SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/27/2013
6:05 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Interlude
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Isaiah 36-39
Message of the
verses: Because we are following the
commentary that comes from Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe which he entitles “Be
Comforted” I want to quote this portion of it before we move into chapters
36-39 of Isaiah.
“Except for David and Solomon, no king of Judah is given
more attention or commendation in Scripture than Hezekiah. Eleven chapters are devoted to him in 2 Kings
18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32, and Isaiah 36-39.
‘He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like
him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him’ (2 Kings 18-5).
“He began his reign about 715 BC, through he may have
been coregent with his father as early as 729 BC. He restored the temple facilities and
services of worship, destroyed the idols and the high places (hill shrines
where the people falsely worshiped Jehovah), and sought to bring the people bace
to vital faith in the Lord. He led the
people in a nationwide two-week celebration of Passover and invited Jews from
the Northern Kingdom to participate. ‘And
in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law,
and in the commandments, to see His God, he did with all his heart, and
prospered’ (2 Chron. 31:21).
“After the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC Judah
had constant problems with Assyria.
Hezekiah finally rebelled against Assyria (2 Kings 18:7), and when
Sennacherib threatened to attack, Hezekiah tried to bribe him with tribute (vv.
13-16). It was a lapse of faith on Hezekiah’s
part that God could not bless.
Sennacherib accepted the treasures but broke the treaty (Isa. 33:1) and
invaded Judah in 701 BC. The account of
God’s miraculous deliverance of His people is given in Isaiah 36-37.
“Bible students generally agree that Hezekiah’s sickness
(Isaiah 38) and foolish reception of the envoys (Isa. 39) took place before the
Assyrian invasion, possibly between the time Hezekiah sent the tribute and
Sennacherib broke the treaty. Then why
are these chapter not arranged chronologically?
“ The prophet arranged the account as a ‘bridge’ between
the two parts of his book. Chapters 26
and 37 end the first part of the book with its emphasis on Assyria, and
chapters 38-39 introduce the second part of the book, with its emphasis on
Babylon. Isaiah mentions Babylon earlier
in his book (13:1ff; 31:1ff), but this is the first time he clearly predicts
Judah’s captivity in Babylon.
“Chapters 36-39 teach us some valuable lessons about
faith, prayer, and the dangers of pride.
Though the setting today may be different, the problems and temptations
are still the same; for Hezekiah’s history is our history, and Hezekiah’s God
is our God.
We will pick up our lessons on the 36th and 37th
chapters of Isaiah in our next SD. Since
I have already written on the subject that Isaiah has in these chapters I may
borrow some of it as we go through these sections. I have earlier studied Kings and Chronicles a
few years ago.
9/27/2013 6:24 AM
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