Pride and Grace (2 Chronicles 32)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:06.440 Let's continue our reading of chronicles. Were coming very close to the end now, 2 00:00:07.870 --> 00:00:16.149 says second chronicles, Chapter Thirty two. This is the last of the 3 00:00:16.910 --> 00:00:24.899 accounts of good King Hezekiah. We will see that, as good as he 4 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:29.500 has been and continues to be in this chapter, he is not without fault 5 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:36.130 and not without sin. Let's give our attention to God's word. Second Chronicles, 6 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:43.250 Chapter Thirty two. After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Senecarib, 7 00:00:43.490 --> 00:00:49.090 King of Assyria, came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, 8 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:54.880 thinking to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Senecorib had 9 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:00.000 come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, he planned with his officers and his 10 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.159 mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city, 11 00:01:03.590 --> 00:01:07.950 and they helped him. A great many people were gathered and they stopped all 12 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:12.109 the springs and the brook that flowed through their land, saying why should the 13 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:18.510 kings of Assyria come and find much water? He set to work resolutely and 14 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:22.700 build up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, 15 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.659 and outside he built another wall and he strengthened the Melo in the city of 16 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:33.530 David he he also made weapons and shields and abundance, and he set combat 17 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:38.010 commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the 18 00:01:38.090 --> 00:01:42.569 gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying be strong and courageous, 19 00:01:44.290 --> 00:01:48.200 do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the 20 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:53.000 horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 21 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.760 With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord 22 00:01:57.799 --> 00:02:04.349 our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people took 23 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:10.789 confidence from the words of Hezekiah, King of Judah. After this, Senecarab 24 00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:15.300 King of Assyria, who was besieging Lakeish with all his forces, sent his 25 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:20.860 servants to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah King of Judah, and to all the people 26 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:24.259 of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying thus, says Senecarib, King of 27 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:30.370 Assyria, on what are you trusting that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? 28 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:36.210 Is Not Hezekiamis leading you that he may give you over to die by famine 29 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:39.409 and by thirst? When he tells you the Lord our God will deliver us 30 00:02:39.449 --> 00:02:45.840 from the hand of the King of Assyria has not this same Hezekiah taken away 31 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:52.039 his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem before one altar you 32 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:55.719 shall worship and on it you shall burn your sacrifices. Do you not know 33 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.830 what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands? 34 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:04.909 Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver 35 00:03:05.469 --> 00:03:08.629 their lands out of my hand? WHO, among all the Gods of those 36 00:03:08.669 --> 00:03:14.900 nations that my father's devoted to destruction, was able to deliver his people from 37 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:19.740 my hand? That your God should be able to deliver you from my hand 38 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:24.939 now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this 39 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:30.770 fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or 40 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:35.129 kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand 41 00:03:35.210 --> 00:03:38.770 of my father's. How much less will your God deliver you out of my 42 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:44.639 hand? And his servants said still more against the Lord God and Against His 43 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:47.879 servant, has a Kiah, and he wrote letters to cast contempt on the 44 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.560 Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, 45 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:57.030 like the gods of the nations of the lands, who have not delivered their 46 00:03:57.110 --> 00:04:00.509 people from my hands. So the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people 47 00:04:00.629 --> 00:04:04.990 from my hand. And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language 48 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:10.300 of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten 49 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:15.500 and terrify them in order that they might take the city. And they spoke 50 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:17.860 of the God of Jerusalem, as they spoke of the gods of the peoples 51 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:24.290 of the Earth, which are the work of men's hands. Then has a 52 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:27.649 Kiah King, the king, and Isaiah, the oft it, the son 53 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:32.410 of almost prayed because of this and cried to heaven, and the Lord sent 54 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:40.319 an angel who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the 55 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:44.879 camp of the King of Assyria. So he returned with shame on his face 56 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.639 to his own land, and when he came into the house of his God, 57 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:54.029 some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. So 58 00:04:54.149 --> 00:04:59.149 the Lord Saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Senecorab King 59 00:04:59.230 --> 00:05:02.509 of Assyria, and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided 60 00:05:02.589 --> 00:05:06.540 for them on every side, and many brought gifts to the Lord of the 61 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:13.060 many brought gifts to the Lord, to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah, 62 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:15.980 King of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations 63 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:25.930 from that time onward. In those days, Hezekiah became sick and was at 64 00:05:25.970 --> 00:05:29.370 the point of death and he prayed to the Lord and he answered him and 65 00:05:29.610 --> 00:05:33.689 gave him a sign. But has a Kaiah did not make return according to 66 00:05:33.769 --> 00:05:40.160 the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came 67 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:45.480 upon him and Judah and Jerusalem, but has a Kiah humbled himself for the 68 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.959 pride in his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that 69 00:05:49.069 --> 00:05:51.670 the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them. In the days of 70 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:58.870 Hezekiah and has a Kai I had very great riches and honor, and he 71 00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:02.990 made for himself treasuries of for silver, for gold, for precious stones, 72 00:06:03.149 --> 00:06:09.420 for spices, for shields and for all kinds of costly vessels, store houses 73 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:13.259 also for the yield of grain, wine and oil, and stalls for all 74 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:19.009 kinds of cattle and sheepfolds. He likewise provided cities for himself and flocks and 75 00:06:19.170 --> 00:06:26.970 herds and abundance for God had given him very great possessions. This same has 76 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:30.689 a kiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihan and directed them down 77 00:06:30.730 --> 00:06:35.199 toward the west side of the city of David. and has a Kaia prospered 78 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:41.240 and all his works. And so in the matter of the envoys of the 79 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:46.120 princes of Babylon who had been who had been sent to him to inquire about 80 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.870 the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself 81 00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:53.310 in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. 82 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:58.589 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds behold. They 83 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:00.740 are written in the vision of Isaiah, the Prophet, the son of Amos, 84 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:05.100 and the K book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. And Hezekiah 85 00:07:05.139 --> 00:07:09.339 slept with his father's and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs 86 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:14.540 of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did 87 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:17.610 him honor at his death, and Manassa, his son, reigned in his 88 00:07:17.730 --> 00:07:26.209 place. God bless his word to us. Well, as I said here, 89 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:31.240 we have the end of the story of Hezekiah, the chronicles of this 90 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:40.480 account. I'm God has spoken and clearly and wonderfully about the strength that he 91 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:46.430 exercises through this king. As you reflect on the Kings, as we've heard 92 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:48.589 them back and forth, back and forth, one of the things I hope 93 00:07:48.629 --> 00:07:56.350 you've begun to realize is how much in control God is of these things. 94 00:07:57.389 --> 00:08:03.180 One of the over riding messages, the most important things we are to learn 95 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:07.740 from this book, is how God is sovereign in this world, how things 96 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:11.300 can appear either very weak and not be or very strong and not be. 97 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:18.569 Ultimately everything is in the hand of the Lord. At this point in time 98 00:08:18.689 --> 00:08:24.329 we see Hezekiah with these vast riches and vast power, but at other times 99 00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:28.879 in the book we've seen kings that are very weak, struggling for their very 100 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.759 existence. There isn't a kind of inevitability about life that we often feel that 101 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:39.480 there is. Feels like things will go on and on and on, always 102 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:43.230 the way that they are, and we begin to trust ourselves, even as 103 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:46.909 Hezekiah does here in this chapter. But it's not always true. In fact 104 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:52.269 it's never true. God is the one is who is in control. God 105 00:08:52.509 --> 00:08:56.860 is the one who lifts up and pulls down, who gives life and who 106 00:08:56.940 --> 00:09:07.980 gives death. Hezekiah is a story of a good king, one who preceded 107 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:13.809 our great king, who foreshadowed Jesus Christ, and points to the many kinds 108 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:18.730 of things that a good king is we've seen his faithfulness to the Lord again 109 00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:22.649 and again. We've seen the ways in which he's reinstituted the law, reinstituted 110 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:28.399 worship, dealt and leaderly, good, good leaderly ways with his people. 111 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:35.480 His prayers have been holy and good and God has blessed him again and again 112 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:39.509 and again. We have that here in this chapter as well. But we 113 00:09:39.629 --> 00:09:48.070 also have reminders that Hezekiah was not infinitely strong, that there were in him 114 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:58.299 weaknesses too, in particular physical weakness in a spiritual weakness, the same two 115 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:03.620 weaknesses that are in all of us except for our Savior. But let's begin 116 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:11.090 by remembering his the strength that's exhibited here on the part of God, this 117 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:16.769 reminder that we have that he is the one who rules and controls all things. 118 00:10:18.169 --> 00:10:22.039 This story, I think, is fairly clear. It comes to us 119 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:28.039 some very vividly and powerfully has a Kia is strong over his kingdom. He 120 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:33.360 has spent time building up these cities, but now he faces an enemy, 121 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:39.950 a very strong enemy, Senecorab, King of Assyria, and Senecarab wants something 122 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:46.470 for himself. He wants Jerusalem, he wants the fortified cities. He's going 123 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:54.139 to expand. How does he do this? Well, he takes a giant 124 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:56.580 army, a horde, that is, it's described as a horde, and 125 00:10:56.659 --> 00:11:03.779 he comes against Jerusalem. We read in verse two. How does haze kiah 126 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:09.529 respond? Hez A KIAH start. Responds by building up, by ramping up, 127 00:11:09.649 --> 00:11:13.490 by getting ready for war. He fortifies the wall, he builds another 128 00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:18.399 wall, he built constructs weapons and shields. We read in Verse Five. 129 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:26.120 In abundance, he prepares the food, he gives strength to the soldiers and 130 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.559 the commanders. He stands there in the square and he gives them this motivational 131 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:37.309 speech says get ready, boys, we're going to battle. Be Strong, 132 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:41.509 be courageous, do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and 133 00:11:41.549 --> 00:11:46.190 all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than 134 00:11:46.269 --> 00:11:50.019 with him. He continues in Verse Eight. With him as an arm of 135 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:54.419 flesh, but with us is the Lord, our God, to help us 136 00:11:54.500 --> 00:12:00.820 and to fight our battles. If there's any verse that you remember from Chapter 137 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:05.330 Thirty two. Let it be this one. With him is an arm of 138 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:09.889 flesh, but with us is the Lord, our God, to help us 139 00:12:09.409 --> 00:12:16.840 and to fight our battles. I pray that as you hear those words tonight, 140 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.519 you would do even as the people did, which we read at the 141 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:26.840 end in Verse Eight. They took confidence from this sermon. They took confidence 142 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:30.590 from the words of Hezekiah, the King of Judah, as he pointed them 143 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:39.110 to their infinitely strong God, and with good reason. Now, senecorb is 144 00:12:39.509 --> 00:12:43.659 no weakling. He doesn't roll over, he doesn't but he's not bothered at 145 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:52.259 all by the the ramp up and protection that Hezekiah is seeking to do to 146 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:58.090 protect his city. With no he he fights hard. We read that he 147 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:05.330 sends in Verse Nine He's besieging a lakish with all of his forces as a 148 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:11.850 threat. Jerusalem can see what's coming. And then he sends servants to Jerusalem, 149 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:18.440 servants of these king and they come and they have a sort of smear 150 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:24.919 campaign against Hezekiah. Right, this is propaganda of the highest order. Right, 151 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.840 this is how to do it. If you want to do this, 152 00:13:26.669 --> 00:13:30.990 you know, he sends his servants into the city and later we read that 153 00:13:31.269 --> 00:13:35.269 they speak their language. Right, they don't. They don't come and and 154 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:39.429 they speak in the language of the people. As what they do? Why? 155 00:13:39.629 --> 00:13:43.779 To frighten them, to terrify them. And what are the arguments that 156 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:48.419 he uses? What are the ways in which Senecora is trying to persuade these 157 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:52.379 people to give up on the Lord? This is important because these are the 158 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:56.210 same tools that are used by all kinds of people, by Satan himself, 159 00:13:56.409 --> 00:14:01.889 to tell us to give up on the Lord. Well, the first and 160 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:07.450 one of the most powerful means of persuasion is power. He is besieging the 161 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:13.519 city. That's a scary situation to be in. They are they? It 162 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:18.840 seems as though they are at least in danger of famine in thirst. This 163 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.559 is what Senecab says in verse eleven. Is Hez a Kiah misleading you? 164 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:28.029 Is he not misleading you that he may give you over to die by famine 165 00:14:28.070 --> 00:14:31.070 and thirst? They're cut off, the army is around them, besieging, 166 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:35.710 besieging, besieging. Now we read that there are people up on the wall, 167 00:14:37.070 --> 00:14:39.740 these towers that has a kiah built in preparation for this, and they're 168 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:45.860 watching all of this. Can you imagine being up watching the tower, watching 169 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:52.019 who knows what, things attacking the walls, people liking tunnels of food supplies 170 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:56.450 being cut off, arrows coming over day and night, day and night, 171 00:14:56.610 --> 00:15:01.330 and not only the power of it, but the words, watching all of 172 00:15:01.409 --> 00:15:07.399 this, wondering how long are we going to survive this? Where is God? 173 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.399 Because at this point in time, when Heze Kai is making these or 174 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.799 sorry, when Senecorb is making these claims, he seems strong. He seems 175 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:22.750 as though he would win. Why wouldn't he? Aside from this just bare 176 00:15:24.789 --> 00:15:31.629 strong power, physical force, threat of danger and death as a or sorry, 177 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:37.460 Senecorb also tries to persuade by impugning the motives of Hezekiah. He does 178 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:43.139 it in different ways. At first he says, is he not misleading you? 179 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:48.860 In Verse Eleven, he's tricking you. It doesn't exactly say why, 180 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:52.889 but maybe he implies it in certain places, like when he says has not 181 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:56.929 this same has a Ki, in other words, this one who's misleading you, 182 00:15:56.529 --> 00:16:02.490 taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem before 183 00:16:02.690 --> 00:16:06.200 one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices. 184 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:11.919 I don't think it's reading into it too much that he's accusing has a Kia, 185 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.120 of not only misleading them but also of abusing them. Look at these 186 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:22.830 difficult things he's commit ended you. He's taken away your worship, he's taken 187 00:16:22.830 --> 00:16:26.710 away the gods that you used to serve, and now there's all these rules 188 00:16:26.750 --> 00:16:33.179 about worshiping on one altar. I don't know how persuasive this was to the 189 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:37.139 people, but I can imagine that at least to some it would have been 190 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:42.379 persuasive, despite the fact that not that long before they themselves were worshiping and 191 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:47.769 celebrating out the altar, not seeing it as a burden but as a joy. 192 00:16:48.690 --> 00:16:52.409 But this is the way Satan works. He takes things and he tricks 193 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:56.090 us. He makes us think that things are that are joyful and lovely and 194 00:16:56.210 --> 00:17:02.759 wonderful are in fact burdensome and troublesome. He goes on. He not only 195 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:07.160 persuades with forest and that you, not only undermines and impunes the motives of 196 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:14.720 their king, he also impunes of the motives of God and the ability of 197 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:19.549 God. He says, do you not know? This is in verse thirteen? 198 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:22.750 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the 199 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:29.069 peoples of other lands. I have a track record here. What makes the 200 00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:33.660 youth think that you will survive this? And you can imagine that in their 201 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:37.779 minds they would be able to think about cities that they had passed by, 202 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:41.700 that were once independent and one strong, but now everyone knows they had fallen 203 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:47.890 into the hands of the king of Assyria and his father's before him. The 204 00:17:47.930 --> 00:17:51.730 fact that he points to his father's is a way of establishing his strength. 205 00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:56.650 Or, even more, he's sang for generations we have conquered and conquered and 206 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:03.440 conquered, and indeed that's true. Assyria was expanding and expanding fast. They 207 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:07.000 were becoming more and more powerful. What reason did Israel have to believe that 208 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:12.150 they would be any different, that there God would not fall as all the 209 00:18:12.230 --> 00:18:18.710 other gods would? This is what Hezekiah said, or I'm sorry, Senecreb 210 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:22.750 was saying in Verse Fifteen. He says now, therefore, do not let 211 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:26.980 Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion. Do not believe him, 212 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:33.460 for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people 213 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:37.740 from my hand or from the hand of my father's. How much less will 214 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:42.609 that your God deliver you out of my hand. Then the letters start coming, 215 00:18:42.650 --> 00:18:45.650 in their own language. Similar kinds of things are saying. They're doing 216 00:18:45.849 --> 00:18:52.049 everything that they can to attack them, to persuade them, to tell them 217 00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:57.359 to give up. It's over already. What makes you think you will win? 218 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.279 This is what Satan does. He it isn't it? He persuades us 219 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:08.400 with his force. He attacks us, perhaps even in physical ways. He 220 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:17.150 he makes us feel weak and poor and sick. He attacks the motives of 221 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:22.549 those who preach to us and teach to us the things of God. Are 222 00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:26.380 They not misleading you? Aren't there better things out there? Has God really 223 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:32.500 said? He attacks these things, he tries to be persuade. He points 224 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:37.859 to the track record that he has. Satan points to the things that he's 225 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:40.529 done, the powers that he has. He says, look around you, 226 00:19:40.609 --> 00:19:45.930 you are weak, you are small, you are insignificant, you are dying, 227 00:19:47.529 --> 00:19:55.480 and I am strong. How do we respond to these things? How 228 00:19:55.559 --> 00:20:00.559 do we be strong and courageous when we feel weak, maybe even cowardly, 229 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.160 when we begin to wonder, will God keep his word? Is he like 230 00:20:07.190 --> 00:20:11.069 all the other gods? Well, there are a lot of good answers to 231 00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:18.509 that question. What can be done? One of them, one great response, 232 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:23.619 is the response that has a Kaiah gives in verse twenty. The way 233 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:26.819 has a kiah responds to all of this is he and he said when we 234 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:30.140 read has a Kaia, the king and Isaiah, the Prophet, the son 235 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:41.529 of Almos, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. They prayed saints 236 00:20:41.609 --> 00:20:45.930 of the Lord. Prayer is one of the greatest tactical maneuvers, one of 237 00:20:45.970 --> 00:20:51.559 the greatest strategic options that we have. It's what has a Kiah does, 238 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:57.440 and it brought about success, not because of the just the May bear act 239 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:02.960 of praying, as though some kind of mystical religious thing would be able to 240 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.990 accomplish this or control God, but prayer is significant because the one to whom 241 00:21:08.029 --> 00:21:14.829 he praises significant. He goes to God, as you would know, other 242 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:18.700 God. He goes to God because he knows that this is not that God, 243 00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:22.539 that Yahwagh is not a god of his own making, God is not 244 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:30.180 like the Gods of the other people's Seneca Eb's a arguments are invalid. He 245 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:34.450 assumes that God has like the other Gods, and so that won't be defeated 246 00:21:34.569 --> 00:21:40.890 like the other gods, but has a Kiah and Isaiah no different. And 247 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:47.640 so what do they do? They pray. They pray in faith. And 248 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:52.160 how does God respond? We read it in Verse Twenty One that Ya always 249 00:21:52.240 --> 00:22:00.279 sent an angel who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in 250 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.109 the camp of the King of Assyria. I just want to point out that 251 00:22:03.710 --> 00:22:08.990 this is something I've observed in reading the historical books. I don't think I 252 00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:12.549 haven't tested this. I don't. It's probably not true in every place, 253 00:22:12.670 --> 00:22:18.420 but in many, many places we have the stories to have this kind of 254 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:23.819 massive build up, attacking and and drama and all of this, and then 255 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:26.980 the end, the great victory, is sort of like a on the radar 256 00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:30.890 and that and then the story is over. This happens over and over again. 257 00:22:30.970 --> 00:22:38.049 One of my favorite examples is Saul Son Jonathan and his armor Bearon for 258 00:22:38.170 --> 00:22:44.960 Samuel Fourteen. All this drama about they only have one sword between them and 259 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.240 they're going to fight this Philistine garrison. They're crawling hand and foot up these 260 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:55.039 rocky cliffs and the Philistines are calling down at them and and and mocking them, 261 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:57.119 and then it simply says and when they reach the top. They all 262 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:03.430 fell over dead. This is like these very simple things. It's like that 263 00:23:03.589 --> 00:23:08.349 here we have page almost in this Bible, almost a full page of build 264 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:11.900 up, and then in a simple sentence, we read the Lord sent an 265 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:17.140 angel who cut off all the mighty warriors, commanders and officers of the camp 266 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:22.460 of the King of Assyria and done. This is the thing about God, 267 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:26.380 this is the thing he wants us to remember. For us, it would 268 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:30.049 seem there would be so difficult, that the battle would be so hard to 269 00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:37.369 win, and God can do things in a moment. They don't leave the 270 00:23:37.490 --> 00:23:41.079 city, they don't rush out, they don't fight a big battle. God 271 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:48.319 simply sends an angel and takes care of business. Judgment of the Lord is 272 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:55.200 mighty and powerful. Remember that. You who fear the Lord, you who 273 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:02.750 trust in him and are waiting on him. God is powerful to save and 274 00:24:02.910 --> 00:24:06.710 for those of you who do not fear him, who, like Senec Arab, 275 00:24:06.829 --> 00:24:10.380 think of him is nothing more, is like any of the other gods. 276 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:15.700 If you consider yourself above the Lord, the God of Israel, then 277 00:24:15.859 --> 00:24:19.900 be afraid, for the Lord can bring down the mightiest of men, the 278 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:26.450 greatest of empires, in a moment and here, the great king, coming 279 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:33.690 after all of his father's now goes back to his own country, a failure. 280 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:41.839 Having come to de Besiege all of these little cities, this nothing place, 281 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:48.640 he goes back to his own land with shame on his face, and 282 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.359 we read that when he comes into the house of his God, some of 283 00:24:52.480 --> 00:25:00.789 his own sons struck him down there with the sword. It's not long after 284 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:08.819 this that the entire empire of Assyria falls all over, all done, as 285 00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:15.339 the Babylonians rush in and take everything over. Of course, the Babylonians will 286 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:19.660 come to make all the same foolish mistakes as the Assyrians dead, and every 287 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:25.490 empire after them will do it again and again and again. Even to this 288 00:25:25.609 --> 00:25:30.130 day, there are Kingdoms and powers in this world, even our own country, 289 00:25:30.809 --> 00:25:36.240 the claims strength beyond what it really has, that promises things that can 290 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:42.960 never be realized. We must trust only and always in King Jesus and in 291 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:48.640 the kingdom that he promises us, because the kingdoms of this world will go 292 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.710 and we'll pass away. God will lift them up for a time and then 293 00:25:52.750 --> 00:25:59.869 he will put them asunder. We read about the Babylonians, in fact, 294 00:26:00.869 --> 00:26:07.220 and the next in part of the end of this chapter. There's a description 295 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:12.140 there in verse thirty one. And so, in the matters of the envoys, 296 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:18.259 of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire 297 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:21.529 about the sign that had been done in the land, God left to himself, 298 00:26:21.569 --> 00:26:25.690 left him, that is, a Hezekiah, to himself in order to 299 00:26:25.849 --> 00:26:29.650 test him and to know all that was in his heart. I want to 300 00:26:29.690 --> 00:26:33.599 use this verse as a transition. They see that I need to finish up 301 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:38.079 here, but as a transition to talk about some of the weaknesses of Hezekiah 302 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:45.400 too. Two weaknesses. First, his physical weakness. Hezekiah was a man 303 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:52.509 just like all of us, capable of death and fearful of death. Hezekiah's 304 00:26:52.549 --> 00:26:55.269 cities and the things that he had built, the work that he has done, 305 00:26:55.549 --> 00:27:00.269 was not infinitely strong. His kingdom, his walls, were capable of 306 00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:04.900 falling, and indeed they had. We read that before the military build up, 307 00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:10.819 before this invasion, that he's repairing the wall, the wall that had 308 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:14.460 been there during the time that he was king, a wall that falls down 309 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:18.569 and breaks. That's what walls do. You build him up and they fall 310 00:27:18.769 --> 00:27:23.529 down, and you build them up and they fall down. Hezekiah was no 311 00:27:23.730 --> 00:27:32.680 god. Neither was Senecorib. Both were limited, both were finite. Both 312 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:38.599 had physical weaknesses and we're not infinitely strong. They also had spiritual weaknesses. 313 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:45.710 We know Senec ribs very well, but we are also told of Hezekiah's despite 314 00:27:45.829 --> 00:27:49.230 his goodness, and we realized and we were are reminded of this fact at 315 00:27:49.230 --> 00:27:53.910 the end of the chapter when it says that the rest of the acts of 316 00:27:53.990 --> 00:28:00.779 Hezekiah and his good deeds behold. They are written even at the very end. 317 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:07.940 This formula that's been given at the very end of these various chronicles of 318 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:12.410 these kings I'm here is heightened. And not only is he buried in the 319 00:28:14.130 --> 00:28:18.170 buried with David, but he's buried in the upper part of the tombs of 320 00:28:18.250 --> 00:28:22.289 the sons of David. And it's also adds, as is not happen with 321 00:28:22.410 --> 00:28:27.079 all the other kings, the Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did honor him 322 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:33.079 at his death. So Hez a kio is a good king, but he 323 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:37.880 was a man, a sinful man, and was not perfect. There's two 324 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:42.670 things that are mentioned. The first is his pride at well, it's his 325 00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:48.670 pride in both instances, a one at the first example comes in verse Twenty 326 00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:52.029 Five. We read that Hez a Kai in verse twenty four, became sick 327 00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:56.059 and was about to die, but then the Lord lifted him up. But 328 00:28:56.420 --> 00:29:00.339 because of his pride, because his heart was proud, has a Kaiah did 329 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:04.339 not return. In other words, he did not worship God or give God 330 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:11.210 thanks, as was do. Therefore wrath came upon him, and rightly he 331 00:29:11.369 --> 00:29:14.809 repented, and that's good. But this wasn't the end of his pride. 332 00:29:15.730 --> 00:29:19.450 In the next verses, in twenty seven through thirty, we read of the 333 00:29:19.529 --> 00:29:25.920 ways in which God richly, richly breast has a Kia, the god, 334 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:30.759 and enriched him. Should be obvious from all kinds of things, but it 335 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.759 says it's specifically here, in Verse Twenty Nine, that God had given him 336 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:42.430 very great possessions. The trouble, however, with possessions and with power is 337 00:29:42.549 --> 00:29:47.670 that we come to trust in them and we come to trust in ourselves as 338 00:29:47.710 --> 00:29:51.470 the originators of them. This, of course, was what'Senec orb did, 339 00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:56.619 but it's what has a Kaiah did to it's a reminder that, as we 340 00:29:56.900 --> 00:30:00.380 desire the things of this world, we ought to remember that they often come 341 00:30:00.539 --> 00:30:08.890 with them challenges real spiritual challenges. And that's what happened to Hezekiah here. 342 00:30:11.130 --> 00:30:14.690 The first place, we read that God gave him back his life and he 343 00:30:14.849 --> 00:30:18.769 wasn't thankful, sort of took it for granted. Of course, this is 344 00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:22.039 Oh to me. He felt and he thought he repented of this and that 345 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.759 was good. But in these last verses, which are a little bit cryptic, 346 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:33.640 and something else happens, something that's quite sad. What happens is that 347 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:41.430 this envoy from Babylon comes. This is described in Second Kings, Chapter Twenty. 348 00:30:41.710 --> 00:30:49.259 This Babylon envoy comes and has a KIA, gives them the grand tour. 349 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:59.700 He takes some everywhere, every every room. He's not merely being hospitable. 350 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:03.289 Imagine if you went to go visit somebody's house and was a friend or 351 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:07.289 maybe somebody had moved in. They say hey, can show me the place 352 00:31:07.329 --> 00:31:10.890 and you say no problem. But asay of just walking them around and showing 353 00:31:11.009 --> 00:31:14.329 them and sort of being happy together for the things that you've given, you 354 00:31:14.450 --> 00:31:18.480 sort of start opening up every drawer and every knick knack and you talk about 355 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:25.480 every trophy and every accomplishment and you try to show your wealth, you show 356 00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:30.839 it off, you have pride in it. Well, that's what Hezekiah does 357 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:36.230 in this account. That's described more fully. And Second Kings Chapter Twenty. 358 00:31:37.029 --> 00:31:40.789 We read in Verse Thirteen of that chapter that he welcomed them and showed them 359 00:31:40.829 --> 00:31:44.750 all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the 360 00:31:44.829 --> 00:31:48.019 precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There 361 00:31:48.140 --> 00:31:52.299 was nothing in his house or in all his realm that has a Kaiah did 362 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:56.420 not show them. Isaiah, the Prophet, came to King Hez Aki and 363 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:00.980 said to him, what did these men say and from where did they come 364 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:04.450 to you and haze? Kaiah said they have come from a far country, 365 00:32:04.490 --> 00:32:08.809 from Babylon. Isaiah says to him, what have they seen in your house 366 00:32:09.329 --> 00:32:13.130 and has a Kaiah said they have seen all that is in my house. 367 00:32:13.210 --> 00:32:17.319 There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them. Isaiah responds, 368 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:21.240 hear the word of the Lord behole. Days are coming when all that 369 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:24.240 is in your house and that which your fathers have stored up to this day 370 00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:31.230 shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord, 371 00:32:31.269 --> 00:32:36.789 and some of your own sons who shall be born to you shall be taken 372 00:32:36.869 --> 00:32:44.940 away and shall be eunuchs in the Palace of the King of Babylon. Then 373 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:50.420 get this. Then has a Kiah says to Isaiah, the word of the 374 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:58.690 Lord that you have spoken is good. When I first read that I thought, 375 00:32:59.569 --> 00:33:05.809 well, good, he's accepting his punishment. But then we read on 376 00:33:06.089 --> 00:33:09.170 and it says for he thought, why not, if there will be peace 377 00:33:09.210 --> 00:33:20.119 and security in my days. Has A ky after all that he'd been given, 378 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:23.200 here at the end of his life, he's ending up just likes an 379 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:29.069 ECARIB. After all the good things, after all the blessing, after everything 380 00:33:29.190 --> 00:33:35.390 that God had done for him, even in his mercies, in sparing him 381 00:33:35.509 --> 00:33:42.420 from his pride during his reign, he is going to lose his kingdom, 382 00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:49.740 even in relationship to his sons, in a way. And Hezekiah's attitude is 383 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:58.329 now not repentance, but well, we saw. I'm okay, pride is 384 00:33:58.769 --> 00:34:08.570 often about selfishness. These are the weaknesses of men. They are are weaknesses. 385 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:15.239 How many times has God blessed you and you failed to return thanks? 386 00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:19.719 How many times have you been in a position where God has poured richly out 387 00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:24.789 you on you, blessing after blessing after blessing, and yet you selfishly use 388 00:34:24.869 --> 00:34:30.309 your resources, you use them as a point of pride, to show off 389 00:34:30.469 --> 00:34:34.070 who you are, instead of what, who God is and what he has 390 00:34:34.110 --> 00:34:40.539 done. These weaknesses remind us of our need for a savior. They remind 391 00:34:40.619 --> 00:34:45.460 us of our need for a King even greater than Haz a Kiah, as 392 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:50.980 amazing as he was, as good as he was, ultimately, in a 393 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:55.530 way, his kingdom would end in failure. His kingship would end and failure. 394 00:34:58.010 --> 00:35:01.050 There are still more left in second chronicles and there's more left in God's 395 00:35:01.050 --> 00:35:07.679 word, and that's important because though has a Kiah fails, even after all 396 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:15.599 of this, these good acts, these good these true faith and true repentance, 397 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:24.469 God does not fail. God never fails. As we read, with 398 00:35:24.630 --> 00:35:28.909 the Gods of this world and the powers of this world, their arm is 399 00:35:28.909 --> 00:35:30.989 an arm of flesh. But with us is the Lord, our God, 400 00:35:31.070 --> 00:35:36.260 to help us and to fight our battles, this in hoods, the battles 401 00:35:36.340 --> 00:35:42.139 in our own hearts, the battle against sin. And when Jesus came into 402 00:35:42.179 --> 00:35:46.579 the world, is the son of David as the one to fulfill the promise 403 00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:51.690 that God had made to David that a son would sit on his throne and 404 00:35:51.769 --> 00:35:59.809 rule and reign forever and would establish a people, an empire, even of 405 00:36:00.010 --> 00:36:06.960 nation that would last forever and it would expand the entire Globe and be consummated 406 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:12.960 in the ages to come for all eternity. This king, being God, 407 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:22.750 did not have any weakness, no physical weaknesses, no spiritual weaknesses. Jesus, 408 00:36:22.829 --> 00:36:27.630 however, dead, take on human flesh. He humbled himself, he 409 00:36:27.829 --> 00:36:32.940 became weak, he took on weakness and even death, not so that he 410 00:36:34.019 --> 00:36:38.059 could be defeated, but so that he could be the defeater, so that 411 00:36:38.139 --> 00:36:46.289 he could conquer. Jesus is the Almighty God who strikes down these mighty warriors, 412 00:36:46.769 --> 00:36:52.610 these commanders, these officers. Jesus is the Almighty God who takes the 413 00:36:52.769 --> 00:36:59.010 Syria and puts her on her knees. Jesus is the mighty king. By 414 00:36:59.130 --> 00:37:04.320 his power nation's rise and fall. By his power, life is given and 415 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:09.719 life is taken away. This is our king. He is not like as 416 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:14.960 a Coda, he is not likes an Necareb, he is not like anyone 417 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:22.349 that we know in this world. Do you view Jesus like that? If 418 00:37:22.389 --> 00:37:28.630 you don't, then you must. History of the world proves this point. 419 00:37:29.469 --> 00:37:35.699 In particular, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus was buried 420 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:40.219 in the tomb, but he did not stay in that he rose on the 421 00:37:40.340 --> 00:37:46.050 third day, victorious over all things. Jesus comes as the son of David. 422 00:37:46.369 --> 00:37:52.130 Not only took accomplish this victory, however, but to accomplish it for 423 00:37:52.409 --> 00:38:01.039 us. Has A chaiad has this remarkable and incredibly pathetic self selfishness right here 424 00:38:01.119 --> 00:38:06.920 at the end of his life. Jesus, however, does not. When 425 00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:12.280 Jesus lays down his life and earns the glory of God, the inheritance, 426 00:38:13.110 --> 00:38:17.469 when he ascends to the the the right hand of the Father Almighty, he 427 00:38:17.590 --> 00:38:22.230 does so for you and for me. He doesn't say, well, I 428 00:38:22.309 --> 00:38:30.099 got what I want and I'm good. So No, he lifts us up 429 00:38:30.260 --> 00:38:36.579 with him. He raises is up from the grave, he establishes US and 430 00:38:36.699 --> 00:38:42.650 makes us strong over death itself. This is who Jesus is, this is 431 00:38:42.730 --> 00:38:47.730 the king that he hears. Unlike the kings of this world, Jesus always 432 00:38:47.889 --> 00:38:55.239 uses his power according to truth, according to humility or holiness and according to 433 00:38:55.440 --> 00:39:02.320 love. There's no selfishness in it, only selflessness. But he didn't, 434 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:07.280 and he didn't just conquer for himself, he conquered for all of us. 435 00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:13.230 So, when we think about the things that we face in this life, 436 00:39:14.150 --> 00:39:20.190 the attacks of the evil one, be they tiny and small in the corners 437 00:39:20.230 --> 00:39:24.139 of our minds and of our hearts and of our homes, or whether they 438 00:39:24.219 --> 00:39:31.300 come on a grand scale, somebody trying to hurt the church, take lives 439 00:39:31.460 --> 00:39:37.019 from the people that are in it, to her to harm us, to 440 00:39:37.179 --> 00:39:43.329 persecute us, to tempt us, to take us away, be strong and 441 00:39:43.610 --> 00:39:50.489 courageous, for the Lord, your God, is mighty to save and he's 442 00:39:50.530 --> 00:39:57.400 already saved through the work of Jesus, the king. Let us pray to 443 00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:00.920 him and put all of our faith and trust in him