Slices
Prepare
How do you feel when you hear Jesus made fun of or insulted? Take a few moments to analyse your feelings and what they show you about how you see God.
Bible passage
Jerusalem’s deliverance foretold
37 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, ‘This is what Hezekiah says: this day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.’
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.”’
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush, was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 ‘Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.” 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them – the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?’
Hezekiah’s prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 ‘Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18 ‘It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.’
Explore
The field commander has touched a nerve, not by threatening death and destruction but by mocking the living God. Hezekiah can’t bear it. He carries out the symbolic gesture of ripping up his finery and replacing it with sackcloth, sends emissaries to the prophet Isaiah with a pleading message and heads to the Temple to pray (vs 14–20). It is unbearable to think that God will allow his name to sit alongside those of wood and stone gods carved by people.
The blasphemous ridicule has cleared Hezekiah’s mind. He has not always shown God the respect, honour and worship he deserves, but in this moment, he understands: ‘You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth’ (37:16).
The field commander won’t get away with his disrespect, but many people do – at least in the short term. Even the mockers around Jesus’ cross didn’t seem to suffer consequences. Jesus told us that following him would mean being treated in the same ways he was. And that one day vindication would come ‘so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that’ the Lord is the only God (37:20).
Respond
Pray for those who misjudge the living God, that they would repent before it is too late.
Deeper Bible study
Close your eyes, breathe slowly and focus on God’s presence with you. Then imagine setting your burdens aside, one by one.
Our reading today seems like two scenes from a short play about intense pressure. Before we go there, ask yourself, ‘How do I respond to the times of intense pressure in my life?’ Honestly, my formula is a combination of prayer and sleeplessness. I call out to God on my nightly prayer walk, but I often wake up in the middle of the night endlessly rehearsing all the what-if scenarios. I know it’s an unproductive pattern, but I have trouble turning it off. How did King Hezekiah deal with his moment of pressure? Let’s watch the play to find out.
In the first scene, we see King Hezekiah processing the military commander’s threatening trash talk from chapter 36. I’m struck that Hezekiah’s first instinct is worship (v 1). The best way to approach any problem is humbly on our knees before the Lord Almighty, reminding us of his ability to do what to us seems impossible.1 Hezekiah then seeks God’s guidance (v 2) and he prays (cf v 4). Recently I was given a wooden prayer kneeler which I now use during my sleepless nights. I’m learning that going to the kneeler for a sweet hour of prayer as soon as I wake up is much more productive than several hours of tossing and turning in bed.
In the second scene, we see Hezekiah responding to a threatening letter from King Sennacherib (vs 14–20). Again, Hezekiah turns to worship and prayer, but this time we detect an emerging tone of confidence. Hezekiah realises that Sennacherib is challenging ‘the living God’, not just him (vs 17,20). Honest prayer faces the facts of any problem but never wavers in a confidence that God is fighting our battle and he is able to bring solutions we could never imagine.2
Hold a symbol of the pressure in your life: a picture of a stressful place or relationship, a large invoice, a disturbing email. Ask God to intervene.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Hosea 13,14; Revelation 4
Pray for Scripture Union
Zoraida Ali-Smith, PA to SU’s Director of Mobilisation, asks us to pray for the development of a new ‘Welcome Pack’ for new supporters. Pray that the stories of God at work through the movement will inspire people to get further involved.
