Title: For My Own Sake
Text: Isaiah 36-37
Date: February 13, 2011
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Isaiah 36: 1: Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, [that] Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. 2: And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. 3: Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.
This "conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field" is the same place where the Lord sent Isaiah to preach the gospel to Hezekiah's father. I remind you again, this pool, is a good picture of Christ and his gospel. A fuller was a washer of garments. Christ Jesus is the Fuller and his gospel is like fuller's soap. When he was transfigured in the mount: Mark 9: 3: And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
Application: As we see here, the very place where the gospel is preached is often the very place where the enemy is brazen to make his attack.
Isaiah 36: 4: And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest? 5: I say, [sayest thou], (but [they are but] vain words) [I have] counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 6: Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so [is] Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
In a season of weakness and unbelief, Hezekiah had looked to Egypt for help. What grace if the Lord sanctifies the trial to make us ask ourselves this question--on whom dost thou trust? Egypt's staff is a broken reed. Lean on it and it will go into our hand and pierce it
Proverbs 3: 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Psalm 23:4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Isaiah 36: 7: But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: [is it] not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? 8: Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 9: How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10: And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of glory, takes away the high places and altars of false religion from his people. The gospel continually breaks down all false altars. Christ is our Altar. IN Christ we worship the Father and are accepted in the Beloved.
Hebrews 13: 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
But Satan would have the believer to think that some disservice has been done to us. He would have us to believe the high places and altars of falsehood are really true. And would have us to compare what you have now with what you could have if you would just make and agreement with him! He says, "I can give you many horses." He makes us feel small, "from the looks of things you don't have enough men to ride them." He says, "The least of the captains of my master are better than yours--how can you turn your face from them?" God is with us.
Isaiah 36: 14: Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. 15: Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16: Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make [an agreement] with me [by] a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; 17: Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18: [Beware] lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19: Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20: Who [are they] among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
The ambassador of the king of Assyria says eat of your own vine, the ambassador of Christ the King, says "we have no life except we abide in Christ the Vine. Christ is the Tree of Life" The ambassador of the enemy king says drink ye everyone of the waters of his own cistern--the ambassador for Christ the King says your cisterns are broken, Christ is the Water of Life--the man who shall be for rivers of waters. What is the best way to answer a fool in his folly?
Isaiah 36: 21: But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
PROPOSITION: When we are brought to suffer in trials, we have great reason to rejoice. Let's see, what our faithful Father is working in us! What is the purpose for which our heavenly Father causes us to suffer in the midst of great enemies in this world?
I. THROUGH THE TRIAL THE LORD DRAWS US TO CHRIST OUR KING.
Isaiah 36: 22: Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with [their] clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
II. THE TRIAL BRINGS THE BELIEVER DOWN, HUMBLES OUR PROUD HEARTS, AND BRINGS US TO CONFESS WE HAVE NO STRENGTH BUT OUR LORD.
Isaiah 37: 1: 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. 2: And he sent Eliakim, who [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3: 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.
III. THROUGH THE TRIAL THE LORD MAKES US LESS SELF-SEEKING AND MORE CONCERNED FOR GOD'S ELECT CHILDREN, OUR BRETHREN.
Isaiah 37: 4: It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that is left.
Hezekiah sought the salvation of the Lord's people, more so than his own. Trials teach us not to seek our glory but God's glory. Not to be self-centered but to seek the welfare of the Lord's chosen people.
IV. THE LORD TEACHES US THROUGH THE TRIAL TO WAIT ON HIM TO DO SO AS HE SAYS HE WILL.
Isaiah 36: 5: So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 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 servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7: Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
I hope the Lord speaks these words in your heart this morning--Be not afraid! If you are God's child, if your heart is for the living God to receive all the glory--then know who it is that will win the battle? --v7: I will…I will!
But this important: though the Lord gives us his word of comfort, he may not immediately deliver us--he is teaching us to trust him to do what is right at the right time. Notice, the Lord began to fulfill his promise, but the Lord allowed the enemy to roar a while longer.
Isaiah 37: 8: So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard [it], he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye 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 Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Telassar? 13 Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
The Lord teaches us to wait on him to work in his time not ours.
V. BY WAITING TO DELIVER US THROUGH THE TRIAL THE LORD TEACHES US TO PERSEVERE IN FAITH. Did Hezekiah quit? Did he lose hope? Did he distrust the word of the Lord? No, he drew closer.
Isaiah 37: 14: And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15: And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou [art] the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. 17 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 19 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. 20 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.
Hezekiah asked God to do what God had already promised he would do. This is a request the LORD God will always honor for his children.
VI. THROUGH THE TRIAL THE LORD WILL TEACH US THAT WE ARE INDEED ONE WITH CHRIST.
Note: the enemy reproached God's children, but the LORD God says they reproached him because we are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.
Isaiah 37: 21: Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 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 hath shaken her head at thee. 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.
Do you protect your bride? How much more shall Christ protect his own? He says, "Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm"
VII. THE LORD TEACHES HIS CHILDREN IN TRIAL THAT HE IS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL.
Isaiah 37: 24: By thy servants hast thou reproached 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, [and] the forest of his Carmel. 25: I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. 26: 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 defenced cities [into] ruinous heaps. 27: Therefore their inhabitants [were] of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up. 28: But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29: Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
VIII. THE LORD MANIFESTS IN THE TRIAL THAT HE IS OUR PROVIDER.
He has and he shall continue to furnish a table for us in this wilderness. He says this to Hezekiah.
Isaiah 37: 30: And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye 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. 31: And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: 32: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. 33 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. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
IX. IN THE TRIAL THE LORD MAKES US TO KNOW THAT EVERYTHING HE IS DOING IS FOR ONE REASON!
Isaiah 37: 35: For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
The Lord makes us to know that everything he is doing which makes our salvation sure is for his own glory and the glory of his Son, Christ Jesus the Lord.
· Christ has fulfilled the work God gave him to do on this earth.
· He declared the wisdom of God, the righteousness of God, the holiness of God, the redemption accomplished by God and Christ is those things to us
· God will not share his glory, he will save his church for his own glory for the sake of his Son, King Jesus
· THAT IS SURE SALVATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRUSTING CHRIST!
X. AT LAST, WE SHALL SEE THE LORD WILL BRING EVERYTHING TO PASS, FULFILLING ALL THINGS, EXACTLY HAS HE PROMISES HE WILL.
Isaiah 37: 36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.