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So you're there in Isaiah chapter 37, and we're continuing our study through the book of Isaiah, and we're really continuing on with the story of Hezekiah here. And so in chapter 36 we saw Rabshiqui. Rabshiqui was sent by Kings and Akarib of Assyria to basically give a message to Jerusalem and to all those that were there that they better basically bow the knee to them and submit to them, or they're gonna be taken out, like all the other nations that they were taken out. So Assyria is the world power at that time. So we had Egypt before that, and now it's Assyria, and then eventually it's gonna be Babylon, and that's in the future of, you know, Judah and all that later on. But so we saw Rabshiqui, and he basically told the men on the wall, he told all them to hold their peace when Rabshiqui would, you know, gave his whole spiel, and so they held their peace, and then in chapter 37 here we see what Hezekiah's response to Rabshiqui's words are. So in verse 1 there it says, And 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 the Lord. So we see his response is to go into the house of the Lord. So that's a godly response right there, as far as if you have trouble, if there's tribulation, trials, anything like that, is to go to the house of God. You know, in 1 Timothy chapter 3 it tells us, because you say, well how does that apply to us? We don't have a temple, we don't have, we can't take hold of the horns of the altar, you know, like they would do back in the Old Testament. Well, the house of God is the church of the living God, and in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14 it says, These things write unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly, but if I tarry along, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." So whenever you're in trouble or, you know, being afflicted for the cause of Christ, then you need to be coming to the house of God. Okay, so that's where you're gonna be exhorted, that's where you're gonna be comforted, that's where you're gonna find help. And, you know, Hezekiah didn't run off to some other, like, you know, enchantress, or like the witch at Endor, and try to figure out what we're gonna do here. No, he goes to God. He goes to the house of God, and he finds the men of God, and ultimately he's gonna find a prophet of God to talk to God for him. Okay, now obviously we're in the Old Testament where you had prophets, and God would speak to them directly, and give them the Word of God, but in the New Testament you have the Word of God, so you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it is taught you shall abide in him. So you know that you have the Word of God, you can know the Word of God, but don't forget this, that He's manifested His Word through preaching, and that through the preaching He has given some apostles, some pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, and, you know, for the edifying of the church. And so obviously church is important for that, to be fed, but also it should be a haven for those that are serving the Lord, and that want refuge in time of trouble. Now, also know this, is that in the New Testament, you know, we don't have to come to priests, because if you think about the temple, or the house of God back then, there was a bunch of the priests are the ones that were there doing the office of the Levitical priesthood, and now in the New Testament we don't have a Levitical priesthood, right? We're the royal priesthood, and the believer is, you know, every one of us has made priests and kings unto God, right? Well in Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4 kind of gives us light into that, that if we're running to the house of God, obviously that's the thing you should do, okay? And Hezekiah is a very godly person, and so he doesn't run off to somewhere else. Obviously he's upset. Obviously, you know, he's being threatened, okay? And he was very wise to say, don't speak unto that guy. Just let him rage, let him say what he's got to say, and don't say anything to him, but he did take those words to heart and took it to the Lord, okay? And this is where it really comes down to casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you, and the idea is just submitting unto the Lord, and casting that on Him, and let Him take care of it, and that's exactly what Hezekiah does with these words of Rapshaki, and then later on he's gonna do it again, and so it's just something that we see repeated over and over again, but in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 14 it says this, it says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. See, we have a high priest that is after the order of Melchizedek, that is after the power of an endless life, and that he will be a high priest unto us forever. He ever liveth to make intercession for us, and that he is there in heaven right now making intercession for us, and you know, he is our high priest. Now notice, and it says, let us hold fast our profession. Why? Because we have a great high priest, and notice what it says in verse 15, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. See, in the Old Testament they had priests that were touched with the feeling of their infirmities, but they weren't God, okay? They were men just like us, they lived and died, but now we have a priest that ever liveth, and that is the Son of God, but he's not just God, he also was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Why? Because he's God in the flesh, because he became one of us, okay? And notice in verse 16, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, and we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time and need. So how much more in the New Testament could we run to God and just lay our grievances before him? You know, Hezekiah is obviously going to the house of God that was in his day in Jerusalem, he's going to the men of God, the priests that were there, the scribes, and you know, coming to them for help and obviously beseeching God, okay? But how much more in the New Testament that when our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, we have a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that was attempted, you know, that was, you know, basically took all our infirmities on him and was tempted just like we were, and we can come to him, we can come boldly unto the throne of grace, we can come through the veil by a new and living way. So how much more in the New Testament can we just come boldly and just bring that to God, okay? And so I just want to kind of put that out there that, hey, this story, honestly we have it better right now than Hezekiah did. You say, well, but he talked directly to Isaiah. You have a direct line right here of God talking to you, and you have a direct line straight to the Savior, and you can come boldly into the throne of grace. But you know what, it takes faith to know that, to say, you know what, I have that access, and I can come straight to my Savior, and I can bring my grievances, and you know what, sometimes it takes a little faith that He actually cares for you. Casting all your care upon Him before He cares for you, that is something that takes faith that He actually cares, okay? Now go back to Isaiah chapter 37 there. So I want you to notice that, that what's the first thing He does? You know, He basically rents His clothes and puts on sackcloth, and obviously that's a sign of, you know, desperation or mourning or sorrow, right? I mean, it's just basically showing you that, hey, I'm in distress, and then He comes to the house of God, okay? And so what is He doing? He's humbling Himself. He's not coming there with, you know, all His pomp and everything else as a king. He's coming there humble and sackcloth, and He's coming to the Lord, coming to the house of God, looking for help, okay? Now that's a good king. You know, it's not some proud king that comes in and be like, oh, you know, we can handle this, or just not even go into the house of God. How many times, and I want you to know this, don't take this for granted, because how many times do we read these kings that are just like going somewhere else, you're like, what are you doing? Just go to God. Every time you go to God, it works out. And as a reader you're looking at it like, why don't you just do it? You know, you're seeing all these stories where when they trust in God, God delivers them. But when you don't trust in God, then everything goes to pot, right? Now in verse 2 there, so Isaiah chapter 37 verse 2, it says, And He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth. So notice that he's sending these people, Eliakim, who's basically, you know, the one that's overseeing everything, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, okay? Unto Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, this day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy, for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rapsikhi, whom the king of Assyria his master had sent to reproach the living God, and will approve the words which the Lord thy God hath heard, wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah." So he's basically coming to Isaiah and saying, hey, you know, beseech the Lord for this. That these words that Rapsikhi spoke against the living God, these blasphemies, right? So he's like, it's a day of trouble, of rebuke, of blasphemy. And I don't know about you, but when when people blaspheme my Savior, it makes me angry. And, you know, it's one thing to, you know, if you're talking, you know, bad about me, or saying, you know, you're a boring preacher, or you can't sing, or you look funny, or, you know, whatever the case may be, you know, they could they could hit you with all this stuff, and you're just like, ah, you know, whatever. Sure, sure, I'm not the best preacher in the world. Sure, I definitely can't sing very well. But when they start blaspheming my Savior, and they start saying that my Savior is, you know, a fairy tale, or they start blaspheming Him in just the worst ways imaginable, that makes me angry, okay? So if you want to make me angry, then make fun of my Savior, say nasty things about my God, and then, you know, let's go. You know, that's that's where the line's drawn. So you can imagine that Hezekiah is obviously upset, and, you know, obviously this army's coming against them, but they're also talking trash about God. They're like, who is your God that he's able to deliver you? And it's just this idea that the world is saying to us is that, you know, you're God over there. Yeah, you're Jesus over there. You know, that fairy tale, you know, that fictional character, and just blaspheming our God, and it makes you angry. It upsets you, and you want God to do something about it, right? But as we see here, Isaiah's response in verse 6, Isaiah's response in verse 6 here, it says, and Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servant of the king of Assyria had blasphemed me. So notice the first thing that God says is, don't fear them, right? And I just love that because that's that's usually always the case. If you think about when Jesus was here on the earth, he's always like, be not afraid. Fear not. You know, it's just like constantly telling him, just don't be afraid, and alright, here's what we're gonna do, okay? And I love that response because it just always seems to be the case that in our flesh we're just afraid. We're afraid what man can do unto us. We're afraid that we can't handle a certain situation, but when God's with you, listen, you don't need to be afraid. Don't fear what man can do unto you. And listen, you know, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. And so if you have fear, and it's not just a fear to God, if you have a fear that's anything other than fearing your God, then that is not a good fear. God hath not given us this fear to fear, but a power and of love and of a sound mind. And so we are not to be fearful people of what's going around us, whether it's the election, whether it's the president, whether it's the coronavirus, whether it's, you know, tyrannical dystopian, you know, stuff that's going on in our country. We're not to be afraid of that, okay? I'm not saying to just not say anything about it, you know, I'm not saying to just, you know, just go along, get along with everything, but I'm saying you're not supposed to be afraid about it. You're not supposed to be just worried about it. You're supposed to just put it on the Lord and fear God, because if God before us, who can be against us? That's what it says in verse 7. Behold, I will send a blast upon him. So this is what God's saying he's gonna do. I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. Okay? So we see here that this is how he's responding to Raphshache. Okay? So we're gonna have another case where the king of Assyria is giving these letters to Hezekiah in this chapter, but this is the one with Raphshache. Okay? So Raphshache is coming to the wall, and the king of Assyria is not there. He's fighting in Lachish at the time. Like, he's, you know, off basically expanding his kingdom over somewhere else, and he sends messengers to Jerusalem, and basically God sends this blast. Now a blast is kind of like, if you think about in the Genesis, there'll be like a blast on the corner. It basically means like a pestilence as far as, you know, crops and all that stuff go, but then there's this rumor of war. Okay? So verse 8 there, it says, So Raphshache returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. So he was in Lachish, but then he had to go to Libnah, and he was warring against Libnah. So basically, God took the focus off Jerusalem. Like, they got bigger fish to fry, if that makes sense. You know, they have to deal with this this other thing over here, and got them out of their hair. Okay? So that's kind of the end of Raphshache there, but then you go into verse 9 here, and notice what the king of Assyria does here, because it's kind of like, you know, God obviously, you know, veers them off course, like, you know, getting out of Jerusalem and to where they're not fighting, because at this time, they had been taking out some of the defense cities. So it's not like they hadn't touched Judah at all. They had been taking out some of the defense cities, and they were wanting to take over Jerusalem. Okay? So they're at the gates of Jerusalem, they got this mighty host there, and then there's rumors of war off in the distance in Libnah, and he basically goes off to do that. Okay? But notice what it says in verse 9 here. It says, And he heard say concerning Terhaca king of Ethiopia, he has come forth to make war with thee. Okay? So now it's like there's these other wars going on, but notice this. It says, And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah saying. So basically, he's dealing with these wars, right? He has got to go into Libnah, and he's warring, and Raphshache went back with him over there. Now he's hearing that the Terhaca king of Ethiopia is coming up against him, and when he hears that, he's like, I need to send messengers to Hezekiah. Now notice why he's sending messengers to Hezekiah. It says in verse 10, Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Syria. Now why would he say that? Because it looks like, you know, they're not gonna be able to take it over because they're just, you know, constantly just going into these other wars, right? These things are popping up, and they just can't come after Jerusalem, but it's inaccurate. In the middle of fighting these other nations and dealing with these other conflicts, he's like, I need to send letters to them just to remind them that I'm not giving up, right? I'm still coming after you guys. Don't think that God has delivered you out of my hand. I'm still coming, okay? And it's very interesting because when you think about the story, you kind of think of it like a one-and-done kind of, like, he prayed to God and God took care of it, but really it's kind of like God took care of it to a certain extent, but he's not done yet, okay? And that's why, you know, we need to pray without ceasing. We need to always be coming to God with our supplications because, you know, if you start getting an answer and it starts looking well, you need to not just stop there. Just be like, Lord, keep doing it. Keep protecting. Keep doing this because, you know, as we see here, the enemy's still coming. He's still coming after them, and he's sending messages saying, hey, I haven't forgotten about you, Hezekiah. I haven't forgotten about Jerusalem, and don't let this make all the people think that God's actually going to deliver you out of my hand, okay? That's very much what's going on. Now, notice what it says in verse 11 there. It says, Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly, and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan and Haran and Rezeb and the children of Eden which were in Telesaur? Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad and the city of Sipharvayim, Hina and Hiva? So he's basically just going through this whole spiel again, right? Kind of like rap shit he was doing, and he's saying, listen, you know, I'm busy right now, but I'm still coming. That's pretty much what's going on there. It's just so interesting to me that in the middle of those battle, he's like, I need to send messengers over there. I don't want them to get too bold. I don't want them to think that they're actually going to win this battle. I don't want them to think that it's actually over, okay? No, I'm still coming. I'm still going to come after you, and God is not going to deliver you out of out of His hand. Now in verse 14, and I'm kind of just going through this story because it is kind of a big chapter here as far as the story. So I have some references to go through this, but really this story speaks for itself. When you're going through this story and you see some of the stuff that's said, that's enough right there to preach a sermon when it comes to this. I could literally not even have any references and go through this story and have great stuff to preach on because it's such a great chapter. Now notice in verse 14, so we saw that Hezekiah, when Rabbi Shiki brought those words against them, he said, don't say anything, and then he brought those. He basically just came to the house of the Lord with his clothes ran, sackcloth on, and he's just basically going to Isaiah and pleading to God, right? Well now he's being sent letters, okay? So now you don't have this physical guy that's at the wall, you know, basically yelling at the people on the wall, but he's sending letters, and what he does is he spreads his letter out before the Lord. And notice what it says in verse 14. It says, And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messenger and read it, and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. Notice that. What does he do again? He goes to the house of the Lord, and now he's bringing the letter with him, okay? And so I love this because it's just consistency. You know, you can't think of Daniel, that he would pray three times a day. He'd open the windows up and he'd pray towards Jerusalem, right? And he would just, he was just consistently doing that. It's just what he did. And it looks like it's consistent that Hezekiah just keeps going to the house of the Lord when he needs help, which makes sense because Hezekiah is the one that cleansed the house of the Lord. Hezekiah is the one that had a Passover which hadn't been done since the days of David, or I think it was Samuel that it was talking about. And so it makes a lot of sense that Hezekiah, who had a revival not only in Judah, but all those that came down from the Northern Kingdom, had a revival so much that they went back into their own countries and got rid of all their images and idols and groves. That that same Hezekiah is the one that keeps going to the house of the Lord when he needs help. And that's very consistent. And you know, that's a mark of a great king right there. So when you think of Hezekiah, sometimes I think we look at the downfalls or the weakness of kings and we hold on to those, right? And so you think of like certain kings you're just like, yeah, but he did this over here, right? And he did that over here. But really, Hezekiah, until you get to the end of his life, there's not really much to say about him where you're just like, what are you doing? You know, it's usually like, this is a great king. This is a godly king that trusts in the Lord. And remember in the last chapter we saw where it talks about how he made them trust in the Lord. You know, it's basically don't hearken unto Hezekiah who's made you trust in the Lord, right? And that is a mark of a great leader, okay? Would the God we could have a leader like that in our country? Or maybe a few hundred, okay? Because obviously we don't have a king. We shouldn't have a king. But would the God we have some leadership of people that feared and trusted God? And we need that in our country. But you know what? The way we're gonna do that is just like Hezekiah. He starts in the house of God. He cleans up the house of God and they go out from the house of God and they spread that message and, you know, make the people righteous through the Word of God. Now he spreads it out before the Lord. Notice in verse 15, and Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherry-bims, I love this, thou art the God even thou alone. And I don't know what it is about this phrase right here, but I just love it. I love it because he comes there, he says, thou art the God. The God and thou alone. There's only one God and you are it. And notice what it says, keep reading there, of all the kingdoms of the earth thou has made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear, open thine eyes, O Lord, and see, and hear all the words of his anachrony, which hath sent to reproach the living God of a truth. Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations in their countries and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone, therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only. Now what a prayer right there. Now you can imagine why God would answer this prayer, right? He's basically saying, yeah, truly they have destroyed all these nations of God and they destroy their gods which are no gods, but you are the God and you alone. And he's saying, you know, destroy them and save us so that the whole world will know that you're God, that you're the Lord and, you know, and even thou only. And I love this because it just shows the trust and faith that Hezekiah has in God and, you know, just showing, you know, just that fervent prayer that he has here. Now it's interesting because I go to 1st Peter chapter 3. He tells him, he says, Incline thine ear, O Lord, in here. Open thine eyes, O Lord, and see. And that idea of his ears and his eyes being opened unto this. Now obviously God wasn't just like holding his eyes shut or anything like that, but the idea here is that, you know, look upon us and hear us, you know, like we're pleading that you'll do something about what's going on right here. But there's another verse that I love and I just think about it. In any type of peril or with a righteous being forsaken or there's a poor judgment going forth, in Psalm 119 and 126, Psalm 119 and verse 126, it says, It is time for the Lord to work, for they have made void thy law. And that is just a verse that just sticks out to me, that it's like, it's time, Lord. It's time, you know, it's time to work. It's time for you to work because they have made void thy law. And how much could that be said today, where His law is just being made void? It's basically being deemed as abomination to people. That God's Word is just wickedness. That, you know, good is evil and evil is good. And all I can say is, Lord, it's time for you to work. It's time for you to work. And that can be your prayer every night. That could be your prayer every day. Lord, it's time for you to work because they make void thy law. Now in verse 10, so you're in 1 Peter 3 and verse 10, it says, For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good, let him seek peace and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. Now this could definitely be said about Hezekiah, right? Because when you think about prayers being answered, a lot of times the prayer is not being answered because you're not doing those things which are pleasing in his sight, okay? First John chapter 3, you know, when it's dealing with prayer, when it says, Ask and you shall receive, there's some prerequisites that are involved in there. One, it has to be according to his will, okay? So if it's not according to his will, then you're not going to receive it. And if you're asking to consume it upon your own lust, you're not going to receive it. And if you're not righteous, if you're not trying to live a righteous life and you're not doing those things which are pleasing in his sight, then you're not going to have the confidence that he's actually going to answer or hear your prayer, okay? And it's not that he doesn't hear or that he doesn't see what's going on, but obviously there are prerequisites to those prayers being answered. And it says, For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. And Hezekiah was a righteous man that God heard him, saw it, and it says, But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And that's what we see here, is that if this verse was ever to be opened up and said, okay, where did this apply in the Old Testament? This would be it, okay? Where Hezekiah's literally saying, you know, open your your eyes and, you know, incline your ear to hear this, you know, save us. And this obviously applies, and his face is going to be against his anacharid, okay? But notice what it says in verse 13, it says, And who is he that will harm you would be followers of that which is good. And it's basically saying, if you're doing good and you're stewing evil, you know, you're not going to be just constantly barraged with people trying to hurt you or harm you, okay? But if you follow after wickedness and you're like a thief and you're doing all this other stuff, then yeah, I mean, just expect to be hurt. Expect to have a lot of things done to you or people harming you. But you know what? The interesting thing about that is it asks this question, you know, who's going to harm if you're doing that which is good? But notice in verse 14, because we know in the real world here that people do harm you even if you're doing good. But it says, But if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are you. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. So knowing this is that by and large if you're doing good, who's going to harm you? Who's going to be coming after you? Who's going to be trying to hurt you if you're just trying to do right? But God also knows that there's people out there that despise those that do good, right? There's unreasonable and wicked men that are out there that are just out there and they hate people that are like able, right? It's like why did Cain slay his brother? Because his own work for evil and his brother's righteous. They literally just hate people that do right. Those people exist. And so God is basically putting a caveat in there. It's like, but if you suffer for righteousness, say, happy are you. And be not afraid of their terror, right? So great New Testament passage to really show you like, hey, that applies exactly to Hezekiah right there, okay? Now go back to Isaiah chapter 37 here. This is God's response. Now His response is pretty lengthy, but I like that, you know? Don't you want a long response? You know, if you're asking God for something, wouldn't you want to just hear everything that He had to say about it? And so God responds to this. So God's response to the rapture key was pretty short, right? He says, I'm going to send a blast and I'm going to put a rumor out there and He's going to leave. That's pretty short, okay? But in this case, you know, when Zennacherib's now sending messages and blaspheming God again. So they blaspheme God with rapture key and they send other messengers with a letter blaspheming God. And so God's done with Zennacherib. Verse 21, it says, Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Zennacherib king of Assyria. This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. Now what is that talking about? Well, the virgin, the daughter of Zion, is talking about Jerusalem. It's talking about its people, okay? So, you know, I don't have time to go into all that. So it's basically talking about God's people are despising who? Zennacherib. So this is, he prefaces this, is that this is the prayer against Zennacherib king of Assyria, right? And it's saying that the daughter of Zion, or if you were to look at it as Jerusalem, has despised thee, laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee, okay? And this reminds me of verse in Psalm 58. The end of Psalm 58, it says this in verse 10, The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, so that a man shall say, verily there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God that judgeth in the earth. And so it's, you think about it, I mean, when people blaspheme God or they make fun of the gospel or they make fun of what, you know, what we believe according to the Bible and they're like, you're just a bunch of country bumpkins that don't have any intelligence. You don't believe the signs, you know? And you just don't, you're just not educated, you're unlearned, whatever the case may be, and you know what we do a lot of times? We just shake our head at them. We're just like, you know, and a lot of times I feel sorry for people because I'm like, I don't want to see them go to hell, and then sometimes I'm just like, listen buddy, you know, it's coming. The judgment's coming, and you're just shaking your head at them that they're despising God. They're just, they're filling up the wrath of God upon them to the uttermost, is what they're doing. The more they blaspheme and just talk against God and despise God, they're just heaping up wrath against the day of wrath. And we're just shaking our head at them, like just thinking, what are you doing? You big, dumb animal, you know, you fool. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God, and how much more is someone a fool when they think they can take out God? And that's what Zunacharib is basically saying. It's like, you know, who's your God? You know, he can't deliver you, and all this blasphemy that he's saying. Notice in verse 23, whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high, even against the Holy One of Israel? So he's saying, you know, you're saying all this to Hezekiah, and you're saying this all to the people of Jerusalem, but God's saying, who have you reproached and who have you blasphemed? Me. That's what he's saying, right? The Holy One of Israel. You're like, well, is the Holy One of Israel talking about God? Well, it says this in Psalm 89, in Psalm 89 and verse 18. Psalm 89 and verse 18 says, For the Lord is our defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our King. So we're talking about the Lord. We're talking about God that is the Holy One of Israel. And obviously you can think of Jesus. Thou hast not left my soul in hell, neither hast thou suffered thine Holy One to see corruption. So who are you dealing with there? You're dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ. So he's saying that, hey, you've come against me. You've come against the Holy One of Israel. And time would fail me to go through all the passages, especially after this chapter, where we're going to be dealing with the Holy One of Israel, our Redeemer, our God. There's only one, right, that goes on and on and on about that, okay? It says in verse 24, By thy servants hast thou reproach'd the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof, and I will enter into the height of his border in the forest of his Carmel, I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. Now this verse right here that we're about to read in verse 26, I love this verse, okay? So when Hezekiah says, Thou art the God, that sticks out to me. I'm like, that's a great man right there, you know, and just think about it. Thou art the God. You're not a God, you're the God. And notice what God says right here in verse 20, I'm sorry, verse 26 here. It says, Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it? And I don't know what it is about that phrase right there, but I'm just like, yes! Get him! You know, like, it's just you're reading the story, and you know the end of the story, but you're just like, yes! You know, my Savior, my God, and God is saying, have you not heard how long ago I have done it? Have you not heard how I destroyed Egypt with all my wonders? Have you not heard how I departed the Red Sea and destroyed, you know, Pharaoh's armies and that? Have you not heard how I created the universe from the very beginning? Have you not heard how long ago I have done it? And I just love that, because aren't you all thinking that, you know, when anybody comes against God, don't you just want God to be like, who are you, and have you not heard who I am? Because the hammer's about to come down. That's what's gonna happen. And when I see this, I just can't wait for God to come down on this world when you think of all the babies that are being murdered, when you think all the wickedness that's going on today, I can't wait for God to say, have you not heard how long ago I have done it? And think about Revelation when God's pouring out his wrath, because he's gonna be reminding the world about how long ago he did it, but it's gonna be in the present when he does it. And so this verse, I just love it. Every time I read it, I'm just like, yes, you know, my Savior, my God, because today everybody just wants to think it's just a figment of your imagination. God's not real. No, God is real, and you know what? God one day is gonna say to them, have you not heard how long ago I've done it? And it's coming. Now keep reading there. It says, hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it? And of ancient times that I have formed it, now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste the fenced cities and ruin his heaps. So he's like, now it's coming, right? Have you not heard that long ago I did this? Have you not heard about all the the nations that I have put down and destroyed? Have you not heard of Sodom and Gomorrah? Have you not heard of all the the nations he's destroyed? And he's saying, now I have brought it to pass. And he's like, now it's coming. And keep reading. It says, that thou shouldest be to lay waste the fenced cities and ruin his heaps. Therefore, their inhabitants were of small power. They were dismayed and confounded. I love how he's saying this in past tense, okay? You notice that? He's saying this in past tense, because it's done, right? He's talking about it as if it's already happened, because it's about to happen, okay? And where's my place here? I lost my place. So in verse 27, keep reading there. They were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field, as the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as the corn blasted before it, it'd be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put a hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. He's basically saying, I'm gonna put a hook in your nose. I'm gonna rip you around and make you go back home, right? And that's exactly what he does, and I just love it. And I love it. I love the allegory that he gives there. I'm gonna put a bridle in your lips, and I'm gonna rip you back, back where you came from, right? And keep reading here. I don't know if it, you know, it gets me excited. When I read these stories, because it's pertinent, because this is a time where God's people are hated in this world. And listen, they've always been hated, but how much more today when you live in a prosperous country where people just have time to live a lascivious life and just start hating on God, start hating on God's people, and you know what? They've forgotten that long ago he had done it. But you know what? One day they're gonna be reminded. Now keep reading there in verse 30. It says, And this shall be a sign of thee. You shall eat this year such as groweth of itself, and the second year that which springeth of the same. And in the third year sow ye and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of Mount Zion, zeal the Lord of hosts, shall do this. Now I believe this is actually a little interlude of prophecy here dealing with the remnant of Israel and dealing with the fact that the fruitfulness of the saved, okay? So you know for sake of time this isn't that's another sermon for another day to really get into that. I really just want to stick with what's being said here. So he's basically giving a sign, and I definitely believe it's pertinent to what was going on at the time as a sign for that near future, but I believe there's a bigger picture there that's being said there. And notice in verse 33 it says, Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return. He shall not come into this city, saith the Lord, for I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake. So he is laying down the hammer. He's like, they're not even gonna bring an arrow against the city. You know they're gonna return the same way they came. He's putting that bridle in their mouth and he's gonna just wrench them back to where they came from. And we're gonna see how he does it, but what an answer. Can you imagine being Hezekiah, you know, hearing that answer and be like, oh yeah, you know, like, you know, it's time for you to work, Lord, and how much of an answer is that? And one day we're gonna have that answer. I mean think about the end times where if we're here for it and we look up and lift up our head for our redemption draweth nigh and thinking about that. Think about the souls that are underneath the altar when the fifth seal is open. They're saying, how long, oh Lord? Holy and true, this thou not judge and avenge our blood upon the earth. And you're just thinking of that, waiting up, waiting up, and then finally the hammer comes and it's coming down hard. Now in verse 36 here, this is what he does. He kills 185,000 of them. This is no joke. I can't think of a bigger number that's killed. I mean, you could look in Revelation and think about the percentages and maybe get into that because we don't really know what a fourth part of the earth is gonna be, or like a third part of the earth, or you know, whatever the case may be with some of those numbers, but as far as numbers that are tallied up that God has killed, this is a huge number. Notice in verse 36 here, it says, Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians and hundred and four score and five thousand. That's 185,000. Four score is 80 and obviously, you know, a hundred and eighty and five thousand is what you're dealing with there. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Now it's interesting because I remember watching, I was watching this video on this and it's interesting because even modern historians will tell you that, yeah, when Assyria was doing its basically worldwide campaign, they couldn't take Jerusalem. They don't know why they couldn't take Jerusalem. I mean, I know why. You know, we know why, but you know, I mean, obviously they know the story of the Bible, but they're like, we can't validate that. And one of their things is that, well, you know, we don't believe that they had, you know, that many people in their army. Really? Because, you know, when the children of Israel left Egypt, they had 600,000 in their army. You know, because you're talking about all the population back then. We're talking hundreds of years past that point of them being out of Egypt, right? Now, I'm not talking about Israel's army, right? I'm talking about Sennacherib's army of a world power, okay? We're not talking about just like Nineveh, okay, which is the, you know, the capital of their empire, but they had, I mean, think of all those nations they took over, right? They're all in their army now. They've encompassed all these people, and to think, I don't think they had 185,000 people to kill. It's like, what are you talking about? I mean, Israel coming out of Egypt had 600,000 people in it, and there's other places where it's talking about armies that are like as the sand of the sea, and so anyway, you know, historians always just want to kind of put a little stab in there on the Bible, but you know what? The Bible's right. You know what? You know how many people died? 185,000, and there were dead corpses sitting there. Now, in verse 37 here, it gets into Sennacherib and how he dies, okay? Because you remember God says, hey, he's gonna go into his own land. He's gonna die in his own land, and in verse 37 here, it says, so Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. So yeah, I mean, after 185,000 of your men die, okay, the angel Lord did that. Now, this could very well be the destroyer, right, because we see that the destroyer is the one that killed all the firstborn in Egypt. I believe the destroyer is Abaddon, Apollyon, right, which the name just means destruction, okay? So it's probably that, you know, the king of the bottomless pit, if you will, and I know some people call him the death angel. I mean, yeah, he's killing people, so I guess he could be called that. He's the angel of the Lord, though. So we see that he kills all these people, and Sennacherib goes back, okay? So I can't blame him if you lose that many people. In verse 38, it says, and it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelek and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Arminia, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. So this is what he said. He said, you're gonna go into your own country and you're gonna be killed with the sword by his own sons. So he comes back, and he's worshipping in his false gods, you know, you know, house or whatever, and his own sons kill him, and then they flee into Arminia. Now, Arminia, you've probably heard of Arminianism, right? You know, Arminia wasn't, was a nation, if you will, but it doesn't exist anymore, okay? So if you ever run into Arminian people, like people that are, that would classify themselves as Arminian, they don't have like a location or a place anymore. It's kind of like the Jews, you know, but then, you know, in 1948, God made a miracle, and he brought him back into the land. I'm obviously joking there, because obviously the U.S. did that, and they like literally killed a whole bunch of Palestinians to do that, but it's kind of like that, you know, where they didn't have a nation anymore, so they're just kind of scattered throughout, okay? But Arminianism is, you know, there's, that's where there's a, they have monasteries, they have, it's kind of like, you know, the Catholics, the Orthodox, Greeks, you know, all those, they have like their form of, you know, idolatry and like so-called Christianity, right? And Arminians, that's where you get the lose your salvation stuff. Now obviously all those other religions that I just mentioned, as far as Catholics and Greek Orthodox, they all believe you can lose your salvation. We're always being lumped in as being, you know, like either Arminian or Calvinist, okay? But we're neither, okay? Calvinists, and you know, people are like, I don't believe that part of Calvinism, I don't care, okay? Calvinism at its core believes that you don't have free will, and that God only died for certain people, and that you're the elect, and you don't choose your salvation, okay? And I can just see the count, oh you're simplifying, not too much, you know, you need to get into the effectual call, and the fervent call, and all this other garbage. I don't care. Calvinism's stupid, okay? It's not biblical. So that's that camp over there. Arminian is like, well we have free will, but that means we have the free will to give up our salvation, okay? So when people are like, are you Arminian? Are you Calvinist? They don't know where to put us half the time. They're like, they're kind of like grabbing from, yeah we're grabbing from the Bible, okay? The Bible says you have free will to accept eternal life, and by the way, it's eternal, that means you can't lose it. So what it comes down to is that we're right, okay? So Calvinism's wrong, Arminianism's wrong, Bible believing Christianity's right. What the Bible says about salvation being by grace through faith, and that whosoever will let them take up the water of life freely, that's what the Bible teaches, and once you take it, sorry, but you're stuck, but you know, obviously that whole idea like, well someone can give it back, then they're stupid. They've lost their minds, okay? They're literally worse than a fool at that point if they literally would say, I want to go to hell now, okay? So that is stupid hypotheticals like that, you know, like what if, you know, you were in this situation, you had to shoot one of your parents, you know, it's like stupid stuff like that, you know, like which one would you do? It's like, are we in grade school where we have to make these stupid hypotheticals that are not realistic and no one's gonna ever make that choice, right? You know what I'm talking about. We've all had those stupid conversations before, but you know what it is? Foolish questions. It's unlearned, you know, foolish questions and contentions about the law, and you know what, these people have a desire to be teachers of law. They understand not of what they say, nor where they affirm. I don't know how I got off on that. I've seen Arminian, I've seen Arminia, and it just fires me up, okay? So, all right, now, last verse I'm going to show you here. Go to Second Chronicles chapter 32. Second Chronicles chapter 32. And the only reason I go here is because when that 185,000 people were destroyed, it wasn't just the, you know, the low-ranked people, okay? Meaning like, you just took all his foot soldiers, you know? It gives you a little more specifics as far as who was killed. And so, verse, so you're in Second Chronicles 32 and verse 21. It says, And the Lord sent an angel which cut off all the mighty men of valor and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So when that 185,000, now I don't believe that they all had to be captains in valiant men. Does that make sense? Like, they had 185,000 captains, you know? Like, no. Basically, it's just showing you that in that number, like, all the captains, all the valiant men, all the higher-ups were killed, okay? So it wasn't just like the low-ranking members. He just took out the peasants of the army or whatever. And so it was the high-up ones as well. So you can obviously imagine why he's leaving. He's getting out of Dodge, right? All his captains and his leaders and generals were all killed, okay? And then it says, keep reading there, it says, Now we know that it was his two sons, right? Gives us more specifics on that, but I love the fact that it says here that he returned with shame of face to his own land. So the end of Zanacharib is that he suffers this mighty loss where just all of a sudden 185,000 of his army's dead, right? They wake up in the morning, they're all dead corpses. He goes back with shame of face because he's talking all this game, right? Think about Zanacharib. He's like, you know what? Your God can't take out, you know, don't tell me that your God is gonna deliver you out of my hand when I destroyed all these nations. Boom. 185,000 people dead and he's like, you know, retreating home. Coming back with shame of face, gets into his false god, you know, that he's supposed to be talking all this game about how all these other gods he took out and all this other stuff. Goes into this house of his false god and his two sons kill him. That's the end of Zanacharib. So you think about the name of a good man, you know, and it talks about how it's like sweet perfume or I'm misquoting that to, I forget what, it's like anoint, I'm gonna misquote it, but it basically talks about how the name of the wicked shall rot. That's what I really want to get across there. The name of the wicked shall rot, their inheritance shall rot. It obviously is inaccurate, is in hell and rotting in hell right now, but just even at the end of his life it was just, you know, like what a way to go out, you know? You're this great king of Assyria and that's how you go out and so it's a great ending, you know? You're like, that's depressing. No, that's great. It's great because, you know, God's people will rejoice and wash their feet in the blood of the wicked when they see the judgment and know that there's a god that judges in the earth. And you know what? It's common for a lot of nations in our world today and all of them are saying, you know, like where is the promise of this coming? And just saying, who is this god? Who is your god that he's gonna deliver you out of mine hand? And I just can't wait for the day where God's saying, have you not heard how long ago I have done it? And it's been long, it's been a long time, right? Since some of these stories are in here, but you know what? It's gonna happen. And one day he's gonna be like, now, now you're laid waste. And you think of Babylon? One hour. One hour and it's completely destroyed. So let's end with a quarter prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the book of Isaiah. And Lord, just thank you for these stories that we can hold on to and use in our lives. And Lord, they are as relevant today as they were back then. And Lord, just pray that you be with us throughout the rest of this week. I pray that you keep us healthy, keep us safe. And Lord, just as Hezekiah would say, you know, in the day of trouble and all that, Lord, just that that your ear would be inclined, that you'd see with your eyes all the things that we're involved in. And Lord, just pray that we bring glory to your name. And Lord, we love you and pray also in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.