Hezekiah:  Deliverance

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Today we are looking at the last of four parts on the Life of
King Hezekiah. We follow on in Chronicles with the same chapters
that we have been using.  This part of the story is in the  2nd
Chron 32nd chapter. But we find more details in the Books of
Isaiah, and particularly in II Kings 18-20. In these chapters we
find the story of deliverance

It was in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign that trouble broke
out for Judah. Perhaps because Hezekiah stopped paying tribute,
maybe because the nation had destroyed the Assyrian gods that
had been placed in the temple, possibly because Hezekiah had
been making treaties with other nations,  or building
fortifications, or even conceivably for a mixture of these
reasons, the king of Assyria, Sennacherib came against Judah.

Like in a game of chess, Sennacherib took the fortified cities
one by one in  preparation for taking the prize, the city of
Jerusalem. As Sennacherib was doing this, Hezekiah was doing
some preparation of his own.  Perhaps you have heard of
Hezekiah's tunnel in Jerusalem.  That was part of the
preparation to stand against Sennacherib.  It channeled the
water from outside of the city to within the city gates.  After
that was done, all the wells around Jerusalem were filled up,
and the springs were stopped up to keep the invading army from
having a water supply.  

There was one city that guarded a pass in the mountains that the
king had build  particularly well. Hezekiah knew that if the
Assyrians could be stopped there that they would go no farther,
at least not without a lot of trouble. But the Lachish got into
trouble. Lachish was probably one of the last cities to stand
against the Assyrians,  and it was important to Judah for
protection, and to the conquerors as proof of their power.

Knowing that it was important to save as much as he could of the
land, Hezekiah. sent a messenger to Sennacherib, and Said "I
have offended return from  me; that which thou puttest on me
will I bear." 

Sennacherib was not going to let Judah off easy. He asked for a
tribute of 300 talents of silver, and 30 talents of gold. Now
that may not seem like much to you, but if you put it in terms
or our weight measurements, some scholars feel that represented
about 11 tons of silver and 1 ton of gold. That's over $6.5
million of silver and around 30 million worth of gold. It was an
amount that took all the silver in the temple, and to get the
gold, Hezekiah stripped the gold off of the walls and doors of
the temple. By putting everything that he could get together, he
was able to send Senacherib the tribute.  I think that
Sennacherib probably thought that it would be impossible for
Hezekiah to get this much treasure from so small a kingdom,
because of his actions after he received the tribute, for
instead of breaking his siege of Lachish, he continued until the
city was destroyed. Then he sent three of his generals with
185,000 soldiers to Jerusalem to demand that Hezekiah surrender
unconditionally and allow their people to be taken into
captivity.

I think that either Sennacherib intended to take Jerusalem all
along, and he was just teasing Hezekiah. With the fall of
Lacish, There was just one city between Sannacherib and
Jerusalem, and he went to that city to begin a siege there.   He
did this while the three leaders of the Assyrian army camped
around Jerusalem.  And their mission was to break down the will
of the Judeans, and get a revolt going against Hezekiah. They
gave a message to be carried to Hezekiah, and we find that
message in: 

2 Ki 18:18  "They demanded that King Hezekiah come out to speak
to them, but instead he sent a truce delegation of the following
men: Eliakim, his business manager; Shebnah, his secretary; and
Joah, his royal historian."

2 Ki 18:19  "Then the Assyrian general sent this message to King
Hezekiah: "The great king of Assyria says, 'No one can save you
from my power!"

2 Ki 18:20  "You need more than mere promises of help before
rebelling against me. But which of your allies will give you
more than words? Egypt?"

2 Ki 18:21  "If you lean on Egypt, you will find her to be a
stick that breaks beneath your weight and pierces your hand. The
Egyptian Pharaoh is totally unreliable!"

2 Ki 18:22  "And if you say, "We're trusting the Lord to rescue
us"--just remember that he is the very one whose hilltop altars
you've destroyed. For you require everyone to worship at the
altar in Jerusalem!'"

2 Ki 18:23  "I'll tell you what: Make a bet with my master, the
king of Assyria! If you have two thousand men left who can ride
horses, we'll furnish the horses!"

2 Ki 18:24  "And with an army as small as yours, you are no
threat to even the least lieutenant in charge of the smallest
contingent in my master's army. Even if Egypt supplies you with
horses and chariots, it will do no good."

2 Ki 18:25  "And do you think we have come here on our own? No!
The Lord sent us and told us, 'Go and destroy this nation!'""

2 Ki 18:26  "Then Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah said to them,
"Please speak in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don't use
Hebrew, for the people standing on the walls will hear you.""

2 Ki 18:27  "But the Assyrian general replied, "Has my master
sent me to speak only to you and to your master? Hasn't he sent
me to the people on the walls too? For they are doomed with you
to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine!""

2 Ki 18:28  "Then the Assyrian ambassador shouted in Hebrew to
the people on the wall, "Listen to the great king of Assyria!"

2 Ki 18:29  "'Don't let King Hezekiah fool you. He will never be
able to save you from my power."

2 Ki 18:30  "Don't let him fool you into trusting in the Lord to
rescue you."

2 Ki 18:31  "Don't listen to King Hezekiah. Surrender! You can
live in peace here in your own land"

2 Ki 18:32  "until I take you to another land just like this
one--with plentiful crops, grain, grapes, olive trees, and
honey. All of this instead of death! Don't listen to King
Hezekiah when he tries to persuade you that the Lord will
deliver you."

2 Ki 18:33  "Have any of the gods of the other nations ever
delivered their people from the king of Assyria?"

2 Ki 18:34  "What happened to the gods of Hamath, Arpad,
Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did they rescue Samaria?"

2 Ki 18:35  "What god has ever been able to save any nation from
my power? So what makes you think the Lord can save Jerusalem?'""

2 Ki 18:36  "But the people on the wall remained silent, for the
king had instructed them to say nothing."

2 Ki 18:37  "Then Eliakim (son of Hilkiah) the business manager,
and Shebnah the king's secretary, and Joah (son of Asaph) the
historian went to King Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told
him what the Assyrian general had said."

2 Ki 19:29  "'This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this
year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what
springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap,
Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them."

2 Ki 19:30  "And the remnant who have escaped of the house of
Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward."

2 Ki 19:31  "For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those
who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will
do this.'"

2 Ki 19:32  ""Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king
of Assyria: '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."

2 Ki 19:33  "By the way that he came, By the same shall he
return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the LORD."

2 Ki 19:34  "'For I will defend this city, to save it For My own
sake and for My servant David's sake.'""

2 Ki 19:35  "And it came to pass on a certain night that the
angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the
Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people
arose early in the morning, there were the corpses; all dead."

2 Ki 19:36  "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went
away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh."



2 Chr 32:20  "Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet
Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven."

2 Chr 32:21  "Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every
mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king
of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when
he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own
offspring struck him down with the sword there."

2 Chr 32:22  "Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria,
and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side."

Again, what does this story have to say to us today?

God, through His Holy Spirit, is continually calling us to
repentance, revival, and reformation.  God is always ready and
willing to bring us deliverance.  

There are many things that as individuals we need to repent of. 
And hanging onto those things is a barrier to revival,
reformation, and ultimately the deliverance that are so
necessary to our salvation, and peace of mind.  

Perhaps first on the list should be pride.  My way is the best. 
No one can do that right except me.  What I think is right. 
Then, perhaps gossip should follow.  More churches have been
destroyed by the fire of the tongue wagging than any other fire.
 Then there are those things which destroy our body and cloud
the mind.  That includes good things used intemprerately. 
Selfishness with the resources that God has given us is another
barrier to growth in our Christian life.  Ingratitude for what
God has done for us.  Failure to properly use our influence to
bring glory to God.  Failure to take as seriously as we should
the gift of our children that God has given us.  

Repentance preceeds those other gifts that God wants to give
us.  Because I believe that repentance is a gift given through
the Holy Spirit --  If we don't quinch it.  Revival is a  gift
given to us.  Reformation is a gift that is given us.  And
deliverance is a gift that is given to us.  	

But those gifts come in their order.  

Let me ask, do you feel that deliverance is going to be given to
God's people, particularly in the last days, if they have
refused to follow the Spirit's lead day by day to a more
Christ-like lifestlye?  Do you think that when the enemy
surrounds our souls, and begins trying to batter us down, that
then all of a sudden you begin repenting?  Well that does
happen, but it is not the best way.

So where does that leave us?

Just quickly back through our text.

Hezekiah led out in repenance.  The nation engaged in revival in
which the Spirit brought great joy to the people.  As a result
of revival, and to continue growth, reformation came about. 
After that, when great difficulties came upon God's people, they
knew where to turn.  Deliverance was a working out of what had
already happened in the lives of God's people.  Do you see that?
 

Going on.  When the enemy came into the land, Hezekiah began
strengthening his position.  He enlarged the walls.  He provided
for a steady stream of water for the city and denied water to
the enemy.  He left nothing that would give the enemy advantage.
 At the same time, he relied on God.  

When the enemy began his psychological warfare,  Hezekiah and
the people depended upon their God for survival.  

And God worked in a mighty way to deliver his people.

And He wants to work in your life that same way.  Do you believe
that?  Do you want that?  If you do, you need to let him begin
working in your life in the less dramatic ways.

That's how God's people are delivered.  Deliverance does not
come when the dramatic trouble happens so much as a step at a
time.  

At the end of time, God does not deliver those who have not
taken any of the 3 steps.  

Now is the time to prepare.  Once the Assyrians were in the
land, surrounding the city it was too late to build the wall. It
was too late to flee to the city. It was too late to make sure
of the water supply. Now is the time to prepare for the
onslaught of the Devil. We are to fortify our minds. Build walls
around them, fill them with food, water, and the other
necessities of spiritual life. We might even want to build
double walls around ourselves to shield us from the attack of
the enemy. And following the example of Hezekiah, it might be
well to make the surroundings inhospitable to the Devil. We
build a tower of a power when we get on our knees to pray to our
Lord. Satan knows he's in trouble when we pray. We might want to
remove from our surroundings those things that might cause us to
inadvertently open the gates to the enemy.

 God has assured us in His Word that He will prevail. He will
overcome the forces of the enemy. The word comes to us that we
will be saved. We will remain until He shows his salvation. It
may not look like it.  I believe that Ps 91describes that
tensions of that time. God's people watch as those who mock them
have blood to drink for water.  They see the terrible incurable
sores on their bodies. They see the sun become unbearably hot,
and on and on, as the last plagues are poured out. But we only
experience it with our eyes.

We live in exciting times. We are living in the time of the
end, and soon to come is the end of time.  As this comes closer,
the children of God will  more and more persecution. They will
be deprived of their gold and silver. They will soon have
nothing left but life itself. There will be nothing to do but to
depend on the Lord for all of their needs. But as the Christians
depend on the Lord, He does have all that they need, while the
enemy, while denying God's children their necessities, find that
they loose their own because of the plagues. God's children will
be bribed, coerced, despised and hated. But they know that they
must remain close to their Lord. Soon it will come to the point
where the whole world decides that it is best that they be
destroyed. It is at that time that deliverance comes in a mighty
way. What a day of rejoicing that will be.

Brothers and sisters,  We all need that deliverance. Some here
may need deliverance from a temper.  Some may need deliverance
from sexual sins.  Some may need deliverance from some addictive
substance.  Some may need deliverance from a critical spirit. 
Some may need deliverance from gossip.  Some may need 
deliverance from worshipping some person or object.  Some may
need deliverance from pride and arrogance.  

I want that deliverance. I want the power of God to deliver me
from sin now, and I want that same power to see me through the
end of the world. But the path to strength begins here, now.  

How important is Jesus to you?  Is He the focus of your life? 
Have you repented of your straying, of your lack of love for God
and the people you deal with every day?  Have you experienced
the revival of God's Spirit?  Is the Spirit starting to re-form
you to a better way of living?

Deliverance comes through these steps.  

Today, If you have felt a call to repentance for the sins in
your life,

Today, if you want to feel the power of revival in your life

Today, if you acknowledge your need for change in your life,

Right now, as a sign of these things, I invite you to come
forward to kneel with me.  Talk to your Lord about your
spiritual needs.  Then claim the promise of deliverance from the
enemy.

I invite you to do that with me right now.