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God is watching, and He doesn't miss a trick. Nothing escapes His attention. For those who mock Him, He fortunately has a long fuse. But it is still a fuse. Ultimately, God is not mocked.
Recent Entries
God? Who Needs Him?May 31, 2013
Self-sufficient humanism. Paul saw it coming – “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Imago Dei
September 12, 2012
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Why Can't I Pray?
August 18, 2012
The bible gives us several reasons, but according to Jeremy Taylor, a deceitful heart is at the root of prayerlessness.
It's Not Rocket Science
July 23, 2012
To keep in step with the Spirit should be our daily quest. And if we are successful at that, all of life falls into place.
Theological Steak
April 10, 2012
These words by P. T. Forsythe on the magnificence of Christ's work are to theology what Ruth's Chris is to a good steak.
Describing the Indescribable
February 11, 2012
What we have in Christ will take all eternity to describe. But for one segment of one sermon, a great preacher made a mighty attempt.
Making Sense Of It All
January 30, 2012
Where are things headed? Is there rhyme and reason to the endless cycle of summer, fall, winter and spring? Is there a plan in place, or is randomness the explanation?
Them's Fightin' Words!
October 6, 2008
Does it bother you to see God's name slandered like it is in our day? GOD IS NOT GREAT?? Or Bill Maher? It seems to be open season regarding matters of faith , as this media celebrity or that intellectual takes pot shots at the Almighty. Is God listening? What's He thinking? And just how long is His fuse?
In Isaiah 37, an unnamed field commander backed by a huge Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem in a seige, and beside an aquaduct somewhere outside the city walls he held a meeting with three Jewish representatives, who were shaking in their boots.
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah stood passively as the commander bragged about how successful Assyria had been recently, heaping scorn on their God in the process. The conversation was loud enough to be overheard on the walls, and the three requested in embarassment that the commander speak in Aramaic.
That of course made him merely shout all the louder in Hebrew for all to hear, "Don't let Hezekiah your king persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, 'The Lord will surely deliver us, this city will not be given over to the king of Assyria....has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?'"
And then he recounted recent conquests, to cause Jerusalem to shake in their boots. Others had trusted in their gods to no avail. Assyria was unstoppable. Israel would be no different.
The inference? The God of Israel is just as impotent as any of the other gods of the surrounding nations.
Them's fightin' words. Of course God was listening in. Nothing excapes His attention. And Hezekiah acted. By rallying his troups? Hardly. He went up to the temple of the Lord, and began to pray.
"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 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. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." Isaiah 37:16-20
This prayer is amazing, because Hezekiah seems to be more concerned for God's reputation than anything else. The seige doesn't worry him so much as God's name. And he knows that if God will deliver Jerusalem, it will take all the wind out of Assyria's swagger.
God agrees. Isaiah...sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Senacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him....Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!...I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will...
And the rest of the prophesy is not pretty - not for Assyria, anyway. Hezekiah on the other hand is assured that no arrow will even enter the city. They need fear no seige ramp. God will Himself defend the city. And just like that, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. God took care of His reputation His own way and in His own time.
So let's not fret and whine when God's name is dragged through the mud. Like Hezekiah, let's get on our knees and ask God to vindicate Himself, to defend His reputation. Let's pour out our energy in prayer, and then watch God tweak events in a way that He gets the glory He deserves.
In Isaiah 37, an unnamed field commander backed by a huge Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem in a seige, and beside an aquaduct somewhere outside the city walls he held a meeting with three Jewish representatives, who were shaking in their boots.
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah stood passively as the commander bragged about how successful Assyria had been recently, heaping scorn on their God in the process. The conversation was loud enough to be overheard on the walls, and the three requested in embarassment that the commander speak in Aramaic.
That of course made him merely shout all the louder in Hebrew for all to hear, "Don't let Hezekiah your king persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, 'The Lord will surely deliver us, this city will not be given over to the king of Assyria....has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?'"
And then he recounted recent conquests, to cause Jerusalem to shake in their boots. Others had trusted in their gods to no avail. Assyria was unstoppable. Israel would be no different.
The inference? The God of Israel is just as impotent as any of the other gods of the surrounding nations.
Them's fightin' words. Of course God was listening in. Nothing excapes His attention. And Hezekiah acted. By rallying his troups? Hardly. He went up to the temple of the Lord, and began to pray.
"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 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. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." Isaiah 37:16-20
This prayer is amazing, because Hezekiah seems to be more concerned for God's reputation than anything else. The seige doesn't worry him so much as God's name. And he knows that if God will deliver Jerusalem, it will take all the wind out of Assyria's swagger.
God agrees. Isaiah...sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Senacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him....Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!...I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will...
And the rest of the prophesy is not pretty - not for Assyria, anyway. Hezekiah on the other hand is assured that no arrow will even enter the city. They need fear no seige ramp. God will Himself defend the city. And just like that, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. God took care of His reputation His own way and in His own time.
So let's not fret and whine when God's name is dragged through the mud. Like Hezekiah, let's get on our knees and ask God to vindicate Himself, to defend His reputation. Let's pour out our energy in prayer, and then watch God tweak events in a way that He gets the glory He deserves.
