Saturday, October 3, 2026

Opening Scripture

“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.

“The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. 2 Samuel 7 (selected)

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, I praise You for all that You are and all that You’ve done. I praise You for Your abundant blessings to me in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Your Son. I praise You for Your Spirit, who lives in me, comforting, counseling, and guiding each day. Thank you for adopting me into Your eternal family. I offer myself to You this day, through Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever more. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 37:33-38

“Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord. “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”

Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

Reflection  

In a very definite and violent way, today’s passage concludes the Assyrian threat that dominated most of the first half of the Book of Isaiah. After all the drama and intrigue of this chapter, the ending is rather matter of fact. God simply did what He said He would do. The “great king” Sennacherib is eliminated in three verses.

In the first half of Isaiah, we have repeatedly seen how “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Those who exalt themselves are brought low. Those who humble themselves before the Lord are lifted up.

It is important to note that God defeats the Assyrians for His own honor and to honor His covenant with David (see Opening Scripture). “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” God acts to protect His glory and keep His promise.

We ought not think that God was obligated by Hezekiah’s humility, tears, prayers, or attempts to “walk faithfully with wholehearted devotion and do what is good.” God’s actions are always consistent with His perfect will, and Hezekiah’s prayers were in accordance with God’s will.

God’s absolute holiness and integrity are never in doubt. He will always protect the honor of His name and character. He will always uphold His covenant with His people. He does what is right “for His own sake.” Almighty God’s majesty and sovereignty, justice and righteousness, mercy and compassion are always active.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

After the LORD had answered the people’s prayers and so forcefully resolved the Assyrian menace, we might have assumed the threat of invasion was over for good. By the grace of God, the invading army had been destroyed, and the king had survived a near-death illness. But it is never that easy, is it?

In Chapter 39, the Babylonians come calling. The son of the king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah because he had heard about his illness and recovery. “Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses – the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil – his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them” (Isaiah 39:2).

Prompted by God, Isaiah went to visit the king and asked, “What did those men want? Where were they from?” The king replied that they were from some distant land called Babylon. “And what did you show them?” Isaiah inquired. “I showed them everything!” the king answered.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Surely, that would be taken as a sharp rebuke by a prophet of God for a foolish action by a reigning monarch, right? Not Hezekiah. Despite all the good he had done, he was flawed. Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good.” He was unconcerned because he assumed that meant he would enjoy peace and security for the rest of his life.

Interestingly, God’s deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian invasion and God’s deliverance of Hezekiah from his serious illness were both temporary. In response to their humility and hope in the LORD, God “added years” to the king and the kingdom, but they would not last forever.

Hezekiah was far from perfect, but as he prayed during his sickness, “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” God was compassionate toward the king of His people, and He graciously extended Hezekiah’s life.

Lest we forget, Jerusalem was also far from perfect, as we saw in Isaiah’s prophetic rebuke at the beginning of the book. “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him” (Isaiah 1:4). Their destruction would come in 587 B.C. at the hands of the Babylonians.

There is much to learn from God’s Word as we reflect on His dealings with His people throughout the ages. Almighty God is still working out His great plan of redemption around the world today. Ask the Spirit to open your heart and mind to see and understand what God is doing in, through, and around you.

This week’s collective prayer: Father, create in me a true desire to share your love with others. Amen.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!