“After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Chronicles 32:1 Mean?
"After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself." The timing is devastating: "after these things" — after the revival, after the Passover celebration, after the tithes overflowed, after the storehouses were built. The Assyrian invasion arrives on the heels of spiritual renewal. The crisis follows the consecration.
The phrase "and the establishment thereof" (ve'ha'emet — and the faithfulness/truth of it) emphasizes that the revival was genuine and established: this wasn't a superficial religious moment. It was real, rooted, and settled. And then Sennacherib came. The faithfulness didn't prevent the attack. The establishment didn't stop the invasion.
Sennacherib "thought to win them for himself" (literally "said to break them open for himself") — the Assyrian king's intention is personal conquest: to take Judah's fortified cities for his own empire. The human adversary has his own plans. The faithfulness of Judah doesn't factor into Sennacherib's calculations.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What crisis arrived in your life right after a season of spiritual growth — and how did the growth prepare you?
- 2.How does 'after these things' challenge the belief that faithfulness prevents hardship?
- 3.What did the revival actually accomplish if it didn't prevent the invasion?
- 4.How does Sennacherib's indifference to Judah's spiritual state reflect the reality of spiritual warfare?
Devotional
After the revival — the invasion. After the Passover, the tithes, the storerooms, the spiritual renewal that restored an entire nation — Sennacherib shows up. The crisis arrives precisely when everything was going right.
The 'after these things and the establishment thereof' is the phrase that changes everything: the 'establishment' means the revival was real. It was settled. It was genuine. Hezekiah didn't do anything wrong. The worship was authentic. The giving was abundant. The reformation was complete. And THEN the superpower invaded.
This verse dismantles the theology that says faithfulness prevents crisis: Hezekiah was faithful. The nation was revived. And Sennacherib came anyway. The revival didn't build a wall against invasion. The faithfulness didn't earn immunity from attack. Obedience doesn't guarantee comfort. It guarantees God's presence IN the crisis, not exemption FROM it.
Sennacherib 'thought to win them for himself' — the enemy has his own plans. He's not evaluating Judah's spiritual status. He's calculating military targets. The enemy's agenda doesn't wait for your revival to finish. The attack doesn't respect your season of growth.
But Hezekiah's response (verses 2-8) reveals what the revival actually accomplished: not prevention of the crisis, but preparation FOR it. The spiritual strength built during the revival becomes the foundation for surviving the invasion. The faithfulness didn't stop Sennacherib. It equipped Judah to face him.
What crisis is arriving in your life 'after these things' — after a season of growth and faithfulness? The revival didn't fail. It prepared you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
After these things, and the establishment thereof,.... What are recorded in the preceding chapters, when matters were…
The establishment thereof - literally, “the faithfulness thereof” or, in other words, “after these things had been…
After these things - God did not permit this pious prince to be disturbed till he had completed the reformation which he…
Here is, I. The formidable design of Sennacherib against Hezekiah's kingdom, and the vigorous attempt he made upon it.…
2Ch 32:1-8 (cp. 2Ki 18:13-16). Sennacherib's threatened Invasion. Hezekiah's Precautions
The Chronicler introduces us…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture