Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
That phrase “Walking with Jesus” has been chosen for this daily ministry to challenge us with this radical concept: that God wants His people to walk the path of our life journey EVERYDAY with a continual awareness of God’s Presence with us; God’s Power available to us; God’s Purpose which He is working in our world for His glory; and God’s Promises which are always true.
That is what King Hezekiah was trying to do as he led the residents of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah in a very precarious and frightening time in Israel’s history. A vast Assyrian army had boldly, sarcastically warned them that Jerusalem was the next major city on the list of conquests for the undefeated king of Assyria. (Is. 36)
But God’s response had come to repentant, praying King Hezekiah, through the prophet Isaiah, that this vast army would retreat and eventually this terrifying king of Assyria would in fact be slain by his own people! (Isaiah 37:6,7) Upon hearing this news it must have seem preposterous, outlandish, impossible! But shortly thereafter, almost inexplicably, the threatening field commander had withdrawn his troops to go and assist the king of Assyria and his troops engaged in another battle west of Jerusalem about 35 miles, very near the valley of Elah. (Is. 37:8) It was here that about 300 years before young David had slain the giant Goliath with one stone and his slingshot! (1 Samuel 17:45-50) We can presume the people of Jerusalem were rejoicing that God had once again intervened, miraculously on their behalf protecting them!
Isaiah gives us even more information which I doubt King Hezekiah or the Jews of endangered Jerusalem knew anything about. As is happening right now in Israel, sometimes battlelines are drawn in many places on the map at the same time, and on occasion an army spread out and engaged in multiple conflicts becomes a target for other armies to take advantage of what appears to be a vulnerable situation. Tirhakah, the king of Cush, (modern Ethiopia) swept up from the south looking to attack the spread out Assyrian army probably as a pre-emptive strike assuming if the king of Assyria conquered Jerusalem, Ethiopia might be next. (Is. 37:9) Sennecharib of Assyria gathered his army and fully engaged the army of Cush.
At the same time, knowing this would delay his planned invasion of Jerusalem and Judah, prideful king Sennecharib sent a letter of warning and threat to King Hezekiah and the Jewish people. “Do not let the God you depend on deceive you when He says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And you think you alone will be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them…?” (Is.37:9-13)
As King Hezekiah received this threatening letter I imagine he trembled as it was read to him by his royal officials. Emperor Sennecharib was right. His predecessor Tiglath-Pilesar had expanded the Assyrian empire dramatically through conquering many small nations, among them the northern kingdom Israel. No army from any nation had successfully withstood the ferocity of these Assyrians. Jerusalem and Judah were relatively small in size compared to others which had fallen.
Once again I find King Hezekiah’s response so instructive to me and Christian leaders everywhere in our world today! Isaiah reports it like this: “Hezekiah received the letter from Sennecharib’s messengers and read it. Then king Hezekiah went up to the Temple of the LORD and spread out the letter before the LORD…” (Is.37:14)
Let’s pause here for a few seconds my friends. When was the last time you received a troubling letter or a medical or financial report which awakened great anxiety, or worry, or maybe fear in you? Have you ever done as Hezekiah did? I have and it’s a very powerful practice. Of course there is not a Temple in Jerusalem today, so I’m not suggesting you jump on an airplane, fly to Israel and take your document up onto the Temple mount. What I am suggesting is that you can do this anywhere… your home, your office, your college dorm, your church or chapel, or anyplace that you meet with God!
Of course God doesn’t need us to spread out the letter or CT scan or MRI report or bank statement or any other frightening document before God so He can have a good close look at it! God knows far more about the situation than either you or me and even if we gave God our fullest explanation of the situation as we understand it, we’d be far short of the entire reality which is known only to God.
King Hezekiah’s action is both full worship, bringing this letter to the place of worship encounter with God, the Temple, and laying it out before God; but it is also a fully transparent, submissive act by the King of placing his life, his leadership and his people before God in total submission to the authority and the sovereignty of Almighty God.
When I’ve done this before God, I have found God to be powerfully responsive in giving me clear guidance which is God’s best for me and the situation in which I find myself.
King Hezkiah’s prayer before God is very, very powerful, you’ll find it in Isaiah 37:14-20. Look closely at his closing words: “Now, LORD our God, deliver us from the Assyrian king’s hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are the only God.“
Oh my I love that! Hezekiah is not asking for deliverance from this vast and vicious army simply because he wants to be spared, but Hezekiah is asking that God would do something spectacular so that no kingdom and no person in the world could DENY that the God of Israel is the ONLY true and living and all powerful God in all the world!
Hezekiah wanted God to be honored and glorified more than Hezekiah wanted his people or his city or even his own life spared from destruction! Do you recognize how similar this situation is to when Moses appeared in the Egyptian Pharaoh’s throne room with this message from God: “I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My Name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)
Now we need to ponder this my friends! It challenges us to consider WHY we pray to God and WHAT our motivation is behind what we request of Him, doesn’t it? If you’ll look closely, I think you’ll find ALL the great prayers recorded in the Bible are very similar in their intention and their request. It’s always the Glory of God! So let’s worship together and I’ll meet you right back here tomorrow and we’ll see what God did next!
Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 37:8-29.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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