29 'This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah:
'This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
'The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
32 'Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
'He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return
he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.'
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morningampmdashthere were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Over the past week, we have been praying fervently for our homes, churches, and nation with the pastors of QT Ministries through early morning services. The redemptive testimonies of the pastors and wives of THINK HUB churches made us realize that QT Ministries is moving from the river to the sea. Yet, we are disappointed, worried, and afraid in the face of the reality that we seem to be unsaved. Lets consider together how God protects and saves us in such cases.
First, Jehovahs zeal may fulfill his will.
When Hezekiah prayed earnestly to God because of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to his surprise, God not only gave him a word but also a sign. A word is something that is told and a sign is something that is shown, and God gives assurance through a sign so that we can be sure to believe what we have heard. The content of the sign was that the people would not be able to farm, but this year they would eat what they grew in the fields, and in the next year they would eat the harvest of their own farming. Now, Jerusalem is under siege by the Assyrian army, so when the stored food runs out, there will be nothing to eat. They cant get out in the fields and farm, but the grim reality of being alive and not yet starving to death is the best sign God can show us. To those who have been through all theyve been through, who have survived, who are in deep sorrow and despair, who cant think of tomorrow, He says they will take root again, they will bear fruit again. The destination for those who have fled, become remnants, and are trapped, is not destruction, but restoration, 'again! Zeal is a burning love that refuses to lose anything. It is out of this zeal that God gives his people roots again and fruit again because he never wants to take them away. It is Jehovahs zeal that is the only power that brings them back to life from all evil.
Second, no one can touch it.
Todays text emphasizes that the Assyrian king Sennacherib cannot reach the city of Jerusalem because the Lords zeal accomplishes this. The Assyrian army, the strongest in the world, cannot shoot their arrows of war against Jerusalem, which is already surrounded by them they cannot set up their shields they cannot build their mounds they cannot attack Jerusalem and they turn back the way they came. But even if they do go back, theyre doomed if they cant defend Jerusalem on their own. God says, 'I will protect this city and save it!' But not for us, but for God and David. The Hebrew word translated 'protect' is only used seven times in the Bible, and all seven times its Jerusalem thats being protected. Not the literal Jerusalem, but the New Jerusalem, the eternal city of God-the church and the saints. The cross, where God valued us above his own life and killed his own son, was a substitutionary act of God. No matter what we are, God will always protect and save us because of the covenant he made with David, the representative of all the saints. Gods people are untouchable. Humans are a lot like sheep. Sheep are fragile, foolish animals, timid, susceptible to groupthink, unable to find their way on their own, and unable to get up when they fall. Shepherds stay awake to protect them. But if the sheep dont see the shepherd, they think hes not there. In the same way, we are in Gods care, but we easily become anxious and lose trust when we dont see him, so we need to have the faith to hear and trust the voice of the shepherd every day that the Lord, the Good Shepherd, is always with us.
Third, on this night, God fulfills his word.
On the same night that God promised to protect and save Jerusalem, God sends an angel to strike down one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers. When the Assyrians arrogantly trust in their own power and try to take away Gods people, God strikes right back. True to his word, he turns the tables. Overnight, Sennacherib loses all of his army and returns to Assyria. But the night that no one can escape comes to Sennacherib as well: he is killed by his own two sons, Adrammelech and Shadrach, who were convinced that no one in the world would rebel against them. The events of that night, when his army of one hundred and eighty-five thousand men was quickly turned into an invoice, were his last chance to turn around, repent, and come to God. But Sennacherib doesnt come to God because he still has the great empire of Assyria and the comfort of Nineveh and his palace to return to. Sennacherib is the one who 'dies a miserable death,' while Hezekiah and Jerusalem are the ones who 'come to life. When trials like this night come to us, we should immediately flee under the shield of God. We should not trust in our own shields and wander around looking for the shields of the world, but we should run under the shield of God and take refuge under its wings. That is the Church, the body of Christ.
Its a community confession. Ive lived my life easily condemning those who dont live hard. Not long ago, I went through the suicide attempt of my second wife and broke down thinking, Ive made such a commitment, why? As I listened to the pastors prayer in the sermon that week, 'Do not forgive me for my sins,' I realized that this was Gods dealing with my sin, and thats when I started hearing the words, If its hard for the children I gave birth to, it must have been hard for my wife, who took care of two other peoples children plus our two children that she gave birth to! As I thought about it, I felt sorrow for my wifes suffering, and my attitude and outlook changed. I used to criticize my wife for watching soap operas, but now Im interested in them and watch them with her, and Ive changed to the point where I try to let her sleep more when she oversleeps in the morning. In the difficulties of a remarried family, there were many hurts and breaks in my relationship with my children, but the Word and the community helped me to endure those times, and the Word made me live again.
Folks, realizing the Word as a redeemer and being able to interpret it in my life is the best protection and salvation. When I realize the Word, no one can touch me. Our current difficulties and sufferings are the best signs that God shows us. May we all survive the hardships and become a remnant in the midst of the deepest sorrow and despair, and may we all be turned around by the grace that restores us again.
