Roger Lewis - The Crisis of Hezekiah - Class 1 - The Challenge and The Sackcloth

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1. 0:05

   Welcome back brothers and sisters. We are ready to begin our third class. Our speaker is Brother Roger Lewis. The theme for Brother Lewis’s class this week is the Crisis of Hezekiah. Today’s class is entitled The Challenge and the Sackcloth. Brother Roger.

2. 1:46

   Right. Well, I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to have my icons down below, but we’ll assume that they’re permitted and and we’ll continue on that basis. So let me just click on to the where we should be going for today. Technology,

3. 2:36

   right? I think we’re going to need some more help because I can’t. I can’t. Move forward with no. That’s only either. I mean what? OK there, you can just leave it like that. It’s still not.

4. 3:10

   Bingo. It is always nice to have a brother like this one at every Bible school. So this morning then, brothers and sisters, study is on the subject of the challenge and the sackcloth. And that challenge is already upon me because I’m aware that the clock is ticking down to the lunch break. So it it really is going to take us into Isaiah chapter 36, because it’s going to be an examination of the challenge of Reb Shaker and how Hezekiah responded to that challenge.

5. 3:45

   But before we come to that, I wonder if you would turn with me to the Second of Chronicles chapter 32, because they’re in the Second Chronicles 32. We have a useful introduction to what we’ll consider later on in the prophecy of Isaiah. And I just want to draw your attention to one matter in this passage. You might remember we referred to this in our introductory comments last night.

6. 4:10

   Second Chronicles 32, verse one says, after these things and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judrin and camps, encamped against the fence cities, and thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his Princess, and. And the verses that follow tell us what the things did, what the things were that Hezekiah did to prepare for the evident invasion now that was clearly so imminent from Sennacherib and from the Assyrians.

7. 4:47

   And he did three things. He. First of all. Guaranteed the water supply into Jerusalem by blocking up the spring gion. He fortified the city as best as he could and he re equipped and reorganized the army so that they would be ready to fight whatever battle of resistance they could. But the most important thing that Hezekiah did is recorded for us in the second of Chronicles chapter 32 and reading from verse 5, verse 6, where it says he sent captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them. The margin says spake to their heart. And these were the words that he spake. Be strong and courageous.

8. 5:33

   Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor. For all the multitude. That is with Him, for there be more with us than with him, with Him as an arm of flesh. But with us is Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah. So here’s the thing you see is that beyond all his practical preparations, Hezekiah’s real focus was on encouraging the people to put their trust unreservedly in God and in His mighty power to save.

9. 6:07

   But the wonderful thing about these two verses is that everything that Hezekiah spoke in order to speak to the heart of his people rang with the power of Scripture. He was a master not just of encouraging his people, but of doing so by the triumphant words of Scripture themselves. Now just have a look at this because it’s helpful in terms of maybe some cross references in your margin.

10. 6:32

    So when he said be strong and courageous, those words were the words spoken by Moses to Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 31 when they were facing the nations of Canaan. And when he said, be not afraid nor dismayed, those were the words that Jehaziel spoke to Jehoshaphat in the Second of Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 15, when facing the multitudes of Ammon, when he said they’d be more with us than with him.

11. 7:06

    You might remember that those were the words actually spoken by Elijah to his servant in the Second of Kings 6 and verse 16, then facing the host of the Syrians. And when he said, with us is Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles. Those were the words spoken by Moses to Israel. And Deuteronomy 20, verses 3:00 to 4:00 when facing the enemy. So you see, this is how the king spake to the heart of the nation.

12. 7:29

    But this is he took them back to the Bible, took them back to Scripture, took them back to the passages and events of old, to marvelous examples of victories in earlier times. And what he was really saying, don’t you think, King Hezekiah, was he saying, look, our God has done this before, Our God can do this again. But he didn’t use his words.

13. 7:49

    He used the words of Scripture to inspire them. And the record says, isn’t it lovely at the end of verse 8? And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, Madden says. They leaned. Have you ever leaned upon a word, brothers and sisters? Rested upon a word, the right word at the right time.

14. 8:11

    So helpful. And maybe there’s a lesson here. You see that in times of national crisis, people desperately need strong spiritual guidance. And where there is sound leadership, people feel the reassurance of knowing what to do. But when it’s not there, where clear direction is lacking, people feel confused. They’re left feeling divided. And Hezekiah had that skill, that special skill of inspiring the nation to have confidence in God because they saw that same unwavering trust in his own life and everything that he spoke to them when he spoke to their heart.

15. 8:47

    So with that background, then let’s come to the book of Isaiah now, to those dramatic chapters that we’re going to consider God willing and our studies together, beginning with Isaiah 36. And it’s in Isaiah 36 that we take up the record, as we’re told there in verse one, these words. Now it came to pass in the 14th year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the defence cities of Judah and took them.

16. 9:13

    In fact, interestingly enough, in his own record of the attack, which is on the Taylor prism, it’s one of those clay cuneiform clay prisms on which the exploits of Sennacherib are recorded. And on that. Taylor Prisms Sennacherib says this, but As for Hezekiah the Jew, 46 of his strong walled towns and innumerable smaller villages in their neighborhood, I besieged and conquered.

17. 9:39

    In fact, the Assyrians took 200,000 people of Judah into captivity. 200,000 This was a crisis. An absolute crisis in the life of Hezekiah, and also for the nation of Judah. And so the record tells us in verse 2, the king of Assyria sent Reb Shaker from Assyria from from Lakers, which is where Seneca was to Jerusalem under King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the Fuller’s field, and then came forth unto him, says verse 3, Eliakim Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Schebner described in Jawah Asaph’s son, the recorder. Now it’s always interesting, incidentally, when you’ve got parallel versions of a king or of any man’s life or woman’s life, it’s always helpful to consult the other virgins. Now we, we, we shall turn it up.

18. 10:35

    But in the second of Kings, chapter 18, verse 18, which is the parallel accountant kings, it says this. And when they? Which is Rab Shaker and his cohorts had called to the king, there came out to them Alaikum and Shebna and Java. So you see, what Kings tells us, which, which Isaiah doesn’t, is that Rab Shaker sought an audience with Hezekiah in person, but Hezekiah refused.

19. 11:08

    He would not go out to meet Reb Shaker, he would not allow Reb Shaker into the city, and so instead he sent deputies to depute on his behalf. Reb Shaker never did meet the King. He departed from Jerusalem without ever seeing him. And now his speech is about to begin, and we can imagine he was probably extremely annoyed that his Akai had refused to meet him.

20. 11:34

    Now, Isaiah 36 is one of those chapters, like many a chapter brothers and sisters, where in its fullness and its length and extent, it just looks overwhelmingly big to try and break up and dissect. So it’s always helpful to have a breakup, isn’t it? And I think that the breakup to Rev Shaker’s speech helps us immensely to suddenly master Isaiah 36 by breaking it into its subcomponent part.

21. 11:57

    So here’s the speech of Reb Shaker and is when you see it, brothers and sisters, it all becomes, I think, really thoroughly clear. So we’ve got really what we might describe in the first instance as the speech to the king from verses 4 to 10. And we know. That because in verse 4, we see these words say ye now to Hezekiah. So even though Hezekiah is not there, he’s inside the city and his three deputies are outside listening to Reb Shaker. These words were intended for the king himself. It’s Reb Shaker’s speech to the king. And we know that because do you notice the word thou in the section verse 4?

22. 12:37

    What confidence is this? We’re in thou trustest verse 5. Dost thou trust that thou rebellest against me? Verse 6 Thou trustest in the staff verse verse 7. If thou say to me. And all the way. Through those verses, verses 4 to 10, the word thou in the Hebrews, in the masculine singular, it’s an address to one man. This is Rab Shaker’s speech to the King himself and. Then in the middle we’re going to have an exchange with the deputies where the three men in in in in turn will seek to say something to AB Sheka, and he will reply to them. And then we’ve got the second speech, which is now from verses 13 to 20, and we might describe as the speech to the people. It’s a separate speech, it’s a second speech. And when it says therefore hear ye the word verse 13 of the great king, the king of Assyria.

23. 13:32

    Now the word ye refers to the people on the wall that were the subjects of the second address that Reb Shekhar would utter to them. And we know that that’s the case because now if you notice, you’ll find that not the word thou is used, but the word you. Verse 14. Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He shall not be able to deliver you, neither let Hezekiah make you trust until verse 79 come and take you away. And the word you all the way through that section is in the masculine plural.

24. 14:05

    This is a speech to many. It’s a speech to the people. So we’ve got the speech to the king, and then we’ve got the speech to the people. And you know I. Think there’s a keyword in each of those speeches? If you just. Glance down verses 4 to 10 and run your eyes across it just swiftly and see if a a word jumps off the page, because it should do.

25. 14:26

    There’s a keyword, and that keyword is trust buttock. To flee for refuge or to trust. It’s found in in verse 4 twice, verse 5, verse 6 twice, verse 7, verse 9, I found seven times. It’s the keyword trust. And that’s his speech to the king. Don’t don’t you continue to trust in your God. That’s what rap Shaker was going to attack as far as the king is concerned.

26. 14:51

    But in the second speech, there’s a different word. Now can anyone spot that reading from verses 13 to 20, just scanning through, yes, you’re absolutely right. It’s the word deliver, not Sao to snatch away or to rescue. It’s in verse 141518 twice, 1920 twice. Why 7 times? So there’s a keyword in each of these speeches and it relates to the key of what Rap Shaker is going to endeavour to deal with in the context of that speech.

27. 15:22

    Now isn’t that interesting? Now that as soon as we have a break up to the speech, suddenly eyes are 36, becomes manageable, becomes intelligible. Now we see the direction in which this chapter is heading and we can make sense of what Reb Shaker is now about to cover in his discourses. Now, for those that are continuing to write, I extend my heartfelt apologies because I’m going to abruptly terminate that that opportunity because I’m going to come back now because of the compression of time to that first speech, because within each of these speeches, I think there’s two sections as well. So if we come back now to this first speech to the king, I think there are two parts to the speech, and the first part is verses 4:00 to 7:00.

28. 16:08

    And what Red Shaker is endeavoring to do here is to create uncertainty through the shock of insider intelligence. He’s going to actually really shock the king that he knows so much about the inner workings of Judah. It was a classic technique to break confidence. And then from verses 8 to 10, he’s going to undermine confidence through the anxiety of psychological warfare or he was a master, this man, and we’re going to see just how coming and how devious he was as the story unfolds.

29. 16:45

    So let’s come to the speech, shall we? Then reading from Isaiah 36 and verse 4, where the record says, and Reb Shaker said unto them, say ye now to his a car. Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this? Where in thou trustest? Now, in the Hebrew, that word confidence, bittacon, is a cognate form of the word trust botach at the end of the verse.

30. 17:09

    So it’s actually one of the seven times that that word is used. So in effect, what Reb Shaker really said was what trust is this wherein thou trustest? Now that’s the keyword in Reb Shaker’s speech to the king. But you see, what that tells us is that Reb Shaker obviously knew. Already knew that the outstanding characteristic of his Akar was his extraordinary trust in Yahweh, his God. Now Judah knew the faithful spirit of their king, but how could the spokesman from Assyria possibly know that that was the situation as far as his Akar was concerned. And yet he did.

31. 17:48

    Somehow Rab Shaker did. He knew that. He knew that trust was the vital quality of the king and he was going to seek to undermine that. And he was going to focus on attacking that trust in any way he could to sow doubt in Hezekiah’s mind. So this is what he says in verse five. He said, I say, say us they are, but they are but vain words. I I Hezekiah, have counsel and strength for war. And so Reb Shaker’s assessment was that Hezekiah’s claim of counsel to form plans and power to execute them were just empty words.

32. 18:21

    They’re just empty words, says Reb Shaker. Ah, but notice the very fact that Reb Shaker mentioned this, I think was an indication that he was fully aware of Hezekiah’s speech to the people that we’ve just come across in Chronicles. Because remember what it said, Don’t turn it up. But they said this his a car spoke to the people saying be not afraid nor dismayed. There be more with us than with.

33. 18:41

    Him and the people rested themselves upon the words of his a car and Rab Shaker says you have vain words. He knew all about what was happening inside Jerusalem, did this man. Including the King’s inspiring speech to his people. Only the inhabitants of the city had heard that speech and Reb shaken you all about it.

34. 19:08

    Can you imagine how that must have shot the deputies as Reb Shaker made these comments and displayed that inside knowledge and awareness of what was happening in the little Kingdom of Judah. And so he says verse 5, on whom dost thou trust that they are rebellious against me? And I think that Reb Shaker was saying.

35. 19:27

    Your words have nothing to substantiate them. Oh, here’s a car, unless there’s something secret going on in the background and I think I know what you’re up to. He says, I’m on to you. He says, says Rab Shaker, I know exactly what you’re up to. And this is what he says in the next verse, verse 6 low. He says, I know thou trustest in the staff of this broken Reed on Egypt, where on if a man lean, it will go into his hand and Pierce it.

36. 19:49

    So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him? Now, that was a really telling blow, that comment from Reb Shaker, because you see, there had been a delegation to Egypt, but we don’t believe that it was at the instigation of King Hezekiah that if you just come back to Isaiah 30.

37. 20:10

    The prophet had already warned the nation against going to Egypt, and I believe that Hezekiah absolutely believed in Isaiah’s advice. I don’t think this was Hezekiah’s initiation, this delegation that went to Egypt. Isaiah 30 says verse one. Woe to the rebellious children, saith Yahweh, that take counsel but not of me and that cover with a covering but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin that walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. You shouldn’t do that.

38. 20:44

    He says there’s no help from that quarter. And again, chapter 31, verse one, woe to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in Chariots because they’re many and then horsemen because they’re very strong, but they look not unto the holy one of Israel, neither seek Yahweh. That was Isaiah’s counsel, and I believe that Hezekiah supported it.

39. 21:06

    He knew that Isaiah was absolutely giving the advice of God himself, but against that advice a delegation had gone down bearing gifts and seeking help of the Egyptians. So says Isaiah 30 verses 4:00 to 7:00, but I do not believe it was led by his Akai. I believe it was led by other members of his cabinet who took advantage of the moment when the king could not prevent them, as a later study will show.

40. 21:32

    But the real issue of Isaiah 36 and verse six, brothers and sisters, is this, that that trip to Egypt was supposed to be top secret, but Rap shaken you all about it. You see, it was obvious that he had inside sources of information which must have been deeply unsettling to the king and to his deputies. What more do the Assyrians know?

41. 21:55

    Well, as it turned out, quite a bit, because in verse seven he says, if they all say to me, we trust in Yahweh, our God, is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ye shall worship before this altar. Now that’s interesting, because Reb Sheikhar’s information was correct.

42. 22:15

    But his conclusions were wrong, because we were told in Hezekiah’s reformation in a passage earlier in Chronicles. These words says in Second Chronicles 31, verse one. Now when all this was finished, all Israel went out to the cities of Judah and break the images and pieces and cut down the Groves and threw down the high places and the altars.

43. 22:40

    Notice those expressions here in in Isa threw down the high places and altars out of Judah until they had utterly destroyed them all. So the whole nation had participated in their debt that the high places and the altars that they destroyed, verse seven, were not the high places to Yahweh. They were high places to Pagan gods, and the nation had supported their king in that work of destruction. And all the all Israel, all Judah knew that the one altar where they should be offering their offerings to God was at the temple in Jerusalem, the only place where God commanded them to bring their offerings.

44. 23:16

    So Hezekiah’s thought, verse 7 here, that Yahweh had been angered by a king who’d taken away his own altars was false. But again, the fact remained that reb shaken you all about Hezekiah’s reformation and what he’d done in the Kingdom of Judah. It must have been very disturbing. That a man from foreign lands knew so much about the inner workings of Judah’s Kingdom, and now having unsettled them in such a way, he moved to the next stage of his work of coercion by means of seeking to increase their anxiety through psychological warfare.

45. 24:00

    So he says, verse 8. Now, therefore he says, give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee 2000 horses if they’ll be able on my part to see it, riders upon them. The revised margin says, now therefore make a wager with my master. And so the boast of the verse was, he said, look, he said, I’ll provide 2000 horses. Do you really think that you can find 2000 riders? He would even know how to ride.

46. 24:24

    Them. And of course, the fact was his Akai probably couldn’t, and Rap Shaker knew it, so his wager was really a sarcastic comment on just how pitifully small Judah’s fighting resources were compared to the immensity of the Assyrian host. Which you might remember in verse 2 has been described already as a great army.

47. 24:48

    So how damaging this must have been to the morale of his Akar and his men. How disheartening to be reminded that the odds against them in this battle were absolutely overwhelming. You see, Reb Shaker was a master at undermining confidence by sowing seeds of doubt. And so he says, verse 9. How then wilt thou turn away the face of 1 captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust in Egypt? The new King James Version says how then will you repel 1 captain of the least?

48. 25:22

    Or another translation? Slightly more, slightly more, what’s the word dynamic? Equivalent says how could you defeat even our lowest ranking officer? So Reb Shaker was highly disparaging of their complete inability to seriously stand against the might of Assyria. But there was one more thing he had to say, and perhaps the most telling blow of all, because he says this in verse 10.

49. 25:50

    And am I now come up without Yahweh against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said unto me, Go up against this land and destroy it. Now it was an unbelievable claim, when you think about it, to suggest that Sennacherib had come against Judah at the express instruction of Yahweh himself.

50. 26:14

    Except it was true. Because Isaiah the prophet had already said these words, Oh Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath. Will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets? Isaiah chapter 10, verses 5 and 6. So.

51. 26:42

    So Nekrab was coming to execute God’s judgments. How could Hezekiah argue about that? How could he respond? And how did Reb Shaken know about Isaiah’s prophecy? By the time his speech to the king was ended, it was very clear that the enemy without was being aided and abetted by the enemy within.

52. 27:09

    There were spies in the camp of Judah, and the threat of that must have been very disturbing indeed. Reb Shaker’s disclosure and his dialogue were absolutely shattering in their effect. Well, that leads to the interchange which now occurred between Reb Shaker and the three deputies of his a car. So it’s this middle section here if we just come back. So now we’ve got the exchange verses 11 and 12 and and what Rev Shaker was going to endeavour to do in this exchange was to instigate fear through the terror of coarse reality. So what happens is that Alaikum and Shevner and Java verse 11 said unto him, Speak, I pray thee unto thy servants in the Syrian language.

53. 27:52

    But we understand. It. And speak not to us in the Jews language that are in the ears in of the people that are on the wall. Now you might remember later on in this chapter, although we didn’t read it, but verse 21, the King’s instruction was don’t say a word. Don’t you say a word to Rab Shaker. Well, the three deputies made the mistake of doing so because that was so they recognized that this man was undermining the nation.

54. 28:16

    It was absolutely damaging their face. And so they said they were so concerned about the negative impact of his speech that they did the thing the king said not to. They spoke a word. And they pleaded. With him to speak in a different tongue and it was the worst thing they could have done because Reb Shaker spotted skilled at showing it’s it’s spot at seeing signs of anxiety and fear immediately swung round. So it took so he could make sure that all the onlookers on the wall could hear every word which followed bad mistake. And these were the words that he then addressed, verse 12, in response to the request of the deputies. Now this is one of these verses, brothers and sisters, we need to read with care, because we need to understand through the vulgarity of the language what the meaning really was. And so he said, verse 12 Rab Shaker said, Hath my Master sent me to thy master, and to thee to speak these words? No, no, he says, Hath he not sent me to the men that sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?

55. 29:20

    And in effect, what he was really saying was, don’t worry about not wanting to share the news with these other people on the wall. When the siege comes and we’ve got you all trapped inside, you’ll all share together. And they might as well know now what they’re going to be sharing with you, because it won’t matter what language I say it in. You’ll share in the horror of being so desperate for nourishment in the siege that you’ll eat and drink that which comes of yourself in order to try and survive. So you might as well know now what you’re all going to. Share, he says.

56. 29:52

    His words were brutal and vulgar, but perfectly designed to terrify people into submission, don’t you think? The horrors of a siege to come. And then came the speech to the people, and that’s from verses 13 to 20. And just as there were two sections in the speech to the king, I think there are two parts of Reb Shaker’s speech to the people. So this is how it looks from verses 13 to 17. He sought to induce surrender through the cunning of benevolent blandishment.

57. 30:31

    So it’ll all be right, he says. I can offer you good things, just. Come along with me, Cooperate. All you need to do is cooperate. And then finally, from verses 18 to 20, he sought to destroy trust through the power of irrefutable evidence. You really think that your God can deliver you? I’ll give you the utter proof that it’s completely impossible for him to do so.

58. 30:55

    So here it is, the speech. Now to the people themselves, verse 13. He he cried with a loud voice in the Jews language so he could speak fluent Hebrew, you see. And so he did, straight back to the men on the wall, and he was at pains to convince them to abandon their loyalty to his a car to break the moral hold that their king had upon them for good in trusting in Yahweh. It was a deliberate attempt to divide them from their king, and to undermine their confidence in him. See this verse 14.

59. 31:30

    Let not Hezekiah deceive you, verse 15. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh. Verse 16. Hearken not to Hezekiah, verse 18. But where? Lest Hezekiah entice you. See, Reb Shaker was endeavoring to divide the people from their king. And just as there was a keyword in his early address to the to the to, to the king himself about the matter of trust, so now the keyword, as we’ve noticed in the second speech, is the question of deliverance. Because that was the issue at stake. You see, now that he’s talking to the people, was Yahweh their God powerful enough to deliver them from this crisis? And was Hezekiah their king, right. And asking them to commit to such implicit trust in their God.

60. 32:15

    Well, Reb Shaker would come to that. But before he did, he tried an alternative approach which was designed to induce their surrender by the promise of well, peace and plenty, if they were just prepared to cooperate. So he says verse 16, he said, how can not to Hezekiah? He said thus saith the king of Assyria.

61. 32:33

    Make an agreement with me, He. Says by a present and come out to me. Now that word agreement, you might notice, is not in the original. And the word. Present usually means a blessing. So the Septuagint says, if you would be blessed, come forth unto me. The revised version says, make your peace with me and come out to me. And it’s that second phrase that I think tells us the story of what Rap Shaker was really asking. Come.

62. 33:00

    Out. To me, he says. But what does that really mean? Come out? To me it means to go out and surrender. It means to walk outside, to give themselves up and to concede defeat. And that little phrase come out as used that way in other Bible passages. First of Samuel 11 verse 3 Second of Kings 24 verse 12 Jeremiah 21 verse 9 come out meant.

63. 33:24

    To give up. To surrender? Absolutely. So what? What Reb Shaker was asking for was their total capitulation to Sennacherib in exchange for the guarantee that their lives would be safe. With the promise of some return to normality and he made it sound so good. Verse 16 he says, look, he says EE every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink every one of the waters of his own system. But.

64. 33:51

    Where do those words? Come from. Did you catch the echo? That’s Micah chapter 4, verse 4, isn’t it? They shall sit every man under his thine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid. Why? Perhaps Shaker made it sound almost biblical, what he was offering, but not only could he quote the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 10, but he knew about Micah chapter 4.

65. 34:09

    He could quote Hebrew prophets back to Hebrew people. Did this man? So verse 17 says, Until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. It all was presented as a wonderful alternative, the alluring prospect of peaceful resettlement in another land that was rich and fertile, no threat to war, no constraint to freedom. But behind his promises.

66. 34:38

    They alert a much more sinister objective because the reality was that Reb Shaker was only promising really a temporary respite until the Assyrians returned to complete their control. And when they did, Judah would be taken away. They would be subject to enforced deportation to a foreign land. They would lose their national identity.

67. 35:01

    They would be separated from the land of their fathers. So when he said a land like your own land, he said, But even if that land did have corn and wine and oil and honey, the difference was that land would be given to them by Sennacherib. So he would be their sovereign Lord and they know their continued allegiance to him. They wouldn’t be anymore living as Yahweh’s people in Yahweh’s land, serving Yahweh as their God. They would serve Sennacherib.

68. 35:29

    The price of freedom was surrender, with all its consequences, but for those on that. Day. In that city, on the wall, facing the threat of brutal, savage, merciless annihilation, and whose hearts were not stayed upon their God, even that prospect might have seemed attractive.

69. 35:52

    And so, having carefully placed that possibility before them, reb shaken now came back to the question of whether deliverance through their king or by their God was even possible at all. And so he says this in verse 18. But where lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying Yahweh will deliver us. That word persuade, incidentally, is used elsewhere, meaning to entice or to incite. So I think what Reb Shaker was claiming is that what Hezekiah was doing and putting the nation to asking the nation to trust in God was to entice them in in the sense of leading them astray. Don’t let him mislead you was what Reb Shaker was saying. And then he says, why verse 19 or the end of verse 18? Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his hand out of the delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where were the gods of Hamas and Arf? Ed?

70. 36:41

    We’re the gods of Sephabaeum. And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Now there was a telling blow. Verse 19. More than you realize, but the sisters, because it’s one thing to say, where are the gods of Hamath and Arthed, and where are the gods of Sephabaeum? None of those nations were delivered out of the hand of the Assyrians by their gods. But who was the God of Samaria?

71. 37:05

    Now the God of Samaria was Yahweh. Who already had been unable to deliver the northern Kingdom apparently out of this hand of king of king king Senekarib. Now the fact is that Yahweh had permitted Israel to be carried away into captivity, but Reb Shakers in Prince was that even the God of Samaria had been had been powerless to resist the Assyrian might imagine what the people of the wall felt about that. So he says verse 20.

72. 37:39

    Who are they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand. So if not one of these gods has been able to deliver their people. Why would you believe that Yahweh can do what no one else can do? So here’s the final thrust of Reb Shaker. But this really is where he made his fatal mistake. Because you see, he’d done his best to cast doubts on his acquire, but now, at the very end of his message, he blasphemed the name and the character of Yahweh himself. And it was that thought that would finally spell the doom of Rap Shaker’s mission.

73. 38:18

    He was a skilled man, this one. His challenge had been a masterpiece of coercion and a master class in the power of hostile propaganda. But now his speech was ended and he awaited the reply of the deputies. Verse 21 says that they held their peace and answered them not a word. For the King’s commandment was saying, answer him, not. See.

74. 38:49

    In most places where Reb Shaker had been sent, his verbal onslaughts had been enough all by themselves to break morale, to engender fear, and even to induce surrender. But this time, despite the fact that he was an expert in provoking a response, this time was very different. There was no reply at all. None of the three spokesman standing before him on behalf of the King had anything to say.

75. 39:10

    And here’s the interesting thing. Not a single person on that wall spoke a word. It shows you, don’t you think? How powerful was the King’s leadership of Judah at this moment when they all obeyed him? To a man, not a single person broke rank, and the reason was that Hezekiah uniquely had that ability to inspire them to trust in God like no other king had. Ever been able to do?

76. 39:32

    And so the messengers of the king simply turned around and went back into the city without comment. Amazing. You know, brothers and sisters, there’s a lesson here is that in times of crisis, there can be great strength in learning to keep silence.

77. 39:56

    Psalm 39 verses 1 and 2 says, I’ll keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. I was done with silence. Proverbs 10 verse 19 says in the multitude of words they wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Proverbs 17 verse 28 says Even a fool, when he holdeth his pieces, counted wise, and he that shuteth his lips, is esteemed a man of understanding. Ecclesiastes 3 verses one to seven, one and seven says there is a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to rend and a time to sow, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. And you see, the thing about silence, brothers and sisters, is that sometimes in moments of real crisis, it could be based that silence.

78. 40:46

    Is at least. Our first response? So Rev Shaker received no supply to energize his next attack, no feedback to help in deciding his next approach, no response to give any clue as to whether his speech had worked or not. He didn’t know whether the people have been swayed towards capitulation or whether they’d remained resolution their determination to stand against Synecra.

79. 41:12

    So perhaps there was some wisdom in his Akai silence. He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t communicate with him and his commandment not to answer him left Reb Shaker at the end at a complete disadvantage. He. Had to leave. Baffled by the experience, but there was no doubt that the delegation of the king was shaken by the words they’d heard.

80. 41:31

    Because you see what verse 22 says then came alike in the son of Hill Kai that was over the household, and Shebner the scribe and Joe are the son of Asaph the recorder to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Reb Shaker. And neither they nor the king were under any illusion as to the crisis which they faced.

81. 41:50

    The very survival of the nation was under threat, and humanly speaking, the possibility of escape from that threat seemed impossible. So this is what the king did, Isaiah 37 verse one. It came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the House of Yahweh.

82. 42:12

    Now you’ll know, brothers and sisters, that sackcloth means many things in Scripture, but just notice this in terms of what it is associated with. In Esther 4, verse 1, sackcloth and ashes are associated with bitter crying. In Isaiah 58, verse 5, sackcloth and ashes are associated with the afflicting of our soul. In Jeremiah 6, verse 26, sackcloth and ashes are associated with mourning and bitter lamentation. And in Daniel 9, verse 3, sackcloth and ashes are associated with prayers and supplications. And I think all of these things were involved in the spirit of what Hezekiah sought to do at this particular moment of time. Now stop and think about this for a moment. Here’s a car.

83. 42:56

    Hadn’t asked for this crisis. He hadn’t done anything worthy of this invasion. It wasn’t his fault. But do you notice, brothers and sisters, that in the context of what he does, he didn’t assume any personal righteousness before his God. Instead, he humbled himself and did what he always did in times of trouble.

84. 43:19

    He came before his God in prayer. And in that action, he took time to reflect upon the crisis that lay before him. He didn’t assume any matter of right before his God. He put sackcloth on immediately.

85. 43:34

    So here’s the question. What do we do and how do we react when facing a crisis that feels so overwhelming that it looks like there’s no way out? And perhaps our first lesson from this matter of crises in life and how to face them, perhaps our first lesson is to be found in the King’s response here. Because I don’t think it was just a matter of silence. You see, I think there was something more to what Hezekiah was doing here.

86. 44:05

    And I think this is our first lesson, brothers and sisters, in terms of what to do when crisis comes upon us. And it’s this we need to take time for careful assessment.

87. 44:25

    Doesn’t matter what the crisis is, we need to take time to think it through. Just have a look at these passages. Proverbs 14, verse 29. He that’s slow to anger is of great understanding, but he that’s hasty, hasty of spirit exalt of folly. Or again in Proverbs 19 verse 2, the soul that be without knowledge, it’s not good, and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. Or Proverbs 29 verse 20, See us there a man that is hasty in his words.

88. 44:52

    There’s more hope of a fool than of him. Or again in the Ecclesiastes 5 verse 2, Be not rest with thy mouth. Let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God, that thy words be few. And all these passages and these words, brothers and sisters, all suggest an impetuosity of spirit that’s too quick, too anxious, too rushed. In times of crisis, there’s a need to take a pause before we do anything, because the stress of a crisis can so easily lead to making hasty judgements or rash decisions. When our defences are down and our emotions run high, it’s easy to jump to conclusions before collecting all the facts, or to react unwisely before assessing all the consequences. There’s great wisdom in having a pause time, time to assess. Do you know that Someone once said, I think it was incorrectly attributed to Einstein, but I don’t think it was he. But someone once said these words, if I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and then 5 minutes and seeking to solve it. And I think what that statement illustrates, you see, is it’s possible for us to think in our haste that we’ve solved the problem.

89. 46:19

    I need to find that we’ve addressed the symptoms of the problem, but we haven’t understood the problem at all. I think a lot of crises are like that.

90. 46:33

    We need time to even know what the problem is. And there’s another very good reason why we need to take our time, because part of working through any issue properly requires us to bring the Scriptures to be upon that issue. What Bible principles, what Bible passages stand related to this problem and how best might we deal with it? What are the change circumstances which this crisis could lead me into?

91. 46:58

    Or what is the altered condition which this crisis has already produced? And now what is the best scriptural council that might guide me in the steps I now need to take? Taking time for careful assessment, and especially in times of crisis. I think it’s a divine principle. It will help us to face the issues of life with better understanding.

92. 47:25

    We need a thorough knowledge of what the problem really is and a much more carefully nuanced basis on how best to respond in a matter and in a manner which most of all, will seek to honour our God. If we can take counsel from his a car in this matter, we’ll be all the better for it.

93. 47:47

    Brothers and sisters, as one of our hymns said, the hosts of God in camp around the dwellings of the just deliverance he affords to all who on his sucker trust fear him, he cites. And you will then have nothing else to fear. Make you his service, Your delight, your wants shall be his care.