The Only

Click here to read 2 Chronicles 32 on BibleGateway.com

“They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples” – 2 Chronicles 32:19

First off, little disclaimer for today:  this is more of a “what if” question than a hardline stance.  So, consider the idea like a burger from a new restaurant, and if you don’t like it, feel free to spit it out like a sandwich from Arby’s.  So off we go.

In 2 chronicles 32, the Assyrian army, presenting such fun activities as piling enemies heads outside city gates and dragging people around by fishooks in their mouths,  is on its way to Jerusalem.  Hezekiah, the king of Judah, is trying to rally his citizens in face of the well-known cruelty of the Assyrians, and he tells his people “do not be afraid…there is a greater power with us than with them.”

The Assyrians on the other hand, send PR announcements to the people, telling them to just give up and surrender, and to save themselves from the horror of a siege and the eventual sacking of the city.  Kind of like “if you just let us in, we promise to take it easy on you, but if you resist we’ll make you pay for wasting our time.”  After all, did any of the other cities Assyria attacked manage to do any better?

WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

And now here’s the key:  Hezekiah reminds the people of Jerusalem that God is there as well – a power greater than anything any army anywhere can muster.  The Assyrians group Yahweh in with all the other gods they have faced; he’s nothing compared to their military might.  In other words, “they spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples.”  Obviously in the case of Hezekiah, God did a miracle and the Israelites were supernaturally saved.

But (and this is the part to mull over today) do we do the same thing today?  Do we treat God the same as “the other gods”?  When we share about God’s love, do we speak of the same love in the way as other religions?  Do we start to compare “our” god’s attributes with theirs?  Do we want to evaluate their sacred texts and the Bible?

CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED

I wonder today if this is maybe a mistake.  The Assyrians came in, and compared their gods and the gods of their other enemies with the one True God.  Maybe this is a conversation the people of Israel shouldn’t be having.  Maybe they shouldn’t even consider the option of other gods, because there is no other option.  Only one God exists.  Only one God is the source of all existence.  Why meet someone on “equal” terms? Do we consider all options when someone says 2+2=5?

For us, maybe our apologetics are focused too much on defending God, and not enough on trusting God and His power and His truth.  Maybe we’re allowing ourselves to treat God like we would any other god. Maybe we’re getting too distracted by trying to be fair or show how balanced we are.

Remember this, my friends.  Our interpretation of God is not simply “our way” of getting to know the divine.  It is not our cultural way of viewing God.  It is not our unique path to God among many other paths.  God is not merely another god among many.  He’s not even the best God among many.  He is the Only.  He is the Beginning and the End.  There is no rival, there is no comparison, there is no debate, there is no decision, there is no evaluating.  It is not a matter of if God is more powerful than other gods or more righteous or more loving or more just.

He Is God.

And there is no other.