God’s Response To Genuine Faith
Isaiah 37:21-38
January 14, 2024
Tonight I want to pick back up with the quote we ended with
From Raymond Ortlund as we looked at Hezekiah’s faith.
“Sometimes Christians live a creedal faith rather than a daring faith. And Isaiah is talking bout an audacious faith that the world cannot understand. A creedal faith says, “I believe in God the Father Almighty” and so forth. That’s good. What if we didn’t believe that? We’d really be in trouble. But a creedal faith is a beginning point only. After all, if people who do not believe in God the Father Almighty often live like people who do believe in God the Father Almighty, then living by faith must be more profound than a creed. God is calling us to live by a daring faith because the world is daring us to live by faith in God.”
(Ortlund, Raymond [Preaching The Word Commentary: Isaiah, God Saves Sinners; Crossway; Wheaton, IL, 2005] pg. 206)
He spoke of believers whose faith is only creedal and not daring.
That is to say, their lives are filled with the right theology.
• They know the correct gospel.
• They recite the correct gospel.
• They preach the truth.
• They defend the truth.
But here is the dilemma that Ortlund proposed that struck me.
Ortlund pointed out that in our world often times
The only distinguishing mark between the way believers live
Versus how nonbelievers live IS OUR CREED, NOT OUR FAITH.
That is to say.
• If our creeds were not made manifest.
• If you didn’t know what anyone believed.
• If everyone’s theological beliefs were sealed away and no one knew them.
• If all you had to be able to evaluate a person was their decisions.
• If all you had to evaluate people was how they responded to adversity.
• If all you had to evaluate people was how they handle tragedy or danger.
Would you be able to tell
Who was a believer and who wasn’t in our culture?
Can you not see the problem that often times in our world believers and nonbelievers live such similar lives that it’s really difficult to see the difference?
Now certainly I’m NOT talking about the morality issue.
But we all know unbelievers who live moral lives.
• We all know unbelievers who don’t get divorced, don’t cuss, don’t lie, or cheat.
• They don’t believe in Jesus Christ, but they still live moral.
The mark of their unbelief
Is seen in their dependance on man for deliverance.
• They trust in their own hard work.
• They trust in their government.
• They trust in their doctor.
• They trust in their job.
And Ortlund’s point is that
We have believers who only ever do the same thing.
• Their creed is correct.
• Their theological dissertation is accurate,
• But the world never sees any kind of radical faith out of them at all.
That leaves the world wondering what is so different?
Ortlund said, “God is calling us to live by a daring faith because the world is daring us to live by faith in God.”
To not just say what we believe about God but to actually believe God.
R.C. Sproul used to say that “it is not a profession of faith that saves, but the possession of faith that saves.”
And the reason Isaiah is showing us the life of Hezekiah
Is because he wants you to see the difference.
Isaiah, by his own confession, was “a man of unclean lips”
And he confessed to live “among a people of unclean lips.”
That is to say
• “We are creedal people.”
• “We are a confessional people”.
• “But we are hypocritical”.
Remember his indictment?
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
We certainly remember the sermon of chapter 1
• Which addressed all their sacrifices and festivals and faithfulness to pray to
God, but it was all empty.
• They professed faith, but they did not possess it.
And of course their poster child of an example was wicked king Ahaz
• Whom God called to trust Him,
• Even offering him a sign,
• And Ahaz said no.
This was the problem of Isaiah’s day.
It was a creedal faith, but it was not a daring one.
In response to such a fickle faith
God raised up Assyria and commissioned them against Israel and Judah.
• Israel refused to ever trust God and they were defeated and exiled.
• Judah certainly would have suffered the same fate, were it not for one man.
HEZEKIAH TRUSTED GOD.
And the faith of that one man saved the city and the nation.
Hezekiah possessed a faith that God responded to.
• His faith certainly may have been creedal.
• But his faith was also daring.
When Sennacherib sent that letter back
Telling Hezekiah not to let God deceive him,
Hezekiah never panicked and he never approached anyone else.
Hezekiah took that letter directly to God and to God alone.
And Hezekiah prayed.
(15-20) “O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”
We asked what did Hezekiah believe?
• He believed that God is our God
• He believed that God is sovereign
• He believed that God is living
• He believed that God is jealous
And we know he believed that, not because of what he said,
But because of what he did.
HEZEKIAH TRUSTED GOD.
Tonight we get to see GOD’S RESPONSE.
Certainly Isaiah is screaming at us through this story
About THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUSTING GOD.
There are three main things I want you to see from the text tonight.
#1 THE STATEMENT
Isaiah 37:21-29
And what we have here is the spoken response of God to Hezekiah
In regard to the threat that Hezekiah passed along to Him.
(21) “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,”
That alone is somewhat fascinating.
• Hezekiah didn’t tell Isaiah about it.
• The only person he consulted with was God.
• And yet here we have Isaiah sent with a message.
This is a tremendous proof
That God both hears and answers prayer.
God responded “Because you have prayed to Me”
God didn’t respond necessarily because of what you prayed,
But because you prayed.
God was responding to Hezekiah’s faith.
People often refer to “The Power of Prayer” (and that is not wrong)
But please know that is not as open as it sounds by that statement.
• A prayer offered to Allah has no power.
• A prayer offered to a tree has no power.
Beyond that Jesus told us that in our praying, it’s not our eloquence or repetition that makes prayer powerful.
Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Obviously what makes prayer powerful is
The God to whom we pray and the faith He responds to.
We think of that man who persisted at night asking his friend to borrow a loaf of bread.
Or that Canaanite woman who wouldn’t quit asking Jesus to heal her daughter.
Or this woman:
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Clearly the point there is NOT the eloquence of the woman.
It is the faith of the woman as evidenced by her persistence.
Jesus says if you take that kind of faith and then offer it to a God who is actually good and powerful, anything is possible.
The problem is
• Will we find that kind of faith on the earth?
• Will we find a daring, persistent, actual faith?
• Or will it be a faith that stops in creed only?
God doesn’t say that He answered Hezekiah
Because of his moving argument, or his emotional brokenness.
God answers simply “Because you have prayed to Me”
Hezekiah took the problem to God and God responded to his faith.
It wasn’t about what he said, it was that he said it to God.
God has been moved by the faith of Hezekiah.
God has a message for the king of Assyria.
(We don’t know if the Assyrian king ever heard it, it was given for Hezekiah’s sake)
But God’s message to Sennacherib is three-fold.
(incidentally, watch God respond specifically to the faith of Hezekiah)
1) YOU ARE A FOOL (22-23)
God starts out by pointing out how Assyria
Has belittled and maligned Jerusalem.
(22)” this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The daughter of Jerusalem!”
They called them weak, powerless, and destined for captivity.
But what Assyria was too foolish to realize
Is that an attack on God’s people is an attack on God Himself.
Zechariah 2:8 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”
Remember when Jesus confronted Saul on the Damascus road?
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,”
An attack on God’s people is an attack on God.
And this is what Assyria was doing.
DO YOU REMEMBER that when Hezekiah prayed Hezekiah referenced his believe that GOD IS OUR GOD?
• It is a big mistake to go attacking the bride of Christ.
• It is a big mistake to go attacking God’s adopted children.
BUT Sennacherib didn’t just attack God by association.
Sennacherib actually attacked God specifically.
• Sennacherib called God a liar.
• He told Hezekiah that God would deceive him.
• Sennacherib called God weak.
• He told Hezekiah that He would not be able to deliver.
And when Hezekiah prayed
He was also very specific about THE JEALOUSY OF GOD.
• God doesn’t share His glory.
• He certainly doesn’t allow pagan peons to mock it.
Look at how God answers:
(23) “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!”
You have no idea who you are messing with.
(Sennacherib repeatedly called Hezekiah a fool)
But it was Sennacherib who was reckless and foolish.
You are a fool
2) YOU ARE A FRAUD (24-27)
When you read verses 24 and 25 you see the arrogance of Assyria.
He was swelling with pride and confidence.
He knew how powerful he was, and that no one could stand in his way.
Notice how many times the word “my” or “I” is used.
He was confident in his own strength.
Rabshekah asked:
Isaiah 36:18-20 “Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”
It is clear that the king of Assyria saw himself as omnipotent.
Isaiah 10:12-14 “So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”
Sennacherib really thought he was somebody special.
But God reveals that he is a fraud.
(26-27) ““Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps. “Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, They were dismayed and put to shame; They were as the vegetation of the field and as the green herb, As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.”
The only reason you gained victories is because I allowed you to.
We know why Assyria has been allowed to have victory.
• God has been using her to punish the sins of Israel and Judah.
• God purposed this.
• God planned this.
• God allowed this.
Remember Hezekiah praying that: GOD IS SOVEREIGN
If Sennacherib had realized that he would have understood why he was so successful in battle.
“Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, they were dismayed and put to shame.”
God is the one that made it where Assyria could win.
Their strength was not from themselves.
The point is that Assyria was a fraud.
They didn’t do this, God did it.
Isaiah 10:15 “Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.”
You are a fool You are a fraud
3) YOU ARE FINISHED (28-29)
Remember that Hezekiah also believed that: GOD IS LIVING
And you see that reference here.
• “I know”
• “your arrogance has come up to My ears”
Sennacherib wasn’t taunting a lifeless stone carving
That could not respond.
He had picked a fight with the living God.
God lets him know that his victorious days are over.
(29b) “I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.”
There is no doubt that God is angry,
And He is about to take out His anger on this arrogant Assyrian.
Isaiah had already told us this:
Isaiah 30:27-28, 31-33 “Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; Burning is His anger and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent, Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin…For at the voice of the LORD Assyria will be terrified, When He strikes with the rod. And every blow of the rod of punishment, Which the LORD will lay on him, Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres; And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them. For Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.”
God has seen enough…
God has heard enough…
God has decided that his siege is over.
And there you have the statement from God.
• Hezekiah believed He is OUR GOD and God defended His people.
• Hezekiah believed He was a JEALOUS GOD and He rose up to defend His
glory.
• Hezekiah believed He is the SOVEREIGN GOD and God revealed that
sovereignty.
• Hezekiah believed Him to be the LIVING GOD and God said, “I’ve seen
enough.”
God looked directly at the mocker of Assyria and declared to him:
You are a Fool
You are a Fraud
You are Finished
GOD RESPONDED DIRECTLY TO THE FAITH OF HEZEKIAH.
That is the Statement
#2 THE SIGN
Isaiah 37:30-35
God just made a promise that Assyria was leaving.
Now God determines to pass out a little confirmation to Hezekiah.
God promises to give him a sign.
YOU MAY REMEMBER
That Hezekiah’s father refused to trust God or any sign He would give.
Isaiah 7:10-13 “Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?”
• Syria was attacking Ahaz and God promised to deliver,
• Even saying ask for a sign so that you will know that I will do it.
Ahaz refused to trust God even upon a sign, instead running to Assyria.
But Hezekiah is not like his Father.
Hezekiah trusts God.
And here God offers Hezekiah a sign.
(VERSES 30-32)
Now I hope you recognized what type of sign this was.
It is one of God’s favorites to give.
IT IS A SIGN OF CONFIRMATION
(30b) “you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.”
You and I know that isn’t much of a sign.
(At least not an immediate one)
BUT HOW SWEET THE WORSHIP WOULD BE IN THAT THIRD YEAR WHEN YOU ARE EATING THE FRUIT OF YOUR VINEYARD.
God is not a God of proof, but a God of confirmation.
When Moses needed a sign from God to prove that God would indeed deliver from Egypt, God said:
Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
And that is the same type of sign here.
To a man walking by sight, it is of no help at all,
But to a man walking by faith
It is the greatest confirmation possible.
God had just promised 3 more years of absolute security in the land.
Assyria would not be a threat.
(VERSES 33-35)
And please recognize here the power of God.
All that had to happen to prove God wrong, was one displaced soldier had to shoot one stray arrow over the wall and this prophecy is false.
But God was in complete control.
It is commonly difficult to trust God in the present.
• Often times circumstances are so bleak
• And trials are so real and hope is so faded
• That trusting God is a tremendously difficult thing to do.
But for those who trust God in the midst of those difficult moments
THERE IS COMING A DAY of tremendous rejoicing.
For we don’t often see God’s hand at work now,
But someday we will stand on the mountain with Moses
Or we will eat in the vineyard with Hezekiah
And at once fall to our knees and realize that God really did deliver.
AND AT THAT MOMENT all the faith and all the trust
Will seem extremely worth it, and we will worship God
In a way that we never worshiped before.
• How great do you think the worship was for Moses on Mt. Sinai?
• How great do you think the worship for Hezekiah was 3 years later in
the vineyard?
• How great do you think it will be when your faith becomes sight?
If God were to just take the trial away, or never permit it at all,
There is certainly a comfort to enjoy.
But it doesn’t equal THE FUTURE REJOICING
Of those who trusted God through trials and
Eventually stand on the mountain remembering His deliverance.
God was giving Hezekiah a sign.
He would certainly deliver and some day the worship would be amazing!
The Statement The Sign
#3 THE SLAUGHTER
Isaiah 37:36-38
2 Kings adds 5 words to the beginning of this verse:
2 Kings 19:35 “Then it happened that night…”
I Love those first 3 words
“Then it happened”
Everyone who walks by faith
Is waiting for their own personal “Then it happened”
That is what Horatio Spafford meant in his great hymn:
“And Lord haste the day when thy faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul!”
He was waiting for his own personal “Then it happened”
Well Hezekiah got his here.
His faith was about to become sight.
(36) “the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.”
The angel that broke the power of Egypt
Is now at work to break the power of Assyria.
Isaiah 10:16-19 “Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.”
The Assyrians were wiped out.
And Sennacherib was forced to retreat.
• Apparently His REPORT was incomplete.
• Apparently His REASONING was faulty.
• Apparently His REALITY was a mirage.
He turned out to be the liar, not God.
SHOCKER!
(VERSES 37-38)
What an ironic ending.
For days and days Sennacherib had confidently told Hezekiah
Not to trust in the LORD, for God did not have the power to protect him.
How ironic that Sennacherib would die
In the house of a god who could not protect him.
And all of a sudden the great threat of Hezekiah’s life
Was behind him.
As we said when they looked over the wall to 185,000 dead Assyrians:
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
And now at the completion of this story
The application is extremely easy to understand.
TRUSTING GOD IS A GOOD IDEA
There is an enemy.
• He is a roaring lion that seeks to destroy.
• He delights in attacking God’s people.
But there is also a Savior
Who can and will deliver if we put our trust in Him.
And this is not just the theme of Hezekiah’s story or the book of Isaiah.
This is the theme of Scripture.
Isaiah 40:27-31 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Psalms 25:1-3 “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.”
Psalms 27:11-14 “Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”
Psalms 34:19-22 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”
Psalms 62:5-8 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
It is clear what the call of Scripture is.
God desires you and I to trust Him.
And therefore it is NO SURPRISE
That when God became flesh and dwelt among us,
His appeal was still the same.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
In fact this great book ends with that very invitation:
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
The call is for you and I to trust God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Sinners trust Him for salvation.
Believers continue to trust Him for everything else.
And when we look at Hezekiah the encouragement is to
Have a faith that stands out as different than the world.
Don’t just bring a creedal faith.
Bring a daring faith.
• Actually believe.
• Actually trust.
For when you do that, your God, the sovereign God, the living God,
The jealous God will rise up for the glory of His own name.
I’LL SAY IT AGAIN,
Your faith is given to you as a tool through which God can glorify Himself.
Trust God
