One of the books that has impacted
me most is Don Carson’s ‘How long, O Lord?’
When I read it I was struck by his comments of Hezekiah: ‘When he was
under sentence of death, he begged the Lord for fifteen more years, and received
the extra spam. And in the course of
those fifteen years he blew his entire reputation for integrity in one instance
prompted by foolish pride … the bearing his action had on future of his nation
was disastrous … That is why I decided that there are worse things than dying. I do not know how many times I have sung the
word, “O let me never, never, outlive my love for Thee”, but I mean them. I would rather die than end up unfaithful to
my wife; I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in
my books; I would rather die than disown the gospel. God knows that there are many things in my past
of which I am deeply ashamed; I would not want such shame to multiply and bring
dishonour to Christ in years to come.
There are worse things than dying.’
Context
In the previous chapters (28-35)
the challenge has been to trust God. Now
we have a section of historical narrative about King Hezekiah (note the
different layout in the NIV). Hezekiah
has to trust God in his particular situation.
Hezekiah is the son of Ahaz, who did not trust God. It is 701 B.C. Sennacherib is king of Assyria,
the superpower of the time.
Will we trust God under pressure? — Chapter 36
And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King
Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army.
As he stood at the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the
Washer’s Field (2). This is the same
location where Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, refused to trust God thirty years
earlier (7:3). Ahaz, did not trust God
but made a deal with the Assyrians, which had led to the current crisis.
Rabshakeh engages is psychological
warfare. The word ‘trust’ is used seven
times in seven verses (4-10). ‘… on what do you rest this trust of yours?’
Rabshakeh taunts (4c). In his mockery
there is a contrast between ‘mere words’ (5) and ‘a great army’ (2). The officials of Jerusalem ask Rabshakeh’s
men not to speak Hebrew—the people’s language, but rather to speak them in
Aramaic so that the ordinary people will not realise how bad things are (11).
There is threat and promise from Rabshakeh. ‘Don’t believe it when Hezekiah tells you to trust the Lord.’ ‘Has any god delivered his land from the King of Assyria?’ ‘Make peace with me and co e out to me. Then each of you will eat at his own vine … (16). Can’t you hear an echo of satan? ‘Don’t you see that you are on the wrong side of history?’ ‘Do you really believe Christ will win?’ ‘Are you really going to trust Him in this crisis?’ ‘Aren’t there pleasures the world has t offer you?’
Glorify God by being broken—Chapter 37
Hezekiah trusts the Lord
(1). Unlike his father Ahaz he turns to God
in the crisis. He is broken and
dependant. In verse 3, it is as if he is
saying, ‘We admit it. We’ve failed … We
must be delivered but we have no strength to do it ourselves’. He cares that God is being mocked and he
prays (6).
Commenting on verses 6-7 Ray Ortland
asks, ‘when was the last time you made a major decision that was so clearly of God
that and so clearly not of yourself that your decision actually surprised you? …
Begin by trusting God to forgive you even the lost opportunities. Start here.
He is a deliverer. Trust him for
that even now.’
Rabshakeh is drawn away from
Jerusalem by news of an approaching Cushite force, but he sends a message to Hezekiah
saying that he will be back. Hezekiah goes
to God gain and prays again and is again concerned for the glory of the
Lord. Indeed, the first time he was
under pressure Hezekiah went to the temple and asks Isaiah to give him a word
from God. This time he asks God directly. ‘O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that
all the kingdoms of the earth may know you along are the LORD’ (20).
Do you want God’s glory to be
seen in your life? Then stop acting like
you have it all together! Admit you are broken. Acknowledge your evil. Let people know that your only hope is Jesus!
God puts the king of Assyria in
his place, and Hezekiah. See how God is
in control. Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what I bring to
pass that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruin’
(20).
God will save the city for the
sake of His servant David (35). ‘Why
does God put up with us? Why does god
defend us? Not because of anything in us
but for his own sake and for the sake of the ultimate David, Jesus Christ. He is committed to us because our Substitute. This is our strong position with God’(Ortland).
The chapter ends with Sennachrib’s
fall. On one night 185,000 Assyrian
soldiers are killed by the Angel of the Lord.
Sennachrib returns home, and twenty years later is killed.
The need to last to the end—chapters 38-39
Sadly, Hezekiah fails.
The crisis is now personal. He gets sick and is going to die. God tells him to get things in order. He pleads with god, and God gives him another
fifteen years. In that fifteen years he
ruins his reputation and brings disaster to the nation.
In chapter thirty-eight Hezekiah
praises God for His deliverance—a fact that makes his fall so strange. The fall came after such a great declaration
of faith.
In chapter thirty-nine comes the
fall. The Babylonians comes with the congratulations. Babylon in the Bible constantly pictures
everything that is wrong with the world.
Hezekiah shows off his royal wealth.
How often the church seeks to impress the world! We want the world to think we are
important. We want the world’s applause. The Babylonians will take Jerusalem into
exile, and the very wealth that Hezekiah shows them will be theirs. Note how our failing affect others—as a
father’s evil hurts his children or a Christian leader’s fall damages their
disciples.
Note how this chapter ends. Hezekiah says that ‘Babylon will invade, but
don’t worry I will die at peace in my own bed because it will not happen during
my lifetime.’
Conclusion
Every time a king of God’s people
fails in the Old Testament we are reminded the need for a better king. Jesus is our king who is humble to the end
and passes every test. He is fulfilment of
all God’s promises. He is the word that
we can trust. He was broken so that we
could approach God with our brokenness.
So, how do we remain faithful to the end? We remember to be to keep humble—lest when we
think we are strong we fall.
‘When he was under sentence of
death, he begged the Lord for fifteen more years, and received the extra spam. And in the course of those fifteen years he
blew his entire reputation for integrity in one instance prompted by foolish
pride … the bearing his action had on future of his nation was disastrous … That
is why I decided that there are worse things than dying. I do not know how many times I have sung the
word, “O let me never, never, outlive my love for Thee”, but I mean them. I would rather die than end up unfaithful to
my wife; I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in
my books; I would rather die than disown the gospel. God knows that there are many things in my past
of which I am deeply ashamed; I would not want such shame to multiply and bring
dishonour to Christ in years to come.
There are worse things than dying’ (Carson).
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