Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Kings 19:35-36 (New Living Translation)

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

In the old times, a man named Hezekiah was king of God’s people. King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the land and swept everyone from his path. He is at the gates of Jerusalem. The outcome is predictable; it won’t end well for the people making their last stand in Jerusalem.

The unimaginable happens. 185,000 Assyrian solders die in one night. King Sennacherib of Assyria pulled up stakes and went home.

What happened? An angel killed 185,000 soldiers in one night. These were soldiers. They were big, strong, tough men. Dead. One night. Just like that.

How do you picture an angel? Soft, white, fluffy clothes, wings of glorious white feathers that glow because they are clean and soft and all that lovely stuff? How about a stone cold killer? How about blood and gore everywhere? Imagine the carnage, the filth, the odor of 185,000 dead bodies. This is a sea of corpses caused by one angel in a few hours.

Soft, cuddly, cute angel? I don’t see that here. Fear the angel of the Lord. When the angel of the Lord told the sheep herders about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the sheep herders were “sore afraid,” i.e., terrorized. Fear the angel of the Lord.