Sermon: Hezekiah’s Victory

Well, it is a great joy to be with you all for worship this evening and an honor to share God's word with you. Most of you know, who I am. My name is Dave Hinckley. If you don't I'm a ruling held Elder here at University Reformed Church. I'm also on staff as the children and youth ministry director. Before we begin let's turn to the Lord in prayer and ask his blessing upon the reading of his word. Father we are grateful.

For the opportunity to look into your word together tonight. We do not take the grace of your word lightly. By it you have spoken to us and oh Lord. We want to hear from you this evening. Grant to us Minds that are attentive to the word and hearts that are eager to embrace what it teaches us. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. So this is the third in our evening sermon series looking at the lives of the two faithful Kings of

Judah Hezekiah and Josiah. Tonight's passage is from second Kings chapter 19. We're going to be reading verses 1 through 19. And if you are anything like me, you will be fascinated to learn that this passage is exactly the same almost verbatim as the book of Isaiah chapter 37 verses 1 through 20. That's all the bit the trivia you're going to get tonight. I'm not going to do anything with that but isn't that interesting?

Nothing else to say about that. A few introductory thoughts before we read the text together and we're going to read it through in. Sections Hezekiah in tonight's passage finds himself in an extremely difficult place. Perhaps more extreme than most of us will ever find ourselves but his response to the crisis is instructive for us as we seek to live Faithfully as Believers between the advents of Christ. Hardship is not a stranger to the Christian.

Our Lord promised us and we were reminded this morning of it that that we would indeed have trouble in this world, but that we should be encouraged that Christ has overcome this world Hezekiah hard-pressed on every side. Either because of his exemplary Faith or simply because he has no other choice allows the hardship that he faces to deepen his dependence upon the Lord. He trusted God in his distress and the Lord will act on his behalf.

Often when we Face hard providences to questions can can bubble to the surface almost without fail these questions bubbled to the surface. Where is God? Why has he let this happen to me? We're not told that he did in our passage tonight, but it may even be the case that has a kaya asked these questions at this moment in his life.

Perhaps in observing the faithful response of Hezekiah and his crisis. We will at least find Clues to the answers to these questions for ourselves. I think at least we will find the answer to the question. What does it mean to hold fast and Perse your feet persevere in the midst of difficulty in the midst of Faith challenging difficulty. So if you are someone who is hard-pressed by the circumstances or hardships of life, I want you to know that you

are in good company. If tonight you are asking where is God? I want to encourage you exhort you plead with you. Hold on hold fast. He who calls you is faithful and he will surely deliver you. As we look into the word tonight, it is my prayer that you and I would be granted. Hope. Confidence and resolve to persevere in the faith. I said we are you are in good company if this is where your struggle is case and point King Hezekiah.

As we turn to the text think about this question. What do you do Christian when you encounter a threat that even challenges your faith? I want to suggest that we will see three simple truths and hezekiah's example that we should take to heart. We should adopt as our own strategy in the midst of hardship. Here the three things. Hezekiah seeks the word of the Lord. As a kaya resists the voice of the devil. And has a kaya begs the Lord for deliverance. These

are three simple things and I think it is a well-proven strategy here we have in our text what we should do what you should do you who are faint of heart here is what the scripture is calling you to do. brief reminder of The Story So Far Hezekiah is the king of Judah. After the United Kingdom Under David and Solomon God's people divided into two Nations one to the north Israel and one to the South Judah. That division lasted about 250 years until Israel

in just the previous two chapters of Second Kings was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire Hezekiah watched that happen as the king in the South Judah and then a few years later Assyria, like the bully that it is turns its wrath toward Judah. Chapter 18 we heard when Kevin come to Calvary preached about a month ago. We heard the words of the king of assyria's messenger the rabshika, which is a really fun word to say. The Rapture speaks to hezekiah's officials

out in front of all the people so that everyone within earshot could understand the Rapture does a masterful job of casting doubt into the hearts of the people in my head as we read through this passage. I can't help. picturing the Mouth of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings movies you all hopefully you've all get that reference there. He makes threats that are a mixture of lies and truth and Bluster. He speaks them plainly with a promise of Mercy if

they just simply don't resist. he says Hezekiah is lying to you. Excuse me. Hezekiah is lying to you. He will not be able to save you from the power of the Assyrian army. Why not just surrender to us and we will give each of you a peaceful and even prosperous life. Hezekiah trust the Lord but none of the Gods of any of the Nations that we have conquered have ever been able to save them from us. Don't forget that among the Nations that we captured.

Was Israel to the north? Who do they worship? The goal of the messenger is to cast out on multiple levels. He wanted the people to doubt Hezekiah and he wants the people to doubt even the Living God and he wants Hezekiah himself to both doubt himself and the Living God. So hezekiah's officials take the message up to Hezekiah, which is where our text begins. second Kings chapter 19 starting in verse 1 As soon as king Hezekiah heard it he tore

his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and he went into the house of the Lord and he sent Elijah Kim who was over the household and shebnah the secretary and the senior priests covered with sackcloth to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amos and they said to him thus says Hezekiah. This day is a day of distress of rebuke and of disgrace children have come to the point of birth and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may

be that the Lord your God has heard all the words of the rapture. Whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the Living God and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left. When the Servants of the king Hezekiah came to Isaiah Isaiah said to them. Say to your master thus says the Lord do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard.

With which the Servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will he shall hear a rumor return to his own land and I will make him fall By The Sword in his own land. I'm going to pause here like talk a bit about the text and then we will continue a couple more times through this passage. Hezekiah is shaken by this report. We know this at least because he tears his clothes and puts on sackcloth. This is an indication of

his mourning and grief. I don't think it's much of a speculation to say that he is scared even very scared. The armies of Assyria are greater than the armies of Judah the armies of Assyria are cruel and terrible. The threat of a Syria would have loomed very large in hezekiah's life up to this point. He's already tried to pay them to leave Judah alone. Israel very recently has been destroyed by them. And Hezekiah would have been there when his own father shamefully

abased himself to the Assyrian King and tried to change Worship in Judah to be more like a Syrian worship now when Hezekiah became king He destroyed that altar that his father built the text tells us that he rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. Hezekiah has proven his faith strong and his leadership Godly. He is courageous. He's patient. He's faithful. And now this terrifying situation has befallen him

and befallen the people. So let me ask a question does the reality that he's scared? That he is shaken by this great threat or maybe even that he is doubting God's Providence that's possible here. Do these realities refute the notion that Hezekiah has an exemplary Faith a faith that we should emulate. Of course, it doesn't. We see that here fear or even doubt are not the opposite of faith. Faith is less of an emotion than it is an action.

You are in a terrifying situation Hezekiah. How will you respond? Well, the first thing he does is seek the word of the Lord. God is speaking clearly and plainly through the words of Isaiah and the prophets at this time. And so Hezekiah recognizing that his only hope is in the Lord looks to the word of God for comfort and for help. He sends his Messengers directly to Isaiah asking for prayer and the Lord responds to Hezekiah in his fearful situation.

Step back and reflect on this. The hard providences that come into a believer's life. Even the strongest of Believers can shake the ground beneath them. Why then is it that we tend is it that we why then is it that we tend to pretend that it isn't true. Sometimes we can act like the best of Christians are somehow stoics. Nothing. Nothing ever shakes me nothing ever affects me. I'm never anxious about anything. I never sin. I never don't really

ever suffer. And when I do I just thank God because I have exemplary faith. Hezekiah has exemplary faith. He's neither a square John superhero nor a weekly. He doesn't pretend that he's got this all under control and neither. Does he give up and give in? He Grieves he Mourns he fears and he seeks the word of the Lord. Whatever circumstance has shaken you whatever has threatened or threatened to threaten your stability in the

Christian faith turn to the word of the Lord for comfort and help. and Hope now you might say Dave, isn't that? An overly simplistic advice for such complex problems. I'm not suggesting that the word is somehow like an Elixir that you drink and then wow. I'm suddenly optimistic. I got my cancer diagnosis this morning. I read the Bible and I'm totally fine. what I want you to see is that the promises made by the Living God by the

loving God will sustain your soul in the hardest of situations and those promises are found in the word of God.

My own life I have been discouraged by my own sin. And I recall that he who began a good work in me will be will be faithful to bring it to completion. I've struggled with kids who are straying from Jesus and I recall that the word of God does not the word of God's Own does not return void. I lost one of my own children and I recall the words of King David. I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me. I'm not saying that reading the Bible and praying is

a simple solution to all the world's ills. I'm saying that your only hope My only hope in the midst of a threatening and even terrifying world is the voice of the Lord.

the voice of the Living God you and I have so much more than Hezekiah did to comfort us. Hezekiah had to send out for the for God to offer reassurance and a promise to help you holding in your hands have the check people.

The check that you are holding in your hands written to you from God says to paraphrase Lucy pevensey. All bad things will come untrue. You're wondering what the check is. It's the Bible. Catch up. All right.

Now it may be that someone in this room acquainted with suffering acquainted with doubt. It's hearing and thinking how dare you say that you don't understand what I've lost. How is it that you are so certain that light comes out of Darkness meaning comes out of Despair Redemption comes out of fear. Now I could say. That in my own experience. that my own experience has shown this to be true I could say Go around this room after this service during

the soup supper and find one of the gray heads in the room and ask them why they agree with me on this. But the real answer. To how we know that this is true how we know? That hope comes out of Darkness that the Lord has promised to work good in the midst of our hardship. the real answer to that is

That this Bible that you hold in your hands. The God Who wrote this Bible that you hold in your hands is The God Who against all expectation raised Jesus from the dead? The hope that we have isn't certain just because we feel it to be certain or we remember it to be certain the hope that we have is certain and we know it's true because something has happened in space and time that has proved it true. We have these promises

of Hope certified by an empty tomb. So we see in Hezekiah this model in his fear in his uncertainty. He seeks reassurance from the only one who can really give it. He seeks the word of the Lord and what does the word of the Lord say and reply to Hezekiah? Back in verses 6 and 7 do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard with which the Servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. God gives words of reassurance and Grace

and he sets hezekiah's perspective on this challenge a right. Who is being challenged by the words that have been spoken? Who has been insulted? Who has been reviled? God announces what will happen but we're not going to see what will happen until the next sermon in this series or you could just read ahead if you want but the next sermon in the series we will see the the answers to this specific prophecy. Now let's turn back to our reading and

reading verses 8 through 14. the Rapture returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against libnah. For he heard that the king had left lakish. And he heard and the King heard concerning. To your Haka king of kush behold. He has set out to fight against you. So he sent Messengers again to Hezekiah saying thus you will speak to Hezekiah king of Judah. Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive You by promising that

Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered have the gods of the Nations delivered them the Nations that my father's destroyed. Goes in haran rezef and the people of Eden who were into telusr. Where is the king of hamath the king of our pad the king of the city of sepharam

the king of henna and the king of Iva? Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of The Messengers and read it and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And pause again here before our final section. Hezekiah receives another and more threatening message again with the intent to sow fear and doubt now now in this one a longer list of the Nations that were destroyed and the gods who were not strong enough to resist Assyria.

The end of the last section God reminds Hezekiah who the Assyrian armies are actually up against. And although here in this section, although it's not explicitly stated. I wonder if we can discern who has a kaya is actually up against. All these threats are designed to tempt Hezekiah and the people to lose faith in the Living God. These words are just as much the words of Satan as they are the words of the Assyrian Messengers.

Swords have not yet been drawn, but there is a battle being fought. The ultimate purpose of our enemy that ancient serpent whose final destruction is to come is to tempt God's people to turn away from God tempt us to mistrust his word to turn to some Independence to something else to turn to put our dependence upon something else. Hezekiah and the people are being tempted not to believe the promise of the Lord tempted to give in to fear tempted

to give up on the Living God. This is Ephesians 6 playing out for us in Second Kings 6 says we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities in the Unseen World. I think it's safe to say from scriptural precedent that spiritual warfare and difficult Province provinces go together. consider the Book of Job what's more? It's plain that in the midst of hardship you and I are more prone to doubt more prone to look

to something else for comfort more prone to grumble. Satan sees our weak moments as an opportune time to attack his strategy in the midst of threatening circumstances is to sow as much doubt and discontent as he possibly can brothers and sisters. We should not be surprised by this we should be ready for this. It isn't merely that hard circumstances make us doubt the lord. It's that hard circumstances are taken advantage of by the Enemy by our enemy

to tempt us to doubt the Lord. We've got to see. That this is not only what happened as a kaya and job. This is the whole strategy that Satan has if you were going through something hard temptation is at hand. Temptation to doubt the power and the love of the Living God now, let me make a short side note here because I think some of you need to hear it. When we talk about spiritual warfare and temptation to doubt the power of the Living God.

Most of the time is it this isn't necessarily a conscious thing isn't like a contemplative moment where you're like, oh, I guess I really have doubts things are really hard, huh? It happens like this. Hard Times come and you say Whoo, do I need a drink? What can I put on the TV for four hours? What sin? Can I get up to on the internet? Brothers and sisters is that drink going to deliver you out of the hands of senekrib?

Satan really wants for you to trust anything other than God. And God is the only one that can actually save you. So what should we do instead? What Hezekiah do? first Hezekiah has already girded his strength in the last section. Right his response to fear and to grief was to look directly to the voice of God for Comfort. He set himself up to withstand the coming attack. Next we see in verse 14. He takes these attacks these attempts to tempt.

The letter that he's given with all these threats he takes this and he goes into the presence of the Lord and he prays. What do you do in the midst of Temptation hard times have come and Satan is whispering in your ear. You hold fast and you pray. You enter the presence of your lord you turn to the Lord Independence and need. Is it the strength of Hezekiah that will win the day here? or his stoic impassibility No, it is his humble dependence

and his need. Let's look now at hezekiah's prayer. He's gone into the presence of the Lord and is laid before the Lord the words of the enemy. Our final section versus 15 through 19 and Hezekiah afraid before the Lord and said, oh Lord the god of Israel enthroned above the cherubim. You are the god you alone. Of all the kingdoms of the earth you have made Heaven and Earth incline your ear O Lord and hear open your eyes O

Lord and see and hear the words of sennacherib. Which he has sent to mock the Living God. Truly, oh Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the Nations and their lands and have cast their gods Into the Fire where they were not gods. But the work of men's hands wood and stone therefore they were destroyed. So now O Lord Our God save us. Please from his hand. That all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You O Lord Are God

Alone.

with these words brothers and sisters this battle is over. sennacherib is done the significance of sennacherib in history has finished. in this prayer

this prayer of faith or more specifically in God's Sovereign answer to this prayer the purpose of the Assyrian Empire and all of its important officials and its Mighty Army has come to its fullness. It isn't again till next sermon passage that the actual defeat happens. Do I say spoiler alert there can it be a spoiler if it was written 2700? Years ago, I don't think it can. Now you could say that synacrib was done when the word of Lord

came through Isaiah back in verse 7. So why do I say it now? because all of this drama has been playing out within the hand of the Living God. Sennacherib and the Rapture meant all this for evil but the Lord means all this for the growth of our trust. The purpose of this threat was so that Judah and her king would in fact Place their hope in the Lord and through them that you and I might Place Our Hope in the Lord the god of Israel enthroned above

the cherubim who alone is God the maker of heaven and Earth. We could say that the purpose of this whole drama is contained in the last words of hezekiah's prayer that the kingdoms of all the Earth may know that You O Lord is God Our God Alone. The victory of Hezekiah is not one. in a battle It was one in the face of a faith challenging threat. By seeking the voice of the Lord by holding fast Against The Temptations of the evil one

and in utter dependence in prayer. Hezekiah's victory was not a show of force. or of strength of arms but a show of trust and Hope what does he say? God I Know Who You Are I know that you are The Sovereign master of all things and I know who I am. I am yours. Vindicate your name. Prove to the world what I already know.

Sometimes in the midst of our struggles we ask questions like why is the Lord allowing this to happen to me? We've seen that the answer to that question maybe a little more complex than we understand. There are things that we don't see going on in terms of spiritual battle, but one answer to the question one sure answer to the question. Why is the Lord allowing this to happen to me can be plainly discerned? And it is that God is giving you

an opportunity to ask him for help. God wants us to ask for his help. Jesus said to Paul and he and says to us my grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in your weakness. He wants to prove himself trustworthy and glorious. This doesn't mean that he will answer every request in your timing or to your exact specifications. But God's Deliverance is way better than your plan.

Why has got allowed this thing to happen to you? Well, the answer is both Ephesians, 6:12 and 1st Thessalonians. 4:3 Ephesians. 6:12 was we've battled not against the Flesh and Blood the powers and principalities. the spiritual realm and first Thessalonians 4:3 says this is the will of the Lord for you. your sanctification

Sanctification the Christian Life of discipleship in brief is learning to trust him learning to trust your God in all things. Learning to depend upon him more and more and more. The more comfort that you take in God himself the less you take in other things. Heaven is where you love The Giver more than the gift. And the Christian Life is nothing but a preparation for heaven brothers and sisters.

Why did this happen to Hezekiah? Why was this allowed to happen? So that Hezekiah might reach out in utter dependence and need to his God and so that you and I might be encouraged to do the same. brothers and sisters Hold on. Let us hold fast to the confession of Our Hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful. is present is working he is speaking. He's answering he is eager to strengthen you to comfort you and to deliver you

in the midst of your trouble. Let's pray to him.

Oh Lord. God of hosts Who is like you? None are as mighty as you are. None are as faithful as you are. Heaven and Earth are yours? The world and all that is in it. Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of your throne steadfast love and faithfulness. Go before you. Blessed are the people who walk O Lord in the light of your face. Who exalt in your name all the day? But I pray for those of us here tonight facing Trials of

various kinds. We ask that in your faithfulness, you would deliver them and demonstrate to them your Sovereign Love and your good purposes. Comfort them and Grant them the strength to hold fast Lord we ask for your deliverance that we might testify to the world around us of your great love for us and of your great power. so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You O Lord Our God Alone. It's in Jesus name that we pray.

amen