DISTRESS AND DISGRACE
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Lord God, for the power of your Word to change lives. As I learn from it, give me greater courage to share its truth with others so that they might know you.
Read ISAIAH 37:1–20
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold
37 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a] was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[b]”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:9 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How do you feel when you hear Jesus made fun of or insulted? Take a few moments to analyze your feelings and what they show you about how you see God.The field commander had touched a nerve, not by threatening death and destruction, but by mocking the living God. Hezekiah couldn’t bear it. He carried out the symbolic gesture of ripping up his finery and replacing it with sackcloth, sent emissaries to the prophet Isaiah with a pleading message, and headed to the temple to pray (vv. 14–20). It was unbearable to think that God would allow his name to sit alongside those of wood and stone gods carved by people.
The blasphemous ridicule had cleared Hezekiah’s mind. He had not always shown God the respect, honor, and worship he deserves, but in this moment, he understood: ‘You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth’ (v. 16). The field commander wouldn’t get away with his disrespect, but many people do—at least in the short term. Even the mockers around Jesus’ cross didn’t seem to suffer consequences. Jesus told us that following him would mean being treated in the same ways he was. And that one day vindication would come ‘so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that’ the Lord is the only God (v. 20).
Apply
Be prepared to affirm the greatness and goodness of your God for those who mock him in your presence.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, I lift up to you those I know who misjudge the living God and ask that you would bring them to repentance.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.