture is God Breathed and useful to teach us what is true, and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do! – II Timothy 3:16
I know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the Called according to His purpose. I know in spite of any current predicament, I’m always in the “Midst of a Miracle!” So are you! Suddenly, God changes situations for good! He has done it (and continues to do it today) over and over and over. So put your trust in Him. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!
Like to read more about miracles? I suggest the book I Believe in Visions by Kenneth Hagin. This is by a man whom I’ve met and wholeheartedly trust.
Photo by shawnzrossi 
