Deception at the Door by C. R. Oliver (read with me txt) 📕

Since these are blasphemous words against the God of heaven, Hezekiah does not answer. He goes to God's House and spreads the matter before the Lord. His prayer is a model for national leadership (worldwide) for every generation.

(His example was followed strictly by the early founders of the U.S.)

Isaiah 37:15-20
Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: 16 'O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands - wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.'

Observe the confessions in this prayer. He exalts the Lord and comes to His Throne. He invites the Lord to hear the words of threat and blasphemy. (Hezekiah is jealous for God.) He acknowledges the facts. He separates the half truths from the threats. These gods Assyria described are not gods. Hezekiah cries out "O LORD our God, save us." (The strength of the prophet has bolstered his faith. Strengthening the saints should be the work of modern prophets.)

God's answer is prompt and supportive.

Isaiah 37:21
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him.' (The Lord answers him completely for "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.")

Observe, as God scatters seeds of defeat over the land, the people and the king of the Assyrians..

God's Answer:

          His answer can be divided into three parts, (1) addressing the blasphemy of the Assyrians in the first third, and (2) then in the middle, He comforts His People. In the final third (3), He lays out the terms of His intervention to the Assyrians. There are no options!

          Before entering this passage too deeply, I wish to call attention to two references to "the daughter of Zion." Speculation runs rampant as to the interpretation of these two symbols. The Catholic Church, long ago, ascribed the reference, "the virgin, the daughter of Zion," to Mary and her elevated position. Others just make the terms a quick reference to the children of Israel residing in Jerusalem (References in Kings and Lamentations lend to their argument.)

There is, however, one reference in the Song of Solomon to the palanquin of Solomon being lined with love by the Daughters of Zion. The number in the Song is plural. In this Isaiah passage, the number is singular. Who is this "virgin daughter of Zion?"

I believe the first reference makes her the true child of God who has kept herself Holy and Righteous and who is vexed, like Lot, at the surrounding scene. She is a virgin, which implies she is not like the wife of Hosea. She is a virgin, therefore unstained by the world similar to the five wise virgins in the New Testament. She is not a group, she is solitary in scope. If she represents more than one, it is at least a small number. She is referenced again as "the daughter of Jerusalem," which could imply a grouping, but likely a small group of spiritually alive intercessors.

Isaiah 37:22
'The virgin, the daughter of Zion,
Has despised you, laughed you to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem
Has shaken her head behind your back!'

Her response is laughter, based on what she knows about her lover, He will protect her from harm. She takes no alarm in the threats or the words of the enemy. She wags her head and probably in modern parlance, "sticks out her tongue," in defiance.

The Lord summarizes "the Rabshakeh's" verbiage. God listened when he blasphemed the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 37:24
By your servants you have reproached the Lord,

Then, the Lord enumerates the body of his reproach.

l. You claimed your power was in the multitude of your chariots.
2. You bragged how you "walked through" the fortified cities of Judah. 
3. You strutted about with swagger as you recounted your victories.
4. You sneered at the defense system of Israel and said, "I dried that up with the soles of my feet."

Now, the Lord introduces Himself to "the Rabshakeh."

          In essence, God recounts His own accomplishments, beginning with verse 25.

1. I made all this earth. I made the forests of Lebanon. I formed all this.
2. I even made you powerful enough to conquer those cities you brag about.

Isaiah 37:26-27 Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded…

3. I know everything about you. I know your house where you live. I know when you leave and when you return. I know where you go when you leave. I know your rage against ME. I know everything you say and everything you do.

Then, the Lord tells "the Rabshakeh" what His plans for the Assyrians entail.

Isaiah 37:29
'Therefore I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back 
By the way which you came.'

The Lord then turns to Hezekiah and comforts him. It is as if the Lord stops talking about Sennacharib and addresses the people of God (verses 30-32). They will eat at their current level, then year by year their crops will return and they will prosper. The reference to their "roots" means they will not be leaving Israel. They will establish roots and they will flourish.

Swiftly, the Lord turns back to the subject of the Assyrians. In this final portion of the chapter, "He lets the hammer down." Hezekiah is shown the "Plan of God." Nearly everything "The Rabshakeh" said would not happen is what the Lord plans to happen. God is ready to show the Assyrians who He is.

Isaiah 37:33-35
'He shall not come into this city,
Nor shoot an arrow there,
Nor come before it with shield,
Nor build a siege mound against it. 
34 By the way that he came,
By the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,'
Says the LORD. 
35 'For I will defend this city, to save it
For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'

God said, "I will defend this city." What a great defense it was, for in a few hours 185,000 lay dead outside the walls. The Angel of the Lord slew them (Note: one angel, one army). The enemy fled. Their leader was slain, and from that time forward, they faded into history as a "nobody" among the nations.

Somehow, the People of God must return to dependency on Him and not government. They must return to prayer as the answer to the problems of world chaos. They must regain their confidence in Him to defend them. The church must be holy and virginal once again! It must become the virgin daughter of Zion!

Chapter 38 Extended Life.

          I personally know what it is like for God to extend your life. Without going into detail, I attest a time of near death when He said, "Choose life." Hezekiah didn't want to die and asked God for more time. The Lord gave it. But, he saw his kingdom shatter about him.

The Lord did three miracles for Hezekiah, other than his deliverance from Assyria.

l. He healed him of his sickness.
2. He extended his life fifteen years.
3. As a surety, He turned the sun dial of Ahaz back ten degrees. He changed time and altered the planets for one man. What love He bestows on us.

The Lord heard the fervent prayer of a righteous man. Indeed, Hezekiah was an upright saint. The "get your house in order" prophetic word was not the final order for his life. He knew God listened to the appeal of His saints. Hezekiah found favor with God-grace was extended him. Can God change His mind and direction? Yes! He, who said for us to "command mountains," can go beyond all that we ask or think. He changed time for His beloved. Do we know the extent of God's love for His own? I do not believe we have the beginning knowledge of what He can and will do for those who ask Him. He definitely is the "Re-warder of them that diligently seek Him."

Isaiah 38:5
I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years

(This rhymes in English.)

Out of the darkness of oppression, Hezekiah sang unto the Lord a new song. Yes, the king knew his condition and described it in the opening of this Psalm. He knew the desperation and despair that gripped his being. He acknowledged the tremor of his soul and his brokenness, but he did not abandon His faith. He cried to the Lord and the Lord heard. (What a wonderful message for today's gloomy terrain.)

Notice Hezekiah's renewed hope (as his awareness of the answer from God found place in his spirit).

Isaiah 38:15-20
15 "What shall I say?
He has both spoken to me, 
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
In the bitterness of my soul. 
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live. 
17 Indeed it was for my own peace 
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 
18 For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
The father shall make known Your truth to the children.

20 "The LORD was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the LORD."

Notice verse fifteen, where Hezekiah emphasizes that the Lord not only spoke and declared, but He also carried through and did what He said. O' let us not forget the faithfulness of the Lord. In this verse, the King admits his state of mind in saying "the bitterness of my soul." BUT, he didn't dwell there-he did not stay bitter and embrace despair.

Notice verse sixteen, "You will restore me and make me live." David's "restore my soul" reverberated through the halls of his mind. Ahh! What the destroyer seeks to take away, God overrides and restores to His saints.

Notice verse seventeen, 'You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.' When Jesus said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee, rise up and walk," He was expressing the right order for healing.

Notice verse twenty, "The Lord was ready to save me." God is ready! This confidence in the omniscience of the Lord and how He stands in preparedness for those who attack His flock offers strength to His people. Daniel had a similar testimony, so did Job.

Deliverance always has its song! In the case of Hezekiah, the last lines tell of a grateful heart pouring out the libation of HIS song. Solomon had a song. Moses' sister, Miriam, had a song. There is a swelling up on the inside when deliverance comes that lends itself to praise and worship. Commitment to service