HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL!

HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL!

2 Chron 32:2-5

2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,

3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.

4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

5 Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

2 Kings 20:20

20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

Hezekiah made preparations for Sennacherib's invasion in 701 by seeking to maintain an adequate water supply within the safety of the city walls. He had a conduit cut underground through the rock to channel water from the Gihon Spring outside the city wall to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. This channel, known as Hezekiah's Tunnel, runs a very crooked course for approximately 1,700 feet. One can visit it and even walk through it today. A six-line Hebrew inscription (called the "Siloam Inscription") was found in 1880 in the channel near the Pool of Siloam. It describes the workers cutting through the rock, beginning from both ends and meeting triumphantly at the midpoint. (from Willmington's Bible Handbook by Harold Willmington Copyright © 1997 by Harold L. Willmington. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

          Maybe you feel like you are just “digging in the dark” without any guarantee that you will meet triumphantly in the middle. The spiritual lessons within this historical fact are obvious. First you have to know your enemy and deny him any refreshment. James says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you!” (James 4:7) Paul advises: “Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (Rom 13:14)

          One has to wonder what tools or instruments were available to Hezekiah’s workers in that ancient time. The spiritual application is clear. We simply have to trust God’s leading. This is especially true if you are digging in the dark through solid rock!

Isa 30:21

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Dear Lord, some days are dark as a tunnel and hard as a rock. Lead us to triumphant breakthrough. AMEN