Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1947-05-29

shall be your strength.-Isaiah 30:l5.
Perilous times had come upon the
southern part of the divided king
dom known as Judah. There had
been period of outward prosperity
under King Uzziah, but the inward
decay Of the people made it an
empty thing.
Judah, like Israel, was on the
downward path which was to lead
to ultimate captivity and judgment.
The occasional reign of good kings
seemed to stem the tide bit; in
fact, the great king Of whom we
study today, Hezekiah, gave Judah
a fresh lease on life and enabled
her to outlive her sister kingdom by
nearly a century and half"
Judah experienced real revival
Of faith in God under Hezekiah uI
Kings 18:4-6; II Chron. 29:3D. The
temple was cleansed, the priesthood
renewed and reconsecrated, and the
great feast of the Passover kept
once more. This undoubtedly ex-
plains the new life which came to
Judah in an hour when the nation
seemed about to disintegrate.
I. The Enemy's Threat (19:5, 81.
For the background here one
must read the previous chapter.
Hezekiah, having tried to throw off
the yoke of Assyria, had seen SEN
nacherib and his armies sweep over
the land. Thinking to stop him and
to save Jerusalem, he sent great
gift amounting in value to millions
Of dollars. The gift was accepted,
and then Sennacherib treacherously
seiged Jerusalem.
Rabshakeh, Sennacherib's mes
senger to Hezekiah, not only threat
ened the nation, but blasphemously
denied the power; Of God. Such was
the awful situation Hezekiah faced
as he went to the temple, and sent
trusted servants to inquire Of Isaiah
what he ought to do.
The response was prompt and
definite. We may learn from this in
cident that in an hour Of confusion
and danger it is well to take time to
find out what the Lord has to say
about things. He knows what to do!
II. The Lords Answer Q9;7, 81
3d.. 1880
God has only to blow on the
mighty. clustering nnonarchs Of this
world and they come to their end,
definitely and conclusively. The
"blast" of the Lord ". u IL enough
to care for that! And remember, he
is still ready to act on behalf Of his
people!
On the plains Of Philistia the
mighty host of Assyria met the
angel Of the Lord, and they never
awoke from their sleep. The loss Of
1876, 900 men sent Sennacherib home
to Nineveh broken and fearful. and
there he met his own violent death.
J How much we need the encour-
iagement of such an event as this in
our own day when the mighty Of
this earth seem to speak SO boldly
and confidently against the name of
the Lord. His children must often
hear the blasphemous threats Of un-
believers and bear the burden Of
their scorn. - ~".-.4., RI, '..-~ =
Let us remember that we do
serve a God who can with a glance
Of his eyes throw into confusion all
the enemies Of his mighty name.
Let US be strong to fight the victori-
otis battle in his name!
Hezekiah knew the sweetness of
victory as he trusted In the Lord. II
we could only rest the matter there.
But the weakness of the flesh comes
to the fore as we see
III. The Kings Folly co: ibid.
Babylon. one of the great Gentle
enemies of .Assyria, wanted to cul-
tivate the friendship of Hezekiah. SO
an embassy was sent to express Joy
at his recovery from serious ILL
ness. ''''
It was. the Lord who had healed
him (see 20:1-lD in miraculous
way, but now Hezekiah did the fool
ish thing Of trying to cultivate the
help of men.
To impress these possible allies
from Babylon, he showed them all
his wealth. He evidently wanted
them to return to their ruler with a
story Of the might and glory Of
Judah.
Poor Hezekiahl He only made q
fool of himself, prepared the way
for the ultimate taking of his pos.
sessions and his people by tho Baby.
lonians.
The lesson to be learned here Il
not only that Boosting Is folly Gal
though that is always true), bul
also that it is the height Of folly ia
put ones trust in the arm Of flesh
No matter how mighty the force:
Of this world may be, or how won
derful it might seem TO have their
favor toward the cause Of the
church. let US be clear that It is ir
God that we have our strength-anc
in him alone.
The church (and individual Chris
tians tool has lost its testimony anc
its power in the community when
ever and wherever II has turned t.
the world for help or support. Re
member the folly Of Hezekiah.