Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Kings 19:35 (New International Version)

That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!

Sennacherib king of Assyria had laid siege to Jerusalem. The city was about to fall into his hands. Judah’s King Hezekiah humbled himself and prayed to God. God sent an angel…

185,000 men died in camp in one night at the hand of the angel

That is about the same number of the Americans who died fighting for both sides during our Civil War. I cannot imagine what people felt and thought the next morning when they awoke to the sight. What did the people in Jerusalem do with the dead bodies? What about the possessions of the dead? How did the living move on? The questions never end.

I could speculate for a long time on these and other questions. One thing I hold as almost certain:

The living knew that something super-natural had happened.

They didn’t go looking for water borne disease or chemical warfare or some odd alignment of the stars or something else. People knew there were gods and angels and other super-natural beings. They could find no other explanation.

Today, we would find another explanation. We are too smart, too scientific, too logical, too confident in our own selves to look to something else.

God, help me to hold onto the wonder of you. Help me to always understand that there is more to life here than I can see, touch, feel, and sense.