ESOCS Devotional 26 January 2025 – That They May Know
MEMORY VERSE: “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.” Isaiah 37:20
TEXT: ISAIAH 37:1–20
And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 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.”
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In this section of Isaiah, we are waiting to see how Hezekiah will respond to Assyria’s intimidation. Will Hezekiah trust in the Lord, or will he be influenced by a foreign nation to trust in worldly strength and power, just like his father Ahaz? Hezekiah receives another letter of intimidation from Assyria, dictated by the Rabshakeh, telling him again that trusting in their God is futile – after all, look at what happened to other countries who trusted in their gods (Isaiah 37:10-13)! Sennacherib intends to intimidate Hezekiah, but instead of intimidating him, he drives Hezekiah straight to prayer – he comes before God earnestly and with humility in verses 14-20.
There’s a lot we could say about Hezekiah’s prayer, but one thing that sticks out to me is that he doesn’t plead to God on the basis of his own character or goodness or faithfulness as Judah’s king. Sometimes when I come before the Lord to ask Him for something, I am tempted to bring up all of the things that make me “deserving” of His favour. Instead, Hezekiah pleads to God on the basis of God’s own character – recognizing that He indeed is Lord over all. The gods destroyed by the Assyrians were “the work of men’s hands, wood and stone” (Isa. 37:19); but Hezekiah’s God is the living God, the God over all of the kingdoms of the earth (Isa. 37:16-17).
Hezekiah comes before God enraged at how the Assyrians have mocked Him. He asks God to respond to these false claims and show His true might and save Judah. Now, did you catch the reason that Hezekiah desires deliverance for his country? He asks that Judah would be saved so “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD” (Isa. 37:20). “Save us, so that others might know you are God!” he cries out. He doesn’t ask for deliverance so that they’ll be spared suffering; he asks for deliverance so that God might be glorified and others may come to see His majesty and worship Him. It’s convicting for me to think about this, because usually when I’m praying to be delivered from something, it sums the basis of my own desire for comfort and ease. I don’t often pray that God would save me from something as a means to give Him glory and to make Him known.
CHALLENGES
- When you pray, what is uppermost in your mind as the reason for your prayer?
PRAYER POINT
- Oh Father, help redirect our hearts to trust in you more deeply, and long to see you glorified in every situation!
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 37:21-38; Matthew 17:14-27; 18:1-20
ESOCS Devotional 26 January 2025
