37:14
Previously on receiving the threats from the Assyrian commander Hezekiah had gone to Isaiah. Now he goes directly to God himself. He prays to the Lord, laying out before the Lord the letter from Sennacherib. He spreads out the letter before the Lord, in the temple of the Lord. We see here two things, One is why was there a temporary withdrawal, why did God not just destroy the Assyrian army there and then? At least part of the reason is that God wanted Hezekiah to use his own faith. In our own lives God does not just want to rescue us, but He wants to make us into people who overcome, who learn to overcome fear ourselves. The second lesson is how we can go about this. Hezekiah went to the temple, he went to God’s place. We need to go to be alone with God, to kneel before Him. But Hezekiah was not pretending the situation did not exist, rather he laid out before the Lord the threats from Sennacherib. We do not pretend our fears do not exist, but we go before God, focusing on Him, and lay our fears out before Him. The next verses will reveal more of what we should do.
37:15,16
Having laid out the problem before the Lord, Hezekiah then prayed.. He begins by declaring who God is. The ark of the covenant had cherubim on it, which were winged angel like creatures (1 Sam 4:4; Ex 25:17-22). Then he says that God is Lord over all the kingdoms. Remember that Jesus said all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt 28:18). God is the God of Israel, but He has authority over all nations. Sometimes people talk about Christianity in terms of “I believe this, you believe that and they believe the other”. This is a totally wrong worldview, as if all beliefs are somehow equal. They are not! Christ alone is Lord. Moreover, God is the creator of all things. This puts life in a totally different perspective, and we need these truths to utterly permeate our being.
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