Class 4 from this series was used in GCT Episode 342.<\/p>\n
2
\n00:00:11,920 –> 00:00:15,960
\nto bring to your attention.
\nIt’s being asked that the <\/p>\n
3
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\nchildren in the pre-K class that
\nthey would meet at 2:00 PM this <\/p>\n
4
\n00:00:23,360 –> 00:00:29,200
\nafternoon here at Fabiani to go
\nover the song that they are <\/p>\n
5
\n00:00:29,200 –> 00:00:33,360
\nsinging tonight at the
\nchildren’s program and they do <\/p>\n
6
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\nnot have to stay for the entire
\nrehearsal. <\/p>\n
7
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\nAnd secondly, there was a
\nglasses case found in one of the<\/p>\n
8
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\nrows.
\nThere’ll be a small finder’s fee<\/p>\n
9
\n00:00:46,760 –> 00:00:50,080
\nthat I will gladly donate to the
\nscholarship fund. <\/p>\n
10
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\nBrothers and sisters were ready
\nfor our third class. <\/p>\n
11
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\nOur speaker is brother Rodger
\nLewis. <\/p>\n
12
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\nThe thing for the theme for
\nBrother Rodgers classes this <\/p>\n
13
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\nweek is the crisis of Hezekiah.
\nToday’s class is entitled The <\/p>\n
14
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\nAngel and the Envoys for the
\nRogers. <\/p>\n
15
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\nWell, thank you, brother
\nchairman, and good morning, my <\/p>\n
16
\n00:01:46,960 –> 00:01:52,760
\ndear brothers and sisters in our
\nLord Jesus Christ, the Crisis of<\/p>\n
17
\n00:01:52,760 –> 00:01:55,400
\nHezekiah.
\nSo in our last study, you might <\/p>\n
18
\n00:01:55,400 –> 00:01:59,560
\nremember how wonderfully
\nHezekiah was going to renew his <\/p>\n
19
\n00:01:59,560 –> 00:02:04,400
\ncommitment to God when he had
\nbeen sick and was now recovered.<\/p>\n
20
\n00:02:04,960 –> 00:02:08,880
\nHe wasn’t able to choose his
\ntrials, but he was able to <\/p>\n
21
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\npermit those experiences to
\nshape him for the better, and he<\/p>\n
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\nchose to respond in that way so
\nthat his service might be <\/p>\n
23
\n00:02:16,840 –> 00:02:20,600
\nimproved.
\nAnd you’ll recall that when God <\/p>\n
24
\n00:02:20,600 –> 00:02:24,680
\nblessed him with the promise of
\na fresh start to in effect <\/p>\n
25
\n00:02:24,680 –> 00:02:30,120
\nrepeat his reign, he made pledge
\nthat he would use that 15 years <\/p>\n
26
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\nand throw himself into the work
\nof the truth with even greater <\/p>\n
27
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\nvigor than he’d shown before and
\nwith a special focus, you’ll <\/p>\n
28
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\nremember, towards the
\nguardianship of the truth for <\/p>\n
29
\n00:02:41,360 –> 00:02:42,960
\nthe generation that he was
\nguiding. <\/p>\n
30
\n00:02:43,480 –> 00:02:46,280
\nSo in the book of Psalms and in
\nthe book of Proverbs, we’re <\/p>\n
31
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\ngoing to see his hand and his
\nmark upon those writings. <\/p>\n
32
\n00:02:49,840 –> 00:02:52,200
\nAnd As for the rest of the Old
\nTestament Scriptures, you’ll <\/p>\n
33
\n00:02:52,200 –> 00:02:55,920
\nremember that there is a mark or
\na seal from the king to <\/p>\n
34
\n00:02:55,920 –> 00:03:00,600
\nauthenticate the books of the
\nBible that had been written up <\/p>\n
35
\n00:03:00,600 –> 00:03:03,360
\nto the time of his reign.
\nIn other words, he made good on <\/p>\n
36
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\nhis promise and in doing so, he
\nproved his thankfulness by the <\/p>\n
37
\n00:03:09,720 –> 00:03:14,240
\nspirit of faithful service.
\nHe really did redeem that time. <\/p>\n
38
\n00:03:15,120 –> 00:03:18,360
\nAnd it must have been very soon
\nafter his recovery that the <\/p>\n
39
\n00:03:18,360 –> 00:03:22,520
\nstartling events occurred that
\nled to the overthrow of the <\/p>\n
40
\n00:03:22,520 –> 00:03:26,440
\nAssyrian host and the eventual
\ndemise of Sennacherib himself. <\/p>\n
41
\n00:03:26,640 –> 00:03:28,880
\nAnd that brings us back.
\nWell, it brings us on to our <\/p>\n
42
\n00:03:28,880 –> 00:03:32,920
\nstudy for today, as our brother
\nchairman has announced, because <\/p>\n
43
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\nhere we have now the matter of
\nthe Angel and the envoys or the <\/p>\n
44
\n00:03:39,840 –> 00:03:43,200
\nambassadors that were going to
\ncome from Babylon. <\/p>\n
45
\n00:03:43,800 –> 00:03:47,240
\nNow if you come back to Isaiah
\n37, then in verse 36 there were <\/p>\n
46
\n00:03:47,240 –> 00:03:50,200
\n3 verses at the end of that
\nchapter that we deliberately <\/p>\n
47
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\nomitted, not because we didn’t
\nwant to deal with them, but <\/p>\n
48
\n00:03:53,080 –> 00:03:56,880
\nbecause chronologically we’ve
\nalready discovered that they do <\/p>\n
49
\n00:03:56,880 –> 00:04:00,160
\ncome.
\nNow at this moment of time after<\/p>\n
50
\n00:04:00,160 –> 00:04:03,240
\nthe sickness and recovery of the
\nking. <\/p>\n
51
\n00:04:04,320 –> 00:04:07,200
\nBecause you’ll remember that
\nchapter 38 and verse eight said <\/p>\n
52
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\nverse six said rather that
\nconsequent upon the healing of <\/p>\n
53
\n00:04:10,760 –> 00:04:13,520
\nthe king that God would deliver
\nthe city out of the hand of the <\/p>\n
54
\n00:04:13,520 –> 00:04:15,000
\nAssyrians.
\nSo it hadn’t happened at the <\/p>\n
55
\n00:04:15,000 –> 00:04:18,800
\ntime of Hezekiah sickness.
\nNot until after his recovery <\/p>\n
56
\n00:04:19,000 –> 00:04:22,200
\ndoes the overthrow occur.
\nSo even though it’s written at <\/p>\n
57
\n00:04:22,200 –> 00:04:26,200
\nthe end of 37, now is the moment
\nfor us to look at that <\/p>\n
58
\n00:04:26,200 –> 00:04:27,920
\noverthrow.
\nAnd we we’re told there in <\/p>\n
59
\n00:04:28,160 –> 00:04:32,400
\nIsaiah 37 verse 36, the Angel of
\nYahweh went forth and smote in <\/p>\n
60
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\nthe camp of the Assyrians.
\nDo you know that word went forth<\/p>\n
61
\n00:04:35,720 –> 00:04:39,040
\ndoes really mean that it means
\nin the Hebrew to go out. <\/p>\n
62
\n00:04:42,000 –> 00:04:44,120
\nBut don’t you think the
\nimplication of that phrase is <\/p>\n
63
\n00:04:44,120 –> 00:04:48,360
\nthat if he went out, that the
\nAngel must have already been <\/p>\n
64
\n00:04:48,360 –> 00:04:54,280
\nwith them in the city?
\nIn fact, don’t we have evidence <\/p>\n
65
\n00:04:54,320 –> 00:04:56,680
\nof an Angel that was already
\nthere who trod up and down the <\/p>\n
66
\n00:04:56,680 –> 00:04:59,200
\nstaircase in the royal palace
\ncourt? <\/p>\n
67
\n00:04:59,880 –> 00:05:02,240
\nOh yes, there was an Angel in
\nJerusalem at that time, and he <\/p>\n
68
\n00:05:02,240 –> 00:05:04,360
\nwent out because he’d been with
\nthem all along. <\/p>\n
69
\n00:05:05,640 –> 00:05:11,440
\nBut the companion passages give
\nus 2 further vital clues about <\/p>\n
70
\n00:05:11,440 –> 00:05:15,800
\nthe circumstances in which the
\nAngel of Yahweh did go forth to <\/p>\n
71
\n00:05:15,800 –> 00:05:18,000
\nbattle.
\nWe shan’t turn either of them <\/p>\n
72
\n00:05:18,000 –> 00:05:20,200
\nup, but let me just draw your
\nattention to them. <\/p>\n
73
\n00:05:20,720 –> 00:05:24,320
\nIn the second of Chronicles,
\nchapter 32, verses 20 and 21, it<\/p>\n
74
\n00:05:24,320 –> 00:05:27,560
\nsays, And for this cause
\nHezekiah the king, and the <\/p>\n
75
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\nprophet Isaiah the son of Amos,
\nprayed and cried to heaven, and <\/p>\n
76
\n00:05:30,880 –> 00:05:38,280
\nYahweh sent an Angel.
\nAh, so the Angel went out in <\/p>\n
77
\n00:05:38,280 –> 00:05:42,440
\nresponse to the prayer of
\nHezekiah and the prayer of <\/p>\n
78
\n00:05:42,440 –> 00:05:45,200
\nIsaiah, his friend and his
\nconfidant. <\/p>\n
79
\n00:05:45,720 –> 00:05:49,280
\nAnd the second of Kings 19 verse
\n35 adds another interesting <\/p>\n
80
\n00:05:49,280 –> 00:05:52,840
\ndetail that Isaiah doesn’t
\nrecord when it says in Second <\/p>\n
81
\n00:05:52,880 –> 00:06:01,600
\nKings 19 verse 35, it came to
\npass that night the Angel of <\/p>\n
82
\n00:06:01,600 –> 00:06:04,960
\nYahweh went out.
\nThe Angel went out at night <\/p>\n
83
\n00:06:04,960 –> 00:06:06,640
\ntime.
\nHe went in the evening. <\/p>\n
84
\n00:06:06,880 –> 00:06:09,880
\nAnd I think that that timing was
\nhighly suggestive. <\/p>\n
85
\n00:06:10,240 –> 00:06:12,720
\nSo hold your hands in his car.
\nHe’s a car. <\/p>\n
86
\n00:06:12,760 –> 00:06:14,840
\nYou can’t really do that.
\nHold your hands. <\/p>\n
87
\n00:06:15,040 –> 00:06:18,880
\nHold your hands in Isaiah 37 and
\ncome back, if you would, to <\/p>\n
88
\n00:06:18,920 –> 00:06:22,960
\nExodus chapter 12, because
\nyou’ll remember that Exodus 12 <\/p>\n
89
\n00:06:22,960 –> 00:06:27,960
\nis the story of the Passover and
\nthe Passover occurred why at <\/p>\n
90
\n00:06:27,960 –> 00:06:31,120
\nnight time.
\nAnd this is what it says in <\/p>\n
91
\n00:06:31,200 –> 00:06:35,040
\nExodus chapter 12 and recounting
\nthe circumstances of that first <\/p>\n
92
\n00:06:35,040 –> 00:06:45,160
\nPassover drama, it says in
\nExodus 12, verse 22, it says you<\/p>\n
93
\n00:06:45,160 –> 00:06:47,920
\nshall take a bunch of hyssop and
\ndip it in blood that’s in the <\/p>\n
94
\n00:06:47,920 –> 00:06:49,640
\nbasin.
\nStrike the lentil and the two <\/p>\n
95
\n00:06:49,640 –> 00:06:52,680
\nside posts with the blood that’s
\nin the basin, and none of you <\/p>\n
96
\n00:06:52,680 –> 00:06:56,640
\nshall go out at the door of his
\nhouse until the morning. <\/p>\n
97
\n00:06:57,200 –> 00:07:00,480
\nSo they were ordered to remain
\ninside their houses until the <\/p>\n
98
\n00:07:00,480 –> 00:07:03,440
\nmorning, shut inside the doors
\nwhich were marked by the blood <\/p>\n
99
\n00:07:03,440 –> 00:07:06,560
\nof the Passover limb, while the
\nAngel of death patrolled <\/p>\n
100
\n00:07:06,600 –> 00:07:11,960
\noutside.
\nBut that language is going to be<\/p>\n
101
\n00:07:11,960 –> 00:07:17,320
\nevoked by Isaiah in describing
\nthe impending destruction that <\/p>\n
102
\n00:07:17,320 –> 00:07:21,160
\nwas coming from the Assyrians.
\nThis is how Isaiah records it. <\/p>\n
103
\n00:07:21,360 –> 00:07:24,600
\nSee if you can sense the echo of
\nPassover times. <\/p>\n
104
\n00:07:25,080 –> 00:07:30,200
\nSo Isaiah 26, verse 20 says,
\nCome my people into thy <\/p>\n
105
\n00:07:30,200 –> 00:07:33,640
\nchambers, and shut thy doors
\nabout thee. <\/p>\n
106
\n00:07:33,880 –> 00:07:38,400
\nHide thyself for a little moment
\nuntil the indignity nation be <\/p>\n
107
\n00:07:38,400 –> 00:07:40,320
\noverpassed.
\nDoesn’t that sound like the <\/p>\n
108
\n00:07:40,320 –> 00:07:41,840
\nnight?
\nThat night the avenging Angel <\/p>\n
109
\n00:07:41,840 –> 00:07:45,600
\ncame through and the Israelites
\nwere to stay inside safely under<\/p>\n
110
\n00:07:45,600 –> 00:07:47,400
\nthe lentils with the Passover
\nblood. <\/p>\n
111
\n00:07:47,760 –> 00:07:51,120
\nAnd that’s how Isaiah speaks to
\nthe nation in preparing for the <\/p>\n
112
\n00:07:51,320 –> 00:07:55,160
\ncoming of the destruction of
\nSennacherib and his host. <\/p>\n
113
\n00:07:55,960 –> 00:08:00,920
\nAnd while we’re in Exodus, you
\nnotice what it says in verse 23,<\/p>\n
114
\n00:08:01,280 –> 00:08:06,360
\nnext verse, next verse 4, it
\nsays Yahweh will pass through to<\/p>\n
115
\n00:08:06,360 –> 00:08:09,480
\nsmite the Egyptians, and when he
\nsees the blood upon the Linton <\/p>\n
116
\n00:08:09,480 –> 00:08:13,000
\non the two side posts, Yahweh
\nwill pass over the door and will<\/p>\n
117
\n00:08:13,000 –> 00:08:17,200
\nnot suffer the destroyer to come
\nin unto your houses to smite <\/p>\n
118
\n00:08:17,240 –> 00:08:19,440
\nthem.
\nSo what we’re told is that the <\/p>\n
119
\n00:08:19,440 –> 00:08:22,600
\nname bearing angels swept
\nthrough the land of Egypt to <\/p>\n
120
\n00:08:22,600 –> 00:08:26,240
\nsmite the Egyptians with
\nterrible and fatal precision, <\/p>\n
121
\n00:08:27,400 –> 00:08:30,320
\nbut not to touch those of the
\ncamp of Israel. <\/p>\n
122
\n00:08:30,880 –> 00:08:33,799
\nAnd that’s exactly what’s going
\nto happen in in Hezekiah’s time <\/p>\n
123
\n00:08:33,799 –> 00:08:38,320
\nbecause Isaiah 3736 says and the
\nAngel of Yahweh went forth and <\/p>\n
124
\n00:08:38,320 –> 00:08:40,520
\nsmote in the camp of the
\nAssyrians. <\/p>\n
125
\n00:08:40,640 –> 00:08:44,480
\nThe calamity came upon the
\nAssyrian host, but no Israelites<\/p>\n
126
\n00:08:44,480 –> 00:08:46,640
\nhouse in Jerusalem was touched
\non that night. <\/p>\n
127
\n00:08:46,640 –> 00:08:49,800
\nBrothers, sisters, just the camp
\nof the Assyrians outside. <\/p>\n
128
\n00:08:52,120 –> 00:08:56,680
\nAnd when it says, looking again
\nhere in Exodus chapter 12 and <\/p>\n
129
\n00:08:56,680 –> 00:09:00,240
\nverse 27, it says that when your
\nchildren ask what’s all this <\/p>\n
130
\n00:09:00,240 –> 00:09:03,640
\nabout and what does this mean?
\nVerse 27 you shall say it is the<\/p>\n
131
\n00:09:03,640 –> 00:09:10,720
\nsacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover
\nPisa, when He passed over Pakar <\/p>\n
132
\n00:09:10,880 –> 00:09:14,920
\nover the House of the children
\nof Israel in Egypt, the day when<\/p>\n
133
\n00:09:14,920 –> 00:09:19,120
\nHe passed over the house,
\nsparing his own, but smiting the<\/p>\n
134
\n00:09:19,120 –> 00:09:21,440
\nenemy.
\nBut you know that that drama of <\/p>\n
135
\n00:09:21,440 –> 00:09:24,480
\npassing over was going to be
\nseen in the overthrow of the <\/p>\n
136
\n00:09:24,480 –> 00:09:28,120
\nAssyrian host right outside the
\ngates of Jerusalem, because this<\/p>\n
137
\n00:09:28,120 –> 00:09:30,720
\nis how Isaiah again would
\ndescribe it. <\/p>\n
138
\n00:09:30,840 –> 00:09:36,680
\nHe says in Isaiah 31 verses 5
\nand 8, Yahweh of hosts will <\/p>\n
139
\n00:09:36,680 –> 00:09:41,880
\ndefend Jerusalem, and passing
\nover, He will preserve it, and <\/p>\n
140
\n00:09:41,880 –> 00:09:43,560
\nthe Assyrian shall fall with the
\nsword. <\/p>\n
141
\n00:09:43,720 –> 00:09:47,360
\nAnd that word passing over is
\nthe same word for passing over <\/p>\n
142
\n00:09:47,480 –> 00:09:51,560
\nin Exodus chapter 12 verse 27.
\nOh yes, I think there’s memories<\/p>\n
143
\n00:09:51,800 –> 00:09:56,280
\nof the night of Exodus 12 that
\nare linked and connected to the <\/p>\n
144
\n00:09:56,280 –> 00:09:59,520
\nstory of the Assyrian overthrow.
\nAnd when, when did this <\/p>\n
145
\n00:09:59,560 –> 00:10:02,040
\nremarkable event occur?
\nIn Exodus 12? <\/p>\n
146
\n00:10:02,760 –> 00:10:08,360
\nVerse 29 came to pass, that at
\nmidnight Yahweh smote all the <\/p>\n
147
\n00:10:08,360 –> 00:10:13,480
\nfirst born verse verse 30,
\nPharaoh rose up in the night. <\/p>\n
148
\n00:10:13,640 –> 00:10:16,360
\nVerse 42.
\nIt is a night to be much <\/p>\n
149
\n00:10:16,360 –> 00:10:19,400
\nobserved unto Yahweh.
\nOh yes, the whole event took <\/p>\n
150
\n00:10:19,400 –> 00:10:21,280
\nplace in the night time by the
\nsisters. <\/p>\n
151
\n00:10:21,520 –> 00:10:26,120
\nAnd that peculiar feature of the
\nbattle of the Angel of death in <\/p>\n
152
\n00:10:26,120 –> 00:10:29,920
\nExodus is going to be be
\nrepeated in the story of the <\/p>\n
153
\n00:10:29,920 –> 00:10:33,640
\noverthrow of the Assyrian,
\nbecause in Isaiah 30 verse 29 it<\/p>\n
154
\n00:10:33,640 –> 00:10:37,960
\nsays, And ye shall have a song
\nas in the night, when a holy <\/p>\n
155
\n00:10:37,960 –> 00:10:40,640
\nsolemnity is kept.
\nFor through the voice of Yahweh <\/p>\n
156
\n00:10:40,640 –> 00:10:42,360
\nshall the Assyrian be thrown
\ndown. <\/p>\n
157
\n00:10:42,600 –> 00:10:45,200
\nYou know, brothers and sisters,
\nthere was only one holy <\/p>\n
158
\n00:10:45,200 –> 00:10:49,440
\nsolemnity that Israel ever kept,
\nonly one feast that was held at <\/p>\n
159
\n00:10:49,480 –> 00:10:53,800
\nnight time, and that was the
\nfeast of Passover. <\/p>\n
160
\n00:10:55,760 –> 00:10:58,880
\nSo I think what we’re being told
\nreally in the circumstances of <\/p>\n
161
\n00:10:59,080 –> 00:11:03,320
\nIsaiah 37 here, when the Angel
\nwent forth to Smite in the camp <\/p>\n
162
\n00:11:03,320 –> 00:11:07,360
\nof the Assyrians, is that this
\nwas another moment of Passover <\/p>\n
163
\n00:11:07,360 –> 00:11:11,120
\ndeliverance, which occurs in the
\ntime and in the life of good <\/p>\n
164
\n00:11:11,120 –> 00:11:15,320
\nking Hezekiah of Judah, a
\nmassive, overwhelming, <\/p>\n
165
\n00:11:15,440 –> 00:11:19,840
\ncatastrophic overthrow of the
\nenemy and one violent cataclysm.<\/p>\n
166
\n00:11:20,000 –> 00:11:23,480
\nSo coming back to the Isaiah
\nrecord, it says this at the end <\/p>\n
167
\n00:11:23,480 –> 00:11:30,360
\nof that 36th verse, Isaiah 37
\nand verse 36, the smote in the <\/p>\n
168
\n00:11:30,360 –> 00:11:34,560
\ncamp, 104 score and 5000.
\nAnd when they arose early in the<\/p>\n
169
\n00:11:34,560 –> 00:11:42,120
\nmorning, they were all dead.
\nIn fact, they were corpses. <\/p>\n
170
\n00:11:44,080 –> 00:11:46,200
\nAnd so complete was the victory,
\nyou see that not a single <\/p>\n
171
\n00:11:46,200 –> 00:11:48,520
\nAssyrian was alive.
\nAnd that’s an echo itself, I <\/p>\n
172
\n00:11:48,520 –> 00:11:51,320
\nthink, of Exodus 12, Exodus 12,
\nverse 30 says. <\/p>\n
173
\n00:11:51,400 –> 00:11:54,360
\nAnd there was a great cry in
\nEgypt for there was not a house <\/p>\n
174
\n00:11:54,480 –> 00:11:57,960
\nwhere there was not one dead.
\nAnd now in the time of Hezekiah,<\/p>\n
175
\n00:11:58,080 –> 00:12:00,840
\nthere wasn’t one person who was
\nnot dead in the Assyrian house. <\/p>\n
176
\n00:12:00,840 –> 00:12:02,920
\nThere wasn’t even a living body
\nout there. <\/p>\n
177
\n00:12:03,040 –> 00:12:07,200
\nThe whole of the Assyrian camp
\nhad a deathly stillness all over<\/p>\n
178
\n00:12:07,200 –> 00:12:13,480
\nit, because the Angel had spread
\nhis blast upon them, and they <\/p>\n
179
\n00:12:13,520 –> 00:12:19,200
\nwere all dead, truly dead.
\nSo verse 37 says, so Sennacherib<\/p>\n
180
\n00:12:19,200 –> 00:12:22,600
\nking of Assyria, departed and
\nwent and returned and dwelt at <\/p>\n
181
\n00:12:22,600 –> 00:12:25,640
\nNineveh.
\nAnd those verbs indicate just <\/p>\n
182
\n00:12:25,640 –> 00:12:30,720
\nhow complete his removal was.
\nHe departed, he went, he <\/p>\n
183
\n00:12:30,720 –> 00:12:35,240
\nreturned, he dwelt.
\nAnd I think the implication of <\/p>\n
184
\n00:12:35,240 –> 00:12:38,600
\nthat last word was that his
\nappetite to fight against <\/p>\n
185
\n00:12:38,600 –> 00:12:40,920
\nHezekiah and against the Holy
\nOne of Israel was gone. <\/p>\n
186
\n00:12:41,040 –> 00:12:44,280
\nHe would never ever be seen in
\nthe land of Israel again. <\/p>\n
187
\n00:12:44,280 –> 00:12:50,520
\nAnd verse 38 says that just as
\nIsaiah had promised earlier, he <\/p>\n
188
\n00:12:50,520 –> 00:12:53,880
\nshall hear a rumor and return to
\nhis own land, and I’ll cause him<\/p>\n
189
\n00:12:53,880 –> 00:12:56,800
\nto fall by the sword.
\nWell, here it happens. <\/p>\n
190
\n00:12:56,800 –> 00:13:00,280
\nVerse 38 came to pass as he was
\nworshipping in the House of <\/p>\n
191
\n00:13:00,280 –> 00:13:03,800
\nNisraq as God, that Adrenalik
\nand Teresa his son, smote him <\/p>\n
192
\n00:13:03,800 –> 00:13:07,120
\nwith the sword, and they escaped
\ninto the land of Armenia. <\/p>\n
193
\n00:13:07,360 –> 00:13:11,200
\nAnd Esau had, and his son
\nreigned in his stead. <\/p>\n
194
\n00:13:12,520 –> 00:13:17,800
\nIt took 20 years, by the way, 20
\nyears from the overthrow here in<\/p>\n
195
\n00:13:17,800 –> 00:13:21,000
\nJerusalem to the moment when
\nSennacherib finally died. <\/p>\n
196
\n00:13:23,320 –> 00:13:27,160
\nBut Isaiah’s words were
\nfulfilled, and the man was slain<\/p>\n
197
\n00:13:27,160 –> 00:13:29,840
\nby the sword in his own land,
\nand as it turned out, by his own<\/p>\n
198
\n00:13:29,840 –> 00:13:32,560
\nsons.
\nNow what do you think the first <\/p>\n
199
\n00:13:32,560 –> 00:13:36,280
\nimplication was of the story,
\nthe amazing story of <\/p>\n
200
\n00:13:36,280 –> 00:13:38,560
\nSennacherib’s defeat in the
\nvanquishing of his army? <\/p>\n
201
\n00:13:38,760 –> 00:13:41,640
\nWell, it must have sent shock
\nwaves right through the whole of<\/p>\n
202
\n00:13:41,640 –> 00:13:44,720
\nthe Middle East.
\nAnd we know that because of of <\/p>\n
203
\n00:13:44,720 –> 00:13:47,880
\nthese words and chronicles,
\nwhich again we shan’t turn up, <\/p>\n
204
\n00:13:47,880 –> 00:13:53,840
\nbut just listen to them.
\nThus Yahweh saved Hezekiah and <\/p>\n
205
\n00:13:53,840 –> 00:13:56,520
\nthe inhabitants of Jerusalem
\nfrom the hand of Sennacherib the<\/p>\n
206
\n00:13:56,520 –> 00:13:59,520
\nking of Assyria, and from the
\nhand of all other, and guided <\/p>\n
207
\n00:13:59,520 –> 00:14:03,640
\nthem on every side.
\nAnd many brought gifts unto <\/p>\n
208
\n00:14:03,640 –> 00:14:07,520
\nYahweh to Jerusalem, and
\npresents to Hezekiah king of <\/p>\n
209
\n00:14:07,520 –> 00:14:12,400
\nJudah, so that he was magnified
\nin the sight of all nations from<\/p>\n
210
\n00:14:12,400 –> 00:14:18,000
\nhenceforth.
\nAnd had the story of Hezekiah <\/p>\n
211
\n00:14:18,000 –> 00:14:22,440
\nstopped at that point, it would
\nhave been an amazing end to an <\/p>\n
212
\n00:14:22,440 –> 00:14:29,880
\nastonishing journey from tragedy
\nto triumph, from despair to <\/p>\n
213
\n00:14:29,880 –> 00:14:34,200
\ndelight.
\nBut Isaiah’s record of the <\/p>\n
214
\n00:14:34,200 –> 00:14:39,800
\ncrisis of Hezekiah also includes
\nIsaiah 39. <\/p>\n
215
\n00:14:42,160 –> 00:14:47,000
\nAnd in those very blessings that
\nwere brought to Hezekiah would <\/p>\n
216
\n00:14:47,000 –> 00:14:50,640
\nbe found the seeds of another
\nchild in his life, which would <\/p>\n
217
\n00:14:50,640 –> 00:14:55,120
\ntest his character and perhaps
\nreveal more deeply than any <\/p>\n
218
\n00:14:55,120 –> 00:14:58,400
\nother circumstance the true
\nheart and mind of this one who <\/p>\n
219
\n00:14:58,400 –> 00:15:02,600
\nprospered in all his works.
\nSo it’s a strange thing, you <\/p>\n
220
\n00:15:02,600 –> 00:15:06,360
\nsee.
\nBut Isaiah 39 in the Isaiah <\/p>\n
221
\n00:15:06,360 –> 00:15:08,800
\nrecord, the chronicle of his
\nlife, is going to finish with <\/p>\n
222
\n00:15:08,800 –> 00:15:10,960
\nthis episode, the Ambassadors of
\nBabylon. <\/p>\n
223
\n00:15:11,280 –> 00:15:13,680
\nAnd it seems at first reading
\nthat his story will end in <\/p>\n
224
\n00:15:13,680 –> 00:15:15,840
\nfailure and disgrace, a matter
\nof shame. <\/p>\n
225
\n00:15:16,840 –> 00:15:20,520
\nA shame that so fine a king
\nshould conclude his reign on <\/p>\n
226
\n00:15:20,600 –> 00:15:23,960
\nsuch a disappointing note comes
\nas a shock to read the account. <\/p>\n
227
\n00:15:24,200 –> 00:15:28,120
\nWe’re left feeling dismayed that
\nso good a man could behave so <\/p>\n
228
\n00:15:28,120 –> 00:15:31,040
\nunwisely.
\nBut, you know, brothers and <\/p>\n
229
\n00:15:31,040 –> 00:15:34,120
\nsisters, perhaps his behavior
\nwasn’t too different to what <\/p>\n
230
\n00:15:34,120 –> 00:15:37,720
\nours might have been under
\nsimilar circumstances. <\/p>\n
231
\n00:15:39,760 –> 00:15:45,400
\nAnd as it turned out, there was
\nan unexpected blessing in the <\/p>\n
232
\n00:15:45,400 –> 00:15:49,720
\nway that his story would end.
\nAnd what that blessing might <\/p>\n
233
\n00:15:49,720 –> 00:15:53,280
\nhave been is the basis for our
\nstudy this morning. <\/p>\n
234
\n00:15:55,680 –> 00:16:02,920
\nSo Isaiah 39, this one says
\nthus, at that time, Meredek <\/p>\n
235
\n00:16:03,040 –> 00:16:07,000
\nBiladin, the son of Aladdin,
\nking of Babylon, sent letters. <\/p>\n
236
\n00:16:07,520 –> 00:16:10,640
\nNow Babylon actually lay inside
\nthe Assyrian Empire, of course, <\/p>\n
237
\n00:16:10,640 –> 00:16:14,080
\nat this time, but the Assyrian
\noverlord Sargon and Sennacherib,<\/p>\n
238
\n00:16:14,480 –> 00:16:17,080
\nthey were seen by the
\nBabylonians as usurpers. <\/p>\n
239
\n00:16:17,600 –> 00:16:23,120
\nBut Meredek Biladin, or as he
\nwas called Marduk Epla Adini the<\/p>\n
240
\n00:16:23,120 –> 00:16:28,320
\nsecond, was a true born
\ndescendant of the royal family <\/p>\n
241
\n00:16:28,320 –> 00:16:30,520
\nof Babylon.
\nHe was popular amongst his own <\/p>\n
242
\n00:16:30,520 –> 00:16:32,680
\npeople.
\nHe’d been a thorn in the side of<\/p>\n
243
\n00:16:32,680 –> 00:16:35,680
\nthe Assyrians for several years,
\nand he was recognized as the <\/p>\n
244
\n00:16:35,680 –> 00:16:38,520
\nking of Babylon on at least
\nmultiple occasions. <\/p>\n
245
\n00:16:38,680 –> 00:16:41,720
\nHe was named incidentally, after
\nMeredek, one of the gods of <\/p>\n
246
\n00:16:41,720 –> 00:16:46,080
\nBabylonia.
\nJeremiah 50 verse 2 says Babylon<\/p>\n
247
\n00:16:46,080 –> 00:16:51,120
\nhas taken bell is confounded.
\nMeradec is broken in pieces, and<\/p>\n
248
\n00:16:51,120 –> 00:16:54,600
\nthe name of the king was a
\nreminder that the rival religion<\/p>\n
249
\n00:16:54,600 –> 00:16:58,400
\nand temple of Jerusalem of of
\nBabylon from ancient times was <\/p>\n
250
\n00:16:58,400 –> 00:17:01,640
\nstill in fact in existence.
\nWell, this is the man who at <\/p>\n
251
\n00:17:01,640 –> 00:17:05,800
\nthat time sends letters in the
\npresent, and that little phrase <\/p>\n
252
\n00:17:05,920 –> 00:17:11,119
\nat that time links the events of
\nchapter 39 with the recovery of <\/p>\n
253
\n00:17:11,119 –> 00:17:14,520
\nhis Akai in chapter 38 and the
\noverthrow of Sennacherib in <\/p>\n
254
\n00:17:14,520 –> 00:17:17,720
\nchapter 37.
\nIt’s all about the same moment <\/p>\n
255
\n00:17:17,720 –> 00:17:20,760
\nof time by the sisters because
\nMeredeck Belladin would not have<\/p>\n
256
\n00:17:20,760 –> 00:17:24,440
\nsent to present until he’d heard
\nof the news of Sennacherib’s <\/p>\n
257
\n00:17:24,440 –> 00:17:27,920
\nignominious defeat at Jerusalem.
\nAnd he’s Akai couldn’t have <\/p>\n
258
\n00:17:27,920 –> 00:17:30,400
\nreceived the present until after
\nhe was recovered from his <\/p>\n
259
\n00:17:30,400 –> 00:17:34,080
\nillness.
\nSo chapter 39 is probably very <\/p>\n
260
\n00:17:34,080 –> 00:17:37,960
\nearly on in the 15 years of
\nadditional life that was given <\/p>\n
261
\n00:17:37,960 –> 00:17:41,560
\nto him in the Providence of God
\nearly on enough incidentally, <\/p>\n
262
\n00:17:41,560 –> 00:17:47,320
\nfor it to be before he had
\nfathered Manasseh, his son, as <\/p>\n
263
\n00:17:47,320 –> 00:17:51,960
\nwe shall see by and by.
\nSo the king of Babylon sent <\/p>\n
264
\n00:17:51,960 –> 00:17:56,640
\nletters and a present.
\nHe sent it to Hezekiah because <\/p>\n
265
\n00:17:56,640 –> 00:17:59,240
\nhe he heard that he’d been sick
\nand was recovered. <\/p>\n
266
\n00:17:59,600 –> 00:18:02,560
\nWell, it seemed natural enough a
\nthing to to do, don’t you think,<\/p>\n
267
\n00:18:02,560 –> 00:18:05,840
\nfor one king to send another
\nking of present to celebrate his<\/p>\n
268
\n00:18:05,840 –> 00:18:08,080
\nrecovery from a a serious
\nillness? <\/p>\n
269
\n00:18:08,480 –> 00:18:11,720
\nAnd if it had been only there,
\nthere would have been no <\/p>\n
270
\n00:18:11,720 –> 00:18:14,760
\ndifficulty in Hezekiah accepting
\nthe gift, just as he had from <\/p>\n
271
\n00:18:14,960 –> 00:18:18,160
\nmany other parts.
\nAfter all, that’s what Chronicle<\/p>\n
272
\n00:18:18,160 –> 00:18:20,960
\nsaid.
\nMany brought gifts unto Yahweh <\/p>\n
273
\n00:18:21,160 –> 00:18:23,600
\nand presents to Hezekiah king of
\nJudah. <\/p>\n
274
\n00:18:26,040 –> 00:18:30,640
\nBut there was something more to
\nthis matter than letters and <\/p>\n
275
\n00:18:30,640 –> 00:18:35,160
\npresents.
\nThe Septuagint version reads as <\/p>\n
276
\n00:18:35,160 –> 00:18:40,280
\nfollows.
\nMeradec Baladdin sent letters <\/p>\n
277
\n00:18:40,960 –> 00:18:46,560
\nand ambassadors and gifts.
\nThe Revised Standard Version <\/p>\n
278
\n00:18:46,560 –> 00:18:50,960
\nsays he sent invoys with letters
\nand a present. <\/p>\n
279
\n00:18:52,560 –> 00:18:54,960
\nNow we know they must have been
\nambassadors because you see <\/p>\n
280
\n00:18:54,960 –> 00:18:58,440
\nverse 2, Hezekiah was glad of
\nthem. <\/p>\n
281
\n00:18:59,000 –> 00:19:02,920
\nAnd verse 3, as I said, what
\nsaid these men? <\/p>\n
282
\n00:19:03,080 –> 00:19:06,160
\nVerse 4, what have they seen in
\nthy house? <\/p>\n
283
\n00:19:06,240 –> 00:19:08,800
\nSo there were clearly
\nambassadors on this occasion, <\/p>\n
284
\n00:19:09,600 –> 00:19:14,040
\nbut they’re also referred to in
\na companion passage that sheds <\/p>\n
285
\n00:19:14,040 –> 00:19:17,440
\nlights on the motives of
\nHezekiah, perhaps at the time. <\/p>\n
286
\n00:19:17,800 –> 00:19:20,920
\nBecause if you come back to the
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 32,<\/p>\n
287
\n00:19:21,400 –> 00:19:24,920
\nthe companion account in
\nChronicles adds a different <\/p>\n
288
\n00:19:24,920 –> 00:19:27,120
\nreason for why the ambassadors
\ncame. <\/p>\n
289
\n00:19:28,440 –> 00:19:31,640
\nThe book of Isaiah suggests they
\ncame to congratulate the king on<\/p>\n
290
\n00:19:31,640 –> 00:19:34,800
\nhis recovery.
\nBut Chronicles gives another <\/p>\n
291
\n00:19:34,800 –> 00:19:37,840
\nreason.
\nAnd that reason is given to us <\/p>\n
292
\n00:19:37,840 –> 00:19:42,240
\nin the Second of Chronicles
\nchapter 32 and verse 31, when it<\/p>\n
293
\n00:19:42,240 –> 00:19:46,880
\nsays, Howbeit, in the matter of
\nthe ambassadors of the Princess <\/p>\n
294
\n00:19:46,880 –> 00:19:52,400
\nof Babylon, who sent unto him
\nunto Hezekiah to inquire of the <\/p>\n
295
\n00:19:52,400 –> 00:19:55,120
\nwonder that was done in the
\nland. <\/p>\n
296
\n00:19:55,280 –> 00:19:57,480
\nThe wonder that was done in the
\nland. <\/p>\n
297
\n00:19:58,680 –> 00:20:05,920
\nNow that word wonder in verse 31
\nis the same word translated sign<\/p>\n
298
\n00:20:06,040 –> 00:20:10,480
\nin verse 24.
\nIn those days Hezekiah was sick <\/p>\n
299
\n00:20:10,480 –> 00:20:12,920
\nto death and prayed unto Yahweh,
\nand he spake on him and gave him<\/p>\n
300
\n00:20:12,920 –> 00:20:15,800
\na sign.
\nNow what sign was that? <\/p>\n
301
\n00:20:17,120 –> 00:20:22,360
\nWell, that sign was the sign of
\nthe shadow on the sundial of <\/p>\n
302
\n00:20:22,360 –> 00:20:25,160
\nAhaz, which would move backwards
\nby 10\u00b0. <\/p>\n
303
\n00:20:25,360 –> 00:20:28,600
\nThat’s an astronomical marvel.
\nAnd that must have impressed the<\/p>\n
304
\n00:20:28,600 –> 00:20:31,440
\nBabylonians, because the
\nBabylonians were masters of <\/p>\n
305
\n00:20:31,440 –> 00:20:34,080
\nastronomy, and they must have
\nbeen astonished to hear the <\/p>\n
306
\n00:20:34,080 –> 00:20:37,160
\nstory of a shadow that went up
\nthe staircase when it should <\/p>\n
307
\n00:20:37,160 –> 00:20:40,000
\nhave been coming down, because
\nthe news had been spread abroad <\/p>\n
308
\n00:20:40,000 –> 00:20:43,040
\nof this miracle.
\nBut you notice something that <\/p>\n
309
\n00:20:43,040 –> 00:20:45,280
\nthey hadn’t seen the phenomena
\nin Babylon. <\/p>\n
310
\n00:20:46,960 –> 00:20:48,440
\nIt doesn’t say they saw it in
\nBabylon. <\/p>\n
311
\n00:20:49,880 –> 00:20:52,200
\nIn fact, it says they came to
\ninquire of the sign that was <\/p>\n
312
\n00:20:52,200 –> 00:20:56,560
\ndone where?
\nJust in edits. <\/p>\n
313
\n00:20:56,840 –> 00:21:00,120
\nJust in the land was only seen
\nin Israel. <\/p>\n
314
\n00:21:00,120 –> 00:21:01,560
\nIn fact, it wasn’t just seen in
\nIsrael. <\/p>\n
315
\n00:21:01,640 –> 00:21:03,840
\nIt was only seen in Jerusalem.
\nIt wasn’t just seen in <\/p>\n
316
\n00:21:03,840 –> 00:21:05,360
\nJerusalem.
\nIt was only seen in the royal <\/p>\n
317
\n00:21:05,360 –> 00:21:07,120
\npalace.
\nIt wasn’t just seen in the royal<\/p>\n
318
\n00:21:07,120 –> 00:21:08,640
\npalace.
\nIt was just only seen on the <\/p>\n
319
\n00:21:08,640 –> 00:21:11,160
\nstaircase.
\nIt’s the only place where the <\/p>\n
320
\n00:21:11,160 –> 00:21:14,080
\nsign was seen, and only those
\nwho were there at that moment <\/p>\n
321
\n00:21:14,080 –> 00:21:16,080
\nwould have seen that sign.
\nThey didn’t see it in Babylon. <\/p>\n
322
\n00:21:16,080 –> 00:21:18,160
\nThey’d heard about it, but
\nthey’d never seen it. <\/p>\n
323
\n00:21:18,360 –> 00:21:20,520
\nThey came to inquire of the
\nwonder that was done in the <\/p>\n
324
\n00:21:20,520 –> 00:21:23,000
\nland.
\nIt wasn’t a global astronomical <\/p>\n
325
\n00:21:23,000 –> 00:21:25,880
\nphenomenon.
\nIt wasn’t the movement of the <\/p>\n
326
\n00:21:25,880 –> 00:21:31,080
\nsun or the planets or the moon.
\nIt was, as we believe, the <\/p>\n
327
\n00:21:31,120 –> 00:21:34,920
\nShekinah glory of the Angel.
\nBut it was the news that came <\/p>\n
328
\n00:21:34,920 –> 00:21:38,200
\nnevertheless to the ambassadors
\nof Babel that they came to <\/p>\n
329
\n00:21:38,240 –> 00:21:40,080
\ninquire about.
\nAnd do you notice the ominous <\/p>\n
330
\n00:21:40,080 –> 00:21:42,760
\nwords that continue in that
\nverse when it says that when <\/p>\n
331
\n00:21:42,760 –> 00:21:46,920
\nthey did come, that, as it
\nturned out, God had left him, <\/p>\n
332
\n00:21:46,920 –> 00:21:51,280
\nhad left his a car to try him,
\nthat he might know all that was <\/p>\n
333
\n00:21:51,280 –> 00:21:55,080
\nin his heart.
\nAnd we’re not told in what way <\/p>\n
334
\n00:21:55,280 –> 00:22:00,200
\nYahweh left his a car.
\nBut the episode became a test to<\/p>\n
335
\n00:22:00,200 –> 00:22:03,520
\nhis character because it had
\nbeen very obvious in his <\/p>\n
336
\n00:22:03,680 –> 00:22:07,120
\nprevious trials that Yahweh had
\nalways been with them. <\/p>\n
337
\n00:22:07,120 –> 00:22:11,320
\nBut now at least there was
\nevidently no message from Isaiah<\/p>\n
338
\n00:22:11,520 –> 00:22:15,720
\non behalf of God.
\nThe real question, you know, <\/p>\n
339
\n00:22:15,720 –> 00:22:18,880
\nbrothers and sisters, the
\nquestion was what was the real <\/p>\n
340
\n00:22:18,880 –> 00:22:24,560
\nbusiness of the ambassadors?
\nOh, yes, they came to acquire of<\/p>\n
341
\n00:22:24,560 –> 00:22:25,640
\nthe one they’ve done on the
\nland. <\/p>\n
342
\n00:22:25,640 –> 00:22:30,600
\nBut what did the mysterious
\nletters contain which they <\/p>\n
343
\n00:22:30,600 –> 00:22:32,680
\nbrought from the Babylonian
\nmonarch? <\/p>\n
344
\n00:22:34,600 –> 00:22:37,080
\nThere was more than just royal
\ngreetings here. <\/p>\n
345
\n00:22:39,000 –> 00:22:42,280
\nThese documents probably
\nincluded a proposed Treaty of <\/p>\n
346
\n00:22:42,280 –> 00:22:45,200
\npeace and cooperation.
\nAnd for this reason, because <\/p>\n
347
\n00:22:45,200 –> 00:22:48,960
\nthese two kings had been the
\nmost effective in all the Middle<\/p>\n
348
\n00:22:48,960 –> 00:22:55,520
\nEast at resisting the advances
\nof the Assyrians, Hezekiah felt <\/p>\n
349
\n00:22:55,520 –> 00:22:59,520
\nhonored that the king of Babylon
\nwould propose such an alliance. <\/p>\n
350
\n00:22:59,520 –> 00:23:03,280
\nAnd I’ll show you why I think
\nHezekiah might have thought <\/p>\n
351
\n00:23:03,280 –> 00:23:05,880
\nthat, even though it was a wrong
\nthought to have, as we know. <\/p>\n
352
\n00:23:06,120 –> 00:23:08,640
\nBut you see, Sennacherib had
\nbeen defeated, and he’d gone <\/p>\n
353
\n00:23:08,640 –> 00:23:11,000
\nhome for the present.
\nBut who was to know when he <\/p>\n
354
\n00:23:11,000 –> 00:23:14,160
\nmight return with an army twice
\nthe size to finish what he’d <\/p>\n
355
\n00:23:14,160 –> 00:23:16,000
\nbegun?
\nAnd if Hezekiah knew that he <\/p>\n
356
\n00:23:16,000 –> 00:23:19,160
\nonly had 15 years left, then he
\nknew that even if he had a son <\/p>\n
357
\n00:23:19,160 –> 00:23:22,800
\nimmediately, that that son would
\nbe far, far too young to cope <\/p>\n
358
\n00:23:22,800 –> 00:23:29,360
\nwith such a threat.
\nWhen he, Hezekiah, died, there <\/p>\n
359
\n00:23:29,360 –> 00:23:34,520
\nwasn’t enough time, so perhaps
\nthe opportunity to secure some <\/p>\n
360
\n00:23:34,520 –> 00:23:37,360
\ndegree of support against so
\npowerful an enemy to give his <\/p>\n
361
\n00:23:37,360 –> 00:23:39,560
\nson the chance to at least grow
\nto adulthood. <\/p>\n
362
\n00:23:39,600 –> 00:23:42,840
\nHe viewed the possibility of an
\nalliance for military and <\/p>\n
363
\n00:23:43,080 –> 00:23:45,200
\nEconomic Cooperation with
\nfavour. <\/p>\n
364
\n00:23:45,840 –> 00:23:49,840
\nMaybe this is a good idea.
\nMaybe this is the answer of God <\/p>\n
365
\n00:23:49,840 –> 00:23:51,520
\nthat these ambassadors have
\ncome. <\/p>\n
366
\n00:23:51,680 –> 00:23:55,320
\nSo coming back to Isaiah’s
\naccount there to Isaiah 39 and <\/p>\n
367
\n00:23:55,320 –> 00:23:57,720
\nverse 2.
\nThis is what the record tells us<\/p>\n
368
\n00:23:57,960 –> 00:24:00,120
\nabout the coming of these
\nambassadors. <\/p>\n
369
\n00:24:01,280 –> 00:24:09,520
\nIsaiah 39 and verse 2 says and
\nand his Akaya was glad of them. <\/p>\n
370
\n00:24:10,920 –> 00:24:14,920
\nThe parallel passage and 2nd
\nKings 20 verse 13 says Hezekiah <\/p>\n
371
\n00:24:14,920 –> 00:24:17,640
\nhearkened unto them, but Isaiah
\nis stronger. <\/p>\n
372
\n00:24:18,040 –> 00:24:21,440
\nIsaiah says he was glad of them
\nand the word means to rejoice. <\/p>\n
373
\n00:24:21,800 –> 00:24:24,680
\nNow, if he was simply pleased
\nwith their gift, well, that’s <\/p>\n
374
\n00:24:24,680 –> 00:24:28,120
\none thing.
\nBut to for him to rejoice, to <\/p>\n
375
\n00:24:28,120 –> 00:24:31,880
\nthe to, to to be so glad as to
\nrejoice and to promptly show him<\/p>\n
376
\n00:24:31,880 –> 00:24:35,520
\neverything they hear, everything
\nhe had, is well, that was an <\/p>\n
377
\n00:24:35,520 –> 00:24:38,480
\nunusual reaction for the
\nambassadors that came. <\/p>\n
378
\n00:24:38,760 –> 00:24:42,640
\nBut if the thing that made his
\nakaya glad was the prospect of <\/p>\n
379
\n00:24:42,680 –> 00:24:47,120
\nan alliance, then it explains
\nboth the depth of his reaction <\/p>\n
380
\n00:24:47,560 –> 00:24:51,520
\nand the decision that he made to
\nopen up the treasures of his <\/p>\n
381
\n00:24:51,520 –> 00:24:54,600
\nKingdom for inspection.
\nBecause I think that’s what he’s<\/p>\n
382
\n00:24:54,600 –> 00:24:58,000
\nreally doing here.
\nIn verse 2 it says Hezekiah was <\/p>\n
383
\n00:24:58,000 –> 00:25:00,840
\nglad of them and showed them the
\nHouse of his precious things, <\/p>\n
384
\n00:25:00,840 –> 00:25:03,800
\nthe silver and the gold and the
\nspices and the precious ointment<\/p>\n
385
\n00:25:03,800 –> 00:25:06,080
\nand all the House of his armor
\nand all that was found in his <\/p>\n
386
\n00:25:06,080 –> 00:25:07,880
\ntreasures.
\nThere was nothing in his house <\/p>\n
387
\n00:25:08,080 –> 00:25:12,040
\nnor in all his dominion that
\nHezekiah showed them not you <\/p>\n
388
\n00:25:12,040 –> 00:25:14,160
\nsee, I don’t think he simply
\nsaid, oh, come and have a look <\/p>\n
389
\n00:25:14,160 –> 00:25:17,440
\nat all my things.
\nI don’t think he’s a guy would <\/p>\n
390
\n00:25:17,440 –> 00:25:19,960
\nhave done that.
\nActually, I think that what he <\/p>\n
391
\n00:25:19,960 –> 00:25:23,520
\ndid was it wasn’t so much a vain
\nshow of wealth for wealth’s sake<\/p>\n
392
\n00:25:23,520 –> 00:25:29,280
\nas formal evidence that Judah
\nwas a worthy partner to enter <\/p>\n
393
\n00:25:29,280 –> 00:25:33,320
\ninto alliance with Bebalem.
\nSo he gave demonstration that he<\/p>\n
394
\n00:25:33,320 –> 00:25:37,200
\nhad both the economic
\nprosperity, the House of his <\/p>\n
395
\n00:25:37,200 –> 00:25:42,080
\nprecious things, and military
\ncapability, the House of his <\/p>\n
396
\n00:25:42,160 –> 00:25:46,120
\narmor, to fulfill his
\nresponsibilities under such a <\/p>\n
397
\n00:25:46,120 –> 00:25:48,800
\ntreaty.
\nI have the wherewithal, he says,<\/p>\n
398
\n00:25:48,800 –> 00:25:52,040
\nto be a useful partner in such a
\ntransaction. <\/p>\n
399
\n00:25:52,320 –> 00:25:54,480
\nBut he’d made the mistake,
\nhadn’t he, brothers and sisters,<\/p>\n
400
\n00:25:54,480 –> 00:25:57,320
\nof imagining that all these
\nthings belonged to him. <\/p>\n
401
\n00:25:59,320 –> 00:26:03,080
\nAnd so verse 2, read that way,
\nhighlights that thinking. <\/p>\n
402
\n00:26:04,040 –> 00:26:07,400
\nHezekiah was glad of them, and
\nshowed them the House of his <\/p>\n
403
\n00:26:07,440 –> 00:26:10,800
\nprecious things, the silver and
\nthe gold and the spices and the <\/p>\n
404
\n00:26:10,800 –> 00:26:13,960
\nprecious ointment, and all the
\nHouse of his armor, and all that<\/p>\n
405
\n00:26:13,960 –> 00:26:17,160
\nwas found in his treasures.
\nThere was nothing in his house, <\/p>\n
406
\n00:26:17,280 –> 00:26:20,040
\nnor in all his dominion that
\nHezekiah showed them not. <\/p>\n
407
\n00:26:20,120 –> 00:26:22,600
\nHe thought it was all his
\nbrothers, sisters flushed with <\/p>\n
408
\n00:26:22,600 –> 00:26:26,280
\nthe glory of his success,
\nseduced by the flattery of the <\/p>\n
409
\n00:26:26,280 –> 00:26:29,320
\nambassadors, he forgot, at least
\nfor the moment, that both he and<\/p>\n
410
\n00:26:29,320 –> 00:26:30,920
\nall that he had belonged unto
\nYahweh. <\/p>\n
411
\n00:26:33,520 –> 00:26:35,840
\nHe wouldn’t be the first brother
\nor sister, would he? <\/p>\n
412
\n00:26:37,680 –> 00:26:42,440
\nIt was fallen in such a matter.
\nBut you see, here’s a car was a <\/p>\n
413
\n00:26:42,440 –> 00:26:46,040
\nman of prayer.
\nHe prayed in Isaiah 37, verse 1.<\/p>\n
414
\n00:26:46,200 –> 00:26:48,520
\nHe prayed in Isaiah 37, verse
\n15. <\/p>\n
415
\n00:26:48,520 –> 00:26:52,440
\nHe prayed again in Isaiah 38,
\nverse 2, but but this time <\/p>\n
416
\n00:26:52,880 –> 00:26:57,240
\nthere’s no prayer.
\nHe didn’t ask counsel of God <\/p>\n
417
\n00:26:57,240 –> 00:27:00,880
\nbefore entering into this
\nundertaking, and it was a bad <\/p>\n
418
\n00:27:00,880 –> 00:27:02,880
\nmistake.
\nWhatever good intentions he <\/p>\n
419
\n00:27:02,880 –> 00:27:06,400
\nmight have had, his behaviour on
\nthis occasion was a <\/p>\n
420
\n00:27:06,400 –> 00:27:13,720
\nmanifestation of personal pride.
\nHe thought that all these things<\/p>\n
421
\n00:27:13,720 –> 00:27:15,960
\nlay within his own power to
\narrange. <\/p>\n
422
\n00:27:17,440 –> 00:27:20,720
\nHis heart was lifted up by the
\nevident admiration of the king <\/p>\n
423
\n00:27:20,720 –> 00:27:23,440
\nof Babylon.
\nAnd momentarily his spiritual <\/p>\n
424
\n00:27:23,440 –> 00:27:28,600
\nperspective was effective.
\nWell, he was going to be held to<\/p>\n
425
\n00:27:28,600 –> 00:27:31,280
\naccount and held to account
\nprobably in the best possible <\/p>\n
426
\n00:27:31,280 –> 00:27:35,600
\nway by the best possible man,
\nbecause it says in verse 3. <\/p>\n
427
\n00:27:35,600 –> 00:27:38,560
\nThen came Isaiah the prophet
\nunder King Hezekiah and said, <\/p>\n
428
\n00:27:38,760 –> 00:27:41,840
\nwhat said these men?
\nAnd from whence came they? <\/p>\n
429
\n00:27:42,520 –> 00:27:46,120
\nNow Isaiah had always been
\nHezekiah’s good friend and <\/p>\n
430
\n00:27:46,120 –> 00:27:50,000
\nmentor, but this time Isaiah
\ncame to rebuke the king and to <\/p>\n
431
\n00:27:50,000 –> 00:27:52,240
\nwarn him of the consequences of
\nhis actions. <\/p>\n
432
\n00:27:52,640 –> 00:27:55,720
\nAnd do you notice that he asked
\n2 very specific questions. <\/p>\n
433
\n00:27:55,960 –> 00:28:00,640
\nWhat did these men talk about
\nand where did these men come <\/p>\n
434
\n00:28:00,640 –> 00:28:04,200
\nfrom?
\nNow, if you, if you were his a <\/p>\n
435
\n00:28:04,200 –> 00:28:08,560
\ncar and you’re already starting
\nto think, MMM, maybe I wonder <\/p>\n
436
\n00:28:08,560 –> 00:28:10,720
\nwhether I should have.
\nAnd then you get these two <\/p>\n
437
\n00:28:10,720 –> 00:28:13,240
\nquestions.
\nWhat did these men talk about <\/p>\n
438
\n00:28:13,440 –> 00:28:16,320
\nand where did they come from?
\nWhich of those two questions do <\/p>\n
439
\n00:28:16,320 –> 00:28:18,680
\nyou think you’d prefer to to
\nspeak about first? <\/p>\n
440
\n00:28:19,680 –> 00:28:22,280
\nSo he completely bypasses
\nquestion #1 because he’s not <\/p>\n
441
\n00:28:22,280 –> 00:28:25,000
\nparticularly happy to talk about
\nwhat they talked about. <\/p>\n
442
\n00:28:26,040 –> 00:28:29,160
\nSo he focuses on the second.
\nHe should have been happy to <\/p>\n
443
\n00:28:29,160 –> 00:28:31,640
\nshare their speech if they don’t
\neven talk about presence and <\/p>\n
444
\n00:28:31,640 –> 00:28:35,760
\nsundials.
\nBut the ambassadors had been <\/p>\n
445
\n00:28:35,760 –> 00:28:38,800
\ndiscussing other things and he
\nwas reluctant to divulge that. <\/p>\n
446
\n00:28:39,040 –> 00:28:42,880
\nAnd I think as soon as Isaiah
\nasked the question, here’s a <\/p>\n
447
\n00:28:42,880 –> 00:28:45,320
\ncar, I felt those first
\nstirrings of a guilty <\/p>\n
448
\n00:28:45,320 –> 00:28:47,040
\nconscience.
\nAnd he sought to deflect the <\/p>\n
449
\n00:28:47,040 –> 00:28:49,680
\ntension away from what that
\nconversation had been about. <\/p>\n
450
\n00:28:49,680 –> 00:28:51,280
\nSo he focuses on the second
\nquestion. <\/p>\n
451
\n00:28:51,280 –> 00:28:52,240
\nHe said, oh, where they come
\nfrom? <\/p>\n
452
\n00:28:52,240 –> 00:28:54,760
\nWell, he says verse three.
\nHe says, they come from a far <\/p>\n
453
\n00:28:54,760 –> 00:28:57,920
\ncountry unto me, from Babylon.
\nSee that little word unto me? <\/p>\n
454
\n00:28:59,400 –> 00:29:02,720
\nMaybe that gives us the clue as
\nto how important Hezekiah had <\/p>\n
455
\n00:29:02,720 –> 00:29:07,480
\nbeen made to feel by the
\nobsequious behavior of the <\/p>\n
456
\n00:29:07,480 –> 00:29:09,960
\nambassadors.
\nImagine how good it felt for the<\/p>\n
457
\n00:29:09,960 –> 00:29:13,400
\nlittle Kingdom of Judah to be
\nsingled out for praise by the <\/p>\n
458
\n00:29:13,400 –> 00:29:16,680
\nrising power of Babylon.
\nOne couldn’t help but be <\/p>\n
459
\n00:29:16,680 –> 00:29:23,360
\ngratified by such attention.
\nThey came unto me, says, But his<\/p>\n
460
\n00:29:23,360 –> 00:29:31,160
\nchoice of words gave the story
\naway really, because the exact <\/p>\n
461
\n00:29:31,160 –> 00:29:36,520
\nphrase Hezekiah used, they come
\nfrom a far country in the <\/p>\n
462
\n00:29:36,520 –> 00:29:40,000
\nHebrews, Eretz Lahoka from a
\ncountry far. <\/p>\n
463
\n00:29:40,920 –> 00:29:45,400
\nBut that that expression and the
\nvery first time it was used in <\/p>\n
464
\n00:29:45,400 –> 00:29:50,360
\nthe Bible held a warning which
\nHezekiah had ignored. <\/p>\n
465
\n00:29:50,960 –> 00:29:54,840
\nBecause the first time that
\ntheir expression, Eretz Lahoka <\/p>\n
466
\n00:29:54,840 –> 00:29:57,560
\nis found, it comes in the book
\nof Joshua. <\/p>\n
467
\n00:29:58,680 –> 00:30:01,000
\nAnd as soon as I mention the
\nbook of Joshua, I hope your <\/p>\n
468
\n00:30:01,000 –> 00:30:04,400
\nminds are spinning because yes,
\nyou’re right. <\/p>\n
469
\n00:30:04,400 –> 00:30:07,360
\nIt’s not just the book of
\nJoshua, but it’s Joshua Chapter <\/p>\n
470
\n00:30:07,360 –> 00:30:11,080
\n9, when a certain group of
\npeople come stumbling into the <\/p>\n
471
\n00:30:11,080 –> 00:30:14,640
\nencampment of Israel with old
\ncloves and moldy bread and <\/p>\n
472
\n00:30:15,360 –> 00:30:18,080
\nrotten shoes.
\nAnd this is what they say, <\/p>\n
473
\n00:30:18,080 –> 00:30:21,320
\nJoshua Chapter 9, verse six.
\nThey went to Joshua unto the <\/p>\n
474
\n00:30:21,320 –> 00:30:23,360
\ncamp at Gilgon.
\nThey said unto him, and to the <\/p>\n
475
\n00:30:23,360 –> 00:30:27,960
\nmen of Israel, We become from
\nthe edits Lahalka, a far <\/p>\n
476
\n00:30:27,960 –> 00:30:30,520
\ncountry.
\nNow therefore make a league with<\/p>\n
477
\n00:30:30,920 –> 00:30:33,000
\nus.
\nVerse 8 And they said to Joshua,<\/p>\n
478
\n00:30:33,200 –> 00:30:36,280
\nWe’re thy servants.
\nAnd Joshua said unto them, Who <\/p>\n
479
\n00:30:36,280 –> 00:30:39,960
\nare ye, and from whence come ye?
\nAnd they said, Oh, we’re come <\/p>\n
480
\n00:30:39,960 –> 00:30:43,240
\nfrom the edits, Lahalka, from a
\nvery country. <\/p>\n
481
\n00:30:43,240 –> 00:30:46,800
\nThy servants are come because of
\nthe name of Yahweh, thy God. <\/p>\n
482
\n00:30:47,120 –> 00:30:49,720
\nFor we’ve heard the fame of him
\nand all that he did in Egypt and<\/p>\n
483
\n00:30:49,720 –> 00:30:51,920
\nall that he did to the two kings
\nof the Amorites. <\/p>\n
484
\n00:30:52,400 –> 00:30:55,320
\nSo our elders, verse 11 told us
\nto come and see you. <\/p>\n
485
\n00:30:55,520 –> 00:30:58,120
\nWe’re your servants.
\nTherefore now make a league with<\/p>\n
486
\n00:30:58,200 –> 00:31:01,360
\nus.
\nAnd verse 14 says, And the men, <\/p>\n
487
\n00:31:01,440 –> 00:31:05,360
\nthat is, the men of Israel, took
\nof their bittles, and asked not <\/p>\n
488
\n00:31:05,560 –> 00:31:10,080
\ncounsel at the mouth of Yahweh.
\nAnd Joshua made peace with them,<\/p>\n
489
\n00:31:10,320 –> 00:31:12,440
\nand made a league with them to
\nlet them live in. <\/p>\n
490
\n00:31:12,440 –> 00:31:14,960
\nThe Princess of the congregation
\nswore unto them. <\/p>\n
491
\n00:31:15,520 –> 00:31:18,880
\nIsn’t that the very
\ncircumstances of Isaiah 39, <\/p>\n
492
\n00:31:18,920 –> 00:31:21,160
\nbrothers and sisters?
\nBecause this is the very reason <\/p>\n
493
\n00:31:21,320 –> 00:31:23,480
\nwhy the ambassadors of Babylon
\nhad come. <\/p>\n
494
\n00:31:24,360 –> 00:31:27,000
\nWe’re come from a far country.
\nBecause we’ve heard of the fame <\/p>\n
495
\n00:31:27,000 –> 00:31:29,280
\nof your God.
\nWe’ve heard of the shadow on the<\/p>\n
496
\n00:31:29,280 –> 00:31:31,360
\nsundial.
\nWe’ve heard how He’s helped to <\/p>\n
497
\n00:31:31,360 –> 00:31:34,040
\ndefeat a mighty king.
\nTherefore now make a league with<\/p>\n
498
\n00:31:34,040 –> 00:31:36,120
\nus.
\nAnd here’s a car. <\/p>\n
499
\n00:31:36,120 –> 00:31:41,800
\nLike Joshua of old had failed to
\ninquire of Yahweh before <\/p>\n
500
\n00:31:41,800 –> 00:31:45,160
\nagreeing to a Treaty of
\nfriendship and peace with <\/p>\n
501
\n00:31:45,160 –> 00:31:48,320
\nBabylon.
\nIt was a mistake, and a grievous<\/p>\n
502
\n00:31:48,320 –> 00:31:52,760
\none at that.
\nThis faithful king who’d been so<\/p>\n
503
\n00:31:52,760 –> 00:31:58,800
\nstaunch in resisting Assyria, so
\nresolute in refusing Egypt, how <\/p>\n
504
\n00:31:58,800 –> 00:32:03,000
\ncould he possibly contemplate an
\nalliance with Babylon? <\/p>\n
505
\n00:32:03,000 –> 00:32:10,600
\nAnd by the time Isaiah even
\nasked the question, we know that<\/p>\n
506
\n00:32:10,600 –> 00:32:13,920
\nHezekiah knew because that’s the
\nsort of man he was. <\/p>\n
507
\n00:32:15,600 –> 00:32:20,400
\nSo verse 4 then said he that is
\nIsaiah. <\/p>\n
508
\n00:32:21,200 –> 00:32:26,320
\nWhat have they seen in vine
\nhouse and I think he’s a car now<\/p>\n
509
\n00:32:26,480 –> 00:32:29,120
\nis already stood to an awareness
\nof his folly. <\/p>\n
510
\n00:32:29,200 –> 00:32:31,880
\nSo when Isaiah asked this next
\nquestion, he answered <\/p>\n
511
\n00:32:31,880 –> 00:32:35,280
\nimmediately and he did it with
\ntotal honesty and candor. <\/p>\n
512
\n00:32:35,920 –> 00:32:38,840
\nHe knew where this was heading.
\nHe knew there was no point <\/p>\n
513
\n00:32:38,840 –> 00:32:41,240
\ncontinuing to dispute with
\nYahweh’s prophet. <\/p>\n
514
\n00:32:41,240 –> 00:32:44,000
\nAnd so he confessed, all without
\nreservation. <\/p>\n
515
\n00:32:44,200 –> 00:32:47,080
\nSo Hezekiah answered, All that
\nis in mine house. <\/p>\n
516
\n00:32:47,080 –> 00:32:49,480
\nHave they seen?
\nThere is nothing among my <\/p>\n
517
\n00:32:49,480 –> 00:32:51,320
\ntreasures that I’ve not showed
\nthem. <\/p>\n
518
\n00:32:51,480 –> 00:32:56,840
\nAnd so here then already was the
\nfirst intimation of Hezekiah’s <\/p>\n
519
\n00:32:56,840 –> 00:33:00,840
\ntrue spirit when faced with the
\nreality of what he’d done. <\/p>\n
520
\n00:33:00,960 –> 00:33:03,600
\nHe didn’t prevaricate.
\nHe didn’t dispute, He didn’t <\/p>\n
521
\n00:33:03,600 –> 00:33:05,040
\ncontend.
\nHe didn’t deny. <\/p>\n
522
\n00:33:05,160 –> 00:33:09,720
\nHe told the truth.
\nIt’s intrinsic, brothers and <\/p>\n
523
\n00:33:09,720 –> 00:33:11,840
\nsisters, to our human nature to
\ndeny. <\/p>\n
524
\n00:33:12,000 –> 00:33:15,000
\nWe talk about the Garden of
\nEden, we talk about man’s bias <\/p>\n
525
\n00:33:15,000 –> 00:33:17,400
\ntowards sin, but we’re not just
\nbiased towards sin. <\/p>\n
526
\n00:33:17,400 –> 00:33:19,400
\nAnd brothers and sisters, the
\nstory of the fig leaves in the <\/p>\n
527
\n00:33:19,400 –> 00:33:22,760
\ngarden tells us that we have a
\nbias towards the concealment of <\/p>\n
528
\n00:33:22,760 –> 00:33:25,400
\nsin, a bias towards the denial
\nof sin. <\/p>\n
529
\n00:33:25,640 –> 00:33:28,200
\nWe find it very difficult to
\nadmit to sin. <\/p>\n
530
\n00:33:28,720 –> 00:33:30,760
\nBut here’s a kind did straight
\naway, just like that, without <\/p>\n
531
\n00:33:30,760 –> 00:33:35,200
\nhesitation, and as He did, the
\nimplications of what He had done<\/p>\n
532
\n00:33:35,480 –> 00:33:38,040
\nmust have begun to dawn upon
\nHim. <\/p>\n
533
\n00:33:38,600 –> 00:33:44,840
\nI have shown the inner workings
\nof Yahweh’s Kingdom and even the<\/p>\n
534
\n00:33:44,840 –> 00:33:49,080
\nmysteries of Yahweh’s worship to
\nthe enemies of the truth. <\/p>\n
535
\n00:33:50,560 –> 00:33:54,760
\nThe spices in the ointments of
\nverse 2 may have been a <\/p>\n
536
\n00:33:54,760 –> 00:33:57,680
\nreference to the holy special
\nincense and the holy anointing <\/p>\n
537
\n00:33:57,680 –> 00:34:01,240
\noil of the temple service, but
\nthose items and their <\/p>\n
538
\n00:34:01,240 –> 00:34:03,520
\ningredients were secrets which
\nshould have been known only to <\/p>\n
539
\n00:34:03,520 –> 00:34:06,640
\nthe priestly family.
\nWhat was he thinking of <\/p>\n
540
\n00:34:06,960 –> 00:34:11,960
\nrevealing all this to the
\nungodly ambassadors of Babylon? <\/p>\n
541
\n00:34:15,000 –> 00:34:17,040
\nJust as well that Isaiah turned
\nup, don’t you think? <\/p>\n
542
\n00:34:19,600 –> 00:34:22,280
\nAnd Isaiah turned up because of
\nwho Isaiah was. <\/p>\n
543
\n00:34:22,280 –> 00:34:26,159
\nYou see, because right through
\nthe story, Isaiah has been, has <\/p>\n
544
\n00:34:26,159 –> 00:34:29,440
\nhe not the spokesman for God
\nhimself? <\/p>\n
545
\n00:34:30,920 –> 00:34:34,920
\nIt’s interesting just to notice
\nthe the, the context of of how <\/p>\n
546
\n00:34:34,920 –> 00:34:38,880
\nIsaiah appears because notice
\nthese words in the dialogue of <\/p>\n
547
\n00:34:38,880 –> 00:34:42,120
\nthe crisis of Hezekiah in these
\nIsaiah chapters. <\/p>\n
548
\n00:34:42,840 –> 00:34:46,600
\nIsaiah 37 verse 6, Isaiah said
\nthus saith Yahweh. <\/p>\n
549
\n00:34:47,320 –> 00:34:52,320
\nHe’s God’s spokesman.
\nIsaiah 37 verse 2021, Isaiah <\/p>\n
550
\n00:34:52,320 –> 00:34:56,360
\nsaid thus saith Yahweh.
\nIsaiah 38 verses four and five <\/p>\n
551
\n00:34:56,360 –> 00:35:00,480
\ngo and say thus saith Yahweh.
\nAnd here now in chapter 39, <\/p>\n
552
\n00:35:00,640 –> 00:35:02,920
\nIsaiah said to his guy, hear the
\nword of Yahweh. <\/p>\n
553
\n00:35:03,000 –> 00:35:05,040
\nHe’s God’s spokesman.
\nHe’s always been God’s <\/p>\n
554
\n00:35:05,040 –> 00:35:07,320
\nspokesman.
\nThat’s Isaiah’s role in the <\/p>\n
555
\n00:35:07,320 –> 00:35:10,360
\nstory.
\nBut do you notice that each time<\/p>\n
556
\n00:35:10,360 –> 00:35:14,280
\nhe turns up, he uses the divine
\nname in different ways? <\/p>\n
557
\n00:35:14,720 –> 00:35:17,600
\nBecause you see, in the first
\noccasion he says thus saith <\/p>\n
558
\n00:35:17,600 –> 00:35:21,560
\nYahweh, and in the second
\nepisode he says thus saith <\/p>\n
559
\n00:35:21,560 –> 00:35:26,240
\nYahweh, Elohim of Israel, and
\nthen the third Yahweh, the God <\/p>\n
560
\n00:35:26,240 –> 00:35:31,040
\nof David thy father, and now
\nYahweh survey off. <\/p>\n
561
\n00:35:32,240 –> 00:35:35,600
\nSo there’s a richness about
\nIsaiah’s work as the spokesman <\/p>\n
562
\n00:35:35,760 –> 00:35:39,280
\nfor heaven.
\nAnd on this occasion the message<\/p>\n
563
\n00:35:39,280 –> 00:35:44,040
\ncomes from Yahweh survey off God
\nin militant manifestation, The <\/p>\n
564
\n00:35:44,040 –> 00:35:46,960
\nGod who had defeated the
\nAssyrians, the God whose hosts <\/p>\n
565
\n00:35:46,960 –> 00:35:50,760
\nwere more powerful than anything
\nthat Babylon could offer, that <\/p>\n
566
\n00:35:50,760 –> 00:35:56,560
\nGod Yahweh survey off, saith
\nunto thee, hear the word, says <\/p>\n
567
\n00:35:56,560 –> 00:36:01,440
\nthe prophet Isaiah.
\nAnd so he says in Isaiah 39, <\/p>\n
568
\n00:36:01,680 –> 00:36:05,360
\nverse 6, Behold, the days come,
\nthat all that is in thine house,<\/p>\n
569
\n00:36:05,360 –> 00:36:08,320
\nand that which thy fathers have
\nlaid up in store unto this day <\/p>\n
570
\n00:36:08,720 –> 00:36:11,600
\nshall be carried to Babylon.
\nNothing shall be left, saith <\/p>\n
571
\n00:36:12,080 –> 00:36:15,760
\nYahweh.
\nAnd the very phrases that Isaiah<\/p>\n
572
\n00:36:15,760 –> 00:36:21,040
\nuses, he’s turned Hezekiah’s
\nwords back on him, you see, in <\/p>\n
573
\n00:36:21,040 –> 00:36:24,960
\nthe matter of his judgment,
\nbecause the phrase all that is <\/p>\n
574
\n00:36:24,960 –> 00:36:29,600
\nin thy house, the six comes from
\nHezekiah’s own words in verse 4,<\/p>\n
575
\n00:36:29,760 –> 00:36:34,160
\nall that is in mine house.
\nAnd Isaiah’s expression in verse<\/p>\n
576
\n00:36:34,160 –> 00:36:41,080
\nsix that says there’s, that says
\nthere is nothing that will not <\/p>\n
577
\n00:36:41,080 –> 00:36:45,600
\nbe, nothing that should be left,
\nsays Isaiah Verse 6 is taken <\/p>\n
578
\n00:36:45,600 –> 00:36:47,760
\nfrom Hezekiah’s words in verse
\n4. <\/p>\n
579
\n00:36:47,760 –> 00:36:51,560
\nThere’s nothing that I’ve not
\nshown them that. <\/p>\n
580
\n00:36:51,560 –> 00:36:55,000
\nWhat had he shown them?
\nAll the House of his precious <\/p>\n
581
\n00:36:55,000 –> 00:36:57,880
\nthings, all that was in his
\ntreasures. <\/p>\n
582
\n00:36:58,640 –> 00:37:01,960
\nAnd what Isaiah prophesied came
\nto pass by the way, because the <\/p>\n
583
\n00:37:01,960 –> 00:37:06,600
\nsecond of Chronicles 36 and
\nverses 18 and 19 says the king <\/p>\n
584
\n00:37:06,600 –> 00:37:08,680
\nof the call.
\nThese took all the vessels of <\/p>\n
585
\n00:37:08,680 –> 00:37:11,240
\nthe House of God, great and
\nsmall, and the treasures of the <\/p>\n
586
\n00:37:11,240 –> 00:37:14,160
\nHouse of Yahweh, and the
\ntreasures of the king, and all <\/p>\n
587
\n00:37:14,160 –> 00:37:17,200
\nthese he brought to Babylon.
\nAnd so the historian tells us <\/p>\n
588
\n00:37:17,200 –> 00:37:20,240
\nthat what Isaiah prophesied came
\nindeed to path. <\/p>\n
589
\n00:37:20,240 –> 00:37:25,520
\nAnd what a paradox it was,
\nbecause the very proofs that <\/p>\n
590
\n00:37:25,520 –> 00:37:30,520
\nHezekiah gave to convince the
\nking, the king of Babylon, that <\/p>\n
591
\n00:37:30,520 –> 00:37:35,600
\nthey should cooperate became the
\nultimate reason for Babylon’s <\/p>\n
592
\n00:37:35,600 –> 00:37:41,120
\nplunder of Jerusalem.
\nWhen they came down to capture, <\/p>\n
593
\n00:37:41,280 –> 00:37:44,640
\nthey took those treasures which
\nthe ambassador’s had seen so far<\/p>\n
594
\n00:37:44,640 –> 00:37:47,760
\nfrom protecting his Kingdom.
\nHezekiah’s action could have led<\/p>\n
595
\n00:37:47,760 –> 00:37:50,840
\nto its downfall, and in a sense,
\ndid so. <\/p>\n
596
\n00:37:50,840 –> 00:37:52,280
\nThere’s a lesson here, isn’t
\nthere? <\/p>\n
597
\n00:37:52,560 –> 00:37:56,280
\nAnd the lesson is this, that
\nwhen we’ve not thought through <\/p>\n
598
\n00:37:56,280 –> 00:38:01,160
\nthe implications of our
\ndecisions properly, they can <\/p>\n
599
\n00:38:01,160 –> 00:38:03,640
\nhave negative repercussions in
\nthe future. <\/p>\n
600
\n00:38:03,680 –> 00:38:07,560
\nWhen the decisions we make are
\nnot based on clear scriptural <\/p>\n
601
\n00:38:07,560 –> 00:38:11,920
\nteaching, but upon human
\nthinking they can have, well, <\/p>\n
602
\n00:38:11,920 –> 00:38:15,560
\nthey can be unexpected and
\nunintended consequences. <\/p>\n
603
\n00:38:16,880 –> 00:38:19,680
\nAnd what can happen is that our
\nactions, instead of helping to <\/p>\n
604
\n00:38:19,680 –> 00:38:24,160
\nprotect the truth, might
\nactually begin to weaken it. <\/p>\n
605
\n00:38:24,560 –> 00:38:26,640
\nSo here’s a car.
\nI didn’t intend to harm the <\/p>\n
606
\n00:38:26,640 –> 00:38:29,280
\nKingdom, but in his actions he
\nultimately did. <\/p>\n
607
\n00:38:30,960 –> 00:38:35,400
\nAnd not only would the riches of
\nthe realm be lost, but the <\/p>\n
608
\n00:38:35,400 –> 00:38:37,560
\nbrightest hopes of the royal
\nline itself. <\/p>\n
609
\n00:38:39,000 –> 00:38:42,480
\nBecause verse 7 says, and of thy
\nsons that shall issue from thee,<\/p>\n
610
\n00:38:42,480 –> 00:38:44,760
\nwhich thou shalt forget, shall
\nthey take away, and they shall <\/p>\n
611
\n00:38:44,760 –> 00:38:47,920
\nbe eunuchs in the palace of the
\nking of Babylon. <\/p>\n
612
\n00:38:48,360 –> 00:38:51,360
\nYou see, what the king had done
\ncouldn’t be left unchallenged. <\/p>\n
613
\n00:38:52,200 –> 00:38:55,160
\nThis judgment came upon the
\nKing’s own family because <\/p>\n
614
\n00:38:55,360 –> 00:38:59,640
\nHezekiah otherwise would have
\nbeen held up as an example of <\/p>\n
615
\n00:38:59,880 –> 00:39:02,400
\nrapport with the Spirit of
\nBabylon. <\/p>\n
616
\n00:39:04,000 –> 00:39:08,200
\nGod could not allow that.
\nBut look at the response of <\/p>\n
617
\n00:39:08,200 –> 00:39:11,560
\nHezekiah when this matter of
\njudgment is pronounced against <\/p>\n
618
\n00:39:11,560 –> 00:39:15,160
\nhim by Isaiah in the words of
\nverse 8. <\/p>\n
619
\n00:39:15,280 –> 00:39:19,480
\nThen said Hezekiah to Isaiah,
\ngood is the word of Yahweh which<\/p>\n
620
\n00:39:19,480 –> 00:39:22,160
\nthou hast spoken.
\nSo the first thing that Hezekiah<\/p>\n
621
\n00:39:22,160 –> 00:39:24,320
\nacknowledged that which thou
\nhast spoken. <\/p>\n
622
\n00:39:24,600 –> 00:39:28,720
\nYou see, there was no doubt in
\nHezekiah’s mind that Isaiah was <\/p>\n
623
\n00:39:28,800 –> 00:39:31,600
\nYahweh’s messenger.
\nHe didn’t spoon his comments. <\/p>\n
624
\n00:39:31,600 –> 00:39:38,760
\nHe didn’t reject his warning.
\nProverbs 27, verse 6 faithful of<\/p>\n
625
\n00:39:38,760 –> 00:39:45,280
\nthe wounds of a friend, but the
\nkisses of the enemy are <\/p>\n
626
\n00:39:45,280 –> 00:39:49,960
\ndeceitful.
\nBut how could Hezekiah describe <\/p>\n
627
\n00:39:49,960 –> 00:39:52,360
\na word that pronounced judgement
\non his household? <\/p>\n
628
\n00:39:52,600 –> 00:39:57,800
\nHow can he call that good?
\nWell, because faced with the <\/p>\n
629
\n00:39:57,800 –> 00:40:01,400
\nreality of his pride, what
\nHezekiah immediately sought to <\/p>\n
630
\n00:40:01,400 –> 00:40:03,920
\ndo was to vindicate God and not
\njustify himself. <\/p>\n
631
\n00:40:05,440 –> 00:40:08,480
\nAnd those words summarize a
\nprinciple that lies at the heart<\/p>\n
632
\n00:40:08,480 –> 00:40:11,680
\nof God manifestation as the
\ncentral doctrine of the truth. <\/p>\n
633
\n00:40:11,680 –> 00:40:14,640
\nBecause, well, this is what
\nPsalm 25 verse 8 says. <\/p>\n
634
\n00:40:14,960 –> 00:40:20,280
\nGood and upright is Yahweh.
\nTherefore He will teach sinners <\/p>\n
635
\n00:40:20,280 –> 00:40:24,480
\nin the way Matthew 19 verse 17
\nChrist said, Why call this Thou <\/p>\n
636
\n00:40:24,480 –> 00:40:28,200
\nme good?
\nThere is none good but one, and <\/p>\n
637
\n00:40:28,200 –> 00:40:31,120
\nthat is God.
\nIf they would enter into life, <\/p>\n
638
\n00:40:31,120 –> 00:40:34,520
\nkeep the commandments.
\nSo the maxim that God is good <\/p>\n
639
\n00:40:34,680 –> 00:40:38,800
\nand Yahweh is right is a
\ndeclaration that Yahweh’s <\/p>\n
640
\n00:40:38,800 –> 00:40:41,960
\nsupreme and not man.
\nAnd that’s the very first thing <\/p>\n
641
\n00:40:41,960 –> 00:40:43,560
\nthat Hezekiah sought to
\nacknowledge. <\/p>\n
642
\n00:40:43,720 –> 00:40:45,600
\nThe word of Yahweh is always
\ngood. <\/p>\n
643
\n00:40:47,120 –> 00:40:48,280
\nSo that’s the first thing he
\nsays. <\/p>\n
644
\n00:40:48,560 –> 00:40:51,280
\nI acknowledge the supremacy and
\nthe righteousness of God. <\/p>\n
645
\n00:40:51,840 –> 00:40:54,360
\nThat comes first, says Hezekiah.
\nI accept that. <\/p>\n
646
\n00:40:54,520 –> 00:40:58,080
\nI bow before that as a matter of
\ndivine principle in my life. <\/p>\n
647
\n00:40:58,280 –> 00:41:01,880
\nAnd then it says He said,
\nMoreover, for there shall be <\/p>\n
648
\n00:41:01,880 –> 00:41:04,240
\npeace and truth in my days.
\nNow you see that little <\/p>\n
649
\n00:41:04,240 –> 00:41:08,440
\nexpression, he said.
\nMoreover, those words suggest a <\/p>\n
650
\n00:41:08,440 –> 00:41:12,560
\nbreak between his first comment,
\nGood is the word of Yahweh. <\/p>\n
651
\n00:41:13,560 –> 00:41:16,480
\nAnd now his second comment.
\nThere shall be peace and truth <\/p>\n
652
\n00:41:16,480 –> 00:41:19,680
\nin my days.
\nSo his first concern was to <\/p>\n
653
\n00:41:19,680 –> 00:41:21,640
\nvindicate the righteousness of
\nGod. <\/p>\n
654
\n00:41:21,880 –> 00:41:25,920
\nThen a pause to reflect and
\nconsider before making this <\/p>\n
655
\n00:41:26,000 –> 00:41:30,720
\nsecond comment.
\nSo what then then did this <\/p>\n
656
\n00:41:30,800 –> 00:41:35,840
\nsecond statement really mean?
\nFor there shall be peace and <\/p>\n
657
\n00:41:35,840 –> 00:41:41,880
\ntruth in my days.
\nWell, one translation has Then <\/p>\n
658
\n00:41:41,880 –> 00:41:44,560
\nHezekiah said to Isaiah, This
\nmessage you’ve given me from <\/p>\n
659
\n00:41:44,560 –> 00:41:46,440
\nYahweh is good.
\nFor the king was thinking, well,<\/p>\n
660
\n00:41:46,440 –> 00:41:48,880
\nat least there’ll be peace and
\nsecurity during my lifetime. <\/p>\n
661
\n00:41:51,840 –> 00:41:56,080
\nSo the implication would be,
\nwell, pity about those after me,<\/p>\n
662
\n00:41:56,080 –> 00:42:01,680
\nbut at least I’ll be all right.
\nAn attitude of utter selfishness<\/p>\n
663
\n00:42:01,760 –> 00:42:04,320
\nand indifference to the plight
\nof others who might follow. <\/p>\n
664
\n00:42:04,520 –> 00:42:07,080
\nBut in the light of his
\nconfession that Yahweh is good, <\/p>\n
665
\n00:42:07,280 –> 00:42:10,080
\ncould that be possibly the
\nmeaning of Hezekiah’s words? <\/p>\n
666
\n00:42:10,680 –> 00:42:14,200
\nA man who were told trusted God
\nlike none other before or after <\/p>\n
667
\n00:42:14,200 –> 00:42:18,040
\nhim.
\nNow what he really meant was <\/p>\n
668
\n00:42:18,040 –> 00:42:24,320
\nthat in the time that remained
\nto him in God’s good grace, that<\/p>\n
669
\n00:42:24,320 –> 00:42:28,680
\nhis focus would now be on what
\nwas best for the nation as he <\/p>\n
670
\n00:42:28,680 –> 00:42:31,760
\nhad already there.
\nThe father to the children shall<\/p>\n
671
\n00:42:31,760 –> 00:42:35,640
\nmake know thy truth.
\nAnd we have scriptural testimony<\/p>\n
672
\n00:42:35,840 –> 00:42:39,080
\nthat that was exactly the spirit
\nof his a car. <\/p>\n
673
\n00:42:39,680 –> 00:42:43,320
\nYou see, it isn’t just Isaiah
\nwho’d prophesied here about <\/p>\n
674
\n00:42:43,320 –> 00:42:45,800
\ngoing into Babylon.
\nIsaiah prophesized that the <\/p>\n
675
\n00:42:45,800 –> 00:42:49,440
\nroyal family will go into
\nBabylon, Isaiah 39 verses 6:00 <\/p>\n
676
\n00:42:49,440 –> 00:42:52,360
\nand 7:00.
\nBut Micah prophesied in Micah 4,<\/p>\n
677
\n00:42:52,360 –> 00:42:55,320
\nverse 10 that the nation would
\nbe exiled into Babylon. <\/p>\n
678
\n00:42:56,040 –> 00:42:59,480
\nAnd when Micah gave his promise,
\nbecause he’s a contemporary <\/p>\n
679
\n00:42:59,480 –> 00:43:04,680
\nprophet with Isaiah, we know
\nwhat Hezekiah’s response was to <\/p>\n
680
\n00:43:04,680 –> 00:43:07,640
\nMicah’s promise that the nation
\nwill be exiled to Babylon. <\/p>\n
681
\n00:43:07,960 –> 00:43:11,400
\nBecause if you come to Jeremiah
\n26, we’re told, we’re told that <\/p>\n
682
\n00:43:11,400 –> 00:43:15,520
\nwhen Micah uttered his words
\nagainst the nation, this is what<\/p>\n
683
\n00:43:15,720 –> 00:43:18,800
\nKing Hezekiah said at that very
\nmoment of time. <\/p>\n
684
\n00:43:18,800 –> 00:43:22,880
\nIt’s an indication and index to
\nthe character of the man with <\/p>\n
685
\n00:43:22,880 –> 00:43:25,000
\nwhom we have to do in this
\nstory. <\/p>\n
686
\n00:43:26,240 –> 00:43:29,640
\nZion for your sake shall be
\nplowed as a field, Micah had <\/p>\n
687
\n00:43:29,640 –> 00:43:33,520
\nsaid, and this is what it says
\nin Jeremiah 26 and verse 17. <\/p>\n
688
\n00:43:33,920 –> 00:43:36,600
\nThen rose up certain of the
\nelders of the land, and spake to<\/p>\n
689
\n00:43:36,600 –> 00:43:40,040
\nall the assembly of the people,
\nsaying, Mike of the Morris site <\/p>\n
690
\n00:43:40,560 –> 00:43:43,600
\nprophesied in the days of
\nHezekiah king of Judah, and <\/p>\n
691
\n00:43:43,600 –> 00:43:46,560
\nspake to all the people of
\nJudah, saying, Thus saith Yahweh<\/p>\n
692
\n00:43:46,560 –> 00:43:50,680
\nof hosts, Zion shall be plowed
\nlike a field, and Jerusalem <\/p>\n
693
\n00:43:50,680 –> 00:43:53,120
\nshall become heaps in the
\nmountains of the of the houses, <\/p>\n
694
\n00:43:53,120 –> 00:43:57,440
\nthe high places of a forest.
\nDid Hezekiah, king of Judah, and<\/p>\n
695
\n00:43:57,440 –> 00:43:59,160
\nall Judah put him at all to
\ndeath? <\/p>\n
696
\n00:43:59,920 –> 00:44:05,040
\nDid not he, Hezekiah, fear
\nYahweh, and besought Yahweh, and<\/p>\n
697
\n00:44:05,040 –> 00:44:08,080
\nYahweh repented him of the evil
\nwhich he pronounced against <\/p>\n
698
\n00:44:08,080 –> 00:44:12,680
\nthem?
\nSo notice those the connections <\/p>\n
699
\n00:44:12,680 –> 00:44:14,960
\nof the of the singular and the
\nplural. <\/p>\n
700
\n00:44:15,120 –> 00:44:18,200
\nThe obvious implication of
\nJeremiah’s words was that the <\/p>\n
701
\n00:44:18,200 –> 00:44:22,160
\nhumility of the king who
\nbesought Yahweh rescued the <\/p>\n
702
\n00:44:22,160 –> 00:44:26,800
\nnation from their doom.
\nHe besought they were saved. <\/p>\n
703
\n00:44:26,880 –> 00:44:29,200
\nDid you notice that and see what
\nthe margin says? <\/p>\n
704
\n00:44:29,400 –> 00:44:33,360
\nThe margin says in Jeremiah 26
\nand verse 18, verse 19. <\/p>\n
705
\n00:44:33,480 –> 00:44:37,640
\nSee Second Chronicles chapter
\n32, verse 26. <\/p>\n
706
\n00:44:37,800 –> 00:44:40,720
\nTo which, brothers and sisters,
\nwe shall now to, because in the <\/p>\n
707
\n00:44:40,720 –> 00:44:45,000
\nSecond of Chronicles chapter 32,
\nwe have the divine comment on <\/p>\n
708
\n00:44:45,000 –> 00:44:49,840
\nthis matter and how Hezekiah did
\nreact, how he didn’t respond. <\/p>\n
709
\n00:44:50,160 –> 00:44:53,200
\nAnd he did so in a manner that
\nwas utterly consistent with his <\/p>\n
710
\n00:44:53,440 –> 00:44:57,000
\ntrue character, even when under
\ncrisis. <\/p>\n
711
\n00:44:57,200 –> 00:45:01,400
\nSo this is what it says
\nconcerning this same episode in <\/p>\n
712
\n00:45:01,400 –> 00:45:06,760
\nthe Second Chronicles 32 record.
\nIt says, verse 26, <\/p>\n
713
\n00:45:07,160 –> 00:45:13,360
\nnotwithstanding after his
\nmistake, verse 25 after his <\/p>\n
714
\n00:45:13,360 –> 00:45:20,600
\nerror, notwithstanding verse 26,
\nhe humbled himself for the pride<\/p>\n
715
\n00:45:20,640 –> 00:45:27,240
\nof his heart, both he and the
\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, so <\/p>\n
716
\n00:45:27,240 –> 00:45:31,000
\nthat the wrath of Yahweh came
\nnot upon them in the days of <\/p>\n
717
\n00:45:31,000 –> 00:45:32,840
\nHezekiah.
\nSo he was the test. <\/p>\n
718
\n00:45:33,080 –> 00:45:37,080
\nAnd Hezekiah, despite his
\nmomentary lapse, now reveals <\/p>\n
719
\n00:45:37,080 –> 00:45:40,840
\nagain the Spirit in his life
\nthat so delighted his God. <\/p>\n
720
\n00:45:41,080 –> 00:45:43,360
\nAnd it’s the lesson by the
\nsisters from our study today <\/p>\n
721
\n00:45:43,360 –> 00:45:47,280
\nabout what to do and how to
\nrespond when in times of crisis.<\/p>\n
722
\n00:45:47,640 –> 00:45:49,840
\nAnd the lesson is, well, we all
\nyou know it. <\/p>\n
723
\n00:45:50,040 –> 00:45:52,880
\nIt’s the practice of it that’s
\ndifficult, not the knowing of <\/p>\n
724
\n00:45:52,880 –> 00:45:59,280
\nit.
\nLearning to show humility, to <\/p>\n
725
\n00:45:59,320 –> 00:46:04,280
\nconfess fault.
\nNow just have a look at these <\/p>\n
726
\n00:46:04,520 –> 00:46:09,120
\nwonderful examples in the Second
\nof Chronicles, chapter 12 and <\/p>\n
727
\n00:46:09,120 –> 00:46:11,680
\nverse 12.
\nWhen Ribo humbled himself, the <\/p>\n
728
\n00:46:11,680 –> 00:46:14,840
\nwrath of Yahweh turned from him
\nthat he would not destroy him <\/p>\n
729
\n00:46:15,360 –> 00:46:18,840
\naltogether.
\nHumility brought that. <\/p>\n
730
\n00:46:21,040 –> 00:46:24,640
\nAnd in the first of Kings 21
\nverses 28 and 29, it says, the <\/p>\n
731
\n00:46:24,640 –> 00:46:28,680
\nword of Yahweh came and said,
\nSeest thou how Ahab humbleth <\/p>\n
732
\n00:46:28,680 –> 00:46:31,360
\nhimself before me?
\nI will not bring the evil in his<\/p>\n
733
\n00:46:31,360 –> 00:46:35,880
\ndays.
\nAnd now here’s a car in the <\/p>\n
734
\n00:46:35,880 –> 00:46:38,200
\nsecond of Chronicles 32 and
\nverse 26. <\/p>\n
735
\n00:46:38,200 –> 00:46:41,120
\nNotwithstanding Hezekiah humbled
\nhimself for the pride of his <\/p>\n
736
\n00:46:41,120 –> 00:46:43,880
\nheart, so that the wrath of
\nYahweh came not upon them. <\/p>\n
737
\n00:46:45,920 –> 00:46:48,160
\nThe wrath of Yahweh came not
\nupon them. <\/p>\n
738
\n00:46:50,320 –> 00:46:52,800
\nAnd Second Chronicles 33 verses
\n12 to 13. <\/p>\n
739
\n00:46:52,800 –> 00:46:56,080
\nHe Manasseh humbled himself
\ngreatly before the God of his <\/p>\n
740
\n00:46:56,080 –> 00:46:58,680
\nfathers, and he wasn’t treated
\nof him, and heard his <\/p>\n
741
\n00:46:58,680 –> 00:47:00,880
\nsupplications.
\nSo I think that here’s the <\/p>\n
742
\n00:47:00,880 –> 00:47:04,200
\nmeaning of Hezekiah’s words,
\nquoting from the King’s version.<\/p>\n
743
\n00:47:04,520 –> 00:47:10,360
\nIs it not good if peace and
\ntruth be in my days? <\/p>\n
744
\n00:47:11,040 –> 00:47:14,560
\nSo far from those words being an
\nindication of His indifference <\/p>\n
745
\n00:47:14,560 –> 00:47:19,120
\nto the nation’s future, it was
\nHis his expression of hope that <\/p>\n
746
\n00:47:19,120 –> 00:47:22,640
\nHe had been granted time to
\nbring His people to the same <\/p>\n
747
\n00:47:22,640 –> 00:47:26,400
\nspirit of humility which He
\nHimself had already shown, And <\/p>\n
748
\n00:47:26,400 –> 00:47:28,360
\nHis labours were blessed with
\nsuccess. <\/p>\n
749
\n00:47:28,520 –> 00:47:31,360
\nBecause verse 26 says the wrath
\ndid not come. <\/p>\n
750
\n00:47:31,440 –> 00:47:37,160
\nWhen in His days there shall be
\npeace and truth in my days. <\/p>\n
751
\n00:47:37,360 –> 00:47:39,720
\nAnd He averted the wrath in His
\ndays. <\/p>\n
752
\n00:47:42,280 –> 00:47:45,880
\nSo here then were two opposite
\nattributes played out in the <\/p>\n
753
\n00:47:45,880 –> 00:47:50,840
\nlife of the king.
\nHis pride brought the nation <\/p>\n
754
\n00:47:50,840 –> 00:47:59,160
\ninto danger, but thankfully his
\nhis humility saved the nation <\/p>\n
755
\n00:47:59,400 –> 00:48:03,200
\nfrom disaster.
\nNow we can see the story of <\/p>\n
756
\n00:48:03,200 –> 00:48:04,720
\nHezekiah and agree with the
\nlesson. <\/p>\n
757
\n00:48:04,720 –> 00:48:08,440
\nBut learning how to apply it is
\nnot always so easy. <\/p>\n
758
\n00:48:09,760 –> 00:48:15,160
\nYou see, human pride can be
\nmanifested in many ways, but one<\/p>\n
759
\n00:48:15,160 –> 00:48:19,200
\nof its worst aspects is an
\nunwillingness to receive rebuke <\/p>\n
760
\n00:48:20,800 –> 00:48:26,160
\nand inability to admit fault, a
\nreluctance to accept counsel. <\/p>\n
761
\n00:48:28,040 –> 00:48:31,280
\nFaced with such a threat, the
\nthinking of the flesh tends to <\/p>\n
762
\n00:48:31,280 –> 00:48:33,920
\nreact adversely.
\nIt engages in self <\/p>\n
763
\n00:48:33,920 –> 00:48:36,960
\njustification.
\nIt indulges in self-righteous <\/p>\n
764
\n00:48:36,960 –> 00:48:40,560
\nindignation.
\nIt casts aspersions on the other<\/p>\n
765
\n00:48:40,560 –> 00:48:45,400
\nparty, revealing a spirit that’s
\nclearly resentful of anyone who <\/p>\n
766
\n00:48:45,400 –> 00:48:48,520
\nmight have the temerity just to
\nsuggest that they’re wrong. <\/p>\n
767
\n00:48:48,520 –> 00:48:51,600
\nPrides about self, brothers and
\nsisters, and we ought not to <\/p>\n
768
\n00:48:51,600 –> 00:48:56,200
\nimagine that this is a problem
\nuniquely faced by others but not<\/p>\n
769
\n00:48:56,200 –> 00:49:00,880
\nourselves.
\nWe all suffer from a condition <\/p>\n
770
\n00:49:00,880 –> 00:49:04,280
\nfirst seen in the Garden of
\nEden, when one man and one woman<\/p>\n
771
\n00:49:04,280 –> 00:49:07,880
\nwere both unwilling to admit
\nfault and both too quick to <\/p>\n
772
\n00:49:07,880 –> 00:49:10,600
\nblame someone else.
\nIt’s ever been so. <\/p>\n
773
\n00:49:11,640 –> 00:49:17,840
\nSo if pride is about the
\naggrandisement of man, then what<\/p>\n
774
\n00:49:17,840 –> 00:49:22,320
\ndo you think humility is?
\nWell, I think the world would <\/p>\n
775
\n00:49:22,320 –> 00:49:25,080
\nprobably teach that humility is
\nthe opposite of pride. <\/p>\n
776
\n00:49:25,080 –> 00:49:26,880
\nMust be about the abasement of
\nman. <\/p>\n
777
\n00:49:29,160 –> 00:49:32,040
\nBut the scriptural passages that
\nwe’ve examined, which suggests <\/p>\n
778
\n00:49:32,040 –> 00:49:36,480
\nthat if pride is seen in the
\nexaltation of man, humility is <\/p>\n
779
\n00:49:36,480 –> 00:49:44,080
\nseen in the exaltation of God.
\nBiblical humility relates to the<\/p>\n
780
\n00:49:44,080 –> 00:49:48,720
\nman or the woman who’s so
\ncentered on God and His purpose <\/p>\n
781
\n00:49:48,880 –> 00:49:51,760
\nthat, when faced with the
\nevidence that they have let the <\/p>\n
782
\n00:49:51,760 –> 00:49:55,240
\ntruth down, will prefer to
\nsurrender to the vindication of <\/p>\n
783
\n00:49:55,240 –> 00:49:58,320
\nGod rather than to the
\njustification of self. <\/p>\n
784
\n00:50:00,760 –> 00:50:03,720
\nPride is intrinsic to the
\nthinking of the flesh. <\/p>\n
785
\n00:50:05,560 –> 00:50:09,480
\nHumility stands related to the
\nthinking of the Spirit. <\/p>\n
786
\n00:50:09,480 –> 00:50:16,400
\nAnd because it does, whereas
\npride comes naturally, humility <\/p>\n
787
\n00:50:16,400 –> 00:50:21,520
\nmust be learned.
\nThat humility is an attribute <\/p>\n
788
\n00:50:21,520 –> 00:50:27,760
\nthat Yahweh delights in and we
\nall need more of that spirit of <\/p>\n
789
\n00:50:27,760 –> 00:50:31,840
\nhumility in an age which is
\nfilled with self focused, <\/p>\n
790
\n00:50:31,840 –> 00:50:35,360
\nself-centered, self absorbed,
\nself opinionated, self <\/p>\n
791
\n00:50:35,360 –> 00:50:42,400
\njustifying humanism.
\nThat’s Micah 6 verse 8 isn’t it?<\/p>\n
792
\n00:50:42,480 –> 00:50:47,160
\nWhat doth Yahweh, thy God,
\nrequireth thee but to do justly,<\/p>\n
793
\n00:50:47,680 –> 00:50:53,840
\nto love mercy and to humble
\nthyself, to walk with thy God <\/p>\n
794
\n00:50:55,320 –> 00:50:59,280
\nNow how encouraging that
\nHezekiah is example even in this<\/p>\n
795
\n00:50:59,280 –> 00:51:02,640
\nmoment of his momentary lapse
\nwhen he lost perspective but <\/p>\n
796
\n00:51:02,640 –> 00:51:05,360
\nthen regained it.
\nHow wonderful at that crucial <\/p>\n
797
\n00:51:05,360 –> 00:51:08,680
\nmoment he shows that spirit of
\nhumility that in the end saved <\/p>\n
798
\n00:51:08,680 –> 00:51:13,560
\nhis nation, saved his people and
\nthose 15 years of added time, <\/p>\n
799
\n00:51:13,560 –> 00:51:17,600
\nhis wise use of them prospered
\nthe nation so that the broth was<\/p>\n
800
\n00:51:17,600 –> 00:51:20,480
\naverted in his day.
\nLet’s be thankful for that <\/p>\n
801
\n00:51:20,480 –> 00:51:25,320
\nspirit and that lesson by the
\nsisters out of the life of King <\/p>\n
802
\n00:51:25,320 –> 00:51:29,600
\nHezekiah, as it says in one of
\nour hymns. <\/p>\n
803
\n00:51:30,840 –> 00:51:38,920
\nO God, unseen yet ever near, we
\ncome to seek Thy face, our <\/p>\n
804
\n00:51:38,920 –> 00:51:47,880
\nhearts made wiser by thy fear,
\nand humbler by Thy grace. <\/p>\n
805
\n00:52:09,160 –> 00:52:13,040
\nOn behalf of all of us, we would
\nlike to thank our brethren for <\/p>\n
806
\n00:52:13,040 –> 00:52:15,640
\ntheir administrations on our
\nbehalf this morning. <\/p>\n
807
\n00:52:16,920 –> 00:52:21,080
\nAnd while we stand, let us close
\nour session and give thanks for <\/p>\n
808
\n00:52:21,080 –> 00:52:32,390
\nour meal, our greats, and our
\neternal. <\/p>\n
809
\n00:52:33,630 –> 00:52:38,630
\nOur loving Lord God, our
\nHeavenly Father, we thank you <\/p>\n
810
\n00:52:38,630 –> 00:52:47,080
\nfor the blessing of the morning
\npages of Scripture opened in the<\/p>\n
811
\n00:52:47,080 –> 00:52:50,720
\nlives of those that are written
\ntherein. <\/p>\n
812
\n00:52:52,800 –> 00:52:59,200
\nWe’re thankful for the lessons,
\nfor the Enlightenment, and for <\/p>\n
813
\n00:52:59,200 –> 00:53:03,280
\nthe encouragement and the
\nstrength that Your Word <\/p>\n
814
\n00:53:03,280 –> 00:53:10,320
\nprovides.
\nWe continue our Thanksgiving for<\/p>\n
815
\n00:53:10,320 –> 00:53:15,440
\nthe food that has been prepared
\nfor us and the wonderful <\/p>\n
816
\n00:53:15,440 –> 00:53:22,400
\nopportunity to share these good
\nthings together in the spirit of<\/p>\n
817
\n00:53:22,400 –> 00:53:27,240
\nfellowship and friendship.
\nPraise you for your goodness. <\/p>\n
818
\n00:53:28,760 –> 00:53:34,680
\nThank you for all things.
\nIn the name of our exalted Lord <\/p>\n
819
\n00:53:34,680 –> 00:53:38,040
\nand Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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