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The Proven Faith of Hezekiah
Isaiah 36:1-37:7
January 7, 2024

This morning we went through a character sketch of King Hezekiah.
Not a doubt in our mind that he was A GREAT MAN OF FAITH.

That does NOT MEAN that he was without fault or without hiccup.
He made a mistake with the Babylonian entourage that brought discipline.

But even after that,
• Hezekiah bounced back and put great faith on display again
• And really would be credited for leading the nation to trust God
• And find deliverance against Assyria.

Tonight we want to start looking at this narrative section
To see what his faith looked like.

OBVIOUSLY, Hezekiah had the kind of faith that God responds to.
In the first narrative God will respond to him twice.

Our question is:
• What kind of faith is that?
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith?
• What is it about what Hezekiah believed?

That is really what Isaiah is doing.
This book of Isaiah is about trusting God who alone is our salvation.

Here Isaiah gives you a living illustration of what that faith looks like.

So let’s begin working through this narrative together.
I want as simple of an outline as possible here.

#1 THE FIRST ATTACK
Isaiah 36:1-20

I do want you to understand that when we are talking about the attack
We are NOT TALKING ABOUT the physical attack
That Assyria is bringing to Jerusalem.

That attack is obvious in the fact that the army has shown up.

The attack we are talking about is the attack on Hezekiah’s faith.
The battle that is fought in these 20 verses
Is NOT a battle fought with swords and shields.

• This is a propaganda war.
• This is psychological warfare.
• This is the message of the enemy meant to crush your hope in God.

Satan knows that he is no match for God.
Satan also knows that without God Hezekiah is no match for him.

So the chief objective of Satan is
To sever the faith that Hezekiah has in God.

If Satan can get Hezekiah to let go of his spiritual Ally
Then Hezekiah will prove to be easy prey for the enemy.

SO THE WAR HERE IS A WAR AGAINST FAITH.

Isaiah wants you to see HOW HEZEKIAH OVERCOMES IT.

(1) “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.”

This again is
• The 14th year of his independent reign.
• He is 39 years old.
• Assyria started seizing the cities of Judah.

ISAIAH ACTUALLY OMITS A LITTLE HISTORY

I would remind you that WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING
• We also have Hezekiah getting sick,
• Seeking God,
• Getting promised healing
• And Babylon arriving to see what is going on.

If you need scriptural proof that the sickness happened first you only need to see:
Isaiah 38:4-5 “Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”

Very interesting that while Assyria is invading
There has already been a promise given
That God would spare Jerusalem from the coming threat.

Part of the mistake of Hezekiah there, beyond the boasting,
Hezekiah was obviously also looking for an ally in Merodach-baladan.
• We talked about this back in Isaiah 21
• Where Babylon was referred to as “the wilderness of the sea”
• Or better understood as “the mirage in the desert”

• Merodach-baladan had actually had some success revolting against Assyria
and what is happening is that they are feeling each other out in regard to
an alliance.
• Hezekiah is showing Babylon everything he can bring to the table and what
a good ally he would be.

That is still part of his blunder.
God just promised He would deliver
But Hezekiah is seeking out other options.

BUT ISAIAH DOESN’T MENTION THAT HERE
• Because Hezekiah’s blunder is not the focal point,
• But Isaiah wants you to see where his faith succeeded.

THE OTHER THING ISAIAH OMITS
• Is the mistake of Hezekiah to try and pay off Sennacherib when he does
approach Jerusalem.

The book of 1 Kings includes 3 verses
That fit between Isaiah 36:1 and 36:2

2 Kings 18:14-16 “Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”

That is when Hezekiah actually followed the example of his dad
And sought to pay off Assyria instead of trusting God to defeat them.

So it is clear that there were some blunders being made by Hezekiah,
• But again, the point here is what he did right, not what he did wrong
• So Isaiah does not include those instances in this narrative.

But now we fast-forward, at least several months.

We allow Assyria to finish their siege of Judah
When Sennacherib gets to Lachish he sends an army to Jerusalem.
(37 MILES AWAY)

(2-3) “And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh (Chief Cup-bearer) from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field. Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.”

According to 2 Kings he also sent “Tartan” who was his army commander
And “Rab-saris” who was his chief eunuch.

And “Rabshakeh” has a message.
• It is a taunt.
• It is psychological warfare.
• It is a message meant to destroy faith.

Let me break it down into 4 parts.
It drips of Satanic logic and tactic.

1) HE MOCKS THEIR STRENGTH (4-10)

Notice the questions we see.
• (4) “What is this confidence that you have?”
• (5) “Now on whom do you rely..?”

What you have is Assyria here telling Hezekiah 3 things.

FIRST, we both know you’re not strong enough to defeat me on your own.
If you don’t get help, you don’t stand a chance.

AND THAT IS TRUE.
Not everything Satan says is a lie.
If you go toe to toe with me without help I will clean your plow.

SECOND, there’s a pretty good chance you’re relying on Egypt to bail you out and that is a bad mistake.

It must be noted,
• That Egypt WAS a hope of Hezekiah.
• That is why Isaiah spent chapters 30 & 31 telling them not to trust Egypt.

Egypt, as they always do, represents a worldly hope of deliverance.
This was the human help Hezekiah was hoping for.

You might be wondering what about Babylon and Merodach-baladan?
Well, Sennacherib had recently wiped him out.

Egypt is the human help and Assyria says that is a bad idea.

(6) “Behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.”

If you try to rely on Egypt he will fail you.

(8-9) “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. “How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”

• Remember that whole, “we will ride on horses” argument?
• Well they were planning on getting them from Egypt and Assyria knew it.

Sennacherib said, there are no horses coming from Egypt.
But if it’s horses you want, I’ll give them to you,
But I doubt you even have 2,000 people who can ride them.

DO YOU HEAR THE MOCKERY?
• We both know how weak you are
• We both know there is no human help available.

But that isn’t even the main taunt.
The goal of Satan is not to get Hezekiah to quit trusting in himself
Or to quit trusting in Egypt.
The goal of Satan is to get them to quit trusting God.

And that is the third taunt.
THIRDLY, if you’re counting on God to deliver you I have some bad news. You have offended God and He is on my side.

(7) “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”

Now Assyria shows his ignorance there,
Not realizing that those high places had been offensive to God.

But, is it true that Hezekiah has recently offended God?
Yes.

And there has to be at least a part of Hezekiah
That has to be wondering if he has angered God
And doesn’t deserve His deliverance.

(10) “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

Was that true?
Had God sent Assyria?
• Yes!
• Remember, Assyria was called “the rod of My anger” (10:5)

But it is also true that God had promised to save Jerusalem.

But you can see how effective such a taunt might have been.
• It must have really gotten them thinking about the threat outside the gates.

In one taunt Sennacherib just told Hezekiah that
• You are not as strong as you think you are,
• And that help you are waiting for isn’t coming.

He mocks their strength.

2) HE CONFIRMS THEIR FEARS (11-15)

Here we have A DIPLOMATIC REQUEST
From those whom Hezekiah sent to receive the message.

(11b) “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

You understand why.
• They are concerned that the people on the wall will hear just how bad the odds are and be overcome with fear and turn on Hezekiah.

Do the people on the wall know that Egypt isn’t coming?
Do the people on the wall know that Hezekiah may have offended God?

“You just keep this message between us
And don’t try to intimidate everyone else.”

But Satan isn’t willing to play that game.
Rabshakeh basically answers to say,
• “If I was about to be starved and doomed to eat my own poop I think I’d want to know.”
• “If someone was offering me a way to not have to eat my own poop, I’d want to know that too.”

And then Rabshakeh directly addresses those soldiers.
(13-14) “Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;”

What a crafty tactic.
And since Hezekiah’s diplomats specifically asked them not to do this, it looks even worse now.

Rabshakeh tells all those soldiers,
• “Hey, Hezekiah is lying to you.
• He knows he can’t deliver you.
• He knows your destined to eat your own poop before you die.
• He knows it, but he’s trying to hide it from you.
• That’s why these guys don’t want us talking to you.”

What a tactic to fracture the entire army.
What a tactic to blow this thing up from the inside.

“If you are afraid then you have every right to be.
Your King is about to get you killed and he won’t even tell you.”

That is a Satanic taunt.
He loves to remind you of your weakness and then he strives to reinforce your fears.
• You have to know that those soldiers were aware of military tactics.
• You have to know that those soldiers knew what could happen in a siege.
• And now the enemy is telling them it will definitely happen.

This is the enemy promising you that the thing you fear the worst
Is an absolute certainty.

He loves to do that.

3) HE APPEALS TO THEIR LUSTS (16-17)

Now you have to understand the soldiers viewpoint here.

If I were to ask:
• Do you want to eat your own poop and then die?

What would your answer be? “No”

And then if I were to ask:
• What do you want to do?

Your answer would be: “I want to go home”

And listen to this crafty liar.
(16-17) “‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.”

If you’ll just trust me then I’ll let you go home.
• You can sleep in your bed.
• You can eat your snacks.
• You can watch your TV.

Now yes, I will be taking you to a new land,
• But trust me, it’s not that bad.
• In fact, it’s a lot like your land.
• I’ve got grain and wine and bread and vineyards.
• I think you’re going to love it.

Just come on out,
There’s no need for you to deal with discomfort or suffering.

Satan has changed his tactics much.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

He offers what your flesh wants.
• That’s why it is so dangerous to walk by the flesh.
• That’s why it is so dangerous to gratify the flesh.

THE FLESH does not set out to honor or seek or trust God.
THE FLESH only cares about itself.

Romans 8:6-8 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

If you just take the path of least resistance
And follow the impulses of the flesh you will not be trusting God.

And Satan is trying hard to get you to do just that.

One more tactic.
• It’s as though Satan thinks he has them on the ropes.
• He’s got them thinking surely enough.

Now I just need to nudge them over the edge.
4) HE ENCOURAGES THEIR DOUBTS (18-20)

What is the one thing you’re hanging on to in your rebellion?
Hezekiah told you that “The LORD will deliver us.”

DO YOU DOUBT THAT AT ALL?

Well allow Satan to encourage that.
(19) “‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?”

And I hope you caught that third question.
“when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?”

Do you know what “Samaria” was?
• It was the capitol city of the northern kingdom Israel.

Wasn’t God supposed to be their God too?
• But God didn’t deliver them.
• Assyria conquered them.

WHAT IF GOD CAN’T DELIVER?
WHAT IF GOD WON’T DELIVER?

And just like that Satan encourages your doubts.

NOW YOU HAVE SEEN THAT all in your life EVERY TIME you engage in spiritual warfare as well.

His tactics are not new.
• He will mock your strength.
• He will confirm your fear.
• He will appeal to your lust.
• He will encourage your doubt.

He loves to send people across your path that will do all of those things.
It is very dangerous who you listen to.

But his attacks are clearly laid out.
Satan is seeking to sever their faith in God.

That is the first attack.
#2 THE FIRST ANSWER
Isaiah 36:21-37:7

Now first you notice a pretty stoic group of soldiers,
• Who despite the taunt of the enemy manage to keep their wits and obey Hezekiah.
• He told them not to answer and they didn’t.

And might I add at this point that this is A GREAT WAY TO FIGHT SATAN.
Much is made today of rebuking Satan
Or binding Satan or telling Satan to leave.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE COMMAND OF SCRIPTURE.

We see in Jude that even Michael the archangel would not rebuke Satan.
Jude 9 “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

WHAT IS OUR COMMAND REGARDING SATAN?
James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

• Our command is not to rebuke him.
• Our command is to resist him.
• Don’t listen

You don’t want to get into a debate with him.
He is the craftiest of all.
He is shrewd as a serpent.

Resist him.
And to the soldier’s credit, that is what they did.

They took the message of the enemy and relayed it to Hezekiah.

NOW, I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT AT THIS MOMENT
That there was likely much more
Than just a simple relaying of a message here.

You know people and I know people.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah’s plan is not a good one.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah was lying to them.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah had offended God and was in trouble.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah would lead them to eat their own poop but the king of Assyria would give them peace.

Don’t think for one second that they didn’t have some questions for Hezekiah regarding the way he was handling this situation.

So what about it Hezekiah?
What do you plan to do Hezekiah?
Did you know about Egypt not coming Hezekiah?
Is he right what he says about us starving Hezekiah?
Have you offended God Hezekiah?

You can imagine how he was approached.

So how do you answer Hezekiah?

And if you’ll remember back when we studied Isaiah
We noted that Hezekiah at this point returned to his previous faith.

He had made a few recent blunders, but on this day HE GOT IT RIGHT.

(37:1-4) “And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver. ‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of 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, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

• There is no self-sufficiency there.
• There is no dependance on Egypt there.
• There is no dependance on Babylon there.

This is what you call DENYING SELF.

When Jesus tells us:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

It’s not just a command to put away sin or self desires, though that is certainly part of it.

Primarily that is a command to forsake yourself as any kind of a savior.
• You’ve got to abandon any of your plans for saving yourself.
• You’ve got to abandon any of your logic for saving yourself.
• You must embrace Christ’s plan for saving you which is the cross.

You see that kind of self-denial here in Hezekiah.

What are you going to do Hezekiah?
“I’m going to pass the burden on to God!”

He petitions for Isaiah to cry out to God on his behalf.

We actually talked about where we think that prayer is recorded in the prophecy of Isaiah.
Isaiah 33:2-4 “O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress. At the sound of the tumult peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse. Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.”

Isaiah cried out to God to be a savior because
When God enters the battle “peoples flee” and “nations disperse”.

That is the very thing Hezekiah has in mind.
He wants God to come and do what he can’t do on his own.

But THERE IS MORE here to Hezekiah’s faith that is important for us to see.

WE ASKED AT THE BEGINNING:
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith?
• What is it that caused God to rise up and answer him?
We might say:
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith that worked?

It is bound up in that request he made to Isaiah.
Look closely again at his request in verses 3 and 4

(3-4) “They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver. ‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of 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, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

FIRST OFF, Hezekiah tells it straight regarding the degree of trouble they are in.
• He says that this day “children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver”
• He calls it a day of “distress, rebuke and rejection”

THE POINT IS THERE IS NO STRENGTH IN US FOR “DELIVERANCE”

So again, don’t miss the humility of his faith.

I hear a lot today that might be almost categorized as prideful faith.

It is people who almost seem proud of their faith.
It is people who almost boast about how well they believe.

That clearly misses the point.
Hezekiah had no such arrogance.

But notice the next part.
(4) “‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of 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, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

• We are not denying that the prayer is for the surviving remnant.
• We are not denying that Hezekiah wants to live and he wants his people to survive.
• We are not denying that Hezekiah does not want to eat his own poop.

“Therefore offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.”

But what is the motive through which Hezekiah appeals to God?
“the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God”

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING HEZEKIAH’S FAITH

Hezekiah does not appeal for God to intervene
To defend the comforts of His people.
Hezekiah appeals for God to intervene for the glory of His name.

• That king has insulted you.
• That king has blasphemed you.
• That king has mocked you.
• That king says you can’t save.
• That king says you won’t save.

And Hezekiah wants God to rise up and defend His own glory.

Psalms 74:22-23 “Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long. Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.”

That is Hezekiah.

• There is nothing in this prayer about “me” or “how bad I’ve been treated”
• There is nothing in this prayer about deserving a better lot
• There is nothing here about Hezekiah’s comforts and life goals

Hezekiah undoubtedly learned this from that hiccup and rebuke he received when he welcomed the Babylonians.

Hezekiah undoubtedly learned that
When God does deliver He does so for His own glory.

Whether He saves or Judges; He does so for His glory.

This is the secret to Hezekiah’s faith.
This is the important thing we must learn.

Our faith is a tool for the glory of God.
• When we pray, it is for God to be glorified.
• When we trust, it is that God will glorify Himself.

And this changes everything.
What is it that you face in life?
What is your prayer?

Is it that God will jump through a hoop and do what you request?
Is that what you are believing?

Or is it that God will in whatever way He sees fit bring glory to His name through your circumstance?

For I can promise you that this is a prayer He answers every time!

John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Hezekiah understands that
• Ultimately the enemy is not mocking him.
• The enemy is mocking God

Hezekiah prays that God will rise up and defend the glory of His name.

SO HOW DOES GOD ANSWER?
(5-7) “So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

THIS IS QUITE IRONIC.

When Rabshakeh first arrived at Jerusalem with the message of Sennacherib, do you remember his taunt?

Isaiah 36:5 “I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?”

• Sennacherib said that your problem is that you believe “empty words”.
• You listen to reports and counsel that you shouldn’t.
• You’re naïve and stupid to follow bad advice.

Do you think God does not take note of such arrogance?

What is it that God used to put a halt to the Assyrian advance?
“a rumor”

Proverbs 17:4 “An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”

God simply made him paranoid and afraid
And caused him to withdraw based on a rumor he heard.

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

God rose up to defend the glory of His own name.

Take a peak to the end
Isaiah 37:35 “‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

And thus we learn a little bit about this great faith of Hezekiah.

He was always a man who trusted God.
• But his hiccup in life, where he took credit for what God had done,
• Taught Hezekiah that God operates for the glory of His name.

And when we call upon Him.
And when we trust in Him.
Our faith must be focused on that glory as well.

God saves men by faith apart from works
For the very simple purpose that no man may boast before Him.

What is the aim of your faith?
• Is it comfort?
• Is it your glory?
• Or is it the glory of God?

That is the aim of Hezekiah’s faith
And that is the faith that God responds to.

Now the battle isn’t over.
• There are still more threats on the way, but you see the foundation of it now.

And the encouragement for us is to seek God and trust Him
To glorify Himself in our every circumstance and battle.

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Who is Hezekiah?
Isaiah 36-37 (read Isaiah 37:14-20)
January 7, 2024

I told you a few weeks ago that you can really
Divide the book of Isaiah up into two main parts.

• Chapters 1-35, which deal with the Assyrian Invasion.
• Chapters 40-66, which look to the future and the Babylonian Invasion.

Between those two parts we get two historical narrative stories.
Ch. 36-39 give us two stories about events in the life of King Hezekiah.

• Both stories give a depiction of faith.
• Both stories give a depiction of salvation and deliverance.
• But while one story brings a promise of victory the other brings a promise of exile.

One is positive and one is negative.

The first story revolves around Hezekiah and the Assyrian invasion.
• We see Hezekiah’s faith.
• We see God’s deliverance.
• We see the great victory that God orchestrates for His own glory.

The second story revolves around Hezekiah and his sickness.
• We see Hezekiah’s faith.
• We see God’s deliverance.
• But this time Hezekiah in pride seizes the glory and it brings a punishment from God.

The stories are actually told out of chronological order.
The sickness happened first, and then the invasion.

But Isaiah uses them in the order that works best for his work.
This narrative serves as a bridge.

The first story looks backward to the Assyrian invasion
And reveals the necessity of faith.

The second story looks forward to the Babylonian invasion
And reveals the danger of pride.

But both stories serve to teach us some very important truths.

The necessity of faith
The description of faith
The purpose of faith

What Isaiah has been teaching us through his preaching,
He will NOW ILLUSTRATE in the life of Hezekiah.

In order to begin this 4 chapter study I think it will be helpful to do a little historical and biographical study on the man Hezekiah.

It may help you in this story
• If you know who he is, and what he faced, and how he responded.
• As you seek to identify moments of faith in your life.

So let’s do a biographical and historical walk through the life of Hezekiah.

You may remember when we studied Hezekiah back in 2 Kings
We called him, “The King Who Trusted God”

This is really the only distinction that you can give him for:
2 Kings 18:5 “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.”

It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t without his hiccups,
But this was a great King.

SO LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT HIS LIFE.

• Hezekiah is born in 740BC
• His father is the wicked King Ahaz.

It is important to remind you of his father’s blunders
As you will see how they played an impact in Hezekiah’s life.

• Ahaz was the king when Isaiah’s began his ministry.
(Remember Isaiah received his calling in the year Uzziah died)

The threat in the days of Ahaz
Was the alliance between Israel and Syria
Who wanted to come down into Judah and overthrow Ahaz.

You may remember when Isaiah went out to meet Ahaz
To assure him that this would not happen.

Isaiah 7:3-9 “Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field, and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. ‘Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. “For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.”’”

• I hope you remember that God then told Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refused.

But take note that Isaiah met him “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field”

That is significant because we read here in Isaiah 36
(2) “And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field.”

You’re going to see Hezekiah get a chance to succeed
In the exact location where his father failed.

Ahaz wouldn’t trust God,
Instead Ahaz reached out to the King of Assyria and asked him for help.

2 Kings 16:5-9 “Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and carried the people of it away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death.”

So take special note again there.
When the threat became really big,
The plan of Ahaz was to pay the King of Assyria.

Now for Ahaz the plan initially worked
Tiglath-pileser did go up and overthrow Syria.

• Ahaz then went to meet Tiglath-pileser.
• He saw his altar and his gods.
• Ahaz gave orders to replace God’s altar with an altar to Assyria’s gods.
• Ahaz led the people away from the Lord.

Ahaz was a wicked King.
He was an apostate King.
And Hezekiah is watching all of that.

Hezekiah would follow
One of the most wicked Kings to ever reign.

Now, if you read about Hezekiah in the Kings
It can be a little confusing regarding THE TIMING OF HIS REIGN.

2 Kings 18:1-2 “Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.”

That of course makes it sound like that at the age of 25 he became king
And then reigned 29 years. And that is not wrong.

The confusing part comes a little later in 2 Kings when we read:
2 Kings 18:9-10 “Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured.”

• That says it was Hezekiah’s 4th year that Assyria invaded Israel
• And Hezekiah’s 6th year that Assyria deported Israel.

And so our normal thought process is that Hezekiah must have been 29 when the invasion occurred and 31 when it was over.

But that is NOT what happened.

When scripture says he became King at the age of 25
• It means at age 25 he became the sole monarch in Judah.
• And from that point he reigned 29 more years
• Even though the last 11 was as a co-regent with his son Manassah.

Hezekiah actually started to reign as a coregent with Ahaz
At the age of 10 and he reigned with Ahaz for 14 years.

• Hezekiah was 13 years old when he saw Israel come under attack.
• Hezekiah was 16 years old when he saw them deported by Assyria.

And during that time he saw his father abandon the Lord
And place all his hope in Assyria as well.

It would leave a mark on Hezekiah.
• He would rightly attribute the fall of Israel to their abandonment of the Lord
• And he would rightly see Assyria as an enemy not to be trusted.

In short, he was in stark disagreement with the policies of his father.

And when Hezekiah is 25 years old, his dad Ahaz dies
And he becomes the sole reigning king in Judah.

• And his heart for the Lord becomes immediately apparent.
• It will be 14 years before Assyria invades Judah.
• And for Hezekiah that is 14 years of genuine reform for the nation.

Hezekiah had the heart of a reformer
Before we ever even conceived of the reformation.

TURN TO: 2 CHRONICLES 29

You get 3 chapters here just chalked full of the reform which Hezekiah brought to the Judah his father had nearly turned fully pagan.

Let me just give you the highlights of his reign here.
It is impressive.

I want to show you 7 realities about Hezekiah.
• It’s really just biographical about him, but I think it will help us as we get into the narrative that Isaiah has preserved for us.

#1 HE IS A REFORMING KING
1 Chronicles 29:1-36

We’re going to kind of skip through some of this because it is quite lengthy,
But start just with the overall commendation of his life.

Just as we read a moment ago in 2 Kings,
Hezekiah is regarded in Scripture as a good King.

(29:2-4) “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.”

Ahaz had done everything he could to close down the temple,
Hezekiah’s first act in the first month of his sole reign
Was to open the temple back up.

He is going to turn this nation
Back to the worship of Yahweh.

He is determined to clean out all of the pagan filth that his father brought into the temple area.

(29:5) “Then he said to them, “Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.”

So all of that pagan paraphernalia that Ahaz introduced,
Hezekiah has it all cleaned out.

Hezekiah saw that as a direct reason for God’s wrath
Upon the nation of Israel and Judah and he set out to correct it.

(29:10) “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.”

That tells you a great deal about the driving passion of this king.
HE SET OUT TO APPEASE GOD.

By the end of chapter 29 you see that
• Hezekiah has reinstated the sin offering (24)
• And the burnt offering (27)
• And he has reinstituted the order of worship according to the Psalms.

(29:30) “Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.”

So Hezekiah has been reading Leviticus and the Psalms
And he is doing everything he can
To reform the nation back to its biblical roots.

That’s reformation stuff if you’ve ever heard it.

God is using Hezekiah to bring about a reformation in Judah.
(29:36) “Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.”

No one can criticize him for jumping in and moving quickly to reform the nation.

BUT HEZEKIAH IS NOT CONTENT with only the nation of Judah worshiping God.
• When he was 16 (9 years ago) he watched as the northern kingdom was totally deported for failing to worship God.

He also believed that despite the Assyrian rule,
• That northern kingdom was still part of God’s promised land
• And the refugees who had managed to escape exile and remain there were still God’s chosen people.

Hezekiah believed that those northern refugees also needed to return to the Lord so he reaches out to them.

And we learn A SECOND THING about him.

A Reforming King
#2 HE IS A GOSPEL EVANGELIST
1 Chronicles 30:1-12

(30:1) “Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.”

That’s devotion.
• It’s not just about getting his own house in order,
• Hezekiah demonstrates missionary zeal for all the land of Israel.

He knows that the Passover is for all of God’s people
And it is in his heart to see it reinstated
Even with his brothers from the northern kingdom.

And just look at THE LETTER he wrote, it’s great!
(30:6-9) “The couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the command of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and are left from the hand of the kings of Assyria. “Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD God of their fathers, so that He made them a horror, as you see. “Now do not stiffen your neck like your fathers, but yield to the LORD and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that His burning anger may turn away from you. “For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

That isn’t just political, that’s prophetic.
He has all but filled the pulpit here
• Calling the survivors to learn from the judgment of God
• To repent of their sin
• To seek the mercy and favor of God
• Which Hezekiah says God will surely give you.

He’s not just a steady king, he’s a full-blown gospel preacher.
Hezekiah is leading his own reformation right there in Jerusalem.

A Reforming King, A Gospel Evangelist
#3 HE IS A FAITHFUL INTERCESSOR
2 Chronicles 30:13-20

When you read the chapter you find that
They weren’t able to pull off the Passover by the first month
As it was prescribed in Exodus to do.

They also weren’t able
To purify themselves according to the customs of Moses.

And the chronicler reveals in verse 15 that the “the priests and the Levits were ashamed.”

It was clear that they felt that Hezekiah
Had issued a hasty Passover which was being celebrated at the wrong time and by people who were not fit to partake.

IN FACT, the Scripture indicates (just as we read in 1 Corinthians) that because they had done it wrong God had inflicted the people will illness.

But notice what Hezekiah does:
(30:18-20) “For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” So the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”

Hezekiah goes before God on behalf of the people.
• He sees their illness,
• He understands the guilt,
• And he goes to God on their behalf.

He is interceding for them in their guilt
And God answers his prayer and heals the people.

Hezekiah emphasized the heart over the ritual
• And prayed that God would heal everyone who prepared their heart,
• Even if their body wasn’t ceremonial clean and God honored that.

This is the kind of King you want on the throne.

A Reforming King, A Gospel Evangelist, A Faithful Intercessor
#4 HE IS AN ENCOURAGING SHEPHERD
2 Chronicles 30:21-22

Hezekiah then addressed those priests and Levites
Who were ashamed of the Passover they were conducting.

They were disillusioned and probably a little upset
That it was being done the way it was.

But look at what Hezekiah does.
(30:22) “Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the LORD. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers.”

Hezekiah goes to those priests
Who had been asked to operate outside of their comfort zone

He is able to encourage them in regard to their conviction,
But also in regard to their willingness to serve.

Now he’s not operating as a king or an evangelist or a priest,
There is operating in A PASTORAL ROLE.

He’s encouraging, he’s building up, he’s promoting the unity of the body.

A Reforming King, A Gospel Evangelist, A Faithful Intercessor, An Encouraging Shepherd
#5 HE IS A DEVOTED WORSHIPER
2 Chronicles 30:23-27

Once Hezekiah has everyone gratefully participating in the Passover with humble hearts, Hezekiah joins the worship.

(30:24) “For Hezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep; and a large number of priests consecrated themselves.”

Now we add “Devoted Worshiper” to his resume.
• He’s not exploiting the people…
• He’s not just sitting back and giving orders…
• Hezekiah is right in the middle of the worship of Yahweh
• And he is giving of himself and inspiring others to do the same.

HEZEKIAH IS LEADING A TRUE REFORMATION.

And look at the effect it has on the nation.
(30:26) “So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.”

They hadn’t had a time of Passover and worship like this
Since Solomon was on the throne. (215 years if you’re curious)

Could you imagine if we got a president in office here who turned back the spiritual dial and convictions of our nation back 215 years?

• If all of a sudden we returned to the spiritual convictions of our forefathers from
1819.
• James Monroe was president in 1819, the last of the founding fathers.
• This is a remarkable reformation that is occurring.

The Reformation is Evident
(31:1) “Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.”

They didn’t just pull down the idols in Judah,
They went up into the northern kingdom and destroyed those idols too.

This is reformation!
This is revival!

When you get further into chapter 31
• You find that Hezekiah starts allocating provisions for the ongoing of the burnt offering from his own private means
• And he reinstitutes the tithe among all of Judah for the compensation of the priests in their duties.

The people bring so much in that it has to be pilled up in heaps outside
Until Hezekiah commands them to build store rooms to hold it all.

(31:11-12) “Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the LORD, and they prepared them. They faithfully brought in the contributions and the tithes and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them and his brother Shimei was second.”

(Now just put an asterisk by this act, it’s going to be of importance later)

But the point here is that Hezekiah is working to turn Judah into a functioning state of worship towards God.

(31:20-21) “Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the LORD his God. Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.”

You just can’t say enough about all the reforms he has brought about
In a nation that his father nearly turned completely pagan.

• It was 14 years of great reform.
• It was 14 years of revival.
• It was 14 years of turning Judah and Israel back to its spiritual roots.

You just can’t question his heart or his devotion to God.
He is out to satisfy God
And to turn His wrath away from the people of Judah.

And then the biggest year of his life occurs.
701 BC

#6 HE IS A SINFUL HUMAN
Isaiah 38-39

Hezekiah is 39 years old and he faces the crisis of his life.

(I told you the narrative is not in chronological order)

FIRST, he gets a sickness and God tells him to put his house in order because he is going to die.
• It may even be that God is going to spare him from witnessing the Assyrian invasion.
• But he prays and God heals him.

GOD THEN TESTS HIM
• By sending Merodach-baladan from Babylon to him
• And Hezekiah commits a great blunder (as you will see),
• He boasts of all his great treasures and storehouses.

2 Chronicles 32:31
“Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.”

That’s why I told you to put an asterisk by that event where he built storehouses.

It is apparent that Hezekiah was proud of himself
And all that he accomplished in Jerusalem
And he determined to show out a little.

His act of pride displeased God
• It brought about a promise from God that his reforms would not last,
• But that his own sons would rebel against his work
• And lead Judah into exile in Babylon…which they did.

But as you’ll see Hezekiah isn’t too bothered.
Isaiah 39:8 “Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

That didn’t turn out to as Hezekiah had envisioned at all.
He’s about to face the Assyrian invasion.

So we have a blunder from Hezekiah.
• He started out well in tremendous faith and devotion but he has allowed pride
to slip into his heart.

• He has become a man who has started to take credit for what was clearly a
work of God in the nation of Judah.

FOLLOWING THAT EVENT (I’m telling you it’s a big year)
Sennacherib invades Judah and starts sacking villages.

But as we saw as we studied Isaiah,
It was not Hezekiah’s immediate response to seek God.
He has fallen into pride and he’s pretty confident
That he can handle this on his own.

So Hezekiah begins MAKING PLANS for handling the Assyrian invasion.

(READ 32:1-8)
You see all the tactical plans Hezekiah makes.
• He deals with the water supply,
• He rebuilds the wall,
• He stockpiles weapons.
• He is ready for a fight.

And he encourages the people not to worry because God is with us!

It is really a great statement (7-8) “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

From the chronicler it really sounds like all is really good in Judah,
BUT THAT IS NOT EXACTLY THE CASE.

What becomes clear is that
God is bent on testing those words of Hezekiah
To find out if he really believes them or not.

Hezekiah has grown accustomed to relying on God to honor his plans,
But God is about to find out
If Hezekiah is viewing God as an end or as a means.

That is to say, Is Hezekiah only out to defend the glory of God or is he out to use God as a means to secure his own glory?

We were once convinced it was only God’s glory,
But that little visit from Babylon has caused some doubt.

NOT ONLY THAT,
• But even though the chronicler says the people listened to Hezekiah,
• Isaiah revealed that they weren’t all that devoted to what he said.

We actually read about this in Isaiah.
Isaiah 22:7-14 “Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate. And He removed the defense of Judah. In that day you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest, And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you collected the waters of the lower pool. Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem And tore down houses to fortify the wall. And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago. Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, “Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.”

Isaiah says that while they did what Hezekiah told them to do
In regard to all the fortifications they never trusted God.
God called them to repentance, and the people refused.

So you can see that the reform of Hezekiah,
Even the faith of Hezekiah is being put to the test.

He started well, but we’re about to find out if he’ll finish well.

And with that we come to ISAIAH’S FIRST NARRATIVE
Where we’ll learn one more thing about him.

#7 HE IS A GENUINE MAN OF FAITH
Isaiah 36-37

It is Isaiah 36-37
We’re going to see Hezekiah respond in great faith and we’ll learn:
• The necessity
• And the power
• And the purpose of faith.
• We’ll also see the kind of faith that God responds to.

Now we don’t have the time to get into that narrative this morning,
WE’LL START IT TONIGHT.

BUT THIS MORNING let’s draw a little encouragement from the life of Hezekiah.

We see Hezekiah clearly as a man who overcome a terrible fatherly influence.
• Maybe you had bad parents, but that is no excuse for you not trusting God.

We see Hezekiah clearly as a man who was devoted to the full ministry of God in his life.
• He was a King
• But he served as a reformer, and evangelist, an intercessor, a pastor, and a worshiper.

What is your title or occupation in life?
How can you fulfill those other roles in your life?

We see Hezekiah clearly as a man who fell to temptation and made some mistakes which brought consequences into his life.

Perhaps you can identify and have been reminded that
Even though we trust God, it is not our faith,
But rather it is His grace that has secured our victory.

Maybe you need to be reminded that
While salvation is through faith alone, it has always been by grace alone
And there is no room for boasting in any Christian life.

We also see (or will see) Hezekiah as a man who even though he had stumbled rose up and started trusting God again and it paid off.

So may you also be encouraged to know that
Even if you’ve had hiccups in your life, faith is still the answer.

You know how this story is going to end.
• You know how Hezekiah will once again turn to God
• How God will intervene and send Assyria away and ultimately annihilate their army and even kill Sennacherib himself.
• We’ve talked a lot about 185,000 dead Assyrians.
• You know how this story is going to end.

And so we are encouraged that
Even if our faith is lest than perfect, God still honors it.

How many times did our Lord reprimand the disciples as “ye of little faith”?

Certainly He longed to see their faith increase.
But did that mean that God refused to honor a little faith?

No, not at all.
Matthew 17:19-20 “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

• That was after the disciples couldn’t cast out a demon.
• Jesus said it was because their faith was too small.
• All they needed was faith the size of a mustard seed.

In other words, it’s not so much the size of your faith
As it is the genuineness of it. They didn’t really believe.

God is looking for people who trust Him fully
• Even when they don’t feel like they have much to give
• And even if they may have failed Him in the past.

Maybe you had times where you did really well and trusted God greatly, but then you had a hiccup in your life.

Maybe pride toppled you like it toppled Hezekiah

And you wonder if you’ve blown it beyond repair.
• Well clearly that answer is “No”.
• Just start today and trust God again.
• Trust Him fully even if all you have is little faith.

Was that not true for Peter?
• Peter did well for a while and then he would have a hiccup.
• Ultimately he denied the Lord 3 times and yet Christ still reinstated him.

THE ENCOURAGEMENT IS CLEAR.
• Even if you’ve had a bad season of failing to trust God.
• Even if pride has caused you some miserable mistakes.
• Even if you have brought discipline into your life.

Start trusting God today for God responds to the faith of His people.
It is certainly true for Hezekiah.

So let me just encourage you this morning
TO DETERMINE TO TRUST GOD WHEREVER YOU ARE.

That starts with your soul.
• Will you hand it to Him?
• Will you entrust your eternity to Christ?
• Will you place it all on His work and ability?

If you are a believer then faith is the currency of your life.
• Trust Him with your finances.
• Trust Him with your health.
• Trust Him with your safety.
• Trust Him with your marriage.
• Trust Him with your kids.

His objective is to glorify Himself in your life
And this occurs as you obey Him through faith.

So this morning just take the simple encouragement to trust God
Tonight we’ll start looking at how that paid off for Hezekiah.

 

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Empty Symbols
Selected Scriptures
January 31, 2023

We come today obviously to the close of the year.
It is also that unique period of time between Christmas and the New Year.
• Some are still traveling.
• Kids are out of school.

I decided to wait a week before jumping back into our study of Isaiah,
And of course we are having a service of testimonies tonight.

So this morning I just wanted to share a little
Regarding a thought that has been on my heart
Throughout this year’s Christmas season.

And I want to discuss this morning what we might call “Empty Symbols”.

That may conjure up images of Isaiah’s preaching in your mind.

Isaiah 1:11-12 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?”

In view of that, one might be tempted to think
We are going to discuss hypocritical acts of worship.

That certainly is a worth-while topic of discussion
• As more than one has fallen prey to placing their hope in empty acts of
worship.
• It is certainly a sin to worship the shadow instead of the substance.
• It is a sin to put the focus on the symbol instead of on Christ.

But that is NOT what I mean by “Empty Symbols” this morning.

Rather, this morning I want us to consider that
The main earthly symbols of Christianity have one thing in common, and that is that they are all of them…EMPTY.

And furthermore I want us to CONTEMPLATE
What that means for us as believers in this world.

We’re going to look at the 3 most recognizable symbols of Christianity
(and actually in reverse order.)

I want to start the conversation with the one you are most familiar with.

#1 THE EMPTY TOMB

Luke 24:1-6 “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,”

It is without doubt the most popular “empty symbol” of all Christianity.

And certainly the church today should understand
The significance the tomb being empty.

It is very simply the reality that although Christ died on the cross,
He did not stay dead, but rather God raised Him from the dead.

Understanding this significance is foundational to Christianity.

A good reference verse to consider is:
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

Often times we sing the hymn:
“Living He loved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified freely forever, One day He’s coming, Oh glorious day.”

And certainly we love and sing that hymn.
But the phrase “Rising He justified” can be A LITTLE MISLEADING.

Christ DID NOT justify us by rising from the dead.
Christ justified us through His death on the cross.

It was on the cross that Christ bore the sin of the elect.
It was on the cross that Christ justified them through His death.

The resurrection validates the cross.
One could almost sing that verse, “Rising He was justified”

He wasn’t raised to produce our justification, but rather as Paul states in Romans 4, He “was raised because of our justification.”

The resurrection proved that Christ was in fact sinless.
The resurrection proved that Christ was in fact pleasing to God.

Peter preached in:
Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Why was it impossible for Christ to be held in the power of death?
Because the “wages of sin is death” and Christ had no sin.

We may witness the death of Christ on Friday
And have incredible hope that He is there atoning for us,
But if He stays dead we will never know.

HIS RESURRECTION PROVES
He is sinless, perfect, and truly unblemished as God requires.

He is acceptable to the Father as substitute for sinners.
Because He has no sin of His own to atone for,
He is free to atone for others.

Without an empty tomb Christianity falls apart.

TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-19

• There are 6 negative realities listed there by Paul that are true if Christ has not been raised. It is certainly worth noting them here quickly.

1) The Christian Mission is Pointless (14)
“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain…”

• What do you hope to accomplish in your Christian mission if Christ is not the savior that you say He is?

2) Believing in Christ is Pointless (14)
“your faith also is vain.”

• If Christ has not been raised and His cross did not succeed, then what exactly are you believing?
• If He didn’t atone for your sin then what are you trusting in?

3) The Bible Isn’t True (15)
“Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.”

The apostles testified of the resurrection.
• If it didn’t happen, they are liars.
• If they are liars then the New Testament they wrote is also a lie since in it they testify that Christ was raised.
• Toss this book if Christ is still dead.

4) Forgiveness Isn’t Possible (17)
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

THE ENTIRE CHRISTIAN HOPE IS THAT
Christ has freed us from our sin by paying the debt against us.

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Paul said that Christ “canceled out” our debt.
• He nailed His righteous body to the cross in exchange for our sin debt.
• He was the payment offered to God on that cross.

• But if Christ is dead, how do we know God accepted that payment?
• In fact, if Christ is dead we know He didn’t.
• There is no forgiveness if Christ was not raised.

5) Dead Christians are in Hell (18)
“Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”

Everyone who placed their trust in Christ and then died in that belief is now in hell.
• There was no atonement.
• There was no forgiveness.
• They forsook their works in order to put all their hope in Christ’s righteousness.
• If He wasn’t raised then it wasn’t true and they weren’t saved.

6) Christians are Fools (19)
“If we hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

In other words, if we cling to Christ knowing that all He has to offer are the benefits of following Him in this life, then we are fools.

Following Christ had bought Paul nothing but persecution and hardship.
He had been treated terrible for following Christ.

And if that is the only benefit, with no eternal reward,
Then following Christ is stupid.

THE EMPTY TOMB CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Because Christ was raised
We now know that the ultimate consequence of sin (death) has been defeated.

Believers will no longer be consigned to death
Because Christ has saved them.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

There is no fear of death now for believers.
• We are not filled with anxiety for what awaits us there.
• We know that because Christ lived, we will live also.
• We know that He is the first fruits and we will be raised in like manner.

A Christian may die but they can’t stay dead.
They are clothed in the righteousness of Christ
And that is “A DEATH NULLIFYING RIGHTEOUSNESS”.

We fear no eternal judgment in hell because Jesus conquered the grave.

Now, as followers of Jesus, because the tomb is empty
We have hope in the midst of our suffering.

THAT IS TO SAY, That even though this life is hard,
We have hope that passes beyond this life.

1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Martin Luther wrote:
“The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.”

Paul said:
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

• Paul saw death as a promotion.
• He knew that the glory that awaits made the present suffering totally worth it.

THE EMPTY TOMB CHANGES EVERYTHING.

And because the tomb is empty,
We know Jesus is alive to perform a continuing ministry on our behalf.

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

John Owen wrote:
“the main foundation of all the confidence and assurance whereof in this life we may be made partakers (which amounts to “joy unspeakable, and full of glory”) ariseth from this strict connection of the oblation and intercession of Jesus Christ; – that by the one he hath procured all good things for us, and by the other he will procure them to be actually bestowed, whereby he doth never leave our sins, but follows them into every court, until they be fully pardoned and clearly expiated, Heb. ix. 26. He will never leave us until he hath saved to the uttermost them that come unto God by him…in this connection it is a sure bottom for a soul to build, Heb. vii. 25. “What good will it do me to be persuaded that Christ died for my sins, if, not withstanding that, my sins may appear against me for my condemnation, where and when Christ will not appear for my justification?…Our sins dare not appear, nor any of our accusers against us, where he appeareth for us.”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg.74-75)

What Owen says there is this:
If the Christian wants true assurance,
• It comes from the fact that not only did Christ die for us,
• But also that He now lives and appears for us before the Father.

• Through Christ’s death He obtains all good things for us
• And by His intercession He causes those good things to be actually given to us.

• He says that Christ never forsakes His atoning work.
• He follows our accusers into every court until we are cleared of all charges.

Owen says that this is the foundation we rest on.
What good would it do us to know that Christ died for my sins if my sins might still show up in court without Christ there to defend me?

No! says Owen. “Our sins dare not appear, nor any accusers against us, where he appeareth for us.”

Since Christ lives to intercede, our sins stand no chance!

And this is possible only because He lives.
The Empty Tomb changes everything.

And that symbol I am certain you are aware of.
• There is another empty symbol that you are certainly aware of, and I hope you understand why it must be empty.

#2 THE EMPTY CROSS

Again, just by matter of formality, we read:
John 19:38 “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.”

• We read how the body of Jesus was removed from the cross after His death.
• He was buried in Joseph’s tomb, and 3 days later He was raised

But the reason that we must insist still upon an empty cross
Is because the Catholic church
Insisted on putting Him back up there.

I CANNOT STATE THIS CLEARLY ENOUGH but one of the most BLASPHEMOUS and IRREVERENT symbols of our culture is the crucifix.

The crucifix is the Catholic depiction of Christ still on the cross.
• It hangs on as a pendant as countless necklaces in our world.
• It is hung as a sculpture in countless cathedrals in the world.
• It is depicted in countless tattoos and other religious art.

It is the occupied cross with Christ still upon it.

Why is this such a blasphemous picture or symbol?
It is blasphemous because of the theology behind it.

A Catholic Priest named John O’Brian wrote a book entitled: “The Faith of Millions: The Credentials of the Catholic Religion.”

“When the priest announces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens, brings Christ down from His throne and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man. It is a power exercised by the priest greater than that of saints and angels, greater than that of seraphim and cherubim. Indeed, it is a power greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary. While the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal victim. The priest brings Christ down from heaven and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal victim for the sins of man, not once but a thousand times.”
(quoted by John MacArthur in his sermon: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-318/explaining-the-heresy-of-the-catholic-mass-part-1)

Did you catch that?
You might have thought that the Catholic Mass was just their version of our Lord’s Supper, ABSOLUTELY NOT!

The Catholic church believes that during the Mass,
• The priest in effect orders Christ to come down from heaven and get back on
the cross.
• He must pay for your sins again and again and again.

This is why it is essential to them to believe that
The sacraments actually becomes the body and the blood of Jesus.

IT GETS WORSE.

O’Brian goes on:
“The priest, speaks, and lo, Christ the eternal and omnipotent God bows His head in humble obedience to the priest’s command…Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vice-regent of Christ on earth? He continues the essential ministry of Christ. He teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ. He pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ. He offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of Alter Christus, for the priest is, and should be, another Christ.”
(ibid)

They actually consider the priest to be “another Christ” because of the atoning work he is said to be doing for you when you take the Mass.

That is blasphemous heresy!

It is a total mockery of the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross.

WHY? Because on the cross Jesus said what?
John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

Jesus said “It is finished!”
He did it all there.

TURN TO: Hebrews 10:10-14

You see it 3 times there in that passage.
• (10) “once for all”
• (12) “having offered once sacrifice for sins for all time”
• (14) “for by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

THE CROSS IS EMPTY.
What Jesus did on that cross was so sufficient
That He never has to do it again.

We vehemently oppose any teaching that puts Christ back on that cross
As though His death was somehow insufficient.

If you are listening to that podcast “Men Who Rocked The World” by Steve Lawson then you may have heard about John Rogers.

• John Rogers was the man who finished Tyndale’s translation of English Bible
after Tyndale was martyred by Henry VIII.
• John Rogers was the first of what are called “The Marian Martyrs” (those put to
death by Bloody Mary).
• He was burned at the stake.

Do you want to know what doctrine it was that cost him his life?

He refused to consent that the sacraments
Actually become the blood and body of Christ.
That is, he refused to consent that Jesus ever needed to suffer again.

“I was asked whether I believed in the sacrament to be the very body and blood of our Savior who was born of the virgin Mary and hanged on the cross. I think it to be false. I cannot understand really and substantially to signify otherwise than corporally, but corporally (in body) Christ is only in heaven.”
(cited by Steve Lawson at the 37:19 mark: https://men-who-rocked-the-world.simplecast.com/episodes/the-life-and-work-of-john-rodgers-KNnZ2vFx)

In other words Rogers said, “Christ can’t be physically present in the Mass for Christ is physically in heaven at the Father’s side.”

And for that, he was burned at the stake as the first of the Marian Martyrs.

IF THE CROSS IS NOT EMPTY CHRISTIANITY FALLS APART.

If Christ has to be sacrificed over and over and over again
That would only stand to reason that His sacrifice is impotent and weak,
For that is all the Old Testament sacrifices ever accomplished.

Hebrews 10:1-3 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.”

Those sacrifices did nothing for us
And we know that because we had to keep bringing them.

Could not the same be said of Christ if the Catholic heresy were true?

I would tell you that if we had more time here
I would also call into question the ARMENIAN VIEW of the cross

Which says that Christ died for all men potentially and no man actually.

They say (as though they are so magnanimous and reverent) that “Christ died for everybody!”

And yet at the same time, (because they refuse the heresy of universalism,)
They also say that not everyone for whom Christ died goes to heaven.

They say that sinners, (because they fail to aid Christ’s work or activate Christ’s work or finish Christ’s work by their own belief); actually nullify Christ’s work and thus go to hell even though He died for them.

What manner of weak and impotent atonement claims that
Christ died for people and paid in full the sin-debt of people
Who still go to hell and pay for their sin?

If that is your view of the atonement then it is a very weak view indeed,
For in that view, by saying that He died for all,
In reality you are saying He died for no one in particular.

WE SAY HOWEVER, Christ died for the elect, and on the cross He totally and sufficiently redeemed them.

His death was so effective
That not one of their sins will ever arise against them again.

He paid in full and He purchased our redemption.
Actually – Totally – Finally – Eternally

And we praise God that He will never need to do it again.
THE EMPTY CROSS CHANGES EVERYTHING!

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah 53:11 “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.”

• Christ did it.
• He completed it.
• He finished it.

J.I. Packer writes:
“Christ is a Redeemer who really does redeem.”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg.5)

• Not temporarily
• Not potentially
• BUT ACTUALLY

That cross is empty and it never needs to hold Him again.

And perhaps you are familiar with both of those Christian symbols
And why they must be empty if we are to have any hope from them.

But there is a third, which may not be quite as obvious to you, but in our day and time it is quite important that you know this one too.

#3 THE EMPTY MANGER

This is certainly obvious to us as well, as we know that the baby grew up and certainly did not sleep every night in that feed trough where He was first laid.

But by an empty manger, even more than that we mean that
He is no longer in the position of His humiliation.

That manger is the ultimate symbol of His humiliation
As we have often said in recent weeks.

Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

• We read about there being no room for Him in the inn.
• We know about Him being born in a stable and laid in a manger.

It was just insult to injury.
• That not only was He humiliated to become human at all.
• But He came as a baby.
• He was a baby who would be a servant.
• He was a servant who would die as a criminal.
• It is utter humiliation.

BUT THAT MANGER IS EMPTY.
That is to say that HIS HUMILIATION IS OVER!

TURN TO: ACTS 2:29-36

This was Peter’s sermon at Pentecost
• The climax of the sermon came as Peter announced that this Jesus who was mistreated and mocked and held under contempt by man is no longer in such a lowly position.

Peter says that Jesus was “exalted to the right hand of God”
• (36) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Paul taught us that too:
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

IF THE MANGER IS NOT EMPTY CHRISTIANITY FALLS APART

To leave Christ in the manger
• Is to forever consign to Him shame and dishonor.
• It is to deny that He is the sovereign reigning King
• It is to ignore His promise to return to reign on the earth.

And this is precisely what our world has sought to do.

The world continues to look upon Christ
As though He is nothing more than
A humiliated, impotent suffering beggar.

He is seen as weak and helpless and consigned only to beg and plead with sinners to please just accept Him.

He is portrayed as some wearied traveler who is desperately knocking on the doors of hearts just hoping someone will open it up and let Him in.

He is still clothed in Herod’s robe of mockery and still crowned with Pilate’s humiliating thorns.

He is totally susceptible to whatever men want to do with Him and far too kind and meek to ever offend anyone.

AND THAT IS NOT WHO HE IS AT ALL!
He is Lord of Heaven and Earth!
He is seated at the right hand of the Father!

He isn’t some weak and helpless beggar
Mildly knocking on hearts just hoping someone will let Him in.

Jesus, in His sovereign prerogative,
Blows the doors of sinful hearts right off of their hinges.

He came to this earth and He died on the cross to purchase His bride
And by His sovereign power He calls Her to Himself
And she does not resist.

“All that the Father has given Me will come to Me!” He says.

I love John Owen’s picture of Christ as the intercessor.
He says that when Christ goes before the Father, It “is not a humble, dejected supplication, which beseems not that glorious state of advancement which he is possessed of that sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, but an authoritative presenting himself before the throne of his Father, sprinkled with his own blood, for the making out to his people all spiritual things that are procured by his oblation, saying, ‘Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am,’ John xvii. 24.”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg. 65)

Owen says that “Regarding those for whom Christ died He does not tip-toe before the Father as He asks for them.”

Christ goes boldly before the Father,
Clothed in a robe covered in His own blood where-by He purchased His bride and He declares to the Father, “I will that those whom thou has given me be with me where I am” (John 17:24)

If He does with such boldness before the Father DO WE ASSUME that He goes cowardly before those whom He has chosen to save?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!
He boldly calls men to Himself.

TURN TO: PSALMS 110
(This, by the way, is the New Testament’s favorite Psalm)
It inspired the entire book of Hebrews.

Do you see that first verse?
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’”

It speaks of Christ’s exalted position
And the subduing of His enemies.

1 Corinthians 15:25 “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”

Who are these enemies we are talking about?
Well look around the room.

Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

And when Christ came to save you, how did He approach your heart?
• Was He some meek and mild impotent Savior just wringing His hands hoping
you would want Him?

Of course not!
He kicks in the door of the carnal heart and convicts its sin
And draws that sinner to Himself.

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.”

Christ broke into our dungeon, subdued our hearts, and set us free!
AND NOW HE REIGNS THERE!

Look at the rest of the 110th Psalm.
• Do you see the sovereignty He has been given?
• Do you see what God will do to those who refuse to bow to Him?

He is no longer enduring the judgments of men
As though He will ever answer to a single one of them.

But every man will answer to Him.
God has made Him Lord and Christ and given Him the name above every name; and every knee will bow to Him.

He is no longer that weak and broken servant in a manger.
He is the glorified and exalted King!

Revelation 1:14-17a “His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.”

Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Do you remember when He confronted the church’s chief persecutor?
Acts 9:3-5 “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,”

This lowly infant…
This meek and mild disciple…
This suffering servant…
THAT WAS FOR A SEASON.

THE EMPTY MANGER CHANGES EVERYTHING!

It is not an option whether or not you bow to Him.
It is not an option whether or not you would serve Him.
It is demanded.

Furthermore, it will happen!
Acts 10:42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”

Acts 17:31 “because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

One final passage:
TURN TO: PSALM 2

• You should be aware by now that Verses 1-3 represent His humiliation and suffering on earth.
• We see the evil men there who determined to crucify Him and cast His authority off of them.

But, God exalted Him!
(READ 4-9)

Christ is not on some ballot lifted up for you to vote for Him or not.
It is not as though man has the choice.

God has already exalted Him!
He is seated at the right hand of the Father!
The manger is empty, the throne is occupied.

And He is returning to judge those who refuse to submit to Him.

And with that we have ONE FINAL PIECE OF ADVICE to this world.

(READ 10-12)
That is the message.

We go to this world with an empty cross and tell them that Jesus is an actual savior who died to actually redeem sinners.

We go to this world with an empty tomb and tell them that Jesus was vindicated by the Father and His sacrifice is true.

We go to this world with an empty manger and tell them that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He is Lord and Christ and they must repent of their sin and trust in Him.

Those are the empty symbols of Christianity.
And we as the church praise Him for all three!

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Isaiah’s Incarnate One
Isaiah 50:4-9
December 25, 2023

When I finally sat down this past week to start putting the sermon for this Christmas service down on paper, I was immediately drawn to Isaiah 50.

• I started reading it over and over and thinking on it,
• And really just trying to soak it all in.
• It is one of my favorite chapters.
• The gospel just gushes out of it like a soaked wash rag.

But then I thought, wait, I hope I didn’t preach this chapter last year at Christmas.

My records tell me Isaiah 50 was our passage on Christmas day in 2020
Since that was only 3 years ago
I know that it is still perfectly etched in your minds.

3 years ago we looked at THE ENTIRE CHAPTER
As sort of an OVERVIEW of all that Isaiah reveals here.

We talked about: THE REJECTION (1-3)
Where you see that Christ ask the question, “Why was there no man when I came?”

• And we see again how Jesus was the true light which came into the world,
• But how He was not recognized or received by His own.
• They rejected Him.

We talked about: THE REDEEMER (4-9)

We talked about how you can clearly see the major elements of the gospel in these verses.
• His Incarnation (4-5)
• His Suffering (6)
• His Resurrection (7-9)

We talked about: THE REQUIREMENT (10-11)
Which very simply is that you should “trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

And our point was that Jesus is the true light.
Isaiah saw Him in chapter 9 and again here.
He is the Light of the world that enlightens every man.

But we hit the whole chapter in an abbreviated Christmas Day sermon
What I want to do this morning is go back
And look a little closer at verses 4-9 and examine it a little more.

I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS REDEEMER A LITTLE CLOSER.

Isaiah 50:4-9 is the Old Testament equivalent of Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

That’s the passage our kids did such a wonderful job illustrating for us two weeks ago.

In many ways, the things we learned there from the apostle Paul
Are things that Isaiah told us about years earlier.

The difference would be:
• Where Philippians 2:5-11 focuses on the DEGREE of His humiliation.
• Isaiah 50:4-9 focuses on the BENEFIT of His humiliation.

IN PHILIPPIANS WE SEE:
• No one ever started higher and then came lower than Jesus.
• The degree of humiliation He endured
• To one moment be regarded as God in heaven
• And in the next moment to be a crucified slave on earth.

Paul shows us that great humiliation
Because he has A SPIRITUAL APPLICATION for us.

Philippians 2:5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

Paul shows us the humility of Jesus
Because he wants us to show the same.

Remember how that chapter started.
Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

The entire point was for you to understand that
The calling is for you to lay down your life for your brother.

We are to do nothing out of selfishness but do all things out of love.
We are to regard one another as more important than ourselves.

And the ultimate example of such humility is Jesus
Who humbled Himself to a degree that we will never get close to equaling.

None of us will ever start so high. None of us will ever sink so low.

So that passage focuses on the degree of Christ’s humiliation.

Isaiah’s passage also focuses on His humiliation
But more so the BENEFITS we receive from it.

And when Isaiah applies the humiliation of Christ
It is NOT MERELY as an example to follow
(though that is implied).

ISAIAH SHOWS US THE BENEFITS OF HIS HUMILIATION
SO THAT WE WILL TRUST IN HIM.

(10) “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

In this chapter Isaiah addresses two distinct groups.

ONE is found in verse 11
• They are those who are filled with self-confidence
• They don’t need someone to be their light
• They have accumulated their own light.
• Isaiah will tell them that they are headed for destruction.

But THE OTHER group, (the one we are interested in) is the one in verse 10
• Who “fears the LORD”
• Who “walks in darkness and has no light”.

That is to say, they know they have no light on their own.
• They know they have no righteousness of any value.
• They know they have no wisdom to save themselves.
• They are poor in spirit.
• They are mourning spiritual beggars.

Isaiah wants them to know about this Suffering Servant.
And he tells them to “trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

The One Isaiah is going to tell you about is One you can trust in.
The One Isaiah is going to tell you about is One you can rely on.

It is all about the benefits of this Incarnate Savior.

So let’s look at the benefits Isaiah lays out for us this morning.
There are 5

#1 SYMPATHETIC SUPPORTER
Isaiah 50:4a

Perhaps you would prefer the term advocate or mediator or even priest.

By reason of His incarnation
Jesus has become to us a sympathetic advocate,
A sympathetic priest, a sympathetic supporter.

“The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.”

Back up in verse 2
• Isaiah first broke the news that God had become flesh and dwelled among us.

Isaiah 50:2 “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst.”

• Isaiah revealed that He came to earth to dwell among us.
• Isaiah addressed why no one was enthused about it.

Through Isaiah God asked, “Was it because you thought I couldn’t save?”

Do you not know whom I am?
• The Red Sea Splitter
• The Jordan River Divider

BUT THE REALITY IS Israel rejected Christ in part because:

The thought that God would become man
Was TOO FAR-FETCHED for them to concede.

• Surely the God whose glory drove priests out of the temple…
• Surely the God who made Sinai quake at His presence…
• Surely the God who struck Uzza for disrespect…
• Surely the God who devoured Aaron’s sons for blasphemy…

THERE IS NO WAY that God would become human
And subject Himself to ridicule and shame.

That was too much for them to handle
And part of the reason why they rejected Him.

In verse 4 Isaiah is revealing
WHY He would subject Himself to such treatment.

WHY? “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples” (made human)

And there are many reasons,
BUT THE ONE ISAIAH FOCUSES ON HERE IS SO THAT:
“That I may know how to sustain the weary on with a word.”

IN OTHER WORDS, “So that I will know how to answer you.”
• So that I will know how to encourage you.
• So that I can sympathize with your weaknesses.
• So that I can understand your temptations.

Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 5:7-8 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

THAT IS TO SAY, He learned the difficulty of obedience in His suffering.

Isaiah speaks of a God who is NOT distant and aloof.
• He speaks of a God who came near,
• Who entered your race,
• Who tasted this bitter life,
• Who embraced your pain and suffering.

In reality, this is ALWAYS WHO HE WAS.
• We saw Him in the lions den with Daniel.
• We saw Him in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego
• We saw Him in the pillar of fire and the cloud.

He has always been a “God In Our Midst” kind of God.

But the INCARNATION took it to A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
He became like the ultimate support group.

No matter your temptation…
No matter your suffering…
No matter your toil…

You can cry to Him and He can say, “I know exactly what you mean.”

This is one of the benefits of His incarnation.
He is a Sympathetic Supporter – SO CALL ON HIM

I watched a video this week of a man who put salon wax on his cheeks and nose and two bunches of wax covered Q-tips up his nose so he would know what his wife goes through at the salon.

The screaming and tears in his eyes indicate he is now a sympathizer.

Jesus did far more than that. CALL ON HIM

A Sympathetic Supporter
#2 SUBMISSIVE STANDARD
Isaiah 53:4b-5

That is to say He came and gave us an example.
• He certainly came to enter our hardships,
• But He also came to guide us how to walk through them correctly.

(4b-5) “He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back.”

We see true obedience when we look at the life of Jesus.

John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

John 8:28-29 “So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

Hebrews 10:5-7 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”

We have one in Jesus Christ
Who perfectly did the Father’s will in every situation.

Such obedience inspired the fad several years ago entitled: WWJD
(What Would Jesus Do) recognizing Him as the perfect example of obedience.

“And I was not disobedient” – He never REBELLED
“Nor did I turn back” – He never RETREATED

He always perfectly obeyed the Father in every possible way.

And certainly this is a TREMENDOUS EXAMPLE for us.

He said:
John 13:15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

Peter said:
1 Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”

He is an example: FOLLOW HIM

And not only so that you can do what He did, though that is the goal.

Follow Him because in His perfect obedience
He fulfilled God’s righteous requirement
And will impute that righteousness to all His followers.

He is A Sympathetic Supporter – Call on Him
He is A Submissive Standard – Follow Him
#3 SEASONED SUFFERER
Isaiah 50:6

What tremendous examples of suffering does Isaiah lay out for us.

(6) “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”

• We think certainly of His beatings before the Roman soldiers.
• We think of His trials before the Sanhedrin.
• We think of the mocking and scorn heaped upon Him on the cross.

HE SUFFERED.
Not just physically; but emotionally and more than that spiritually.

He bore the full humiliation of humanity and the full wrath of God.

This suffering is given by Isaiah in MORE DETAIL and with MORE PURPOSE 3 chapters later in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:1-6 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

That was the passage the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading
• When Philip approached him
• He was mesmerized at one who would willingly suffer so greatly for someone
else.

That passage led the Ethiopian Eunuch to yield his life to Jesus Christ.

Isaiah reveals that suffering to you too.
• He wasn’t held and arrested against His will.
• He gave Himself to those soldiers.
• He gave Himself to their scorn.
• He gave His body to their brutality.

Why?
FOR YOU!

He bore the scorn and humiliation and shame
That you deserve; that I deserve.

COULD YOU IMAGINE how humiliated you would be:
• If all at once every sinful thing you did was POSTED on the internet?
• If your thought light was PUBLISHED for all to read?
• If videos of your behavior were PLAYED on the nightly news?

WOULD YOU BE HUMILIATED?
Of course you would – sin brings humiliation.

He was humiliated in your stead!
And He volunteered: LOVE HIM

• Love Him for what He has done for you.
• Love Him for taking on flesh and dwelling among us.
• Love Him for taking off His outer garment and for girding Himself with a towel and for washing your feet.

Love Him for identifying with you at your worst!

1 John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.”

A Sympathetic Supporter – Call on Him
A Submissive Standard – Follow Him
A Seasoned Sufferer – Love Him
#4 STEADFAST SOLDIER
Isaiah 50:7-9

Do you see Him in those passages
• Squaring off with those who rejected Him?
• Standing strong against Chief Priests and Pharisees.

This was not to defend His integrity,
We already saw that He embraced humiliation.
This was to defend His gospel!

And He wouldn’t yield on it for a second!
• (7) “Therefore, I have set My face like flint”
• (8) “Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other;”
• (8) “Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me;”

He would not back down.

John 9:39-41 “And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Go listen to Him
• Humiliate the Pharisees in Matthew 23 calling them hypocrites repeatedly.
• While eating at the Pharisees house when that woman washes His feat with her tears and how He calls out the Pharisee for not understanding mercy.
• Listen to Him ask, “Let He who is without sin cast the first stone”.

He won’t yield for a second on the gospel He came to preach.

Or how about when He stood trial to face death?
John 19:8-11 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

He is a steadfast soldier – ADMIRE HIM

In our world of people to look up to, where is a better one than Jesus?

• The perfect example of justice and mercy.
• The perfect example of holiness and compassion.
• The perfect example of meekness and strength.

• He never gets it wrong.
• He never says the wrong thing.
• He never compromises or yields to heresy.

He is the ultimate One to study and examine and be inspired by.
• Study Him
• Gaze upon Him
• Listen to Him
• Watch Him
• And be totally captivated in awe of Him.

A Sympathetic Supporter – Call on Him
A Submissive Standard – Follow Him
A Seasoned Sufferer – Love Him
A Steadfast Soldier – Admire Him
#5 SUCCESSFUL SAVIOR
Isaiah 50:7-9

Here we read those same verses but we focus on the fact that
Though man was against Him GOD WAS EVER ON HIS SIDE.

(7) “For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore I am not disgraced;”

(8) “Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me;”

We hear Isaiah speak of the vindication of the LORD for Him.
• We’ve heard the Father speak about Him from heaven.
• We know the ultimate vindication came in His resurrection from the dead.

Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Man may have attacked Him, but God vindicated Him.

WHAT IS THAT TO US?
Namely that He is THE SAVIOR WHOM GOD ACCEPTS.
• What good is it to have a sympathetic priest if God won’t listen to Him?
• What good is it to have a submissive standard if God wasn’t pleased?
• What good is it to have a seasoned sufferer if God wasn’t impressed?
• What good is it to have a steadfast soldier if God is His enemy?

It matters that God chose a side.
It matters that God vindicated Him!

He is the Savior whom God accepts.
• He is a sympathizer with direct access to the Father.
• He is a standard which earned the Father’s approval.
• He is a sufferer who bore all the wrath the Father required.
• He is the soldier who won the battle the Father commissioned Him for.

And now God has exalted Him.
God has made Him both Lord and Christ.

He succeeded in His saving incarnation – TRUST HIM

Don’t rest on your own abilities.
Don’t rest on your own wisdom.
Don’t rest on your own goodness.
TRUST HIM

(10) “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

These are the benefits of the incarnation.

WHAT DID YOU GET FOR CHRISTMAS?
• You got a PRIEST to call upon.
• You got an EXAMPLE to follow.
• You got a SUFFERER to love.
• You got a SOLDIER to admire.
• You got a SAVIOR to trust.

Merry Christmas!