On Whom Do You Trust?

Isaiah 7, 36, 37
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, August 18, 2002
Copyright © 2002, P. G. Mathew

The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah, “`This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?” Isaiah 36:4

On what do you trust when troubles come? That is the question we will discuss from Isaiah 7, 36 and 37. A disaster reveals structural flaws; even so, trials reveal the nature of our faith. Despite what we profess, what we really trust in will be revealed when big troubles come. For instance, when big troubles came to Job, he refused to curse God and die, though his wife urged him to. Though Job’s wife’s foundation was not in God, Job’s was.

Troubles are part of our lives because we live in a fallen world. But Christianity is very realistic. It doesn’t say suffering is illusion, as some religions do. We will experience real troubles and the foundation of our lives will be shaken. We will hear from the doctor that we have a sickness that is going to kill us. The banker will tell us that he does not want to give us money. We recently heard about a mother who backed up her truck, not knowing that her son had gone behind the truck to pick up a toy, and the boy was killed. There will be shaking, which none of us can escape. And all of us will experience the real shaking when we realize we must die.

Because troubles are inevitable, I hope we will not be careless when we answer the question of whom we are trusting in. When times are good, our foundation makes little difference, but when times are bad, it makes all the difference. I hope we will think about these things now so that we will not trust in creation, but in the God of creation. We must savingly trust, not in our wives or husbands or children or money or houses or country, but in God alone.

Everybody Trusts

Everyone trusts someone or something. Ultimately, we either trust in self or God, though if we are trusting in ourselves, we are really trusting in Satan. So in the final analysis, we are either trusting in Satan or in the thrice-holy God.

The vast majority of people are duped by Satan to trust in him instead of the true God. Because they are believing a lie from the father of lies, they look to Satan as their savior. Genesis 3 illustrates this fact. Refusing to believe in the true God who gave them being and sustenance in the garden, Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie and died.

What is the result of trusting in Satan? Death. That is why Job’s wife said, “Curse God and die.” In Psalm 20:7-8 we read, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

Background

After he was convicted of his own sin, Isaiah was cleansed and commissioned to go to Judah and proclaim the word of God to them (Isaiah 6). This was a strange commission. God said Isaiah’s message would render the hearts of the people hard, make their ears dull, and blind their eyes. We see this phenomenon also whenever the gospel is preached. As we preach, the hearts of the vast majority of people, even in the church, become hard and they lose all hearing and eyesight, spiritually speaking. In the book of Revelation the Lord said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches,” but many people do not have such spiritual eyes and ears.

Isaiah was to preach to Judah until they were thrown out of the land. A tenth would remain, which would also be decimated. The tree, representing God’s people, would be cut down and only the stump would remain, which speaks about a small remnant of people who would trust in and serve the Lord. The foundation of these people would be God and they alone would be secure when trials came.

The Illustration of Ahaz

In Isaiah 7, 36, and 37 we find a dramatic illustration of this strange ministry of God’s word in the lives of King Ahaz and King Hezekiah, his son. King Ahaz was the grandson of King Uzziah who died at the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry. During Uzziah’s reign, 791-740 B.C., Judah experienced her second golden age. After Uzziah died, Jotham reigned, and now in Isaiah 7 we find Ahaz on the throne. Although Ahaz was a son of David, he was wicked.

In 2 Kings 16:2 we read, “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.” God cut him down at age thirty-six. Why did God deal with Ahaz in this way? “Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites” (v. 3).

In 2 Chronicles 28 we read that Ahaz not only practiced wickedness, but promoted it. This is an amazing and tragic phenomenon which we see in the church as well. As a son of David, Ahaz was like a child who is brought up in the church, who hears the word of God continually, who is baptized in the church, who faithfully attends Sunday School classes, who listens to the sermons every week, but who grows up to be a wicked person who not only sins personally, but also promotes evil.

God Brings Big Trouble

In the course of time God brought big trouble to Ahaz. Such trouble will come to us too. It may come today or tomorrow, but it is going to come. Everything will seem serene; then, one day, big trouble will come and all will be shattered. There will be high waves and shaking.

Big trouble came to King Ahaz in 734 B.C. when the northern kingdom of Israel, in collaboration with Syria and Edom, attacked Judah and defeated her. These kings had joined together to oppose the superpower Assyria. They wanted Judah to join their anti-Assyrian coalition but Ahaz refused. So the kings of Syria and Israel began to fight against Judah to subdue it. Their goal was to put an end to the Davidic dynasty by killing Ahaz and putting a puppet king, the son of Tabeel, on the throne. Having conquered most of Judah, Rezin king of Damascus and Pekah king of Israel, with their soldiers, were at the gates of Jerusalem, and everyone, including the king, was afraid.

In Isaiah 7:2 we read, “Now the house of David was told, ‘Aram has allied itself with Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” When big trouble comes, it will shake us in the very depths of our being. It will test the very foundation of our life.

Because he was wicked, Ahaz could only shake and tremble. He sought no answer from God’s prophets and he refused to pray. When the shaking comes, many people who call themselves Christians would not and could not pray because they have never prayed before in their lives. Such people do not trust in God at all. Their Christianity is mere simulation.

Isaiah was living in Jerusalem at the time. Of royal blood, he was already well-known for his gift of prophecy. Did Ahaz send for Isaiah to see if he had a word from God for him? No! But who had brought this trouble to Ahaz? God himself. When trouble comes, we must realize that it is really coming to us from God. God shakes our foundation as a test us to see whether we trust in him or not.

The Lord began to humble Ahaz. “In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah” (2 Kings 15:37). “Therefore the Lord his God handed [Ahaz] over to the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus” (2 Chronicles 28:5).

Why does God permit such things to happen to his people? God purifies our faith through severe trials. Moses said,

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

God’s Word Comes to Ahaz

God directed Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool . . .” (Isaiah 7:3). God took the initiative and brought Isaiah to Ahaz. He does this for us also. When trouble comes to us, God brings his word to us. If we believe it, we will be delivered from our trouble.

God knew Ahaz’s problem. God sent the trouble to test him and see whether he would trust in God alone. Even though Ahaz hated God, God took the initiative to help him, based on his covenant with David.

So God instructed Isaiah, “Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid'” (v. 4). Then Ahaz was told the truth: “The two kings are plotting to destroy you and replace you with the son of Tabeel.” But then God said: “It will not happen.” How can God make such a statement? Because he is the Lord of history. Ahaz should have believed God.

God said the two kings were as powerless as spent fuel. This word was proven true within two years, in 732, when both kings were killed and Syria fell to Assyria. Then, in 722, Samaria also fell. In verse 8 Isaiah said that within sixty-five years, Ephraim would be shattered as a people; in fact, within a much shorter period of time-twelve years-all these prophecies were fulfilled.

God tried to reassure Ahaz: “These people want to put an end to Judah and the Davidic dynasty. It will never happen! I have made a covenant with David that one of his sons will rule and will reign before me always.” Then God warned him: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (v. 9). He was asking Ahaz to believe in his promise.

The Response of Unbelief

Not only did God challenge Ahaz to trust in him, but he encouraged him to ask for a sign. God was saying, “I know you are weak. Therefore, ask me for a sign anywhere in the universe and I will perform it so you may believe.” But Ahaz refused to ask.

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Ahaz was an astute politician. Recognizing that Assyria was the superpower, Ahaz decided to cast his lot with Assyria rather than rely on God’s help. Ahaz was supposed to be the vassal of the Lord. But he rejected God, took all the gold and silver in the treasury and sent it to Tiglath-Pileser, saying, “I am your vassal.” He made this fatal error in 734.

A vassal is to worship the god of his overlord, so Ahaz also became a worshiper of idols. Although he was king of Judah and leader of God’s people, he threw his own son in the fire in worship of Molech and closed down the true worship in the temple. It is pathetic what people will do when they reject the true God. They don’t understand that Satan has duped them into doing anything but the word of God.

The Result of Unbelief

In Isaiah 7:17-18 we find the result of Ahaz’s decision to reject God’s word. Isaiah said, “The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah-he will bring the king of Assyria. In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.” The Lord would command the superpowers of the east and west, and they would come like bees and flies to torment Ahaz.

The day was all set for the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies. Throughout Isaiah 7, we find this phrase repeated: “In that day. . . in that day . . . in that day. . .” Isaiah’s predictions were definite and came to pass. Ahaz made his crucial error of surrendering Judah’s sovereignty in 734 B.C. and Judah remained a vassal through all subsequent centuries. When we make decisions apart from God, the terrible effects will go on for generations.

In Isaiah 8:5-8 we find another prediction:

The LORD spoke to me again: “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River-the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!”

“The gently flowing waters of Shiloah” stands for God’s care for his people. In Psalm 23 we read, “The Lord is my shepherd . . . he leads me beside quiet waters.” In Psalm 46 we read, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” But Ahaz didn’t want God’s salvation.

What were the consequences of Ahaz’s actions? Assyria, represented by the mighty Euphrates, would overflow into Judah and devastate it.

The Example of Hezekiah

Thirty years later, in 701 B.C., Ahaz’s son Hezekiah faced big trouble (Isaiah 36-37). “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them” (Isaiah 36:1). In his own annals Sennacherib boasted that he captured forty-six walled cities and made Hezekiah a caged bird. Now the armies of Assyria were at the very gates of Jerusalem.

Like Ahaz, Hezekiah was a son of David and king of Judah. His father’s sin had brought about the condition of having an enemy at the gates. Ahaz’s decision not to trust God affected all the generations following him, though he never thought about the generational effect of his decision. But because of his father, Hezekiah now had big trouble.

In Isaiah 36:4 we read the first words of the field commander to Hezekiah: “This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says. . . .” Notice the covenant language. Because of Ahaz’s decision, Hezekiah of Judah was the vassal of the king of Assyria. Sennacherib was his sovereign. At the death of Sargon II, the mighty king who preceded Sennacherib, a power struggle ensued, during which the kings in the outlying areas of the Assyrian empire thought, “This is the right time to rebel and get away with it.” Hezekiah took advantage of this situation and decided not to pay tribute to Assyria any more. Sennacherib rose to the occasion, took care of certain troubles to the east and the north, and then came to Judah to deal with Hezekiah. He destroyed all the cities he encountered along the way until he reached Jerusalem.

The Satanic Speech of Sennacherib

Hezekiah refused to surrender to Sennacherib. The counsel of the field commander was, “Surrender to me. You have no other way.” And as we read the rest of his speech, we notice it is the speech of Satan, full of half truths. So the field commander said, “But if you have other ideas, this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘On what are you basing your confidence?'” We find this idea of faith and confidence six times in this chapter. The commander was asking Hezekiah, “On what are you basing your life? What is your foundation?” Then he enumerated reasons why Hezekiah should not trust the Lord.

In verse 5 he said, “You say you have strategy and military strength.” Compared to mighty Assyria, Hezekiah had very little military strength. In verse 6 he said, “Look, now, you are depending on Egypt, but it cannot help you.” Sennacherib knew that Egypt was the other major power. In fact, Hezekiah had been moving toward Egypt, but Isaiah said, “Don’t do that. Egypt is useless and worthless.” This Assyrian said the same thing: “Egypt is a splintered reed, which, if you lean on it, will pierce you, and you will be in bigger trouble.” So he was telling Hezekiah not to put confidence in himself or in superpowers.

Then the commander said, “And if you say to me, ‘We are depending on the Lord our God-isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar?”‘” (v. 7). Notice, there is truth in this Satanic speech. PGM Hezekiah had wiped out other places of worship in Judah and said the people should worship only in Jerusalem. But the field commander interpreted those actions in a twisted way, saying that such actions demonstrated that Hezekiah was against the Lord.

In verse 15 the field commander said, “Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.'” This referred to the fact that, unlike his father, Hezekiah had been converted, really believed in God, and was now sharing that faith with all of his people. There was a biblical literacy campaign going on, a period of reformation during which the people of Judah were being taught the biblical way of worship. In verse 18 we read, “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” That is utter arrogance. In truth, it was God himself who summoned Assyria to come to Judah. Remember, God whistles, and the flies and the bees, which are the superpowers, respond. Sennacherib was just a tool in God’s hand to chastise his people. Yet he became arrogant enough to say, “The Lord himself cannot deliver you. He is impotent.”

Notice also the field commander’s words at the end of verse 20: “How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” Here is a denial of the omnipotence of the thrice-holy God. Here a mere man was claiming that God himself is incompetent. The Assyrian said, “God has abandoned you, God will not help you, and God cannot help you.” But, in reality, God was behind all these events. He wanted to humble his people so that he could save them.

We need to understand God’s ways. Troubles are sure to come to us, if we are God’s people, but that does not mean God has abandoned us. God is faithful. He wants to humble us, so he ordains events in our lives so we will seek him.

The Response of Faith: Humility

Hezekiah “tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord” (Isaiah 37:1). God promises to deliver the humble, so he ordains pain, trouble, persecution, and pressure to bring us to humility.

In Isaiah 57:15 we read: “For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heat of the contrite.'” This speaks about God’s immanence, his presence with us. When we consider God’s transcendence, we may wonder how we can ever find him and how he can help us. Here God says, “Not only am I transcendent, but I also dwell with those who are humble.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit. . . blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. . . blessed are those who mourn.” Of such people God says, “I dwell with them.” What is the purpose of his immanence, his incarnation? God himself gives the reason: “to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

In Isaiah 66:2 God says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Are you miserable, confused, weak, and lost in self-pity? God is here to help you. In Isaiah 40:28 we read, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run an don’t grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” God will give us strength if we seek him in humility.

Hezekiah Goes to God

When faced with this great trouble, Hezekiah humbled himself. Then he went into the temple because he understood that God himself was dwelling in the Holy of Holies. Hezekiah wanted to go to seek God’s help in prayer. When we have trouble, we should come to the house of God because that is where the word is preached and God is present.

Hezekiah also sought the word of God from Isaiah. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz had no use for Isaiah the prophet, but Hezekiah sought him out.

Hezekiah told Isaiah, “This is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.” This was a profound description of the utter weakness of Judah. Hezekiah’s pleaded with Isaiah, saying, “Please tell him we are weak and cannot save ourselves. Please intercede that God may deliver us.”

Hezekiah’s Serious Prayer

In Isaiah 37:14-20 we see Hezekiah going to the temple again with a letter he had received from the Assyrian king. Sennacherib had written, in essence, “Hezekiah, I am going to kill you-soon. You may talk all you want about praying and going to the temple, but nothing will work.”

In the temple Hezekiah spread out the letter before God, saying, “God, I am just your deputy, so this letter is really for you. This king of Assyria is mocking you.”

As Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord, he prayed a highly theological prayer. He was not going into the presence of God, saying, “Give me this, give me that.” Hezekiah began by praying, “O Lord Almighty. . .” Hezekiah was asserting that Sennacherib was not the Lord Almighty but only a human being. Then Hezekiah prayed, “God of Israel. . . This spoke about God’s covenant with Israel. Then he said, “enthroned between the cherubim. . . .” Hezekiah knew that God is not only transcendent, but present in the temple. Then he said, “You alone are God.” He understood that all idols of the world are nothing. There is only one true living God. Hezekiah continued, “You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.” He is the Sovereign God.

Notice, then, Hezekiah was not making requests in his prayer; he was praising God first. He continued, “You have made heaven and earth.” He wanted to acknowledge that this God was the Creator God of everything.

Then Hezekiah made his requests. Note, they are all imperatives: “Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.” Why do we find so many imperatives? Because of the urgency of the situation. Hezekiah was saying, “This man Sennacherib said we might have to eat our own filth and drink our own urine. Our condition is so desperate. O God, you alone are capable of helping us. You alone are God of Israel. You alone are God Almighty. You alone are God of the heavens and the earth. You alone are the Creator God, the King of all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Notice the reality of Hezekiah’s words in verses 18-19: “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them. . . .” But then Hezekiah gave a true interpretation of why Sennacherib was able to destroy all these other gods: “for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.”

In verse 20 he concluded, “Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” Hezekiah was seeking the glory of God. His prayer began and ended with God and his glory. Let me ask you: Do we pray this way?

The Result of Faith

God heard Hezekiah’s prayers. In Isaiah 37:1-4 Hezekiah asked Isaiah to pray, and he did. Then Isaiah spoke the word of the Lord to Hezekiah about the king of Assyria. First, he said God was going to put a spirit in Sennacherib, which he would obey. What a clear demonstration of God’s total control over everything! Then he said Sennacherib would hear a report that would scare him and he would return to Nineveh. Then God said, “There I will have him cut down with the sword.” After about twenty years, this literally happened. In 681 B.C. Sennacherib was worshiping in his temple when two of his sons killed him. Everything happens at God’s command.

“Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it'” (Isaiah 37:33). God said Sennacherib would not enter the city of Jerusalem and he did not. In verse 35 God said, “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.” All our troubles come upon us to humble us, so that God can come and save us.

In Isaiah 37 we also find God’s signature. In verse 32 we read, “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” God promised something and he would perform it. Just like in Exodus 12:12 and 23 we read about God executing judgment on the Egyptians, in Isaiah 37:36 we read that the angel of the Lord went out at night and cut down one hundred and eighty-five thousand tall, powerful, cruel, mighty Assyrian soldiers.

Are You Ahaz or Hezekiah?

There are two kinds of people: those like Ahaz and others like Hezekiah. Ahaz was arrogant and had nothing to do with God, the prophet of God, or the word of God. When trouble comes, those who are like him will scratch their heads and say, “I can handle it.” Such people are trusting in horses and chariots, not in God.

But then there is Hezekiah. Yes, he sinned, but he also repented and humbled himself, tearing his clothes and putting on sackcloth. He went to the temple and sought help from the great prophet Isaiah. He prayed to God and said, “O God, act.” God said, “I will act,” and he did it.

What about you? Whatever your problem, it was designed by God to humble you. Therefore, I urge you to go to the house of the Lord, listen to the word of the Lord, pray to the Lord, and ask the ministers to pray for you. God wants to save you, deliver you, and help you, and he will do it.

The biggest problem we will ever face is not our pain and economic trouble. The biggest problem in the world is our slavery to sin and Satan, and by ourselves we can do nothing about it. But God has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who fully obeyed the Father when he died on the cross for our sins. If you ask me, “What must I do to be saved?” I will tell you, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” I pray you will do so even today. Amen.