Jeremiah 42:11

October 4, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand.” (Jeremiah 42:11)

Babylon was the biggest and baddest dude in the neighborhood. But God told Israel, “Do not fear him.” How is that possible? The nation is under siege by Babylon! The next clause provides the answer: “for I am with you.” But, not just to “be with you” but “to save you and to deliver you.” The Lord has a purpose in His presence.

In a similar scenario, but a century earlier, when Assyria was the big boy, King Hezekiah said a similar thing to the great-grandparents of the people Jeremiah was talking to: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2 Chronicles‬ ‭32‬:‭7‬-‭8‬) Once again, the Lord’s presence is purposeful: “to help us and to fight our battles.”

About 115 years apart, King Hezekiah had seen Assyria destroy the northern kingdom, and Jeremiah had witnessed the Babylonians destroy the southern kingdom. And both said, “The Lord is with you.”

Having witnessed what Hezekiah witnessed, Isaiah said the same thing: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬) (And, once again, the Lord’s presence has purpose: to strengthen and to help.

If we look at the impossible circumstances of Hezekiah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, we can see that these were words of faith. To be clear, both Jeremiah and Isaiah were speaking the word of the Lord to their audiences. I wonder if Hezekiah hadn’t heard the same from Isaiah. Perhaps, he just knew the Lord so well that he rightly concluded that the Lord was with them.

To put a finer point on this thought, the reason that Judah should not be afraid was that the Lord was with them. Their courage should have come from the fact that the Lord was with them. And who is with me?

Father, please help me to remember that your Spirit dwells within me. Help me find courage in that truth and not fear what others may say or think if I’m completely obedient to you. Amen.

Filed Under: Assyria, Babylon, devotional thoughts, fear, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Old Testament

Jeremiah 39:6-9

October 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained.” (Jeremiah 39:6-9)

Judah had repeatedly been called to repent. But they repeatedly refused. Jeremiah had given the Lord’s clear warning of judgment if they refused to repent. Now, the judgment was landing heavily upon them. The king and his security fled as the Babylonians approached. But they were caught and seized near Jericho. From there, they were taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s HQ in Syria, which is where the selected text picks up the story.

The king’s sons were executed before his eyes, then the Babylonians gouged out the king’s eyes. The last thing he saw was his sons being slaughtered! While it is legitimate to point out the harshness of that punishment, we should not forget that the punishment was the result of the king’s refusal to repent. Jeremiah had repeatedly warned the king.

Pointing to the cruelty of eternity in hell has become something of a sport among former evangelicals these days. They are correct that eternity in hell is harsh, but their thought experiment stops short of acknowledging that only sinners who did not repent before a holy God go there.

Similarly, by repenting, King Zedekiah could have avoided God’s wrath. The power of human pride is astounding. And, I’m not talking about the pride of others. I’m talking about mine. Yikes!

Lord, help me to be humble and quick to repent. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Old Testament

Hezekiah’s Life and Death

March 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment

A study of King Hezekiah’s life is one that can be greatly beneficial for us.

In his life we can see a man of great accomplishment: He restored the Passover observance immediately upon ascending to the throne. He undid all the idol worship that his father Ahaz had promoted throughout the land. He withstood the pressure to submit to Assyria. He rerouted the Gihon spring into what we now call Hezekiah’s Tunnel. He accomplished so much. In fact, “He succeeded in everything he undertook (2 Chron 32:30).”

The foundation for these many accomplishments was a faith in the LORD. One of the reasons I think it is beneficial to study the life of Hezekiah is to see Hezekiah’s sin, the time his pride directed his trust away from the LORD and toward himself.

Yes, it’s possible for a godly person to fall in that way and to be restored. So often people think that being godly means never sinning or wavering in faith. However, we see from the life of Hezekiah that even godly men at times lose their way. That’s not to excuse anyone’s sin, but it is to say that we need to be careful in the way we define godly. And the definition isn’t “being perfect.”

Godliness deals with the heart. Certainly, the more God matures us toward godliness, the less we should sin. However, the focus of godliness is on the heart’s desire to obey and trust the LORD. Notice that God mercifully restored Hezekiah when he repented. And, in spite of his sin, he is described as a good king.

Filed Under: 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Grace, Hezekiah, Holiness

Turning Back Time

March 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment

As I have surveyed the life of Hezekiah, I have drawn details from 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. To have the most complete understanding of Hezekiah’s life, using all three sources is necessary. Though at times, trying to get a handle on how the details are presented in the three sources can be confusing.

For example, when we look at Isaiah 38-39, it might be natural to assume that chronologically, chapters 38 and 39 occur after chapters 36 and 37. After all, that’s how it’s written, right? Well, there are a few indicators in those chapters, 38 and 39, that suggest that the correct chronology of Isaiah is 38, 39, 36, 37.

Here is the best one: 38:6 – “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria.” This promise of protection and deliverance clearly occurred before the angel of the LORD defeated the Assyrian army and before Sennacherib broke camp and returned to Nineveh, both of which were already detailed in Isaiah chapter 37.

So, let’s “turn back time” and review Isaiah 38-39, which actually took place before the things we have already discussed. As you will see, these chapters actually give some explanation of why chapters 36 and 37 occurred.

All three records – 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 38 – say that Hezekiah was ill and at the point of death. And they all record Hezekiah’s prayer, which resulted in the LORD mercifully restoring Hezekiah’s health. In response to Hezekiah’s prayer the LORD said three things would occur:
1. Hezekiah would go up to the Temple three days later,
2. The LORD would add 15 years to Hezekiah’s life, and
3. The LORD would deliver Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem from Assyria.

In contrast to his father’s rejection of a sign from the LORD (Isa. 7:11-12), upon hearing of his restoration and 15-year life extension, Hezekiah asked for a sign. Isaiah inquired as to which Hezekiah would prefer as a sign from the LORD, that the sun would move forward or backward.

Hezekiah realized that the shadow of the sun moving forward may not be a clear sign. After all, the sun naturally moves forward. So, he asked for the shadow of the sun to move backward. In other words, he asked for time to be turned back.

Here is the LORD‘s response: “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” It isn’t clear how this was done, but God, who put all things in motion, is able to reverse things and still keep all things in order. Don’t forget, during the days of Joshua the sun had already stood still over Gibeon (Joshua 10:13). It’s not something that happens every day, or even often, but God, as it pleases Him, does what appears to be impossible to us. “So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down (Isa. 38:8).”

Interestingly, the account of Hezekiah’s punitive illness in 2 Chronicles is abbreviated, apparently for the purpose of highlighting the reason for both his condition and the perilous situation of Jerusalem – his pride.

Once again, the chronology can be confusing. By the order of presentation in 2 Chronicles 32:24-25, one may get the impression that the LORD healed Hezekiah and still his heart was proud. However, like we did in sorting out chapters 36-38 of Isaiah, we need to examine the complete presentation. In doing this we will see that as a result of Hezekiah’s pride, the LORD‘s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:26), which clearly occurred before the LORD restored Hezekiah. As was pointed out above, one of the elements of Hezekiah’s restoration was that the LORD would deliver Hezekiah and Jerusalem from Assyria.

It shouldn’t surprise the reader that Hezekiah struggled with pride. The elements were clearly in place for pride to be a potential problem: In addition to being the king, he had very great riches, built many buildings and villages, and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds. “He succeeded in everything he undertook (2 Chron 32:30).” Hezekiah started out well, restoring Passover and removing the high places, but his wealth and success created a proud heart in him.

Thankfully, the LORD knows how to bring about humility. And in Hezekiah’s case, a punitive illness and potential destruction of Jerusalem were the LORD‘s instruments of merciful correction in Hezekiah’s life.

That is the back story to the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem.

The order of events as I understand it is:
1. Hezekiah was proud
2. God sent Assyria and a punitive illness as a form of discipline
3. Hezekiah repented
4. God restored Hezekiah
5. God delivered Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat.

Filed Under: 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Prayer, Suffering

Isaiah Brings A Welcome Word

March 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment

According to both biblical and Assyrian accounts, Sennacherib was intent on punishing Hezekiah for not adequately submitting to the Assyrian’s demands. And, according to both sides’ accounts, the prospects for Jerusalem’s survival weren’t very good.

However, one must take a step back, and look at the greater picture. Where is God, the master planner, in this scenario? How is God working here? Those questions serve to introduce the prophet Isaiah.

In my last entry, Hezekiah’s Motivation, I discussed the nature of Hezekiah’s prayer; namely, that it was spoken for God’s glory. God’s response to that prayer was to send a word through Isaiah to Hezekiah against Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:20-34).

A careful reading of the word against Sennacherib reveals some interesting things: First, we see that Sennacherib’s insults weren’t primarily against Hezekiah. Rather, from God’s perspective, they were against, “the Holy One of Israel (vs 19).”

Second, we also see that pride was the cause of this insult and blasphemy (vs 19).

Here is Sennacherib’s list of accomplishments (2 Kings 19:23-24 NIV):

“And you have said,
1) ‘With many Chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
2) I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of it pines.
3) I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests.
4) I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there.
5) With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

After examining his list of accomplishments, many might say, “After all he’s done, he deserved to brag a little.” But such an assessment discounts the third thing we see in the word delivered by Isaiah: God’s sovereignty.

“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone (2 Kings 19:25 NIV).”

God clearly says here that Sennacherib conquered the fortified cities in Judah because God ordained, planned and brought it to pass. Sennacherib was a tool designed by God. Why should that provide encouragement for Hezekiah? Because, the sovereign God who raised up this wrecking machine, knows exactly how to disable it.

And, that’s what Isaiah goes on to say: “But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came (2 Kings 19:27-28 NIV).”

The next day, the Assyrian army awakened to a great surprise: During the night, the angel of the LORD put to death 185,000 of their troops, which resulted in Sennacherib breaking camp and returning to Assyria (2 Kings 19:35-36).

Let’s not forget Isaiah’s previous word regarding Sennacherib’s personal future: “This is what the LORD says, . . . he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword (2 Kings 19:7 NIV).”

Sennacherib’s end was just as Isaiah had said it would be: “One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, . . . (2 Kings 19:37 NIV).” By the way, this occurred after Hezekiah’s death, which means that Hezekiah had to rest securely in the fact that God brings about His will in His own timing.

The LORD knows how to raise up and take down. And He does so to demonstrate His sovereignty and supremecy.

Filed Under: 2 Kings, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Old Testament, Prayer, Sovereignty, Supremacy of God
Next Page »