The Lion is Here!

II Ki.18 & 19

Senecherib, King of the Assyrians, came and surrounded God's city, Jerusalem. They were strong and powerful and Judah was no match for their numbers and strength. Hezekiah, King of Judah had compromised and acquiesced unto Senecherib and paid his extortion money, even taking the gold from the Temple doors and handing it over to the wicked King of Assyria. When the Assyrian King saw that Judah was afraid and that they had much earthly treasure his confidence and greed soared and he sent out a warning to King Hezekiah. In this threat he listed the kings and leaders of other nations that had fallen to his army and he mocked the God of Judah. "What confidence is this wherein thou trusteth?", he instructed his servant to ask Hezekiah. Senecherib's servant continues with his blasphemy saying, "Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us...".

The Assyrians continued to threaten and warn Judah not to trust King Hezekiah or the Lord. They even go further, "Let not thy God in whom thou trusteth deceive thee...". Can you imagine the utter depravity of the Assyrians disparaging and slandering the God of the Universe, Jehovah? Now when a people set themselves up against the might of the Lion of Judah they are ready to be consumed in the brightness of just the shadow of His glorious mane. Go ahead, Senecherib, align your warriors against the tribe of Judah and you might prevail against them, but they do not fight alone. Far from it, there is a power that looks down from heaven that will not only take their predicament upon His shoulders, He will guard His glory from every and all enemies no matter how great they seem in their own eyes. So go ahead, Assyria, strut your pride and believe your own words and as you compare the Lord God of Judah with the gods of the heathen you have made a deadly mistake that is ready to pounce on you and all your inhabitants. Dead corpses are your inheritance. The Lion will be here!

Now when Hezekiah gets the news of the seriousness of the situation he finally does what he should have done in the first place, he went before the Lord and put the entire threat before Him. The prophet Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah that the Lord had heard his supplication and He would deal with armies of Assyria saying, "I will defend this city to save, for Mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake". Oh yes, Judah's Lion is slow to wrath but once He sets His anger upon those who attack His people and His honor there is no staying His sentence. The Angel of the Lord enters the enemy's camp in the middle of the night, and when the sun rises the next morning 185,000 corpses littered the camp that had anticipated victory and had reaped a whirlwind. He has come and the so called warriors of Assyria are nothing more than an above ground graveyard that testifies, "The Lion was here!".

Oh, some say, this Loving Lion would never do something like that. He has endured such mischaracterizations for thousands of years but He will throw off man's definitions and He will reveal Himself in an open display, as gracious as He treats His followers so shall He destroy every last enemy. If we could see a five minute glimpse into what is in store for this planet when God unleashes His wrath all of us would repent with sackcloth and ashes. Now King Senecherib escapes to Nineveh, and he goes into a temple to worship a heathen god. And right in the temple of the god he had trusted his own sons murdered him. "The Lion was here".

Look all around us today. The enemies of God have set up their camp on every corner and have blasphemed the Risen Christ to our very faces. They've even infiltrated our own troops disguised as soldiers of Christ when in reality they are Spiritual corpses acting like members of His own pride. We are surrounded and they are many in number. They have mocked our Leader and have challenged His authority. They've claimed He has no power and they are demanding our surrender. They say we have no power against the armies of darkness and they are right, but they have failed to look up and hear the thunderous Word that is growing louder and louder. Our Lion will fight for us and the powerful claws of His Word are distended, He will not wait much longer. Take heart all you that stand in the midst of danger, we have sinned but He is faithful. His honor is at stake and while the enemy's camp continues to burn a blasphemous fire it will be extinguished with one mighty roar from His mighty jaws of wrath. Do not only hear a metaphor, no, the corpses will pile up around the world and their stench will scream out "The Lion was here!".

As we look at the enemy's camp we can remember walking among them and like Goliath mocking the armies of God. We were many in number and powerful in our own eyes while being unconcerned with the Lord's camp. I was not searching for the Lord but one day a search was birthed in my heart. Suddenly I continue to walk and talk like the Philistines, my friends, but secretly I was increasingly feeling empty and then unnerved. What if it is true and what if Jesus was the Son of God, then I have lost everything. Then one night high atop a mountain overlooking New York City I came "face to face" with the revelation of Jesus the Christ, and before I could even reconsider God's Spirit invaded my personal and fortified camp and I was bowing before the Lion of Judah, my Lord and my God. I will never be the same and as I look across at the enemy's camp, my former home, I am compelled to warn them. I know they do not stand a chance against the day of His wrath and by their rejection of Him they have embraced judgment. This is no religious game and this is no "principle teaching" metaphor and one day the last person on earth will be rescued from the enemy's camp and the great and powerful Lion will pounce from heaven and the entire world will be his eternal and terrible prey. Tremble all you inhabitants of this earth, you have waited much too long! The Lion is here!

But we will continue to speak His name; we will continue to beseech His power; we will continue to hear and obey His Words; we will continue to warn; and we will continue to compare the ever changing strategies of man with the never changing Word of God. And drenched in His grace we will ultimately stand fast in Christ Jesus. But never let anyone be misled, the glorious end time victory will not be won by man, no matter how faithful. No, the Lord will not share His glory with another. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah will come at once from the east, the north, the west, and the south and the entire world will suffer the eternal consequences and He alone will receive all the glory. It is set, it is inevitable, and it is at the door and the Lion's glory peeks around it announcing that the door will soon be torn from its hinges and the Lord descends in all His glory taking vengeance on all those who do not belong to Him! Run, don't walk, to Him. The enemy's camp will be forever spoiled, and "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever".

THE LION IS HERE!!

Amen and Amen.