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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
2 Kings 19, Is. 37
Movies that deal with time travel are always kind of mind-boggling because they mess with our sense of cause and effect. We have the same issue with God because He is timeless. He created time; He is not bound by it. Thus, He works contrary to what we know and understand about cause and effect. This story is a great example of that.
God’s response to Hezekiah’s message to Isaiah was, “Because you prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, this is the word the LORD has spoken against him:” (Is. 37:21b-22a). Later in God’s response He says, “I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble.” (Is. 37:26). We know this is true because we read the prophecy in Isaiah 7 & 8, written in the time of Hezekiah’s father’s reign. Here’s the kicker – part of that prophecy also foretold Assyria’s defeat at Jerusalem. This would be the same defeat that God said was because Hezekiah prayed. Try to parse out the cause and effect in that situation and your mind ends up scrambled!
I think the point in all of that is part of the Bible’s purpose. Yes, it is the story of God’s plan and promise for the redemption of a fallen world. But it is more than that. It is not enough to show us the plan and give us the promise. We need to understand something of the why and the how. So the Bible gives us a lot of insight into our humanity and God’s sovereignty. When we can see how big God is (way bigger than we can see!) and that He works in ways that are far beyond our capability to understand, we realize how small and insignificant we are. Knowing God’s character and ours really puts us in our place.
Yet we then see that, in spite of who and what we are, God weaves us into His great plan. We see that He truly loves us because nothing is impossible for Him. Thus, we know our need and we know that we can trust God to provide the solution. That’s the why and the how. And we cannot share in God’s redemption unless we understand and respond to it.
2 Kings 20, Is, 38-39
Not uncommonly, I am a little confused as to the timing of things in Hezekiah’s story. We read about his victory over Assyria and his sickness in 2 Chronicles 32, though that rendition of this story did not mention the visit from the Babylonian officials. It did, however, mention Hezekiah’s proud heart and return to humility. What I can’t quite figure out is when and why that humbling happened. I’m pretty sure it’s my sense of cause and effect that wants to know. But God doesn’t operate on a tidy timeline, does He? So I’m thinking that knowing every little detail doesn’t matter. Those details don’t matter because there is no formula for life that gives us any control over the time-bound outcomes.
There is, however, something of a formula for our eternal outcome. That formula is: knowing our need + accepting God’s solution = eternal life. This is what we must constantly cling to while we remain stuck in time. Every situation we face and every circumstance we find ourselves in should simply point us toward God. Have we been handed a great victory, as Hezekiah was? Boast in God! Have we been blessed with an undeserved gift, like Hezekiah’s 15 added years of life? Praise God with a grateful heart! Have we suffered hardship, deserved or not? Then trust that, as Hezekiah said, “Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me” (Is. 38:17a). Know that in all things, God is good.
Ps. 76
“He humbles the spirit of leaders; He is feared by the kings of the earth.” (Ps. 76:12). This was certainly true when God struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrians, saving Jerusalem without any of the people lifting a finger. Yet how quickly we forget! And how easily we ignore the stories of others, thinking we are somehow different; somehow better. People’s hearts continue to grow proud. Leaders continue to rise up and defy God. I am not immune. So I strive to continually remind myself of who God is, who I am, and what He has done to reconcile the two.