READING FOR MAY 6, 2026: 2 CHRONICLES 32, 2 CORINTHIANS 8, PSALM 39:1-6 2 CHRONICLES 32 The Chronicler, who is believed to be Ezra, provides a more concise but interesting compliment to the story of King Hezekiah’s later years first found in 2 Kings 18-20. The opening statement tells us that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah after all the years of King Hezekiah’s godly rule of Judah. We might think such service to God would make Judah then and perhaps us today immune from the attacks of the enemy. That must not be the case. In fact, Jesus promises just the opposite: “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). Hezekiah, sensing Sennacherib’s intention to lay siege to Jerusalem, took sensible structural actions in preparation. He also prepared the people by reminding them that God’s power was greater than Assyria’s military might. He convinced them that Judah actually had the advantage. And so they did, and so will we if we seek the Lord earnestly.
While Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, a nearby city, he sent messengers to Jerusalem to discourage them from resisting. These messengers made sure the common people heard them by speaking loudly and using Hebrew. The gist of their message was that Assyria had defeated many countries already, all of whom had gods that could not save them. This is kind of a negative version of the belief still expressed today: all religions are essentially the same or all religions pray to the same god. This sounds tolerant, but it is really an insult to the devoted believers of each religion because their main tenants are so contradictory. This is certainly not a biblical viewpoint: “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you” (Deut. 6:13-15).
By way of proof of God’s supremacy and in response to the prayers of Isaiah and Hezekiah, God defeated the entire Assyrian army. King Sennacherib returned to his land in shame and was eventually killed by his sons while worshiping his temple. In contrast, Hezekiah became highly esteemed among the nations because of this victory—of course it was all God’s doing.
As we read in 2 Kings, Hezekiah became deathly ill but in response to Hezekiah’s earnest prayer, God healed him. Here we learn that Hezekiah was not appropriately thankful to God but became proud. Wisely he, at least temporarily, humbled himself so that he and the people were not immediately destroyed. Thus, God continued to bless him and Judah with great wealth. Although not mentioned in this chapter, we know from 2 Kings this led to his excessive boasting about his wealth to his visitors from Babylon. We do learn here that God left Hezekiah alone during this visit to “test him.” This is a vital reminder to us that being very successful is really a test of our faith. Do we claim credit for our achievements or do we properly direct all honor and praise to God, from whom all blessings flow.
READING FOR MAY 6, 2026 CONTINUED: 2 CORINTHIANS 8, PSALM 39:1-6 2 CORINTHIANS 8 This is an entire chapter about giving. The church shouldn’t fail to teach biblical principles about giving just because some well-known celebrity preachers appear to have abused this beautiful act of worship. Paul shares with the Corinthians the positive example of the churches in Macedonia. This might be considered by some as poor taste, but it helps Paul convey information about exemplary Christian practices of giving, an often-avoided topic. Instead of Paul begging the Macedonians for an offering, they, in their relative poverty, begged Paul to accept their proportionally generous gifts. Their approach is the template for all Christian giving. They first gave themselves totally to God first and then their resources were given as a tangible expression. Our giving is our response to the Christ who made Himself poor so that we might receive eternal riches.
Paul had long been collecting funds for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He mentioned this to the Corinthians in his first letter (16:1-3). They had been the first to give to this fund about a year ago. Now after Paul’s experience in Macedonia, he decided to send his trusted associate Titus to Corinth to collect another donation to the fund. Paul stresses the generosity of others, but he does not descend into high-pressure tactics. Giving voluntarily from the heart is stressed, as well as not giving beyond the giver’s capability. Also, Paul points to the integrity of all involved in taking this gift to those in need in Jerusalem. Paul regards this aspect of his ministry with as much care as preaching the Gospel. Integrity in handling gifts is essential!
PSALM 39:1-6 David committed to not sinning by his speech. He particularly mentioned not speaking at all when wicked people were present. It is not clear what the circumstances were, but it is certainly true that we often sin by what we say (James 3:6) and we often create problems by speaking when certain people are present. Remember how Jesus’s words were twisted during his trial. David built up internal stress until he was finally able to speak to God.
His request to God in verses 4-6 was one we all would be wise to make. He asked the Lord to give him an awareness of the brevity of life. Let’s ponder this for a moment. Some people develop bucket lists of what they would like to experience before they die. Consider this: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
