A band of survivors with confidence in the one true God

Hezekiah king of Judah gets more coverage than any of the other kings in the last several hundred years since King Solomon so we’ll give him a day all to himself today.

The description starts out the same as all the other kings of Judah –

He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 Kings 18:2

Until we come to this –

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 2 Kings 18:3

So this is what makes him different. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, not evil. And what does this look like?

• he removed the high places
• he smashed the sacred stones
• he cut down the Asherah poles
• he broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, that the Israelites had been burning incense to
• he trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel
• he held fast to the Lord
• he did not stop following him
• he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses
• he was successful in whatever he undertook
• he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him
• he defeated the Philistines

All of this is what made him different –

There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 2 Kings 18:5

It’s during his reign of Judah that Shalmaneser captures Samaria and deports Israel to Assyria. When the next king of Assyria tries to do the same with the cities of Judah, Hezekiah appeases him –

So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.  2 Kings 18:15

This is not enough. Sennacherib king of Assyria has a question –

On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 2 Kings 18:19

Look around you. You don’t have the experience or resources to stand up to us. Who do you think you are? Do you really think Egypt will be there for you when you need help? And didn’t you take away all the altars and high places so how can you depend on your God now? Give in. Make a bargain with us. God told us to attack you.

Don’t listen to Hezekiah. Trust the king of Assyria. Don’t trust Hezekiah. Trust me. We will provide good things for you. Choose life not death! Who has ever defeated the king of Assyria? Hezekiah has no idea who he is dealing with. How can his God be trusted? What has he ever done for you?

When Hezekiah hears about this, he tears his clothes and puts on sackcloth. He thinks first of his God – the king of Assyria has ridiculed the living God and there will be consequences. He doesn’t get all offensive and aggressive – quite the opposite. He recognises his weakness and his dependence on God.

Enter Isaiah. Yes, the Isaiah! This is the first mention of him. He has wise words of reassurance from the one true God, the only god that can be depended upon –

Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.  2 Kings 19:6-7

But Sennacherib has not finished sowing seeds of doubt – have you not heard what Assyria has done? ‘Do not let the god you depend on deceive you……….’

And this is Hezekiah’s prayer –

God, God of Israel, seated
in majesty on the cherubim-throne.
You are the one and only God,
sovereign over all kingdoms on earth,
Maker of heaven,
maker of earth.
Open your ears, God, and listen,
open your eyes and look.
Look at this letter Sennacherib has sent,
a brazen insult to the living God!
The facts are true, O God: The kings of Assyria
have laid waste countries and kingdoms.
Huge bonfires they made of their gods, their
no-gods hand-made from wood and stone.
But now O God, our God,
save us from raw Assyrian power;
Make all the kingdoms on earth know
that you are God, the one and only God.  2 Kings 19:15-19 (The Message)

Because when people question our faith in God, where should we turn?

To the one true God, the unchanging God, the faithful One, of course.

Back to the source.

When people ridicule us for our faith, we need to turn to God, to remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done.

We need to focus less on the problem and more on the living God.

Maker of heaven, maker of earth.

We turn to God for salvation and deliverance, for strength and comfort.

Whatever anyone else has to say.

Whatever the negative voices in our head are saying.

God is unchanging.

And God hears. And God answers.

Isaiah predicts Sennacherib’s fall.

Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!  2 Kings 19:22

And there is hope for Judah –

Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  2 Kings 19:30-31

I love that phrase – ‘a band of survivors’ – that’s what so many of us are, isn’t it? Survivors. Survivors of bereavement and betrayal, hurt and sorrow, illness and anxiety, depression and stress…….the church today is a band of survivors, all moving forward in the certain hope that God will bring to completion all that He has started.

After the king of Assyria and his men have been killed, Hezekiah becomes ill. One thing after another. He is ill to the point of dying. But he is nowhere ready to die. ‘Remember what I’ve done God and how I’ve served you faithfully? How has it come to this?’

And God hears. And God responds. And God heals and saves. And God adds fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life.

And sometimes this happens today. And every extra day is a precious gift from God.

And sometimes it does not. And it feels like the people we love have been taken too soon….

So Isaiah prepares a poultice of figs to put on Hezekiah’s boil and God makes Hezekiah’s shadow go backward ten steps when he goes tot he temple as a sign that he is well and truly healed…..

Then envoys come from Babylon and Hezekiah shows them all the riches of the treasury and Isaiah tells him that the time will come when everything will be carried off to Babylon – including some of his descendants.

And the last thing we hear about Hezekiah is his response to this news –

“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”  2 Kings 20:19

How human is that? Well, that’s fine, as long as I won’t have to deal with it.

Isn’t that how many of us feel about climate change and global warming? Well, it’s not going to affect me, so what does it matter?

We all carry blindly on, preferring to give credence to the scientists who can sow seeds of doubt about the realities of climate change than those who campaign so vehemently for environmental responsibility. Because we know none of this is likely to affect us. And at the end of the day, all humans are selfish. Why should we do without to benefit future generations? Why should our lives be inconvenienced by this inconvenient truth?

Life’s OK now. Let tomorrow take care of itself.

We must all think this deep down because this is how we all live. Our lifestyles prove that we don’t really care about the long term future of this wonderful world God has created.

Sorry if this is uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable for me too.

I’m sure we’ll all get over it and forget about it by the time the day is over…..

Or maybe in this precious gift of a day ahead, we’ll do one thing differently to start to care…..