assyria – Praying Pint

51.o. Wilderness – 15.u. “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.”

Deu 20:1-4  “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’

Deuteronomy 3:22   You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’

Genesis 26:3     Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

Joshua 1:5     No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Psalms 118:6     The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Deuteronomy 1:28    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’

Israel, a small nation surrounded by great empires, was rarely in a strategically superior position. Despite the clear danger, they also had a clear command from God to not fear. Israel was commanded to not fear what any logical military man would fear: superior numbers, superior technology, and superior equipment. Yet, Israel was given a reason to not fear. God did not deny that the enemies of Israel would usually have more horses, chariots, and people than Israel. But God asked them to recognize a greater fact: That the LORD your God is with you. It was the job of the priest to encourage the soldiers to trust in God. Though the priests were not normally to go into battle. When Israel was obedient, and trusting in God, they could never lose. But when they were disobedient, or not trusting, they could never win – even if they had superior forces.

To God, the size of the army wasn’t important; the heart of the army was far more important. He didn’t want people who might be distracted from the real battle by worrying about the cares of everyday life (their home, their vineyard, their fiancée’); nor did He want people who were not really trusting Him. God could do more through a smaller army that was really committed to Him than through a bigger army that was full of compromise. (Guzik)

There is a fear that most experience – It is a “sudden fear” of when something happens. A car accident that is about to happen, waking up to smoke in your home, loud unexpected noise, or being startled by someone or something you didn’t know was there. We are just born with this. Proverbs says, do not be afraid of sudden fear. When sudden fear occurs, recognize it, and do not be afraid. You would apply brakes or swerve in an on-coming accident. You would flee a burning building. You would not try to pick up a venomous snake as it slithers by. You would be cautious, attentive, mindful, and putting things into their right place within your mind. God is there. God is sovereign. God is all-knowing. God is all-powerful. He will never leave or forsake you.

There is another type of fear that should not be in the hearts and minds of those who trust in, rely upon, and cling to Jesus Christ. It is the fear of an unknown outcome of a potential event of something in the near or distant future. How do these fears arise within us? How do they gain even a spec of space within our minds? If you spend any time reading or watching news outlets you will be told what to fear right now and what to fear in the future. They will lay out their narrative in convincing crafty words. Every news and weather outlet broadcast station is supported by income from advertising that pays certain fees depending on the number of viewers. How better to get more viewers than to incite fear? Stay tuned for more breaking news. We will keep an eye on this for you, stay tuned in. This is a developing story, stay tuned. New information has come to light, stay tuned. This could affect every single person, so stay tuned. Scientists confirm, stay tuned. Witnesses have stated, stay tuned. Researchers have just revealed, stay tuned. The more they can generate fear the masses will tune in and hopefully rely on them to make sense of the fear being generated.

In contrast, God’s Word says to “Fear Not”, “Be of this world but not partakers of it”, “Be anxious about nothing”, “Trust in the Lord your God”, “God will never leave you or forsake you”, “I am with you”, “I am your rock and refuge”, “God is all-powerful”, God is ever-present”, God is all-knowing”, “the battle is the Lords”, “nothing can separate you from the Love of God.

The biggest battle we should fear is the battle with, neglect, complacency, lukewarmness, being attracted to things of this world, lust, greed, pride, envy, jealousy, arrogance, hate, anger, self-worth, self-reliance, etc….. Paul said that by the renewing of your mind, studying yourself as a workman who doesn’t need to be afraid, be anxious about nothing, guard your heart, be strong, be steadfast in your commitment, lean not unto your own understanding, be courageous, trust in Jesus Christ, be faithful, be holy, be more than babies in the Word of God and its application in your lives, hold onto what is true, rejoice, praise, be joyful, and love, these things must come to pass but do not be afraid, etc…..

Fear has no place in the heart that trusts in God. We can place all of our concerns at His feet and fully trust in Him to be with us no matter what the concern is. He will never leave you. He is ever-present. He can do all things mighty and powerful is He.

25.d. “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling”

2 Corinthians 5:6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

1 Chronicles 29:15    For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow

Isaiah 36:4    And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?

Hebrews 10:35   Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Isaiah 30:15    For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,

Hebrews 10:38     but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Paul is bold enough to say, “We know.” “Not we think, or hope only, but We Know. Paul thinks of our bodies as tents – temporary structures that cannot be thought of as the whole person. If the tent is destroyed, we still have an eternal hope: a building from God, a house not made with hands. “Many people are in a great fright about the future, yet here is Paul viewing the worst thing that could happen to him with such complacency that he likens it to nothing worse than the pulling down of tent in which he was residing in for a little season.” (Spurgeon)

Salvation isn’t just for the soul or spirit, but for the body also. Resurrection is how God saves our bodies. We have a glorious new body to come. “The righteous are put into their graves all weary and worn; but as such they will not rise. They go there with the furrowed brow, the hollowed cheek, the wrinkled skin; they shall wake up in beauty and glory.” (Spurgeon)

It is hard to realize a body that does not fade away, or hurt, get sick, or die. Yet, this is exactly what happens to these mortal bodies (tents). If this was all there was to life, what a miserable life it would be. If this was all the hope we had was to live and then die what is the purpose, where is the meaning for our existence? There are certainties to remember about our bodies and how we live our lives: 1. The physical body will die; 2. The physical body will be raised again. 3. Everyone will face the judgment seat of Christ. 4. Those who by faith trust in Jesus Christ will live in eternity forever and ever with Jesus. 5. Those who have rejected Christ will be cast into eternity in hell.

Delaying to trust, follow, and obey Jesus Christ is to risk eternity in hell. Flat out rejection of Christ is certain eternity in Hell. This tent of a body will fade away and when Christ is rejected while this body is alive there is no hope of salvation.

11.x. “You said in your heart”

Nahum 3:18 Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?

Isaiah 10:12-14   When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones. My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.”

Revelation 18:2-3    And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.  For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Isaiah 14:8-21    The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.  Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.  All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’  Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!  You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’  But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

The end of Satan is given a visual aid to us; a bed of maggots and covering of worms in eternal torment, Hell. “You said in your heart” is the choice that was made to deny God, look to self, self-praise, self-worth, self-power, self-pride, and self-reliance. When God is denied there is only self and what seems right in your own eyes. We don’t have to look very far into social media platforms and news media outlets to see the hearts of those who speak defiance of God in their pride. Their pride is in their own wisdom. We can look at this and be overwhelmed by it but it should not come to us as a surprise. Scripture tells us that in the last days there will be lawlessness, people being lovers of self, wars, calamities, droughts, earthquakes, and increasing defiance of God and hatred for His people. What are we to do? Hold fast, remain true, be courageous, put on the and put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

11.t. “Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.”

Nahum 2:10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!

Isaiah 13:19-22   And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.  It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

Zephaniah 2:13-15     And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.  Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.  This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

Isaiah 14:23     “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 34:10-15   Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.

Joshua 2:11     And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

Isaiah 13:7-8   Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.  They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

Splendor, pomp, prosperity, pride, greed, self-worth, self-centeredness, and self-reliance are all things we can recognize in others and seldom in ourselves. The hardest heart to look into is the one in the mirror. Why is that? When things are going smoothly we take a step back from God and His active Word in our lives becomes complacent. When things are going rough, confusing, hurtful, painful, and without hope, we run to God and seek His Word to be active in our lives. What kind of follower of Jesus Christ would honor and glorify His grace and mercy by acting like this? We weren’t saved only to come running to God and seeking His intervention when things go south on us. We were saved to honor and glorify Him in both good and troubling times. When we actively and intentionally choose to be in His Word, seeking to humbly live, glorify, honor, follow, trust and obey, we will soon find that deep-rooted sinful nature, we point at so often in others, is also within our hearts. We don’t hear much of sin and the need for repentance as much as we used too. I think some in their effort to lead people to Christ, offer Him up as a cure-all for all there problems and tack on “and also for your sin”. It should be the other way around. No one can come to Christ and be born again unless their hearts are pierced by the word of God and leading of the Holy Spirit about their sin and the need for forgiveness. Any other reason to come to Christ without dealing with sin is meaningless. Without having a heart, mind, and soul desire of God to expose our sin to us, we will meander around life apart from Him and only seeking Him in times of trials. We were saved to become disciples of Him to proclaim forgiveness of sin, to set the captive free from sin, and to live apart from sin. How can we do this if we are not actively seeking God to show it to us through His Word? We have fallen deep into the hole of worldliness and the mirror to our soul is not root in the Word of God but rather in the culture we live in and what they see as right in their own eyes. Now is the time to repent and turn away from sin. Now is the time to seek God with humble hearts. Now is the time for our lives to reflect thankfulness for the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for our sin so that we might have life and life more abundantly for His honor and glory.

3.o. When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Ezra 6:19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Proverbs 16:7     When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Proverbs 21:1     The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Nehemiah 1:11  O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Daniel 4:35     all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

We serve a mighty and awesome God. He is not stopped or limited by anything in creation. He is not limited by the wicked, mean, proud, hateful, or greedy. His will will be done. In Him, we can rest and find peace knowing He can move mountains as well as hearts of men to do His will and accomplish his purpose.

We do not need to fear what seems impossible. We do not need to think all is lost. We do not need to think we have lost the battle. We do not need to think we have no future. All is possible for God. The battles are His alone. Our future is in His steadfast and loving hands. There are no doors closed so tight that God can not open. Honor and glorify Him, lay your burdens at His feet believing in is mighty power, plans, and purpose. Be at peace with His will whatever it may be. Trust “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Wait for His will to be accomplished. Watch for His hand at work and give Him all honor, glory, and praise, for He alone is worthy.

3.k. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 6:9    For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Isaiah 35:3-4    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jeremiah 38:4   “for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

The people came together and first built the altar for sacrifice to God. When this was completed they laid the foundation for the temple and people shouted with joy, though some wept, because of this great coming together with one purpose – to honor, glorify, and seek God in building His temple. People of the land heard of this and acted as though they wanted to help build but after being rejected they were malicious in discouraging and frustrating the people.

Not much has changed with mankind. We still see this happening, people with clear direction and leading from God are being criticized, challenged, and blasted from almost every angle. We shouldn’t think this is an attack on us but an attack on God’s plans and purposes. If we give any room to thoughts that these attacks are against us we will certainly become weary, afraid, confused, and without motivation. However, if we see this as God’s plans and purposes being attacked we can take comfort, strength, and courage because the battle is His. We know that He will always accomplish what He speaks and how He leads us in service to Him.

Keep your eyes on the task and do not become sidetracked by those in opposition. God is in control. No one can stop what God has put in place. Remain strong, remain faithful, remain obedient.

3.h. Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

2 Chronicles 33:9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 Kings 23:26   Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

Proverbs 29:12   If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.

Ezekiel 16:45-47    Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

James 4:10     Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5-6   Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Psalms 50:15   and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

When God speaks and we don’t listen the outcome is bad. When God speaks and we reject what He is telling us the outcome is bad. When we choose to “not listen” and to “reject” what He says there is something in our heart and mind that is sideways. Somewhere in our heart and mind we have chosen self and what the world has to offer over God and His leading for our life. We find the chase to find purpose and meaning never satisfying or meeting our expectations for contentment, gratification, fulfillment, happiness, peace, joy, and rest.

Anything we temporarily allow or choose to allow to replace Gods working in our life will deafen our ears and blind our eyes and harden our heart and stiffen our neck. Each step down these paths will set these choices like concrete and you might not find how you have wasted precious time apart from God. You may not see the worldly fulfilling is sucking eternal life from your soul.

When we do not seek ownership of our possessions, plans, but yield them to God’s purposes, and humbly seek and desire to serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Him we find our eyes see more of His handiwork, our ears hear more of His leading, and our heart is soft to absorb His word and our mind is fixed on Him.

3.f. On what are you trusting?

2 Chronicles 32:9 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”

And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Contempt for God. Disregard for God. Speaking against God. Disrespect toward God. These are the actions of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Mocking God and His followers come from deep in a heart that has chosen to reject God and the testimonies of His creation. Having power, influence, money, success, and a means to take what you want will occupy an empty and void heart. Pride, greed, and arrogance will capture the mind, harden the heart, and deafen the ears to a point where eternity in Hell is your permanent future destination. There is no redemption from Hell. The choice of where we spend eternity is made while we live in these earthly bodies. We don’t get a second chance once we are dead. Our fate is determined by our heart, mind, and soul choice to either yield humbly before and to God, serving, following, honoring, obeying, and trusting Him, or by a choice to harden our heart, deafen our ears, and blind our eyes to Him and His worthiness of honor, glory, praise, worship, obedience, and trust.

Hezekiah and Isaiah, the prophet, were living day after day with the taunts from Sennacherib. They heard and saw the effects this had on the people of Jerusalem. The doubts, worry, anxiousness, and faint-hearted effects were all evident from this constant reproach from the king of Assyria and his army. The people of Jerusalem had to have heard of all of the victories of this king, and it certainly did not help to have it repeated day after day by that very king. They prayed and cried out to God because of this merciless, boastful, and arrogant king. And like that, an angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 warriors. Overnight they were dead at the hand fo God. Overnight judgment was made, the verdict declared, and the sentence carried out on this king and his mighty men. Overnight the great distress, worry, and fear were taken away and replaced with joy, peace, and rest. Such things are possible for God. There is no limit to what He can do. We will do well to live in humble service honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, obeying, and relying on Jesus Christ.

3.a. That he may turn again to the remnant of you

2 Chronicles 30:1 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

Zechariah 1:3-4    Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 11:7    For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice.  Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

Jeremiah 44:16    “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

When you read God’s word do you look for warnings or just promises of blessings? They both go hand in hand. We are blessed when we commit to God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are blessed when we commit to honor, serve, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust and obey Jesus Christ. God’s word speaks warnings and blessings but requires us to read it and want to hear it speak into our heart and mind. We get to choose if we hear it and allow it to permeate our heart and mind.

Time and time again we read of a generation of people and nations that either no longer seek God or they commit anew to seek and serve Him with humble heart and mind. Hezekiah saw the evil actions of Ahaz and what power the King had in leading people toward or away from God. He chose to commit to lead the people back to true worship of and commitment to God.

We need to be mindful of how easy it is to be lead away from God when our commitment is lukewarm. When we are lukewarm we seem to have an outward appearance of commitment but our ears are closed and our hunger and thirst for His speaking into and leading our lives is only with our lips and not with our heart and mind.

God knows and as well we know if our heart is being filled with an appetite and hunger for Him. We do well to examine our heart and what is residing in it. Commitment to honoring and living for Jesus Christ requires us to place Him first and always be mindful of our sinful nature and wandering away from Him. Staying in His word with a desire to be blameless and holy for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ will keep the door to our heart and mind open to hear Him speak and lead.

2.r. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

2 Chronicles 21:16 And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

1 Kings 11:11    Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

1 Kings 11:14    And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon,

1 Kings 11:23     God also raised up as an adversary to him,

Ezra 1:5    Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 10:5-6     Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!  Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the street

Amos 3:6     Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?

Isaiah 45:5-7     I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,  that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Do you ever wonder what God is not in control of? Is He in control of everything? We see “the Lord stirred up against Jehoram,” “I will tear the kingdom from you”, “the Lord raised up an adversary”, “everyone whose spirit God had stirred”, “the staff in their hands is My fury”, “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”, and “I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord who does all these things.”

God uses both the godly and ungodly too manifest is plans and purposes. He is the creator of all there is so it is well understood that He can control it. Do we live our lives like God is in control? Do we pray like God is in Control? Do we trust God like He is in control? People reject God’s calling in their life. They choose to ignore Him. However, even in their rejection and the problems and troubles, they cause on others God can and does use it for good. We may not see it but we can trust it is true. One example is with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Evil and lost people did this but it was ordained by God for the salvation of all who believe.

We know how David cried out to God and stating what appeared to be an oversight by God, in that, there were evil people who seemed to prosper, denounce God, treat others with harm, and God was seemingly blind to it. He wasn’t and isn’t blind to actions, but more than that, He knows the thoughts and intents of each person’s actions.

The problem we have is that we don’t have the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of God. We chase after answers with our limited understanding and knowledge. We convince ourselves that we no best and if we were God we would do it differently. He is God, not us. His ways are not our ways.

So why is it that we say God is in control and then do not believe or trust Him when seemingly bad things happen? He does not change. He has been the same forever and there is no changing in Him.

I think the closer we are to Him the more we learn and grow in our trusting of Him. The closer we are we have fewer questions and we have more praise. The closer we are doesn’t mean we have fewer questions but it does mean we have one answer “God is in control” and in this, we can find a peace that passes all understanding.

You have to imagine the Israelites were full of questions and afraid when they were at the banks of the Red Sea with the Pharaoh and his warriors approaching. When we face the impossible, tragic, and terrible, trials in our life, know that there is a God who is in control and will work out all things for the good of them who are called by His name.