Isaiah  37-39  and Psalm 76
Original Post:  August 1, 2014

The destruction of Israel and Judah has been foretold, and in Israel (Northern Kingdom) it has happened exactly like the Lord said it would.   But in the Southern Kingdom (Judah) we read today of a miraculous, narrow escape.   An unbelievable story of almost 200,000 men dying overnight.   No one disputes this, even though it is incredulous, because the event is also recorded in several other places apart from Hebrew religious writings.

Why has God relented in His anger against His people?   Because the king of Assyria has mocked God himself....and God will not be mocked.    As I read this passage I am more convinced than ever of one thing:  You cannot make dismiss God and everything He has done and get away with it.    He will not be taken for granted, or scorned.     The king of Assyria and his field commander made a fatal flaw when they challenged Hezekiah to produce his God.     Hezekiah went directly to the temple and cried out.

Catch this:   The  people of Judah haven't been righteous, they haven't wholeheartedly served the Lord.  They have left some of the detestable "high places".   They have a day of reckoning coming to them.   But when God's people (you and I included) turn our faces toward Him, God always answers.   Apart from everything else that happens, we learn here that God is compassionate and filled with mercy.   He has no obligation to defend Hezekiah, He has already prophesied their doom.   All that remains is to allow it to happen.   But because a repentant heart cries out, God is stirred.  Because His name is scorned He flames in anger, and those things together spell defeat for the Assyrian army.

Hezekiah is one of my favorite kings.   For one, he is righteous before the Lord and that is a good example.   He is also known as the "engineer king" because of the extensive building projects that he accomplished.   The tunnel that he dug from both ends of a mountain that met in the middle is truly amazing.   In fact, that tunnel serves as a metaphor for a life lesson that I also take from Hezekiah.

I am told that in the last several hundred feet of the tunnel, before they met in the middle, they began to bend the tunnel left and right, presumably so they didn't miss connecting with the people coming the other way.  Had they not done this, the tunnel would have connected almost perfectly.   The engineering was nearly flawless, and people today are still amazed at how it could happen.

Later in his life, Hezekiah begins to "weave" a little.   After God grants him 15 additional years of life, he allows potential invaders to see the entire kingdom.   Without consulting God, he reveals too much.   It probably seems to be the right thing to do at the time, but it was exactly incorrect....and the kingdom's fate was altered once again toward being conquered.    

It seems best to me to trust what God has allowed to happen., what He has ordained.    If God for some reason has determined that my time of life is ended, then I need to trust that He has my best interest at heart.   If I cry out and plead for a change in God's plan, it could provide me with an opportunity to make some fatal error that would not have otherwise occurred.

To balance that thought, it was also Hezekiah that cried out to God and the nation's fate was changed.   God granted Judah new life, just has he granted Hezekiah new life.  So it was good that Hezekiah asked God to deliver them.   Without that, the nation would have never enjoyed the next period of peace.   Both of them made some errors that proved their fate (predicted earlier) had not been eradicated, only delayed.

So here's how I leave our thought for today.    Be content with what God has allowed to come your way.  But if you feel that you must cry out for deliverance, then by all means do so, and when you do, don't forget to remain humble and contrite.   Many people have stumbled and fallen after getting exactly what they wanted.

PR