v2-4 Isaiah
v7 God will handle this man, Rabshaken.
v10 Tries again to psych out God's people.
v14-19 Hezekiah won't let this letter worry him. He spreads it out before the Lord and prays.
What an example this is to us! Do you ever have a hard time sleeping? I do. I would not call myself a worrier, but when I can't sleep, it's because I'm thinking of all that needs to be done tomorrow, or this week, or this month, and oops I forgot so-and-so's birthday and it's tomorrow...that sort of thing. I wonder how that would change if I would literally write these things down and lay them before the Lord. God has a way of stretching time for us--whether literally or figuratively I'm never quite sure. But when we let Him, He often works things out in a way that we never could--especially if we've been awake all night thinking about stuff.
v20 God answers! (v22 is awesome!)
v25 All of the Assyrian's success was orchestrated by God. They are not mighty and powerful. They are mere pawns to the will of the Almighty.
v28 All of their perceived power is about to be lost.
v34 The Lord says, "For I will defend this city..." And He does.
v35 That very night, the angel of the Lord strikes 185,000 dead in the camp.
The Assyrians thought the God of Judah would be just as easy to defeat as all the other they'd come up against. They had no idea who it was they were taunting. There are so many false gods and empty religions in our cultures today, that it would be easy for the world to lump Our Holy God in with them. I think part of the problem is us. We get wrapped up in the tolerance and acceptance of other religions, because it is something our country stands for. But in the process of acceptance, sometimes we put God in the same class as all of the things we are tolerating. And this is a disservice to those who do not know Him. Could we change the way the world sees God, just by showing Him more reverence in our daily lives?
v1 King Hezekiah becomes ill and Isaiah prophesies that this will be the end of him.
v3 The King prays--but not for a longer life.
v5-6 God will heal him and give him 15 more years.
I don't want to get into a debate here about whether we can change the mind of an unchanging God through prayer. I just won't do it. All I know is, the lesson of this story is to never stop praying. God loves to interact with His people.
v12-14 The king of Babylon comes for a visit, and Hezekiah shows him every corner of his wealth and treasure stash.
v16-18 This might not have been the best idea...
Next time: II Kings 21-22
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