29 ampldquoThis will be the sign for you, Hezekiah:
ampldquoThis year you will eat what grows by itself,
& & and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
& & plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
& & will take root below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
& & and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
ampldquoThe zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
32 ampldquoTherefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
ampldquoamplsquoHe will not enter this city
& & or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
& & or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return
& & he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend this city and save it,
& & for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.amprsquoamprdquo
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morningampmdashthere were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Over the past week, we have been praying fervently for our homes, churches, and nation with the pastors of QT Ministries through early morning services. The redemptive testimonies of the pastors and wives of THINK HUB churches made us realize that QT Ministries is moving from the river to the sea. Yet, we are disappointed, worried, and afraid in the face of the reality that we seem to be unsaved. Let#039s consider together how God protects and saves us in such cases.
First, Jehovah#039s zeal may fulfill his will.
When Hezekiah prayed earnestly to God because of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to his surprise, God not only gave him a word but also a sign. A word is something that is told and a sign is something that is shown, and God gives assurance through a sign so that we can be sure to believe what we have heard. The content of the sign was that the people would not be able to farm, but this year they would eat what they grew in the fields, and in the next year they would eat the harvest of their own farming. Now, Jerusalem is under siege by the Assyrian army, so when the stored food runs out, there will be nothing to eat. They can#039t get out in the fields and farm, but the grim reality of being alive and not yet starving to death is the best sign God can show us. To those who have been through all they#039ve been through, who have survived, who are in deep sorrow and despair, who can#039t think of tomorrow, He says they will take root again, they will bear fruit again. The destination for those who have fled, become remnants, and are trapped, is not destruction, but restoration, 'again! Zeal is a burning love that refuses to lose anything. It is out of this zeal that God gives his people roots amplsquoagainamprsquo and fruit amplsquoagainamprsquo because he never wants to take them away. It is Jehovah#039s zeal that is the only power that brings them #039back#039 to life from all evil.&
Second, no one can touch it.
Today#039s text emphasizes that the Assyrian king Sennacherib cannot reach the city of Jerusalem because the Lord#039s zeal accomplishes this. The Assyrian army, the strongest in the world, cannot shoot their arrows of war against Jerusalem, which is already surrounded by them they cannot set up their shields they cannot build their mounds they cannot attack Jerusalem and they turn back the way they came. But even if they do go back, they#039re doomed if they can#039t defend Jerusalem on their own. God says, ampldquoI will protect this city and save it!amprdquo But not for us, but for God and David. The Hebrew word translated ampldquoprotectamprdquo is only used seven times in the Bible, and all seven times it#039s Jerusalem that#039s being protected. Not the literal Jerusalem, but the New Jerusalem, the eternal city of God-the church and the saints. The cross, where God valued us above his own life and killed his own son, was a substitutionary act of God. No matter what we are, God will always protect and save us because of the covenant he made with David, the representative of all the saints. God#039s people are untouchable. Humans are a lot like sheep. Sheep are fragile, foolish animals, timid, susceptible to groupthink, unable to find their way on their own, and unable to get up when they fall. Shepherds stay awake to protect them. But if the sheep don#039t see the shepherd, they think he#039s not there. In the same way, we are in God#039s care, but we easily become anxious and lose trust when we don#039t see him, so we need to have the faith to hear and trust the voice of the shepherd every day that the Lord, the Good Shepherd, is always with us.
Third, on this night, God fulfills his word.
On the same night that God promised to protect and save Jerusalem, God sends an angel to strike down one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers. When the Assyrians arrogantly trust in their own power and try to take away God#039s people, God strikes right back. True to his word, he turns the tables. Overnight, Sennacherib loses all of his army and returns to Assyria. But the night that no one can escape comes to Sennacherib as well: he is killed by his own two sons, Adrammelech and Shadrach, who were convinced that no one in the world would rebel against them. The events of that night, when his army of one hundred and eighty-five thousand men was quickly turned into an invoice, were his last chance to turn around, repent, and come to God. But Sennacherib doesn#039t come to God because he still has the great empire of Assyria and the comfort of Nineveh and his palace to return to. Sennacherib is the one who ampldquodies a miserable death,amprdquo while Hezekiah and Jerusalem are the ones who 'come to life. When trials like this night come to us, we should immediately flee under the shield of God. We should not trust in our own shields and wander around looking for the shields of the world, but we should run under the shield of God and take refuge under its wings. That is the Church, the body of Christ.
It#039s a community confession. I#039ve lived my life easily condemning those who don#039t live hard. Not long ago, I went through the suicide attempt of my second wife and broke down thinking, amplsquoI#039ve made such a commitment, why? amprsquo As I listened to the pastor#039s prayer in the sermon that week, ampldquoDo not forgive me for my sins,amprdquo I realized that this was God#039s dealing with my sin, and that#039s when I started hearing the words, #039If it#039s hard for the children I gave birth to, it must have been hard for my wife, who took care of two other people#039s children plus our two children that she gave birth to! #039 As I thought about it, I felt sorrow for my wife#039s suffering, and my attitude and outlook changed. I used to criticize my wife for watching soap operas, but now I#039m interested in them and watch them with her, and I#039ve changed to the point where I try to let her sleep more when she oversleeps in the morning. In the difficulties of a remarried family, there were many hurts and breaks in my relationship with my children, but the Word and the community helped me to endure those times, and the Word made me live again.
Folks, realizing the Word as a redeemer and being able to interpret it in my life is the best protection and salvation. When I realize the Word, no one can touch me. Our current difficulties and sufferings are the best signs that God shows us. May we all survive the hardships and become amplsquoa remnantamprsquo in the midst of the deepest sorrow and despair, and may we all be turned around by the grace that restores us amplsquoagainamprsquo.
&
