Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February 2, 2003
Introduction
It appears that we are right on the edge of war.
Reserves are being called up. Soldiers are training. Leaders are rallying
their troops.
In a way, nothing is new. As long as
there have been nations, there have been wars.
My hope is that the more we hear of war, it will make us think about
another war that is already underway.
Another war that like it or not, we are a part of.
(2 Cor 10:3-5 KJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not
war after the flesh: {4} (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
{5} Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ;
Preparing for War
:1 After these things…Sennacherib king of Assyria
came
When Hezekiah became king, one of the first things he did was to break the
ties with Assyria that his father had made.
(2 Ki 18:7 KJV) And the LORD was with him; and he prospered
whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
This was probably done during the reign of Sargon II (722-705 BC), who was
busy handling various rebellions in the Babylonian provinces.
It wasn’t until Sennacherib became king that the Assyrians decided to deal
with the kingdom of Judah,
in Hezekiah’s 14th year.
(2 Ki 18:13 KJV) Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah
did Sennacherib king of Assyria
come up against all the fenced cities of Judah,
and took them.
During this campaign, Sennacherib (705-681) invaded Judah
and destroyed 46 Judean towns and cities.[1]
Lesson
Hard Times will come, even to good
guys
Hezekiah was a really good guy. In
fact, the passage just before this chapter says,
(2 Chr 31:20-21 KJV) And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah,
and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
{21} And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in
the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart, and prospered.
He has just finished a period of cleaning things up in the
nation. He’s gotten rid of all
idolatry. He’s had the Temple
repaired. He’s reorganized and restarted
the priests and Levites in their daily sacrifices and worship.
And now he’s attacked.
Sometimes we get the incorrect notion that bad things only happen to bad
people who really deserve them.
Then a tough time hits us and we start wondering, “what did I do to deserve
that?”
Sometimes something bad happens to a friend, and we respond like Job’s
friends and say or at least think stuff like, “You must have done something
pretty bad!”
Why did the Columbia disaster occur? Was is God’s
judgment on our nation? Maybe yes, maybe no.
It might have simply been one more tough thing
that we will continue to face as we go through life.
The truth is, bad things happen all the time. Sometimes they happen to bad people as a way
to wake them up. Sometimes they happen
to good people and we don’t always know why they happen. Peter wrote,
(1 Pet 4:12 KJV)
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
Jesus told a parable:
(Mat 7:24-27 KJV) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: {25} And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a
rock. {26} And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
{27} And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
There were two kinds of people in Jesus’ story. Both heard the things that Jesus said. One obeyed what Jesus said, the other
didn’t.
Bad things happened to both of them.
The point of the story is not about how to avoid bad
things. The point is how to survive
them.
The way to survive is not just to hear what Jesus says,
but do it.
:2 he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem
purposed – paniym – face
Initially, Hezekiah tried to see if giving the Assyrians money would send
them away.
(2 Ki 18:14-16 KJV) And Hezekiah king of Judah
sent to the king of Assyria
to Lachish,
saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest
on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria
appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah
three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. {15} And Hezekiah
gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the
treasures of the king's house. {16} At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold
from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah
king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
But Hezekiah learned that Assyria still wanted to
conquer his kingdom. They responded to
Hezekiah’s gift by sending their ambassadors who told Hezekiah to surrender or
else.
Not everyone will listen to reason. Some
people are bent on deception and causing harm.
:3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty
men
his mighty men – gibbowr – strong
man, brave man, mighty man
I did a quick study of this word and its usage. I was thinking that I hadn’t seen this phrase
(“mighty men”) lately in connection with some of the kings. It’s translated
“mighty man” (or “men”) in the King James 68 times. About 95% of the time it’s used for the “good
guys”. The king most known for his
“mighty men” was David.
My Conclusion: Wimpy kings don’t have “mighty men”. Strong
kings tend to surround themselves with “mighty men”.
:4 who stopped all the fountains
Apparently there had been an open channel dug from the Gihon
Spring to the Siloam Pool. Hezekiah and
his people engineer a tunnel instead, dug through solid rock, to replace the
open channel. The workmen dug two
tunnels, one from each end, tunneling through 1777 feet of rock. It was an amazing engineering feet for the
day, considering that the two tunnels actually connected to each other and the
water flowed from the spring to the pool as it was supposed to. There were also several “windows” cut into
the tunnel where water could be let out of the tunnel to water the fields in
the Kidron Valley.
:4 Why should the kings of Assyria
come, and find much water?
An army needs food and water to keep its troops alive. If Hezekiah can remove easy access to water,
then his enemy’s army becomes that much weaker.
Lesson
Don’t strengthen the enemy
The Bible teaches that we face an army with three types of forces.
The flesh – sometimes the word
“flesh” means the kind of stuff you can touch.
But here I’m talking about that invisible part of you, also called a
“sin nature”. That’s the part that loves
to do what’s wrong.
The world – that invisible
system that we live within that teaches us to hate God and be rebellious. It’s the stuff around us that
appeals to our sin nature.
The devil – a powerful,
invisible created being who leads other fallen angels. Satan is the mastermind behind the forces we
face.
Though all three are horrible, fearful enemies, one part is a little closer
than the others, our “flesh”.
It’s like Satan’s beachhead. And
it’s a part of us.
We need to be careful that we don’t make it any easier for the enemy than
we have to. Here’s
some helpful verses:
(Gal 6:7-9 KJV) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. {8}
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. {9} And let us not be weary in well
doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Illustration
There’s an old Eskimo proverb: There are two dogs fighting inside of
you. The one that wins is the one that
you feed.
There can be things that we expose ourselves to that
“feed” our flesh. The more we feed our
flesh, the stronger it becomes. The more
we sow to the Spirit, the stronger His work in our lives.
(Eph 4:26-27 KJV) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: {27} Neither give place to the
devil.
Sometimes one of the ways that Satan gets his toehold in
our flesh is through anger. It becomes a
beachhead.
(John 6:35
KJV) And Jesus said
unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
The flesh is a place of appetites. Our sin nature has a “hunger” for things that
are forbidden and wrong. Jesus wants to
be the one who fills those “appetites”.
He wants to satisfy our “hunger”.
Lately when I find myself being attracted by something bad, I make it my
prayer to ask Jesus to satisfy my appetites.
:5 built up …another wall without, and repaired
Millo
another wall without – Besides the wall that was there, Hezekiah
build a second wall around the city.
Millo – millow’ – Some think these were terraces that
were built outside the walls, forming a foundation for the outer walls.
Lesson
Repair what’s weak
There is a battle coming whether you like it or not. If you want to be ready, then take inventory
of your defenses. Strengthen what’s
weak.
I think two of the walls we need around our city are named “Prayer” and
“the Word”.
I do not think there is a wall named “being busy”.
(Luke 10:38-42 KJV) Now it came to pass, as they went, that he
entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him
into her house. {39} And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus'
feet, and heard his word. {40} But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and
came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to
serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. {41}
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and
troubled about many things: {42} But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
The important thing is taking time to spend sitting at Jesus’ feet.
How are the “walls” of the Word and Prayer around your
city?
Do you spend time with Jesus every morning?
:6 spake comfortably to them
comfortably – lebab – inner man, mind, will, heart, soul,
understanding
A similar phrase is found in:
(2 Chr 30:22 KJV) And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good
knowledge of the LORD
(2 Chr 30:22 NASB) Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly …
The phrase “spake comfortably” is only found two times in the Bible, both
regarding Hezekiah. It seems that Hezekiah
was a guy with a heart to encourage others.
:7 Be strong and courageous,
Lesson
Encourage others
Troops need encouraging.
After hearing President Bush’s state of the Union Address, speechwriter
Peggy Noonan wrote for the Wall Street Journal:
I felt at the end of
the speech not roused but moved, and it took me a while to figure out why. It
was gratitude.
This, truly, is a
good man. And that is a rare thing. Agree with Mr. Bush's stands or disagree,
there can be no doubting the depth of his seriousness and the degree to which
he attempts to do what he is convinced is right, and to lead his country toward
that vision of rightness. We have had many unusual men as president and some
seemed like a gift and some didn't. Mr. Bush seems uniquely resolved to be as
courageous as the times require and as helpful as they allow. There is a
profound authenticity to him, and a fearlessness too.
A
steady hand on the helm in high seas, a knowledge of where we must go and why,
a resolve to achieve safe harbor.
More and more this presidency is feeling like a gift.
After watching President Bush’s address to the nation
after yesterday’s shuttle disaster, I was feeling much the same way.
We too need encouragement.
(Heb 10:23-25 KJV) Let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) {24} And let us consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works: {25} Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting
one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Part of being prepared for the battle is being encouraged. We need people in our lives who will encourage us to follow the Lord.
:7 be not afraid …for all the multitude that is with
him:
multitude – hamown – (Qal)
murmur, roar, crowd, abundance, tumult, sound
Life can be pretty scary at times.
For the Jewish people trapped inside the city of Jerusalem,
hearing about the reports of how the Assyrian army has wiped out everyone in their
path, this must have been a pretty terrifying time.
Listen to what kind of people the Assyrians were:
Regarding one captured leader, Ashurnaṣirpal II (883-859) boasted, “I
flayed [him], his skin I spread upon the wall of the city . . .” ((Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia,
1:146). He also wrote of mutilating the bodies of live captives and stacking
their corpses in piles.
Shalmaneser II (859-824) boasted of his cruelties
after one of his campaigns: “A pyramid of heads I reared in front of his city.
Their youths and their maidens I burnt up in the flames” (ibid, 1:213). Sennacherib (705-681) wrote of his
enemies, “I cut their throats like lambs. I cut off their precious lives [as
one cuts] a string. Like the many waters of a storm I made [the contents of]
their gullets and entrails run down upon the wide earth. . . . Their hands I
cut off” (ibid, 2:127).[2]
How do your problems measure up?
:7 for there be more with us than with him:
Lesson
Our side is bigger
Elisha knew it.
(2 Ki
6:8-17 KJV) Then the king of Syria
warred against Israel,
and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be
my camp. {9} And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel,
saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are
come down. {10} And the king of Israel
sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved
himself there, not once nor twice. {11} Therefore the heart of the king of
Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said
unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? {12} And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but
Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel,
telleth the king of Israel
the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. {13} And he said, Go and spy
where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying,
Behold, he is in Dothan.
Elisha was getting quite a reputation. The Syrians didn’t like him.
{14} Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great
host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. {15} And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and
gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.
And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? {16} And he
answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them. {17} And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that
he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
For Elisha, these angelic warriors were there to protect
him.
:8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the
LORD our God
Lesson
Flesh vs. Spirit
The idea of “flesh” here is not the sin nature but the idea of human
strength, muscles you can touch.
How are you going to fight your battles? With the flesh
or with the Spirit?
If you are not spending time every day in prayer and with the Word, I have
a hard time thinking you’re fighting God’s way.
If you don’t have people that you regularly pray with, or people who
will individually make a point of encouraging you in the Lord, I have the same
concern.
Paul had a concern for the Galatian church.
(Gal 3:3 KJV) Are ye so
foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
:8 the people rested themselves upon the words of
Hezekiah
rested – camak – to lean, lay, rest, support, put,
uphold, lean upon
Lesson
Resting in Jesus’ words
Our king Jesus said,
(John 14:1 KJV) Let not your
heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
(John 16:33 KJV)
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world.
Can you find rest in those words?