Wed.’s Devo - God is Supreme Over All The Earth

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 Assyria was on its way to Egypt, in which Jerusalem was the gateway. They had to conquer Jerusalem first. Israel had decided to stop paying tribute to Assyria, so now they were coming for the payment with interest and they were using intimidation and force to get it. The commander of the Assyrian army met with Hezekiah’s three officials and gave a speech that all the men on the wall of Jerusalem could hear. He asked them how they could sit so confidently trusting in their god when all the gods of the other nations couldn’t save them. Then he had the audacity to tell them that God had sent them to take Jerusalem. It was obvious that the Assyrians threw God into the mix of all the other gods. The Assyrian commander told them that even if he gave them 2,000 of his own horses, they would be no match for his army. Even if Egypt came to help them, they would not win. He offered Israel’s people a land of their own where they could do everything they did here in his country. It was a hook and a lie. When Hezekiah heard what the commander of Assyria had said, he tore his clothes and went to the temple to pray. He sent his officials dressed in mourning clothes to Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah told them not to fear the blasphemous speech the Assyrian commander had given against Him. God would defend his name and send him home. That is exactly what happened but before he left, he sent another letter to King Hezekiah saying that he would return. They had defeated other nations whose gods were not able to save, so why did they think their god would be able to save them. Hezekiah took the letter to the temple and laid it out for God to read. Hezekiah agreed that what the Assyrians said was true, they had overcome other nations and their gods. God responded with a word from Isaiah. He said that He wasn’t like the other gods who were no gods at all. He was the only God, king over the whole earth. God had used Assyria to crush these other nations but He would crush Assyria. God gave Hezekiah this sign: they would eat the produce of what grew by itself for the next two years and on the third year, they would plant their own crops and harvest their own fruit. God would protect Jerusalem. That night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. King Senacherib went home to Nineveh and stayed there. His own two sons assassinated him while he was worshipping his god. Reading the Kings and Acts, it is hard not to see the importance of the prophet in both. Prophets are just people who have eyes to see into what God is doing instead of just seeing the natural state of things. We need them to give us God’s perspective and hope. Today, five prophets are mentioned and they all told Paul the same thing: he was headed for imprisonment if he went to Rome. The people tried to dissuade Paul from going, but Paul knew that the words of the prophets were true but he also knew it was his destiny, not something he needed to run from. While in prison, Paul finally had time to pen most of the New Testament. God knew what he was doing…like always. Lord, help us to trust in your plan for our lives even when it is uncomfortable and includes suffering.