Isaiah 37

"Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:"

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As the previous chapter closes out, the Assyrian commander spoke in Hebrew, “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you!  Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord". In the final verses, we're told, the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded them to do so. Instead, they went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

 What would we expect Hezekiah to do? He was a warrior king. He could have called his generals and prepared to do battle. On the other hand, after hearing how the Assyrian general had maligned him, perhaps he did feel he wouldn't have the confidence of his army.

One of the shrewdest tricks of the devil is to destroy our confidence...

So, Hezekiah tells his people to fetch the prophet, Isaiah. When they arrived at Isaiah's place they said King Hezekiah says this day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace. Please pray for the remnant that still survives.”
Well, Isaiah said go tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.  Listen...I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.”

When Hezekiah heard this he went up to the temple and prayed. Lord Almighty, the God of Israel...you are God, the only God there is, God of all kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth...Mark all these words of Sennacherib that he sent to mock the living God...Now step in, O God, our God. Save us from him. Let all the kingdoms of earth know that you and you alone are God.”

What I like most about this prayer is Hezekiah said mark all these words of Sennacherib that he sent to mock the living God. He made no mention of how he, himself, had been mocked. I suppose it seemed irrelevant. On the other hand, you and I are often tempted to say "God! did you hear what he said about me? Because Hezekiah was faithful, God responded: Tell Sennacherib the Daughters of Zion have no use for you. They only have contempt...Who do you think you’ve been mocking and reviling all these years? The Holy of Israel! You’ve bragged, “With my fleet of chariots I’ve gone to the highest mountain ranges, penetrated the far reaches of Lebanon,Chopped down its giant cedars, its finest cypresses. I conquered its highest peak, explored its deepest forest. Haven’t you gotten the news that I’ve been behind this all along? This is a longstanding plan of mine and I’m just now making it happen, using you to devastate strong cities...I know all about your pretentious poses, your officious comings and goings, and, yes, the tantrums you throw against me. Because of all your wild raging against me, your unbridled arrogance that I keep hearing of, I’ll put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I’ll show you who’s boss. I’ll turn you around and take you back to where you came from".

So, the Angel of God struck the Assyrian camp—185,000 Assyrians died. By the time the sun came up, they were all dead—an army of corpses! Sennacherib, king of Assyria, escaped to Nineveh. As he was worshiping in the sanctuary of his god Nisroch, he was murdered by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer.

How often will we admit Vladimir Putin is God's servant? or Kim Jong-Un? or Ali Khamenei, or Xi Jinping? or Barak Obama? We look at world events and see the footprints of thugs rather than the fingerprints of God. What a mistake...

Live boldly out there today...


 

Isaiah 36

But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?

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Assyria invaded Judah (701 BC)  because of a rebellion led by King Hezekiah (backed by Egypt and Babylonia). Sennacherib sacked a number of cities in Judah. He laid siege to Jerusalem, but soon returned to Nineveh, with Jerusalem not having been sacked, in order to put down an attempted coup. This event was recorded by Sennacherib himself, by Herodotus, Josephus and by several Biblical writers. According to 2 Kings 19:35  Sennacherib also withdrew because the "angel of Yahweh went out and put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sennacherib

In this chapter we have an account of the king Sennacherib's Field Commander speaking to the elders, in Jerusalem, attempting  to discourage the subjects of Hezekiah from continuing to resist. On the surface it would appear he was graciously attempting to avoid further bloodshed by offering a bargain. So he reminds them of the futility of their resistance with this question: But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?

Not so fast...

This sounds reminiscent of an earlier question. Genesis 3 tells us "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” We know this was a lie because God gave access to all but one tree. Eve was pretty smart herself. She said "God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”

And, of course, Satan said “You will not certainly die.” From question...to lie! When a person intending to do me harm stands in front of me and begins asking questions...I should be sceptical...

We know that Hezekiah was a good King. He did right in the eyes of the Lord. 2nd Chronicles tells us Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old and was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years.  In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah, having first repaired the doors of The Temple of God, threw them open to the public. He assembled the priests and Levites in the court on the east side and said, “Levites, listen! Consecrate yourselves and consecrate The Temple of God—give this much-defiled place a good housecleaning. Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before God—they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God, and walked off. They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple. And because of that, God’s anger flared up and he turned those people into a public exhibit of disaster, a moral history lesson—look and read! This is why our ancestors were killed, and this is why our wives and sons and daughters were taken prisoner and made slaves.  “I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry with us. Children, don’t drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship—this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well.”

When we know this about Hezekiah we know that Sennacherib's general could not be trusted. He was a deceiver.

So, here's the question: When we face difficult choices do we immerse ourselves in God's word and fortify ourselves with the truths found there? Or, do we listen to the voices in front of us that are intent on our destruction?

"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free"

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 35

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,

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This chapter concludes the prophecies of the first part of Isaiah. This promise shouldn't elicit cries of rejoicing at the destruction of the wicked but...should bring cries of thanksgiving for our deliverence from earthly woes. The one main truth...Israel (the Church) will be delivered from all its foes, and happier times shall succeed under Messiah.

But its a long journey from here to there...from despair to deliverance.

How might you and I get there? The metaphor is God's highway. It's not difficult to find. It's the well worn path of Holy people: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, The Apostles, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Eliott, Billy Graham and...on and on. Once we locate the path they have trod we need to find the nearest entrance ramp and join the journey.

I know, as we look around, we may feel uncomfortable with some of our traveling companions. They're people we've disagreed with in the past. They're people who have a different way about them. But, wait.. God promises that all who are walking this path are holy. Rather than showing them the nearest exit, this might be a great time to ask some questions and learn.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 34

For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.

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I understand our culture has an aversion for judging others. We don't even like the idea of judging "Islamic Terrorists" bent on destroying everything and everyone who believes in freedom. God was less phlegmatic about this idea of judgment. His view was simple: If you hurt my people I will hurt you. It might explain America's disaffection with God..."He's just too judgmental for our tastes".

It's become so obnoxious that Michael Moore, musing over his distaste for the life of Chis Kyle in "American Sniper", queried WWJD? His answer? "Jesus would lie on a roof and shoot people in the back!" So now it's God's fault?

Satire? I doubt it...Jesus wasn't mentioned in the movie. Chris Kyle never said "God made me do it". Moore's comment had to be reflective of his personal distaste for all things Divine. So...it's God's fault. Sounds pretty judgmental to me...

Oops!

If we aren't careful we'll be tempted to believe the inmates have taken over the asylum...

They may have...but not for long. In this chapter of Isaiah we have the final unapologetic doom of all the nations that are enemies to God’s church and people.  He says "Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy  them, he will give them over to slaughter". We might be tempted to consider the whole notion of total destruction as "a bit much". Our view would be pedantic and irrelevant. God will do what God will do.

And, by the way, He will be totally just in His actions...

For believers (on the other hand), the promise is clear. God will restore the Church through the destruction of all who oppose her.  He says "look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together. He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever    and dwell there from generation to generation".

We could devote our energy wondering about a cruel God...and reaching no answers within our comprehension...or we could spend our time aligning ourselves with the victor in this cosmic struggle. Because...some day...even Michael Moore will believe.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 33

Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

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This chapter relates to the same events as the foregoing chapter, the distress of Judah and Jerusalem by Sennacherib’s invasion and their deliverance out of that distress by the destruction of the Assyrian army. We see the reason for God's anger with Assyria... "Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed!" In other words, Assyria was destroying her neighbors in a manner she had never experienced herself. Assyria was betraying her neighbors in a way she had never been betrayed.

Patently unjust...

So, God says, "When you're done with all your destructive behavior, it will all come home to roost: When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed".  This  law of reciprocity comes right out of the mouth of Jesus. We're told, in the Sermon on the Mount,  "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you…for in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Sennacherib had judged Israel worthy of destruction and that same judgment would be turned upon him by God. This judgment was not leveled at Assyria because she was so evil but, because this is the way God justly rules His creation. 

Except for grace...You and I, as believers, have been given an unbelievable reprieve in this regard. Although we deserve punishment for our conduct, the Holy Spirit will usher us into the throne room of Heaven for all eternity.

This begs the question, however: Here (and now), how often do we stop to appreciate the fact that many of the troubles we experience are nothing more (or, less) than this law of reciprocity being played out in our own lives? Perhaps the cry of Judah is an appropriate indicator of how God expects us to live our daily lives.  "Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress". If God is our strength, it's highly unlikely our conduct would warrant anything close to the kind of reciprocity that destroyed Sennacherib.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 32

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

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Of course, if we would open our eyes and ears, we would gain spiritual strength and we would boldly declare the truths of God. But, we have to quit calling bad things good and foolish things wise. We have to quit acting in ungodly ways.

Isaiah recognized the problem and challenged the women (Maybe he gave up on the men?) you women who are so complacent,   rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say...you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come. Tremble...shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags. Beat your breasts for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers—
Complacency is smugness, self-righteousness and self-satisfaction. Complacency ensures we will never learn or grow. I guess, if I'm the "smartest guy in the room," I don't really need to open my eyes and ears. And, my life becomes a wasteland. Of course, it's "my" wasteland. Conversely, a little humility might help us recognize that true satisfaction is to be had only in true reliance on God. Peace and quietness will be found in the way and work of obedience. And...real holiness is real happiness.

Not my words...Isaiah's

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 31

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord."

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Here's the problem with seeking salvation from any other than God: All they have is human weapons. They may be bigger and more plentiful, but they're just human weapons.

Egypt had a million horses and chariots. Sound powerful but...how would they fare against cannons? How would cannons fare against combat air power? How would air power fare against an electromagnetic pulse (EMP)?

You see, someone will always find a bigger weapon....

But God...He spoke the world into creation. He parted the Red Sea. He made the sun stand still. He smoked Sodom and Gomorrah. Why do you suppose we call natural calamaties "acts of God"? It's because man has yet to devise a dependable defense against nature. We can't control it, only God can.

We can look to the Democrats (or, Republicans) to put things right...maybe even the United Nations. I only ask this: what would they do to protect us from a 70 foot sunami moving at 100 mph? or, a 9.0 earthquake? They couldn't even protect us from a couple of airplanes flying over New York City.

I'd say God is a better bet...

Live boldly out there today...