He will not enter this city

“By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 37:34)

 

Hezekiah was the thirteenth king of Judah the southern kingdom. In BC 728~687, when he had ruled, Judah the kingdom was very corrupt religiously and was in crisis due to the attack from Assyria. The northern kingdom Israel had been already destroyed by Shalmaneser of Assyria in BC 722, so Judah was in a more unstable situation. But, God encouraged Hezekiah the king through Isaiah the prophet, so Judah could escape the crisis. Hezekiah was able to govern better politics than other kings, because of his faith in the Lord God and the assistance of Isaiah the prophet.

 

Remarkable achievements in Hezekiah’s politics were the holy temple repair of Jerusalem and the religious reform. He removed the altars of idolatry and made people keep Passover the feast, which they had not been kept for a long time before. In addition, he conquered the land of Philistines in order to restore and stabilize the country, and defended Assyria’s invasion. Sennacherib’s first attack was soothed by doing Hezekiah’s compromise to him. At that time, so Hezekiah had to dedicate gold and silver gathered up even out of the temple and the palace’s pillars to Sennacherib. As a result, Assyria stepped down temporarily, but Judah had to be confused and frustrated, and again troubled by Assyria’s second attack demanding complete surrender. In the crisis, Hezekiah defended the enemy and protected the people by constructing a waterway inside Jerusalem castle. Later, he had been in a disease to die for, but by his begging prayer to God and received extended life for 15 years. Unfortunately, when there was Assyria’s first attack, the mistake Hezekiah had done caused the collapse of Judah in the future.

A big country Assyria’s attack was persistent and mean, it was not easy for a small country Judah to defeat the attack. The main cause was not because of the size of forces, but the counter posture against the enemy that Hezekiah had shown, when he had been attacked at first. Assyria’s powers of huge coalition and Rabshakeh’s sophistic speaking of venom had made the hearts of the people Judah anxious and weak. At the time, it was a big mistake that Hezekiah the king had used an appeasement policy without believing in God to manage to tide over the crisis. Man’s ways and means without faith in God might seem to be temporarily benefit, but it does not wholly solve the problem. There is a thing by strong powers in the way Satan knocks man down, also there is a trick of digging into with plausible sweet words. Rabshakeh shouted the people of Judah that surrender to Assyria would be achieved stability and peace in life. And he stirred up the people, referring Hezekiah as a lethargic king.

In order to be able to get out of any crisis, we must rely firmly on God with faith. Unlike the case of the time Assyria had first invaded, Hezekiah this time relied strongly on God. And he instructed the people of Judah to be silent without react on the seduction of Rabshakeh. When life is in trouble, we have to hold onto the name of Jesus and pray, and even if there is no solution right now, we have to wait in silence and wait. Because the chance God permits will surely come sometime. When he heard Rabshakeh’s insult on God, Hezekiah was angry, but he endured and prayed and waited for God’s help. Likewise we need also the faith of patience repenting with grieving deeply on oneself. Difficulties will be surely resolved as long as we have an unwavering belief and prayer relying upon Jesus the Lord.

God made Hezekiah known the resulted answer in advance. Jehovah said, “By the way that he came he will return.” It was a hopeless situation that seemed to be not solved in human thinking. Even if whatever impossible by man’s thinking, in the Lord everything is possible. If the Lord will do it, and any path will be opened. Such the thing is the actualities of life believing in Jesus. Just as there had been made a road in the midst of Red Sea when Israelite front way had blocked, and like had been able to have Manna and eat quail in the wilderness.

 

God the Lord is Almighty who governs human life and death and controls everything in the universe. Also He is the Logos, that is, Christ of creation, who was in the beginning. Sennacherib tried to destroy Judah, but it did not accomplish as the will of himself. Because God did not allow it. Rather, God withdrew Sennacherib’s life early, who had attempted evil. The Lord had done it so to save men’s lives through the church of Christ in the future, in preservation of Jerusalem.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Mar 6th 2022)