Focus Chapters:
- 2 Kings 19:1-19
- Isaiah 37:1-20
- 2 Chronicles 32:9-19
- 2 Kings 19:20-37
- Isaiah 37:21-28
- 2 Chronicles 32:20-23
Standout Verse(s):
ACTION
Isaiah 37:10-14 NLT
“This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
REACTION
Isaiah 37:14 NLT
After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord ’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord.
Observation (s):
- The King of Assyria tried to make Hezekiah doubt God’s Word.
“This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria.
- The King of Assyria sought to remind Hezekiah of all the nations he had already conquered.
You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
- Instead of responding to the King of Assyria and his tactics, Hezekiah placed the matter before God.
After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord ’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord.
Application:
Fear is an insidious enemy. It attacks; persistently throwing forth a series of what-ifs and pinpointing everything that can go wrong.
Like the King of Assyria, in his attempts to strike fear in Hezekiah, fear is not afraid to point out how others in your similar circumstances have fared. The King of Assyria reminded Hezekiah of the outcomes of all who had been in similar positions (sieges) as him. Other nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar who were destroyed by his predecessors. Nations such as Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah who were destroyed by the Assyrians. Who has failed or been defeated that your fear has been “kind” enough to remind you of or compare you to?
The King of Assyria also demonstrated another important technique that fear uses. It strikes at the heart of our faith, causing us to doubt the capabilities of God. Has your fear every told you that the no one can help you or that you are the only one who can depend on in the midst of trouble? Have you been told not to trust in God? Not to hope or stand on His promises because you were bound to fail?
It can be hard when it seems like the odds are stacked against you. When you hear of the number of persons who have been defeated by your situation. When the situation you are in seems bigger and mightier than you are. When doubt in God’s abilities slithers within your subconsciousness. However, Hezekiah demonstrates that there is hope. Instead of engaging in a back and forth or rushing to fight or strategize, Hezekiah teaches us an important lesson: Spread the matter before the Lord.
