Godly Reserves

In ancient times, foreign invaders would besiege a city by surrounding it and cutting off commerce, travel and supplies from entering the area. Then the invaders would play a waiting game to see if they could make the city submit due to hunger or thirst, before any allies might come to provide military aid. If the city were unprepared for such an event, they would soon run out of supplies and would be forced to open the gates to the invaders to avoid a sure death from starvation in exchange for the very real possibility of slavery or being killed.

A perfect biblical example is the siege of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib on the city of Jerusalem during Hezekiah's reign. In the Assyrian Taylor Prism, Sennacherib recorded that he had trapped Hezekiah in his palace "like a bird in a cage" (J. B. Pritchard, ANET). The account in the Bible tells how Hezekiah took counsel and was able to build a conduit from the Gihon Springs and provide a water source inside the walls for the people of Jerusalem. In II Kings 20:20, it states:

"And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

This act certainly sustained the city, but the real salvation for Jerusalem was Hezekiah's appeal to the LORD. We read in Isaiah Hezekiah's earnest plea to God for salvation, recognizing that the LORD had control over all things including a pagan world power. In Isaiah 37:36-37 it is recorded:

"And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh."

If we haven't stored up God's word within our hearts, how long will we last against the Devil's worldly assault of temptation and trial? How should we prepare for a siege by our adversary Satan? The only hope we have lies within building a reservoir of spiritual strength from partaking of God's living word, and a constant appeal to our Father for His deliverance from this foe through His tender love and mercy.

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