Wed.’s Devo - God’s Deliverance

Read: Isaiah 37:1-38:22; Galatians 6:1-18; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 23:24 The commander of the Assyrian army had proclaimed his plans to take the city of Jerusalem in the ears of all the people. He implored them to surrender and go back with him to Assyria where they could live in peace. Hezekiah’s men brought him this news and when he heard it, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went to the Temple of the Lord. He sent his palace administrator, his court secretary and all the leading priests dressed in burlap to visit Isaiah and give him a message from the king. The message said that he didn’t know if they had the strength to finish this war with the Assyrians and win. The king of Assyria was defying God and they needed prayer. Isaiah sent back news that God had heard king Sennachrib’s blasphemy and would move against the king of Assyria. He would send him news that he was needed at home where he would be killed with a sword. The commander of the Assyrian army left to go talk to the king of Assyria who was fighting close by. Before he left he sent Hezekiah a written threat that he better not think that his God would save them. The gods of all the other countries they had captured thought the same thing and their god could not save them. Hezekiah took his letter and spread it out in the Temple for the Lord to read. He told God he knew that He was the God of the whole earth and he begged him to protect his name and rescue them. God sent Isaiah his response to Assyria’s arrogance. He told them that they had done all their mighty conquering because God had used them to do it. They had accomplished nothing on their own. God had heard his prideful boasting and would put a hook in his mouth and lead him back home on the same road he had come on. As a sign to Israel, they would eat that year what grew on its own. The next year they would eat the what great up from the first year and in the third year, they would plant their own crops and harvest them. The ones who lived through the siege would put down roots in their own soil which would grow up and flourish. The Assyrian king would never enter Jerusalem or any of his army. God would defend the city himself. That night, God’s army killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp while they were sleeping. When morning came the king found dead soldiers everywhere. He returned home to his capital in Nineveh and his own sons killed him while he was worshiping Nisroch, his god. It was his god who couldn’t save him. Israel’s god saved them. Hezekiah became deathly ill and was told by Isaiah to put his house in order. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and presented his case to the Lord. God repented of his death sentence and gave him 15 more years to live. As a sign of his decision, God caused the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial. Time went backward because God was giving him more time to live. Sadly, it would have been better for Hezekiah and the nation if he had just died then. In Galatians, Paul gives us the new covenant’s answer to judgment. In the old covenant, they were to stone a person caught in certain sins. In the new covenant, they were to gently and humbly help a person who has fallen into temptation to come back to the Lord. Instead of judging others, we are to judge ourselves. We should honor those who teach us and not mock God’s justice. We will harvest what we plant. We get to choose if we will harvest life or death. Lord, may we plant seeds of life and love so that we can bring a good harvest into your barns. May we always believe that the cross is enough for all we need.