I love today's passage! I love the faith that King Hezekiah displays in the face of Assyrian power, knowing that God was able to defeat them and their worthless idols.
Hezekiah didn't care that the King of Assyria was boasting about defeating all these other cities and their idols. He knew they were just man-made, worthless pieces of junk. Yes, the King of Assyria was mighty. Yes, the King of Assyria had defeated numerous nations. Yes, Judah was the perceived underdog in a completely mismatched fight. Yes, Assyria would be humanly impossible to defeat.
But Judah had God.
And Hezekiah prayed to God.
And God answered Hezekiah because he prayed and for His glory.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.....I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!" Isaiah 37:21 & 35 (emphasis mine)
Our God is mighty to save. Our God answers pray. Our God delights to intervene in humanly impossible situations because then it is impossible not to give Him the glory.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16b
In his sermon Prayer and the Victory of God, John Piper says...
One man prays for the salvation of God’s people and the victory of God, and God responds by killing 185,000 soldiers and rescuing his people.
Today the enemies of the church of Jesus Christ are not political or national or ethnic. Paul said, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Until our King comes from heaven, we wish the destruction of no man. As Christians we do not kill our enemies, we pray for our enemies, as Jesus taught us to do (Matthew 5:44).
The great battle today is fought not with swords but with the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. It is fought for the souls of men. It is fought in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is fought with words of truth and deeds of love and justice. And all of that backed by prayer. The victory will come and will come by prayer.
Therefore, in this new year, pray for the victory of God. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Send forth laborers, O God. Open a door for the gospel. Give boldness to your people. Save the peoples, O Lord. Vindicate your elect who cry to you day and night. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Prayer is a powerful weapon. Wield it!
Tomorrow's passage with less flipping: 2 Kings 20:1-19, 2 Chronicles 32:24-31, Isaiah 38-39
3 comments:
I think we can forget just how powerful prayer can be.
On a side note, I am the only one who is just a little sad about the deaths of the 185, 000? I realize that without their demise that things would not have turned out well, but did they even know what they were doing or were they just doing their job? Did they have a chance to repent and " join the other team" or were they just instruments of God's plan?
I would like to start being more diligent about my prayer time, rather than just short bursts here and there throughout the day as I think of things. Kind of like the difference between texting someone something quickly and actually sitting down and having a conversation. Definitely something to work on.
Miriam - that's a great analogy!
Pam - a few things come to mind.... it says that 185,000 were killed, but the way it's phrased makes it appear that that was not the entire army. In which case maybe the "good" people were spared.
Or maybe they were simply like the evil Canaanites that God commanded to completely wipe off the earth.
Or, another thought - I sometimes think we look at this from the wrong angle. I think we, as humans, think of ourselves as innocent. We're starting out with faulty thinking. No matter how "good" we may be, we're not innocent. If we all got what we deserved, we would all get death - physically and eternally.
The question perhaps shouldn't be "Why did they have to die?". Perhaps it should be "Why are any of us spared?"
I'm realizing more and more that we (especially in America) have watered down the Gospel to make it more palatable. We've minimized the wrath of God. Neither extreme is right - we need to have that healthy balance. But the wrath of God is real and it is completely justified. That's what makes mercy mercy.
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