Title: Hezekiah's Love for the Country
Contents
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1. When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD.
2. They clothed Eliakim in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests in sackcloth and sent them to Isaiah the prophet son of Amos
3. And they said to Isaiah, The words of Hezekiah are that today is a day of trouble, of rebuke, of reproach;
4. The Rabshakeh was sent by the king of Assyria, his lord, to blaspheme the living God. Perhaps the LORD your God has heard him. It is likely that the LORD your God will rebuke him because of what he has heard. pray for them
5. In this way the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6. And Isaiah said to them, Say this to your lord: Do not be afraid because of the reproach that you have heard from the servants of the king of Assyria, says the LORD.
7. I will put a spirit within him, and he will hear the rumors, and he will return to his own country, and in his own country he will put him to death by the sword.
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1. Therefore, first of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.
2. For kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and modesty.
3. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior
4. God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
5. There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
6. He gave himself as a ransom for all; when the time comes, he will testify.
8. Therefore, may men everywhere raise up holy hands in prayer, without wrath and contention.
Content
Subject: Hezekiah's love for country
Text: 2 Kings 19:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-8
Hezekiah (715-618 B.C.), the 12th king of the southern kingdom of Judah, had a difficult position at home and abroad. The continuous change in the international situation among the great powers has always caused a sensitive reaction to Israel's survival. The decline of the old kingdom of Egypt, the emergence of Assyria as a new power, and the emergence of Babylon as a third power used to be variables. After the northern kingdom was destroyed by Assyria (B.C.722), the southern Judah who survived after promising tribute to Assyria was bent on the back of the tribute that was getting harsher. The Assyrian king ‘San Hyerib’ means ‘God makes the brothers prosper’, and he was the son of Sargon II, king of Assyria. As its name suggests, it brought prosperity to Assyria, but at the cost of its neighbors. At one time, they conquered Babylon and formed an alliance with Egypt, the former ruler.
Today's Old Testament text (2 Kings 19:1-7) took place during this period. Assyria, the great power, manages an enlarged empire, and it was common sense to extinguish the embers of unrest in advance. Rabshakeh, commander of the army of San Hye-rib, was tasked with the conquest of Judah. Of course, the Assyrian invasion of Judah had also happened before. At that time, they tried to survive through surrender and tribute (2 Kings 18:13-16). The results were so disastrous. 46 castles were captured and 200,150 prisoners and many livestock were taken. The gold and silver overlaid had to be stripped from all the decorations and vessels of the temple to meet the required weight of silver and gold. The record that appears in today's Old Testament text shows that Hezekiah's response was different. Introduce a tactic called ‘prayer’. A new tactic is deployed in the face of the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem and forcing its surrender. It is the footsteps of faith toward God.
“When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 19:1). Instead of fleeing to the temple to escape the enemy, they went into the temple to fight the enemy. This is because, like the holy warlord David, he believed that “the Lord saves not with sword and spear” and “war belongs to the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:47). Then, clothed in sackcloth, he sent his servants to Isaiah. This is to ask for the ‘reinforcement of prayer’ (2 Kings 19:2-4). When they arrived, Isaiah, a man of God, had already received a revelation from God and was waiting for them. You have already received answers to your prayers (2 Kings 19:5-7). The title of today's sermon is [Hezekiah's love for the kingdom]. To overcome the national difficulties we face today, above all else, we must pray for the love of our country.
Of course, Hezekiah did not just pray. Through the experience of bitter failure, I learned the identity of the enemy. He did not slow his awareness of foreign powers. And he overcame this difficult situation with the people. In a crisis of national existence, the people believed and followed Hezekiah. So, in a state of siege, the people put aside their fears and followed the king's command to "be quiet" (2 Kings 18:36) about Rabshakeh's ruined Mangbal (2 Kings 18:18-35). It was the practice of love for the country with the people. Today's New Testament text (1 Timothy 2:1-8) is also a word about prayer. He intercedes, saying, “Make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all people, for kings and all those in high positions.” The kings of that time were the rulers of Rome who persecuted Christians. Namsan members, let's pray together for our country!