Today’s Reading:
Isaiah 37:9-20
“And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trusted, deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria., Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar. Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying; ”O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries. and have case their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the works of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore, they have destroyed them. ”Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou are the Lord, even thou only.” (Isaiah 37:9-20 AKJV)
“There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory belong to the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:30-31, AMPV)
Isaiah 37 verse nine to twenty is the story of Sennecherib’s threats against king Hezekiah of Judah. At this time, Tirhakah was not yet king of Cush or Ethiopia and Egypt; but he posed a threat from the South to king of Assyria’s pursuit of acquiring nations to expand his kingdom. This made Sennecherib to renew and strengthen his call to Jerusalem in the North to surrender (vv. 9, 10). This threat was originally to Hezekiah, but it is indirectly to the God of Israel. I pray that every threat of acquisition of our land by strangers will not come to fruition, in Jesus’ name. The cities mentioned were cities between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia that have been conquered by Assyria (vv. 12, 13).
Hezekiah as a godly king went to the temple of the Lord to encourage himself in the Lord and ask for direction (v. 14). This was opposite of what king Ahaz did when in similar situation. Ahaz neither sought the face of God nor asked for sign from the Lord (7:11, 12). Whenever we are faced with difficult situations or confronted by forces of darkness whether in the dream or physically, we should always encourage ourselves in the Lord and ask for direction. Although the answer to Hezekiah’s prayer was already on the way. He did not know that Tirhakah was poised to resist and attack Assyria (vv. 8-10), Hezekiah persisted in prayer with faith even though he could not see the answers to his prayers coming. In a situation like this, when we pray, we must put faith into action and believe that God has prepared the best answer to our prayers. We are to continue with our prayers and wait patiently in humility for the manifestation of the power of God.
As Christians/believers, God is our strength, our power and he will make our way perfect. He alone is able to give us the shield of His salvation, by giving us victory (2Sam. 22:33-36). In the name of Jesus, He will make our land great. God told Moses to tell the Israelites that the Egyptians they saw that day; they shall see them no more. In Christ Jesus, we are victorious over ungodly arrogant, oppressive and wicked power, in Jesus’ name. The enemy is not a match with the awesome power of our Mighty God.
In this story, king Hezekiah was more particular about the safety of the nation of Israel not so much of his life, so that the glory of God would be manifested among other nations. God is the Creator of all things, and so He is Sovereign (v. 16). God alone is God! (Exod. 20:1-3) all other deities are the invention of human hand (v. 19). God is living, He can see, and he hears (v. 17).
OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE
Prayer:
Great, Mighty and Awesome God, I confess that You alone are God and Jesus Christ is Your only Son, He has gone this path before us. Thank you for our victory in Christ Jesus.
Father Lord, inject into me your spiritual vitamins that will make me spiritually healthy, in Jesus’ name.
Inject into me spiritual vitamins that will boost my appetite for Your word, in Jesus’ name.
Father, inject in me spiritual vitamins that will sustain me in the evil days, in Jesus’ name
Lord feed me with the food of the champions, in Jesus’ name.
I bind and cast out every spirit causing seduction, false doctrine, deception, hypocrisy, pride, error and the love of Mammon in the body of Christ, in Jesus’ name.
Lord of host, You are the Captain of God’s army; we hand over our battles, as individual, family, body of Christ and nation to you. Thank you for you will complete what you have started, and You will give us victory, in Jesus’ name.
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