Isaiah 36:18
“Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?”
Judah was facing their darkest hour. Isaiah records that Sennacherib’ king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. One by one the cities of Judah fell to the all consuming Assyrian forces. Now that same army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem and threatened to take it by force. Before sending armed men, Sennacherib sent his chief of staff to warn the people of the folly of resisting. His rationale was that since other nations had trusted in their gods, resisted Assyria and fell to the sword, Israel would suffer the same fate if they trusted in the Lord. It is understandable that the unbeliever thinks all gods are the same, the problem arises when the child of God fails to realize that YHWH is above all others.
Israel was faced with a choice, they could succumb to the threat of their surroundings, or they could choose to trust in the power and promises of the Lord. This is the same choice everyone of us faces every day. While our problem may not be our home surrounded by a foreign army, our lives are filled with troubles, trials and threatening circumstances. It is crucial that we learn to cling to and trust in the promises of God.
If you take a few minutes to read ahead, you will find, against all odds, Jerusalem was delivered. The army which conquered nations much more powerful than Judah fell, not to Hezekiah’s army, but before Hezekiah’s God. No matter what we face, God is faithful and will bring us through.
Pastor Jim
Isaiah is speaking of something that only God can do. Even today, we face physical and natural difficulties that all of our human resources are unable to solve. Many who are bound by these things find that life is more like a barren wilderness than a running spring. Some have tried all sorts of techniques and programs only to find they are powerless to change. What we need is more of an encounter with the God, who can make lame men walk and bring water to a parched and arid land.
The Thessalonian Christians were going through great difficulties. Paul speaks of the tribulations and persecutions they were forced to endure. He also refers to sufferings, and their ultimate rest from these things will not happen until they are in the presence of the Lord. They are not alone in the these difficulties. Paul wrote to Timothy, explaining, “All who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus explained, in this world we would face tribulation, but He was greater than the world (John 16:33). It is the lot of all Christians to experience difficulties that try the genuineness of our faith. What strikes me, is not that they were facing trials, but that they received answers from the Lord. This entire letter is God speaking to the Thessalonians regarding the difficulties they are forced to endure.
This verse contains an exhortation followed by a promise. The exhortation is to search the book of the Lord. Webster defines search this way, “to look into or over carefully or thoroughly, in an effort to find or discover something” My wife and I look at some things quite differently. When an item is misplaced I become frustrated, thinking that if it is not where it belongs, there remains an unlimited number places to look. She on the other hand begins to search. I think she sometimes enjoys the challenge. Inevitably, in a matter of minutes, she has located that which is lost. We should approach the Word of God the way an explorer or a excavator approaches life. We must understand, there are precious treasures tucked away in the Bible, and if we are diligent, we will find the ones that are designed for our present condition. I once heard of a man in search of gold. He spent years working his claim only to come up empty. Finally, in a moment of discouragement he sold the rights to his land and moved on. The new owner, within a few days, struck it rich. The first man had given up only inches away from the mother lode.
Israel, in Isaiah’s day, was in dire straights. The Assyrians were on a rampage, overthrowing any nation that stood in the way of their desire for global dominance. Israel watched as their neighbors were defeated and enslaved to the most bloodthirsty nation the world had ever known. In the midst of these threatening conditions, people began to offer solutions. The most common was to make an allegiance with Egypt to withstand the Assyrian invasion. Isaiah offered an entirely different remedy. He encouraged the people to understand, it was God who could save them. But in order for this to happen, they would have to look at Him very differently than they had been doing. He used three words to describe a proper relationship with God.
Years ago, when our twin sons were infants, my wife woke me in the middle of the night. Having been up with the babies, she saw someone in our yard. Concerned that we might be dealing with a home invasion, my instinct was to grab something to protect myself and head into the yard. As I peered through the front window, I realized that it was actually a group of teenagers who were toilet-papering our house. I immediately thought of grabbing the garden hose, getting on the roof and spaying them down. The problem was, the garden hose was in the front yard where I had left it after its last use. Frustrated that I was unprepared for the surprise visit, all I could do was run outside, make myself known, and watch them run off. Thinking they might return to finish the job, I laid on the roof with the hose in hand for the next few hours, only to be disappointed by the fact that I had missed my opportunity. Paul reminds us that the return of Christ will be like an intruder in the night. The time to prepare for His return is not after His arrival, but in anticipation to His coming.
“Oh yeah, what’s in it for me?”
Isaiah prophesied of a day when a nation would come against Judah, and the Lord would defend His people. This happened at the end of the 8th Century BC when the Assyrian forces besieged Jerusalem, and were supernaturally defeated. In light of this, Isaiah calls people to return to the Lord. I find it interesting, that he couples coming to the Lord, with the laying aside of idols.
We are living in uncertain times. Violence rages in the Middle East, the threat of terrorism continues, even increases, despite all of our efforts to eradicate it, the rising threat of hostile nations developing nuclear capabilities, not to mention the domestic violence and uncertainty we face on our own soil. Just today, the headlines on some popular news sites include: “New York store owner funded ISIS,” “South Korea detains Americans,” at least 220 killed in a day in Syria.”
At the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, Israel was resisting the Lord. They decided following God restricted them from really moving forward, so they began a quest pursuing the gods of other nations. Sadly, their pursuit not only left them empty, but at odds with God. Part of the Prophet’s ministry was to remind the people of the blessings that would become theirs once they returned to the Lord. One of the greatest of these benefits was experiencing grace.
Jim Gallagher 