The Right Approach To The Temple
The news for Judah seems dismal. The threats of Sennacherib loom over the land. Will Judah fall to Assyria as the Northern tribes of Israel did? The propaganda from Assyria seems certain and pulls no punches letting the people know it. Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah and Isaiah responds with words of assurance that the Lord will frustrate the king of Assyria yet Hezekiah sees very little in the way of victory even after the words. Instead, Rabshakeh, the minister of propaganda keeps taunting the defenders on the wall and pronouncing inevitable defeat. After all, there were many nations before Judah who called out to their “gods” and they were vanquished. What made Judah different?
The answer is found in the theme of Hezekiah’s prayer offered in 2 Kings 19.
Hezekiah takes the taunts of the enemy and “spreads it out before the Lord.” That is a powerful act right there. Hezekiah refuses to internalize this message alone. He doesn’t wallow in the words of scorn, he brings the message straight to the Lord.
2 Kings 19:15-19 (ESV) And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: "O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone."
I love what Hezekiah prays in verse 15: “you are THE God, you alone”. That is faith in what Israel alone was given through the revelation of Torah. The God of Israel was not territorial He was the owner and sustainer of the Universe. Hezekiah tells the Lord he is fully aware of who He is.
Then Hezekiah intercedes against the threat of Assyria. He seeks God’s salvation. He utters, “please!” This is a desperate prayer from a determined man. Hezekiah knows the “gods” that were defeated were nothing but the work of men’s hands. They were destroyed because idols cannot save their maker. The same is true of mankind. We cannot save our maker, He must save us.
Finally, Hezekiah’s prayer seeks the glory of the Lord. He wants deliverance, yes but he wanted deliverance for the sake of God’s name and renown throughout the Earth. This is a prayer that gets answered. It is aware of who God is. It is aware of our need for His intervention. And finally, it longs for God’s glory to be mad known in the Earth.
Now what’s important for us to see is how different Hezekiah’s approach to the Temple is in this chapter compared to 2 Kings 18 when Sennacherib first attacked Judah. Notice what it says:
2 Kings 18:16 (ESV) At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.
When Hezekiah first felt threatened he USED the temple to protect himself. But after Isaiah’s admonition and when things looked desperate, Hezekiah rose up in faith and SOUGHT the LORD in the Temple to proclaim HIS GLORY.
This makes me ask the average Christian. Are you using Jesus to self-preserve or are you seeking Jesus to proclaim His glory? So many people try to use what God gives only for their own preservation. Remember in the New Testament, the Temple is His church, the body of Christ. Many use the church for their own needs and wants instead of seeing themselves as part of the body appointed for His purpose and glory. Are you ONLY looking to Christ so that you may avoid pain, discomfort and conflict? Hezekiah did that and he changed at the words of Isaiah. This is why God gives us prophets to steer us back on track. When you keep God’s glory first in your life, He has a way of accomplishing your protection while announcing His honor.
We always do best, when we have a heart for His House.
The result for Hezekiah? God's deliverance through angelic intervention. An angel cuts down most of the Assyrian army in one night and Hezekiah as well as Israel are delivered.
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