Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 130
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
36:22–37:17
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court
secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hez
ekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king
and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.
When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on
burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim the
palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests,
all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him,
“This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and
disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no
strength to deliver the baby. But perhaps the Lord your God has heard
the Assyrian chief of staff, sent by the king to defy the living God, and will
punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, the
prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not
be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian
king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will
receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land,
where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult
the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.
Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of
Ethiopia was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet
the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this
message:
“This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God,
in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will
not be captured by the king of Assyria. You know perfectly well
what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They
have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why
should you be any different? Have the gods of other nations rescued
them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of
Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all!
What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What
happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he
went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. And
Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord of Heaven’s
Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim!
You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the
heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes,
