Wednesday July 24

40 Years of Peace

Hezekiah reformed the nation:

He discovered that corporate worship is the epicenter of God’s covenant community.

He cleaned out the Temple

He commanded the Levites to do their job.

He reinstituted the Feasts.

He reinstituted the use of music to accompany the daily sacrifices.

He completely removed the idolatry of the land. He tore down the high places, sacred pillars, Asherah poles, altars built to false Gods.

The people followed him and returned to the Lord. The offerings of the people reflected their joy in the Lord and His blessing on the people. They had to add storage rooms to the temple to hold all of the excess offerings.

The Enemy Approaches

Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in the 6th year of Hezekiah’s reign. 34 years later, Assyria sets their eyes on Judah.

In the past, God had stirred up nations to trouble His people in Judgement. These were times when God’s protection had been removed.

This was not such a time. God had not removed His protection. Assyria was threatening Judah, but the king of Assyria was not being given free reign by the Lord.

Core truths:

When God’s people are Bible literate, they are not destroyed by crisis. Instead they trust what they have heard God say rather than fear what they see with their eyes.

When God’s people are Bible literate, they are able to distinguish between lies and truth.

When crisis comes, our faith is revealed. We are either proven to be committed to religious activity or committed to a genuine relationship with God.

Look at what happens. Notice how 34 years of faithful commitment to obeying God’s word benefits God’s people in crisis.

Bible Literate Leaders cast a vision the Lord has already cast

2 Chronicles 32:1–7 CSB

1 After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them. 2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem, 3 so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. 4 Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5 Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields. 6 He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

2 Chronicles 32:1–8 CSB

1 After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them. 2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem, 3 so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. 4 Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5 Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields. 6 He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 8 He has only human strength, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

2 chron 32 1-6

Hezekiah takes military action:

v3-4 he stopped up the streams so the Assyrians would not have water.

v5 he repaired the wall of Jerusalem and raised the height of the defensive towers. He repaired the city’s infrastructure. He made an abundance of weapons and shields.

When you don’t know what God is going to do, look to see what God has done in the past. Hezekiah knew it was possible that they would have to fight, so he prepared to fight. He also knew (Jehoshaphat) they he might not have to fight, so he did not ask a heathen nation (like Egypt) for help. God had never blessed alliances with idol worshiping nations.

Hezekiah reminds the people what God has already said: (Read v7-8). compare:

Exodus 14:13–14 CSB

13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

exodus 14

Deuteronomy 31:7 CSB

7 Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their fathers. You will enable them to take possession of it.

Joshua 1:6–9 CSB

6 “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance. 7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. 9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Enemy Lies to the People

2 Chronicles 32:9–19 CSB

9 After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11 Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “The Lord our God will keep us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”? 12 Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”? 13 “ ‘Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power? 14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power? 15 So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!’ ” 16 His servants said more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to mock the Lord, the God of Israel, saying against him: Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power. 18 Then they called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city. 19 They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands.

Your king is misleading you. He tells you that the Lord will protect you, but He is lying.

He removed all of the places of worship except one altar (in the temple). Because of the past generations’ disobedience, Sennacherib did not see any evidence of the power of the Lord. Never think that the lost around us do not notice what we are doing.

No other nation’s gods have protected them form me.

Don’t let your king deceive you. God will not protect you.

He wrote letters to mock the Lord.

He spoke in Hebrew so everyone on the wall would understand him.

He spoke about God just like He spoke about idols.

Hezekiah and Isaiah pray and the Lord answers.

2 Chronicles 16:9 CSB

9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”

2 Chronicles 32:20–21 CSB

20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, 21 and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.

2 chron 32 20

2 Kings 19:1–37 CSB

1 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple. 2 He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’ ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6 who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed me. 7 I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’ ” 8 When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish, he left and found him fighting against Libnah. 9 The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’ ” 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 16 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. 17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone. 20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’ 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken against him: Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and scorns you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head behind your back. 22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! 23 You have mocked the Lord through your messengers. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its farthest outpost, its densest forest. 24 I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.’ 25 Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble. 26 Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind. 27 But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against me. 28 Because your raging against me and your arrogance have reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came. 29 “This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this. 32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it. 33 He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is the Lord’s declaration. 34 I will defend this city and rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.” 35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh. 37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.

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