Tag: Hezekiah

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.

3. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 29:1  Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.  In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

Ezra 10:3     Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.

Nehemiah 9:38    “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing

Jeremiah 34:15   You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,

Jeremiah 50:5    They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

2 Kings 23:3    And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 6:8    But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Fathers do not determine the walk of their children when they are grown.  Fathers can do everything right and their child, when an adult, can take paths in their life that totally contrary to God and how they were raised.  Likewise, the fatter can do absolutely everything wrong and their child, when an adult, can take paths totally in line with God and now how they were raised.  Of course, the child can follow in their father’s footsteps as well for good or evil.

We see this over and over again throughout scripture.  We wonder why or how this happens.  We don’t have to look far to see it all around us and in our family or the family of friends.  Individually we make an intentional choice to honor, serve, follow, glorify, trust and obey Jesus Christ or we make an intentional choice not too.  We choose to seek God and His word or not.  We choose to deny self or not.  We choose to grow and mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ or not.  We choose how much activity we allow into our life that may interfere with our walk with Jesus Christ.  We choose how generous we will be.  We choose if we will allow ourself to be wronged and if we will forgive, and if we will be united with our body of believers.  We choose how we will spend our time.  We choose what we allow ourselves to think about.  We choose what we will say and how we will say it.  We choose every moment of every day whom we will follow.

We read scripture today on those who chose and committed to desire, seek and follow after God.  Be one who intentionally chooses to place God first and subject everything else to that commitment.

2.l. But with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles

2 Chronicles 20:15  And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Exodus 14:13-14     And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Deuteronomy 1:29-30    Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them.  The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

Isaiah 41:10-16    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Psalms 17:1-2   Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!  From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!

Isaiah 43:1-2    But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Deuteronomy 31:8    It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

2 Chronicles 32:8    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.

The battle is not ours.  We may not be fighting a typical war but we do have battles don’t we?  We battle with addiction, greed, pride, complacency, lust, hate, coveting, health, relationships, finances, employment, sickness, self-centeredness, etc…..  We may not be facing an overwhelming army but the battles we face are none the less overpowering and seemingly uncontrollable.  We are made aware of some of these battles as we read God’s word, those that reside inside of our heart, mind, and soul.  The battles with self and our yielding to its sinful desires.  We also battle with attacks from Satan and his deceptions, lies, temptations.

Other battles come into our lives very forcefully and are not necessarily brought on by something we did or didn’t do.  Some of these are just because we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people, but that does not mean they are not unknown or purposed by God.  We never fully understand and know the plans and purposes of God but we do know that  God says; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” and “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God’s love is steadfast.  His grace, love, and mercy are unconditional.

We fear the unknown, overwhelming, and overpowering.  We play many scenarios out in our head and most of them have very bad outcomes.  We seem to play this tune in our head over and over again thinking that we might find some way out of our troubles.

God tells us to believe, trust, and rely on Him.  The battles are all His. If we truly believe they are His, what do we have to fear?  This is so easy to say but harder to put into practice.  Why is that?  If we are void of Him, for most of our daily lives it is very very certain He will be hard to believe in when the battle is at our door.  Living in a void of Him throughout most, if not all, of the day or week does not grow us into a mature, thankful, reliant, hopeful, faithful, obedient Christians.  In fact, living in a void of Him allows us to live and do what seems right in our own eyes.  We end up traveling far down the path of life alone and in our own wisdom and power for so long that when the battle lines form we are overwhelmed, powerless, angered, and afraid.    This is sin and sinful. So what are we to do?  How can we get off of this destructive and unfruitful path to a path of victory?

Recognize it, confess it, turn away from it, and cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Purpose with all your heart, mind, soul and strength to seek, desire, honor, follow, obey, and trust Jesus Christ.  Feed on His word, think hard on it, live in His presence, and keep your heart and mind focused on Him continually.  Do not let the world entice you away from the blessings, courage, power, might, and strength found in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

1a. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 

2 Kings 24:3  Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon

Psalms 106:38    they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

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 streets.

Isaiah 45:7    I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Exodus 20:5   You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Joshua 23:15     But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,

Jeremiah 15:1-4    Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!  And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’  I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.  And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

I wonder if we see the depth of the verses “for the innocent blood that he shed”, “they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters”.  When you look at abortion, is it not innocent blood that is being sacrificed for whatever reason imaginable under the sun.  There are roughly 650,000 abortions reported to the CDC each year in the United States.  That is over 1800 living babies that are destroyed/killed/murdered each day of the year.  Are we not guilty of spilling innocent blood for the sake of convenience?  It is a sad day when we don’t speak out against this tragedy and allow it to continue.  The watered-down cowardly way people say “I do not support abortion, but I do support your right to choose” is nothing more than closing your eyes to the unborn and giving your approval to murder them.

We are a free nation with laws that allow murdering unborn children.  How long will it be before God brings judgment against us?  We call pornography – adult entertainment, pedophile – minor-attracted person, abortion-free choice, God is watered down to – some other higher power, and things that ought not to be done are called – progressive or alternative lifestyles.  This is nothing more than people doing all that their sinful nature wants them to do.  When do we take a stand and speak truth from the word of God about such wayward living?  When do we call on the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to heal our land and rid us of these self-centered desires that keep quiet in the midst of the tragedy all around us. 

Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, courage to act, and strength to complete your purpose oh God.

190. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them”

2 Kings 21:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-13    “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them,  then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.  Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.  I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.  You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.  Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.  I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.  You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new.  I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.  And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Jeremiah 17:20-27     Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Hezekiah reigned 25 years as King and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  He destroyed all of the idols and put God first.  He brought the people back to God.  He was a leader who led the people in worship of God by what he said and the actions he took against anything that was a substitute/replacement for God.  He did what was right in the eyes of God by humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, relying upon, and obeying God.

However, his son did not.  He replaced everything that Hezekiah removed that was an abomination to God.  He led the people for 55 years down paths away from God and to the place where it says they were “doing more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed”  Can you imagine it?  In one generation Hezekiah brought the people back to God and in one generation his son led them astray.    

We can not assume the people too are not to blame as well.  They willingly followed.  “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.”  We need to be mindful of how we view things in and around us and have God’s word richly dwelling deep within our heart, mind, and soul so that we can discern what is right and acceptable according to it rather than what is acceptable to the world.

189. “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

2 Kings 20:12  At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

2 Chronicles 36:10     In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 36:18    And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon.

Jeremiah 27:21-22     thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:  They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”

Jeremiah 52:17-19    And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.  And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service;  also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.

Trials and trouble are on the way and this has been proclaimed by God through the prophet Isaiah.  What does Hezekiah think about when he hears this news; “Why no, if there will be peace and security in my days?”  Is this the proper response one should have when you hear of pending doom for your country?  Would you not plead for repentance from the people and forgiveness from God?  Wouldn’t your heartache at the news?  Wouldn’t you do something to intercede?

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth, to open our eyes and ears to the wisdom and knowledge of God through His word.  Jesus said, “go make disciples.” Why did He say this?  Because of the proclamation of the Good News of the Gospel was the answer to the proclamation of the coming judgment.  Unlike Hezekiah who was not told of a redemption plan from the pending troubles at the hand of God through the Babylonians, we have.  We have been entrusted with the Gospel and the call to make disciples and to humbly serve, honor, glorify, listen to, follow, obey, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ.  The reason for our whole purpose and plan this side of eternity, is to do this.  We are to make Jesus first and last in all we think, say, and do.

We fail to honor Jesus if we respond like Hezekiah; “why not if there will be peace  and security in my days?”  How shallow would it be to know that you have been saved by grace, not of works, through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for you while you  were yet a sinner and without hope of being cleansed from sin and being made right in the eyes of God- and then to say “let them get what they deserve, I am going to keep quiet and live my life in peace and security I have in Christ.”

We have a calling to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, listen to, obey, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ and to tell those who are perishing about the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to make disciples.

Share the Love of Jesus Christ in word, thought, and deed.

188. I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears.

2 Kings 20:1  In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Joshua 10:12-14     At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”  And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.  There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel

God creator, author of all there is, all powerful, and all mighty spoke all there is into being.  All of nature and science obeys the voice of God from creation to forever.  Why do we find it hard to understand that the author and creator can control and manipulate what He has created?  Stopping the sun and moon for a full day, retreating the sun for however far it takes to go back ten steps is nothing compared to what God can do.  He is unlimited.  Scripture says He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.  And we still have doubts.  We still have anxious thoughts. We worry and fret. We become afraid.  When we come to the place where we have surrendered our trial/trouble in the hands of Jesus, and we say not my will but yours be done, it is then we find the blessed assurance, peace that passes all understanding, faith that moves mountains, hope that conquers fears, and trust that gives us strength and courage in the midst of our trials/troubles.  Stay close to Him, seek Him, desire Him, and above all lay your burdens at His feet and rest in His unfailing love.

186. Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard

2 Kings 19:1  As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 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. 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. It may be that the Lord your God heard all 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.” When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 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 servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 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.’

We read this of Hezekiah, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.”

Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and yet, he and his people are besieged.  The Assyrian king sent his men to overtake Judah.  They mocked Hezekiah and the God he served, trusted, and relied on.

I think it important to note that trouble and trials come to every person under the sun.  We do well to recognize God in and through our troubles and trials.  Never give up hope in His steadfast love, power, and might.  Be like Job when he heard the news of the loss of his children.  Job 1:20-21  “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Do not allow the troubles and trials of the day take you away from trusting God more, relying on God more, and clinging to God more.  In our heart we hurt, in our mind, we become numb and lost, but in our soul, we will find a peace that passes all understanding when we humbly lay our hurts, troubles, and trials at the feet of Jesus and honor and glorify Him through ever increasing trust and faith in him.

185. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  

2 Kings 18:26  Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Psalms 11:1   In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain,

Psalms 125:1-2    Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

Matthew 27:43    He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Luke 23:35   And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

When we face trials and troubles, chaos and confusion, and anxiousness and worries where do we turn for peace within the storm.  We see the flashes of lightning and the roar of thunder within our problem and want to run into the saving arms of Jesus.  As we take steps toward Him and as we are putting more and more of our faith, trust and reliance on Him, there are those who mock this thinking.  They may or may not come right out and say that this problem is bigger than what faith needs and then give you all of the worldly ways to find help apart from Jesus.  They have no basis in their heart, mind, and soul for faith.  It makes no sense to them.  They see leaning on and in the arms of Jesus as a weakness.

But to those who trust in Jesus, they will never be forsaken, never be left alone, never be powerless, and will never be afraid.  “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  They will close their eyes, ears, and mind to what the world is offering a solution.  They will seek the Lord their God and trust in Him alone, “for He is able to do more than they ask and much more than they can imagine.”

How does faith like this come about?  It is in and through the word of God.  The more we desire it, seek it, listen to it, and want it speaking into our lives each and every day, we will grow in our understanding and knowledge of the Grace, Mercy, and Love of our Heavenly Father.  It is intentionally daily choosing to desire, seek, and want to be led by Jesus Christ and live in such a way that we serve, honor, glorify, listen to, follow, obey, rely on, and trust in Him alone.

You do not want to wait until the storm clouds are upon you to decide to find wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God through His word.  The time to build and grow your faith is now.  Choose to be in His word each day and be led by Him.  Choose to listen to His guiding.  Choose to follow and obey His leading.  Choose to rely on and trust in Him.  Choose the narrow path that leads to Jesus Christ, relies on Jesus Christ, waits on Jesus Christ, trusts in Jesus Christ, and lives to honor Jesus Christ.

184. On what do you rest this trust of yours?

2 Kings 18:13  In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

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? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

1 Kings 13:18   And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.

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?

John 19:10-11   So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?”  Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

We have to always be mindful of lying spirits speaking lies into the hearts and minds of others speaking to us.  This is always a possibility and for us to know the will of the Lord in all circumstances we must have discernment, wisdom, and understanding which can only come from God speaking into our lives and us having willing ears to hear and obedient heart and mind.  We know the prince of this world is here to entice us to stay in our sinful nature and apart from God by promising things the world cannot give; such as peace, hope, satisfaction, joy, refuge, to name a few.  These lies are believed by many who should know better.

When it comes to things of God and our Lord and Savior, we will not find them apart from His word, time in His word seeking and desiring to be fed, led, and rooted in His word.  People will say many things and some of it may be the truth and some of it may be false.  Too often we hang on words that are said from not Spirit-filled worldly people.  We dwell and think about it as though it has great meaning rather than putting it into the context of “Worldly”.  When it has been put into context we can then see it through the lens of scripture and know our God is above all of this and more powerful and all of this and more than able to handle of this and will encourage, empower, and guide us.

Stay close to God through His word and prayer believing in His leading and ability to lead you in thought and action.