2 Kings 18:9 - 19:37  and  Psalm 46, 80 and 135
Original Post:  August 4, 2014


This is the same account that we read about yesterday.   So, if you jumped ahead in your reading back in the middle of July (when we read the rest of 2 Kings...except this part) our reading in Isaiah was a review for you.     That's okay, as long as we remind ourselves that the Bible compresses some of these accounts together, making it seem like they happened closer together than they actually did.

The good news about the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib is that it reveals the one and only True God.   Someone told me once, when I was going through a difficult time that "when your whole world is shaken, that which doesn't move is found to be unshakable".  Another was of saying the same thing is to say "God cannot be shaken, so those who hang onto him find stability."     Hezekiah goes right to God when his whole world is shaken.   Hezekiah is a righteous king.  The judgment that is coming on Israel and Judah isn't his fault, he has served faithfully.   God is bringing about His justice for the sins of the leaders and the people before his time.   Hezekiah's righteousness causes God to relent, and our righteousness may have the same result today.   It's never too late to pray for a nation, or a community, or a family....or yourself.    God is fond of stepping in right before judgment and showing mercy.    Never be afraid to ask.   Just remember to be honest and humble when you do.

The psalms that go along with  today's reading are celebratory.  They are great examples of the cheers the people would have raised when they saw the enemy camp vacated.   Psalm 46 give credit to God for all that He has done (the people had begun to take it for granted).   Psalm 80 could have been the prayer that Hezekiah prayed as he went before the Lord.   I don't mean to say that it is the prayer, only that it has the same contrite and humble spirit to it.   This is how we should go before the Lord when we are in need.   By the way, I think I see a veiled reference to Jesus in verse 17.    As he was being stoned, Stephen said that he saw Jesus at the right hand of the Father.  And one of Jesus' favorite ways of referring to himself is "the son of man".    Jesus is the way that we will be restored.   Jesus is the way that God's favor will be returned to us.  Jesus is the way that we will be saved.

Psalm 135 looks back at the events in which God has revealed himself and testifies about the might and power of God.   It is the theological statement about God that is being recorded for all the people.   So that the children can read and know, and those who are older can read and remember.    God is all powerful, He does what pleases him, nothing can stand in His way, He is worthy of all our praise.

I think thoughts like this are a great way to begin your day...or end it!  (depending on when you read..)


PR