Isaiah 36-37In this piece of history, the king of Assyria is threatening Israel. He plans of laying siege to Jerusalem and ultimately destroying it, taking the people captive. He sends a message to the people (not really to the king) saying, “Don’t trust your king. He broke your God’s altars in the fields and makes you worship only in Jerusalem so your God is angry and won’t help. I have destroyed countless other nations bigger and stronger than you. Surrender now and I won’t kill you all, I’ll help you move to a greener pasture….” His promises are pretty, and he puts enough of a spin on it to discourage the people. The people (amazingly enough) are silent and Hezekiah sends to Isaiah for God’s version. God replies that He will make the king think he’s needed at home, make him want to go home, and there by murdered by the sword. (That’s pretty specific!) And, after a few more boasts, the king receives word that another king is coming to fight him at home, God sends a plague at night and kills 185,000 men, and the king goes home where his two sons kill him with a sword while he’s worshiping in his temple. A couple of things hit me when I read the story. First, I thought that the king of Assyria knew an awful lot about Israel and their worshiping habits. But, I believe that he was wrong on the point that God was angry at Hezekiah for removing the high places in the fields where people would worship. That was something you hear over and over that the other kings failed to do. So, while it may have been okay for the Assyrian king’s god that people worshiped wherever they wanted, God wanted the people to worship in Jerusalem. At least, that’s how I understand it. It seems there’d be less chance of the traditions getting warped and twisted into things that weren’t meant to be. Second, if I had been in Jerusalem the king’s offer might have seemed pretty tempting. Surrender and don’t die, or stay there and starve to death or get stabbed. But the Israelites really had to trust God. They had to know that He was bigger than all that mess. Instead of listening to men, Hezekiah went to God. It’s like when the people all around are saying, “You can’t do it that way. You should do it this way.” Or be like us or whatever it is they’re whispering in your ears. Instead of taking them at their word, we should take it to God. When Israel did this they got a very specific message from God about what would happen. Our answer may not be as particular, but He will answer if we actually listen for an answer. So, instead of being discouraged and giving up, they sought God’s perspective. He responds by killing 185,000 in the middle of the night and sending the king home to be killed by his own sons (that’s pretty sad when your children know you so little that they don’t care about you). He saves the day, saves the people, and once again proves that He is God and He will not be mocked, taunted, or tested by foreign kings who worship false Gods. Application? Like I said, don’t be discouraged by the words of people around you. Ask God for His perspective and guidance. Often lies are told with kernels of truth (they’re more believable that way), so don’t take it all at face value. God will not be mocked. He loves you. He is love. He has promises that He will keep because to break those promises would be to not be Himself. Seek God’s truth instead of the world’s lies (even those spoken by well-meaning friends, family, and Christ-followers). His plans are good.
Isaiah 30: 19-23…He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will respond instantly to the sound of your cries…You will see your teacher with your own eyes and you will hear a voice say, “This is the way; turn around and walk here.” Then you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images… Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. This is a promise. Ask for help and He will respond. How I wish I could see my teacher and hear His voice clearly enough to know what the direction He wants me to take is. But the response to His voice is destroying the idols in my life – those things that I worship instead of God – like stability, money, jobs, family, technology. There’s a pattern: cry out, watch and listen, act, then be blessed. Rain at planting time – this allows growth in our life but also brings prosperity (not necessarily monetary prosperity though). Growth, spiritual, emotional, mental, and sometimes, monetarily. So, God help! Show me the way to take, the idols to destroy. Send your rain!
Isaiah 21:12 The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon follow. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.” Several Thoughts: My Bible says this is a message concerning Edom which is a play on words in Hebrew meaning “silence” or “stillness.” He says to come back and ask again… will the answer change? Or is it like the little kid in the back of the car… “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Persistence pays off, as Jesus shows when he heals the blind man who kept calling His name and in the parable about the woman and the ruler. In application: if we have a question for God and we don’t understand the answer, keep coming back and asking until it makes sense or the answer is certain (I understand the answer).
Isaiah 5:12“You furnish lovely music and wines at your grand parties; the harps, lyres, tambourines, and flutes are super! But you never think about the Lord or notice what He is doing.” Here we see the crux of the problem… We’re having a grand old time doin gout thing, going along our merry path, but we forget to think about God or ask what He’s doing around us. There are consequences to ignoring God… in the next verse God says the He will send Israel into exile and desolate them, letting them starve and die because they don’t know Him anymore, nor do they care to. If you look at our country, its philosophy of relativism and “do what you want” attitude, how close are we to Israel? Do I notice what God is doing? Do I think about Him throughout my day? Or do I get distracted by the noise and the business of life?