OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT
(Let me share this abridged transcription of my message to the Fullness of Christ International Ministries based in Mandaluyong of which I have been the senior pastor since 2003.)
This new year could be more challenging because of both health and economic scarring. Delta variant has in fact given way to Omicron while all those optimistic growth forecasts may have to be revised. It’s not easy to be optimistic in the face of radical uncertainty; there are just too many unknowns.
The challenge for this year is unequivocally staying the course. What should we do in the face of difficult situations, knowing that our destiny is at stake? Stay the course. Stay in the presence of God.
That’s what King Hezekiah of Judah chose to do. He stayed the course, and he stayed in the presence of God when he received a letter from King Sennacherib of Assyria one, threatening to invade Jerusalem; two, advising him and the rest of Jerusalem to cease trusting their God; and three, if the gods trusted by other kingdoms that Assyria destroyed failed to protect them, there was no basis for Judah to also trust in their own God.
Both King Hezekiah and King Sennacherib are not imaginary kings that some people would suggest one finds only in the Scripture, particularly in 2 Kings 16-20 and Isaiah 36-40. They are consistent with recorded history of both Israel and what used to be Assyria — that is now Northern Iraq and Southeastern Turkey. Some historians also include parts of Iran, Kuwait and Syria.
Hezekiah witnessed with his own eyes how Sennacherib’s father Sargon II destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel following 2 Kings 17. He knew the DNA of Sennacherib, his ruthlessness, his lack of mercy to his vassals and colonies. Ancient records document Sennacherib’s ruthlessness through the reliefs kept at the British Museum. They show that King Sennacherib had already attacked Judah’s fortified cities of Lachish and Libnah. His next target was Jerusalem, its capital city.
The Scripture illustrates that Hezekiah was compelled to pay a tribute of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. One talent is equal to 34 kilos. Hezekiah could only raise his tribute by stripping the temple bare, thinking that Sennacherib would agree to his terms to stop marching into Jerusalem for such a colossal tribute. He was wrong. Sennacherib continued to marshall his troops to captureJerusalem.
Sennacherib conveyed three important points to Judah.
First, Hezekiah should not trust in human alliances. Earlier, Hezekiah established alliances with Egypt which Sennacherib looked down as “broken reed of staff.” Second, Hezekiah could not trust his God. He explained that he managed to conquer kingdoms with their own gods who all failed to protect them.
And third, the people of Judah should not trust Hezekiah as king. He warned the people not to listen to Hezekiah and believe when he said their God would deliver them.
This time, Sennacherib was wrong. Hezekiah triumphed by depending on his God. He tore his clothes and covered himself with sack cloth and went into the house of the Lord. Hezekiah expressed his humility, repentance and complete dependence on God alone.
It becomes a powerful prophetic act when we open our hearts to God, present our dilemma and seek His face in fervent prayer. Seeking the Lord first will establish God’s calming presence and wisdom.
Hezekiah also shared the letter of Sennacherib to the prophet Isaiah for him to pray and intercede. His concern was to avoid compromising the glory of God should Judah be subdued in ignominy.
True enough, Isaiah received God’s revelation that He would save Jerusalem from the Assyrians. The Lord sent an angel who struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, honoring His word that “I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” In history, one important open question is the failure of Assyria under Sennacherib to actually subjugate Jerusalem. The Scripture in both Isaiah and II Kings, as well as the account of Romano-Jewish historian Josephus, were one in saying it could only be due to divine intervention. Greek historian Herodotus made some reference to field mice causing a plague but this account is less credible because of the amazing rapidity with which it all happened.
Sennacherib was just obsessed with documenting all his military victories to miss on the siege of Jerusalem. There was nothing in the reliefs in his Nineveh palace about it. There were gory details of his spoils of war and the torture of their captives in Judah’s other fortified cities.If the Assyrians were brutal with their captives, the nagging question was why Hezekiah was not dethroned and tortured, and Jerusalem plundered.
In fact, Hezekiah did not fight the battle. God fought the battle for him and for Jerusalem. Hezekiah became victorious and stayed the course. God was his course.
After Assyria’s army was destroyed, Sennacherib returned home to his palace. As he worshiped his own god Nisroch in the temple, his two sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They escaped and his other son, Esarhaddon, was crowned king.
That was the irony of ironies.
For in the case of Hezekiah, when he retreated to the house of his God, he was assured his kingdom would not be delivered to Assyria.
Staying the course is the challenge for 2022. The means is not to trust in princes or in men; they are as fragile as their feeble plans. Trusting in the Lord will keep us on course. For God is our course.