Hezekiah has been put in a place where there is no other choice except to put his trust in the God of Israel. Easier said than done.
Isaiah 37: Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah's Help
1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD.
2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.
3 They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'"
5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
6 Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me.
7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'"
8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
9 Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, "He has set out to fight against you." And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 "Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?'"
Hezekiah's Prayer for Deliverance
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:
16 "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.
17 Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.
18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,
19 and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.
20 So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD."
Sennacherib's Fall
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22 this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: "'She despises you, she scorns you--- the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you--- the daughter of Jerusalem.
23 "'Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters, to dry up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.
26 "'Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins,
27 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown.
28 "'I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me.
29 Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.'
30 "And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
33 "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.
34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD.
35 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David."
36 And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh.
38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Things to think about…
1. Hezekiah after being threatened by the Rabshakeh does the only wise thing left to him. He enters the house of the Lord, Isa 37:1. In times of grief and hopelessness our Lord must be a place of refuge and strength when all around seems lost. Hezekiah summons Isaiah the prophet to ask his counsel and to pray, Isa 37:2-4. Isaiah hears from the Lord and says the Rabshakeh will hear that the king of Assyria has left Lachish and was at Libnah (another town in Judah – although it rebelled against Judah’s authority). The Assyrians leave but only for a short while.
2. The Assyrians hear that Tirhakah the king of Cush (Ethiopia) is coming to fight against them in support of Israel. He leaves. We hear nothing of the war between the Cushites and Assyira, but know that in the meantime Sennacherib the Assyrian king sends a letter to Hezekiah mocking the God of Israel in whom they trust, Isa 37:10-13. These are similar words used by the Rabshakeh. Hezekiah again goes into the house of the Lord and prays, Isa 37:14. This time he lays the letter the king of Assyria wrote out before the Lord and prays that the Lord would deliver, Isa 37:16-20. Satan keeps attacking. One day he will be stopped completely, but in this season he keeps coming. Even after tempting Christ it says he left him and “departed from him until an opportune time” Luke 4:13. Satan will keep coming back when he sees an opportunity to do so. He will only cease when the Lord casts him into the lake of fire for eternity, Rev 20:10.
3. Sennacherib returns to Jerusalem with more than 185, 000 soldiers. This is an immense foreign army and one of the largest recorded with respect to ancient war settings. But the Lord has a message for Hezekiah regarding the King of Assyria, Isa 37:22-35. This passage is worthy of study. The Lord acknowledges the destruction Assyria has caused, but it is due to the fact of the Lord’s sovereign hand was in it, vss 26, 27. It is the same when Jesus is before Pilate and Pilate says that he has the authority to release or crucify Jesus. The Lord says “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above”, John 19:11. At times when we see the earth seemingly out of control, these verses bring us comfort and hope in the fact that the Lord has a greater purpose for in them for us. Ultimately all the glory goes to Him when we see a mighty deliverance.
4. The Lord promises to defend the city of Jerusalem for the sake of the Lord’s promises to King David, Isa 37:35. Imagine the amazement and joy of the inhabitants of Jerusalem as they arose in the morning and saw 185, 000 of their enemy lying dead. This would have brought about immediate praise and worship as well as awe and fear among the Lord’s people. Surely it represented a deliverance similar to the death of the firstborn of Egypt and deliverance at the time of Moses. Sennacherib leaves and returns to Nineveh. As a footnote to the passage we read that the king of Assyria is killed by two of his sons while worshipping his idol, Isa 37:38. In a similar way, Pilate who would come after him we see a tragic end to a man who was used in God’s sovereign will, but rebelled against His moral will. True deliverance only comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, Isa 37:16. Every Easter we celebrate the greatest deliverance of all, the deliverance over sin and death. Christ has risen. David’s greater Son rules and reigns. The tomb is empty and it has no power over the believer.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson will be looking at the life of Christ in the church.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group after Sunday mornings café time. Open discussion around difficult topics and defending our faith is the focus.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Easter season and this weekend’s Good Friday and Easter Sunday service
2. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
3. Those who are travelling over Easter. Especially while it’s wet. 60 people have already lost lives on Qld roads this year.
4. Those who are considering baptism.
5. Church finances to cover all expenses.
6. Pray for of Kids@Church, Life groups and church community days.
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Best turnout we have had for a working bee in a long time. All tasks completed. Thankyou to all involved. Special shout out to Rob Brand – guttering and down pipes completed. Thankyou everyone!
2. Joy in the service with everyone who celebrated Palm Sunday at CBC on Sunday.
3. Kids@Church ministry – Thankyou Maddison for teaching on Easter message.
4. Continue to pray for Tad to gain strength at home. Good to see him at church yesterday. Continue to pray for Glenys as she now has a splint to gain full use in her left arm. Any encouragement you can give will be greatly appreciated.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Good Friday service 9:00am 29th Mar. Easter Sunday 31st Mar, regular time 9:30am.
2. Life Groups Wednesday night at Church – 6:30pm.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 18. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies? A. He gave them souls that could never die.
