Why does the Bible Support Slavery?

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright Hebrews 12:15-16 (KJV)

Taken out of context anyone can read anything into the Bible. Haters of God do this all the time, and even those wolves that hide among the brethren in secret.(bad pastors) I'm on my break at work,  so I must respond clearly and quickly. Lets began with slavery,  how the bible uses the word slavery may have remarkably different meanings and intents.

1.   In one instant slave mean indentured servant.This is not as we perceive slavery today where people are beaten and the actual property of another person. That is a completely new European concept of slave.   But for the Jews slaves were part of a successful and functioning society. Many slaves had homes, and property of their own. And as slaves they did not remain slaves for all their life. At most they were slaves for only 7 years, and those who were fortunate remained slaves even less if they became slave near the year of Jubilee. (Ask your pastor to teach you about jubilee) The law of Moses in fact served to regulate the care of slaves by their Hebrews masters, i.e. Ex 21:20 and Ex 21:26, Lev 25:40. Consequently, Israel never captured and sold humans as did the Phoenicians and Philistines.  Children of slaves could even inherit the wealth of the slave master.  Consider Abraham's words when he had no son of his own. ( Genesis 15:2 ) This nothing like the slaves that you and I have come to  think of.

2.    Secondly, the word slave is used as a person to who is in subjection to someone or something. (I.E  He is a slave to his drug additions) We who are in Christ should be a slave to the will of Christ. But you know from your walk with Christ that whom the Son set free (from our sexual perversions, or drugs or financial circumstances) is free indeed John 8:36

o   Now addressing slavery from the position of a just God. Ask yourself this "If God wrote about Himself and His Son today through the hands of prophets do you think He would say that there were no gang rapes, child molestation, weapons of mass destruction, or black on black crime?"  Would God leave that part out when He describe the world?  

Wouldn’t leaving them out be untruthful?  Fact is all these things exist,  All these things were real. And none of these things are condoned by God. If we who are Christian believe that the Bible support slavery then we are not reading the Bible correctly. The Bible teaches that man is corrupt in all ways (Totally Deprived)  but somehow those that would convince you that God supports slavery is trying to make you think that because the Bible speaks of slavery, that God somehow condones slavery.  Your elderly grandmother watches the news and hear of rape and murder every day. she may call her friends up to tell them the latest atrocity reported on ABC News but that does not mean your grandmother is for murder or rape. . 

Like-wise just because slavery is in the Bible does not mean God tolerates slavery, have you not read vengeance is mine says the LORD? (Isa 63:4, Rom 12:19)   What the Bible teaches is that the fullness of God's word is of paramount concern for both the free and the slave. New Testament texts, such as Colossians 4:1, Galatians 3:28, and the Book of Philemon, make the case for the inherent spiritual worth of slaves, which effectively laid a base for deep down authentic change in social practice, over time. God's way is often to work from within, dealing primarily with the spiritual component.

3.    Lastly we must learn to read scripture not with the mind of this world but with Godly wisdom. If we truly desire to understand the word of God we must rightly seek it in prayer James 1:5 Because they read the Bible with worldly knowledge the way of God seems foolish to men 1Corinthians 1:25 Consider this Abraham, Jacob, Esau and King David, and King Solomon all had multiple wives. Now at first glance it would appear that the Bible condones many wives, but does it?  

o   Well because of two wives, Abraham had distension in his house, and the descendants of one son are to this day at war with the descendants of the other.
Genesis 16:4-6 And Please don't forget that Hagar was his wife's slave.

o   Jacob had four wives,(two of which were slaves [concubines]) and that led to the attempted murder of his favorite son,  and fighting among his wives Genesis 30:1-2, Genesis 37:18-30 And the eventual separation of a nation at odd with itself. 

o   King David had many wives, and even though  he was the apple of God’s eye, and with all the good he had in possessions, these  things could not satiate his appetite for  flesh. So he Killed Uriah and stole his wife.  God cursed him which was proof that God does not condone evil.  2 Samuel 12:9-10

o   King Solomon though he was the riches and wisest man on earth he fell to the perversion of his many wives.1 Kings 11:3

o   In Hebrews 12:15-16 we learn more about Esau then in all the Bible, We find that he was an adulterer, sexual immorality  was his problem.  The fact that he had two wives made life of his parents bitter the Bible says.Genesis 26:34-35

The reason the Bible is so clear about slavery is because slavery did exist in the Bible. But so did rape and murder, and so does evil today.  If the Bible did not address the fact that there was slavery, then the Bible would be giving us only half truths. So the Bible speaks of slavery because slavery existed, not because God condoned it, the Bible speaks of polygamy because it existed not because God condoned it. It speaks of beating and parent killing their children,because these things existed, not because God condones it.

But here is the really scary part. These things still exist and most people questioning the Bible are doing nothing to stop any of these things. I'm not fooled and neither should you be those that  question the Bible do so because the Bible brings to light their own, your own, and my own sin.

And in the end what matters is not what happened 3000 years ago, what matters is where you will spend eternity.

Your Brother in Christ
T.Charves FireSpeaks

The Truth About God and Divorce

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. Matthews 19.8(KJV)

Does God Hate divorce?

In a single word YES! Because divorce is a sin, but so is murder, and adultery, and covetousness, and homosexuality. Yet, God has not weighed one sin greater than another, no matter how we humanly perceive them the wages of all sin is death. But the word of God deals with our heart more than it does our hands. Let me explain if I may.

Divorce has always been a way of life, The bible records divorce as far back as the exodus from Egypt. and the reason for divorce is imperfect people make imperfect decisions. Yet we must understand that from the very beginning when God put Adam under a deep sleep (Genesis 2:21-24) to right now, God has always hated divorce.  So I think it both foolish and an insult to everyone’s intelligence for me to try to justify divorce. I also think it is a denial of the inerrancy of scripture and disrespect of the faith to say that the Bible which is the word of God revealed to man by the power of Holy Spirit is flawed (1 Thessalonians 1:5). I believe 100% in Tota Scriptura, all of scripture is perfect even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. Therefore where scripture and I come in conflict it is always me that is incorrect and must make the change and never scripture.

My point is that many of the brethren (non-gender specific)  have gone to their graves struggling to live their lives for Christ, trying to, by their works, become worthy of the promise and salvation all because  because of an errant interpretation of scripture, or because of  legalist leaders who by the law keep them in bondage.

Consider the following passage of which many that have been divorced have become enslaved to because  their past decisions to divorce.

“… Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.  And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.  For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth Malachi 2:14-16(KJV)

In the New Testament not only does Jesus speak against divorce, for the married couple He speaks against the sin of marring a known women that is divorced. 

"But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; amd wjpspever shall marry her that is divorced commiteth adultery" Matthews 5:32 (KJV)

 “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” Matthews 19:9 (KJV)

From these three passages we would find ourselves regulated to either a marriage that we hate, or a life stuck in divorced never to find the comfort of a loving spouse. But is this really what scripture is saying to us?

It is my goal in this wordy excerpt to not give an answer to the question does God hate divorce,  but rather to give clarity to the intent of the heart of whom Jesus spoke of in both Matthews 5, 19. To do this I direct my attention to Matthew Henry's commentary on the book of Malachi chapter 2, he writes;

Corrupt practices are the fruit of corrupt principles; and he who is false to God will not be true to his fellow mortal.  In contempt of the marriage covenant, which God instituted, the Jews (Men) put away the wives they had of their own nation, probably to make room for strange wives They made their[lives bitter to them; yet, in the sight of others, they pretend to be tender of them. Consider she is thy wife; thy own; the nearest relation thou hast in the world. The wife is to be looked on, not as a servant, but as a companion to the husband. There is an oath of God between them, which is not to be trifled with. Man and wife should continue to their lives' end, in holy love and peace. Did not God make one, one Eve for one Adam? Yet God could have made another Eve. Wherefore did he make but one woman for one man? It was that the children might be made a seed to serve him. Husbands and wives must live in the fear of God, that their seed may be a godly seed. The God of Israel saith that he hateth putting away. Those who would be kept from sin, must take heed to their spirits, for there all sin begins. Men will find that their wrong conduct in their families springs from selfishness, which disregards the welfare and happiness of others, when opposed to their own passions and fancies. It is wearisome to God to hear people justify themselves in wicked practices. Those who think God can be a friend to sin, affront him, and deceive themselves. The scoffers said, Where is the God of judgement? but the day of the Lord will come. ( Matthew Henry's commentary on Malachi 2)

After reading this commentary by Matthew Henry let’s look at Malachi 2:14-16 once again.

“… Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: In context we can see that the husbands were secretly treating their wives badly, But God says He knows how badly you have been treating your wife, even though the rest of the world thinks you are a good husband God knows the truth.

…yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.  God says she (Your wife) is not your slave, she is your wife, your equal, your companion and you must treat as such. I think it’s important to know that in that time, in fact since Moses wrote Exodus divorce was pretty common. However only men could get a divorce by writing a letter of divorcement and leaving their wives to fin for themselves (Matthew 5:31) What this meant for many older women, especially if they did not have children or could not go back to their parents, is that she would become homeless. Or regulated to a life of prostitution.  So divorce for the most part was a horrible death sentence for the wife. In fact for the attractive women that refused to rely on prostitution for their means,  and were unable not go back to their parents, or had no male to support them, being raped, sodomized and left on the street to die from injuries or hunger was just what they got. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. This is the bottom line, for the scripture says that in the lust of a man’s heart, by the covetousness of his flesh he has divorced his wife. And because he know what could happen to her if she had no place to go, his actions are evil in every way. Now we can see that Our Lord and Savior is pointing back to Malachi 2 when he speaks of divorce and the wickedness of the heart of men.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, “For the hardness of your heart he [Moses gave a precept concerning divorce] wrote you this precept. Mark 10:5 KJV

Summary;

I cannot say with any measure of surety that God allows divorce except in the three ways outlined in my post " Is Remarriage Continual Adultery? " because the Bible is pretty clear on this subject God hates all sin and divorce is a sin. However in most passages in the Bible God is speaking of the divorce of men that comes from the lust and covetousness for what they cannot have. I am not saying that God only hate this divorce, and that its OK if you have another reason.  I'm  saying that divorce is a single sin as is remarriage, and I believe that on thises deeper issues we all must seek God with prayer and meditation and fasting for His wisdom and understanding. 

Your Brother in Christ 

Soli Deo Gloria

How to Heal Our Nations, 12 Years after 911

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14(KJV)

As we mark the 12^th anniversary of the attack on the United States, we must have a spiritual resilient attitude. We must see the author of this most horrific crime and set our hearts against him with extreme malice.  But before we go out killing Taliban or trying to resurrect Osama Bin Laden, it is imperative that we realize they are not the enemy.

The United States and its imperial regime was the subject of the Taliban’s anger, it was the Christ Jesus. Currently we are the last great power that claims the Name of Jesus is there any wonder that the real enemy of our savior has attacked the people of the United States.(John 15:19-21)  The present condition of American religiosity is developed in poor doctrine and a water down Gospel. And because of the condition of Christianity in the United States the attack on @ 911 (the sun of trials and tribulations) served to scorch the seed that had no depth of root (Mark 4:5-6)

How many people that thought they were Christian fell from the faith because that felt that God had failed them, or that the attack just wasn't fair? How many So-called Christians who lost loved ones turned from the love of God to the hate of the devil?  Even worst, how many of us danced in the streets when Bin Laden was killed?

All the while in our ignorance of scripture, and doctrine and that mist of our desire for hate and revenge the Devil has slipped through the back door, and turned God’s created  (those that have been hurt by 911) against God’s created (those responsible, and those the suffer because of an association with the responsible)  for his own perverted reasons. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Yet we who put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ know that it’s not the Taliban or Islam or anyone in the middle-east whom we should set our heart against it’s the devil. And we set our heart against the devil through by presenting Christ to the world for their salvation. Ezekiel 33:11 says God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and neither should we.

I know we can defeat the real enemy not through bigger guns, but through bigger faith. Let’s use this 12th anniversary of  911 to reach those we would not normally reach, study the word as we normally wouldn’t study, and live for Christ as he  has called us to.

Then we will remember 911 not as a time of death but as a time of spiritual awaking.

Your Brother in Christ
T.Charves FireSpeaks

Is Re-Marriage Continual Adultery?

If the Son therefore shall make you  free, ye shall be free indeed

(John 8:36)

Question: I have remarried am I in a continual state of adultery?

If you are not remarried than seek God for your answer, this is your life both natural, and spiritual. Let God led you; you will I know His will. The Bible says that God gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) and if we learn to praise Him, and Worship Him, not for what He can give us, But because He is; then He will give us the desire of our hearts. Though it must be clearly understood that it was not our praises or worship or anything that we did earned us the desires of our heart. No God knows them better than we do. I think of His blessing I this way. “God gives us the very thing we would ask for if we knew what He knows”

Now it make no difference that we do not deserve them in anyway but because He is a gracious and loving God, and it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. (Luke 12:32)Therefore, we need to come to that point where we desire God greater than what He can give us. Where we desire the gift greater than the giver.  It has to be “Father this is the desire of my heart,  I truly want this, but if You never give it to me, and only gave me You it will be sufficient in my life..”

Now the question is if “I remarry will I be in a state of continual adultery?”  Some people are going to hate me for this but I must say it. Ready? Don’t let anyone tell you that because you were divorced that you should remain divorced.  I am hard pressed to believe that the Bible teaches that. However, there are 3 instances that I know of where remarrying is Not a sin. Moreover, those three cases are founded on a harden heart,  (see Malachi 2:14-15, Mark 10:5, Matthews 5:32, and Matthews 19:9) And I believe since God has made exceptions for those three occasions there may be others for which we cannot know. This is especially inferred as possible in light of the fact that both Jesus and Malachi speak against divorce on the grounds of lust, treachery, and hardness of heart. The 3 exceptions for divorce and remarriage which we know of are;

·        Because of the fornication, adultery ( Matthews 5:32)

·        If her/his spouse dies (1 Corinthians 7:39)

·        If he/she remarries their first husband or wife (1 Corinthians 7:11)

However, please understand that it is the decision to get remarried and the actual act  of getting remarried which sin  Once you are remarried your marriage is not sinful. Nor does God turn His back on your relationship because of the remarriage. Moreover, the sin does not occur every time the marriage is consummated. Nor has God chosen to stop blessing you because of it.

Now this is not a statement condoning divorce and remarriage, it is a statement showing the loving kindness of the almighty God.  Any friend or family member, pastor or bishop that does not support your new marriage has failed to see that it is God that perfects the marriage, not the law.  He can do it with two sinners, he will perfect the marriage of two Christians.  Here is a verse for you to contemplate and meditate on.  Ask yourself is that true for your life?

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.  John 8:34-36 (KJV)

Shalome

T.Charves FireSpeaks

Why there should be no weaves in church?

Last night my daughter asked me had I heard about the pastor that said women in his congregation should not wear weaves.  (actually this is not what he said but you know how the new gets)

“Yes I did” I answered

“So what you think of that?”  She asked. I knew that she was probing me for a biblical answer to this problem.  So I began, “If there is a problem with his request than maybe they should leave the church. If they feel that his requirement is greater than their love for God, then turn from God. There are a number of things they can do, but though he may be dealing with some control issues, but I don’t think he is out of line in setting a standard for the congregation.”  I base my answer on two points, the first of which is my personal pet peeve

1.     We are called to give God our very best

We live in a world that has lost its Christian worldview, even many churches have lost the power that come in celebration of works. Now I’m not talking about being saved by works, I saying because I am saved I bring forth fruit that is worthy of that salvation. Let me expand on this for a minute.

I remember a time when everyone had three sets of clothes, play clothes, school clothes and church clothes. And you better believe that best of them were your church clothes. Today there are many churches that say it does not matter how you come to church, just as long as you come to church. Now there is some merit in that mindset, but there is just as much flaw in that mindset as well.

Every Sunday I see congregations filled will people that wear blue jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops to church yet these same people wear suits and ties to work. How is it that they give their boss their very best, but their savior they give rags?  I was brought up to always give God our very best.  In fact scripture requires us to give our very best.     Consider these two passages together;

Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethern, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service."

Now some biblical history.
Under the Old Testament some of the Jews were not offering their best to God and because of this the prophet said their actions was evil.

Malachi 1:8, "And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?"

Under the New Testament we do not offer animal sacrifices as the Jews did under the Old Testament; but we give Him our lives in service to Him as a living sacrifice. In doing this we must give Him our all. Anything we do for God must be our very best. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind." All our heart, soul, and mind, or in other words, our total being must be in our worship not just to whoop and holler hallelujah on Sunday that’s worship. But our worship is also how we carry ourselves before others.  The Bible says so that they can see our light and glorify God.  

For so many of us we think that coming to God is something we add to our lives,  We think that if we don’t party and cheat on our wives than we are saved.

But God did not call us to add the gospel to our lives, he called us to give up our lives for the gospel. We are a peculiar people set apart for His glory and God wants every part of us.  Every one of us that call the name of Jesus remains in His presence (Psalm 139:8) Therefore just as we all get dressed in the presence of God, we must get dressed for the presence of God.

2.     The Pastor is set as head of the local body, and God speaks to the head concerning the good will of the body.

This one will cause some problems because it has been abused so much in the past. However, if these members believe that God has called them to the church, and that their pastor is truly a man of God, then they should willing fall under subjection of the pastor concerning this issue? We don’t know how this revelation of the Pastor may bless the church members either individually or corporately.  Now let’s address a problem that Timothy had with his congregation and how the Apostle advised him on meeting a solution.

             In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness             and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;  But (which                             becometh women professing godliness) with good works 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Ok before we go any further let’s not take these passages out of context, and I won’t even speak on verses eleven (11) and twelve (12)  but what I am teaching on the two verse above applies to them as well.

At first it appears that Paul is writing to Timothy concern what women should wear, their clothes, that they should never teach or preach and that they should remain silent. Many people say that Paul has written his own commandments concerning women. Some say this is proof that the bible is sexes.

However, what Paul was doing was giving advice to Timothy about how to stop a practice that was causing confusion within the church.

a.      One there were women that were wearing elaborate hair styles, excessive gold, and making the service nothing more than a fashion competition.

b.      Because of this the church had become a place where gossip was abounding even the (female) leaders of the church were partaking in these practices.

In Roman living today which addresses the time when the Apostle Paul was writing to young Timothy we have historic proof that this was taking place.  The magazine writes of the first century women;

Rome’s wealthy women spent many hours having their hair dressed…Because the Romans were superstitious they only washed their hair once a year on the Goddess Diana’s birthday. Talk about high maintenance! Many of the women fashioned their hair with curls arranged on crescent shaped wire frames then curled or braded them in the back (follow lnk)

Now let’s not forget where we started, Pastor Aamir has seen something happening in his congregation that bother him. Something that he felt was hindering the congregation from reaching their full potential in Christ. And it was this thing that caused him to require a higher standard (ban on weaves) not for the congregation, but for the leaders of the church.   Pastor Aamir even said he know that he cannot require anyone to follow this requirement, but ask they do this in order to be set free from the need to wear weaves.

His reasoning is that in a congregation that is struggling financially with paying their bills it is both a foolish act, and poor stewardship of the blessings of God to spend large sums of money on what you can just as perfectly do for free.  

My wife would never wear a weave she prepares her hair every night before bed and her hair would put most of the weave I’ve seen to shame. Listen I am not in agreement with this pastor nor condemnation because I don’t know the specifics but.....

Let us that are not a part of that church assume we know anything about that church.

Your Brother in Christ 

T.Charves FireSpeaks

What is the Difference between "Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven"

There is a lot of misunderstanding about these two phrases “The Kingdom of God” and “The Kingdom of Heaven”, so we must look to scripture to find an answer. The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 68 times in 10 different New Testament books, while “kingdom of heaven” occurs only 32 times, and only in the Gospel of Matthew. Since Matthew is part of the synoptic Gospel it must without error fit in with both The Gospel of Luke and The Gospel of Mark. (The rest of the New Testament as well) From this alone we can know that the two phrases are the same.

When we look at parallel accounts of the same events in the other two synoptic gospels we see that Mark and Luke uses “Kingdom of God” where Matthew used “ Kingdom of Heaven” Lets allow scripture to make this clear to you.

Let’s compare two passages in the gospel of Mark and Luke

• Mark 4:11 “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: with 
• Luke 8:11 “And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 

While that same event in Matthew 13:11 uses the term “Kingdom of Heaven”

• Matthew 13:11 “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Uniquely Jesus uses the two phrases interchangeably. In Matthew verse 19:23-24 reads this way “ (V23) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. (V24) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (KJV)

I hope this clears this up for you. Even though there are some that teach these have two different meanings, sound knowledge of scripture does not support such hogwash. In every occasion in which I have heard someone teach two meaning I have without exception found them to have no scripture to support their thought.


Only that which we do for His glory counts!
T.Charves FireSpeaks

How to get victory through the prayer of King Hezekiah

Series 5 Prayer 2 ( Biblical Prayers for Today)I indirectly addressed this prayer several times, the most notable was in my post  Defending the Great Name of God through Prayer. In that post the purpose was to show how we have a responsibility to defend the Name of God. That particular post more than any other was met with a lot of resistance, I think because it asks the lay Christian to come out of his comfort zone and actively engage the devices of Satan in battle, through prayer. I am  not sure why Christians, who are supposed to be praying people refuse to pray the will of God with such dogged resistance. However that was that post.

The Victory Prayer of King HezeKiah

Today we turn our attention more to the details of this  prayer and how to apply it life today. However before we can do this we must get some base information about the circumstance.

Who is Sennacerib?  King Sennacherib (suh-na-kruh-rib) was an Assyria King from around 704 to 681 B.C. During the beginning of his reign his massive army for around 200,000 men invaded Judah. 

In an effort to convince the King Assyria for destroying Judah. King Hezekiah sent all te silver found in the house of the Lord, and everything of value in his own treasury (2 Kings 18:15) to Sennacherib. But Once the Assyrians had advanced to the walls of Judah, Rabshakeh an official of Sennacherib, delivered a speech in which he warned the delegation of King Hezekiah to surrender without a fight. On the advice of the prophet Isaiah King Hezekiah refused to surrender. A second message was sent to King Hezekiah demanding him to surrender without a fight. Again the prophet Isaiah advises the King not to submit to Sennecherib's demand (2 Kings 19:32)

So we pickup with the prayer of King Hezekiah starting with verse17 where king Hezekiah prays " It's true the King of Assyria has destroyed and laid waste to every land that has stood against them"  Here we see two very powerful points;

1. The fear that was in the heart of King Hezekiah, which was perpetuated by a believed lie. 
2.  And the lie, which was the foundation of King Hezekiah fear which was, the the King of Assaryia had laid waste to every land that has stood against him.
   
   ...And Hezekian prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear; Open Lord, thine eyes and see, and hear the words of Sennachherib, which has sent him to reproach the living God.  Of a truth, LORD the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nation and the lands, and have case their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, o LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only (2 Kings 19:15-19)

The fear was real, there was an advancing army at the walls of Judah. However in verse 11-13 we find a lie told by the Assyrian King which Hezekiah accepted as the truth. Sennacherib gives a laundry list of the nations he destroyed and the inability of their God to protect them against his army. The lie was inferred, that because the false gods could not protect the nations against King  Sennacherib's army that the God of Judah was likewise impotent against the army of the Assyrians.  We see because King Hezekiah tried to bribe the Assyrian that for a moment he believed that lie.  We can only imagine that the prophet Isaiah had to persuade King Hezekiah of the truth of the gods of the nations that the Assyrian army had destroyed. The truth which was that they were not gods at all, but creations of their own hands and were unable to protect them. 

However, Hezekiah was not praying to some moon god, or sun god, King Hezekiah was praying to the God that created the moon, and the sun and the stars, and the earth. His prayers were directed to a living God, not a god made by the hands of man, but a God whose hands made man. so the situation and the circumstance wasn't the same for King Hezekiah and Judah as it was for the other nations.

 

Consider this meditation,

Meditations on Jehovah Nissi

At first I feared when all was against me, when the adversary came in like the waves of an evening tide against my peace;  pounding at the foundation of my heritage, saying I’m not a son of the almighty God. All that was wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, as armies circumscribe me from all sides, there no place for me to run. So I looked to the hills from winch cometh my strength.

Evil came to discomfit my life, while those I thought were my friends, like ravenous wolves bit at my hind side.  They revile me, for Your Sake, and by my past and called me as evil as they are. The chaos of the Accuser tried to confound me with doubt and enticed me with past wickedness. The Devil as tasked his minions to choke the salvation out of me, and chase my soul, to Sheol.

But I will run  only as far as Golgotha and no further, would I run. Because at the cross there is my confidence; I have rested my head under the blood stained banner of Jesus Christ. Victory is mine.  My strength is renewed, like an eagle I am mounted up on new wings, I will run but not grow weary, I will walk and  not grow faint. Because I am a new creature in Christ!

O Death, where is your sting? O Sheol, where is your victory? Do you not know that Jehovah Nissi  gives me the victory through my Lord Jesus Christ?

Tc Pearsall © 2011

Please do not copy the above meditation  without the expressed written  approval of the author

Soli Deo Gloria
Your Brother in Christ


Other prayers in this series
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Prayer of Agur