Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, special ones.

Our time on our WOG was extended for two reasons. We met a lady we know walking up the hill—and she talked our legs off. Not really—we were able to walk home. And while walking home, a truck pulling a big stock trailer pulled into the truck stop. The driver got out and waited for us to approach. I soon recognized him as a big business man and rancher that I have done some work for in the past. He has a project he wants me to do…adding a patio roof structure to the back of his house. Becki and I had a good laugh over that. Why? Because just yesterday while passing by some of his property, I off-handely commented to Becki (for various reasons), “I don’t ever expect to hear from him again.” Interesting how things unfold.

Have a great day. Please value His blessing and approval above all else.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Like watching a movie where the bad guys bully and threaten the good guys, only to have the tables turn so that the good guys win over the bad guys, Isaiah blends his role as a prophet with the role of a historian and rcounts the story of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib in his dealings with King Hezekiah of Judah. Sennacherib threatened to wipe out Jerusalem, only to have his threats crash down upon himself. He was the one wiped out. Naturally speaking, however, Assyria had the odds in their favor. But Sennacherib and his “field commander” made a fatal blunder—they not only ridiculed Israel but ridiculed the God of Israel. That is dangerous business indeed. “Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!” (37:36). And the demise of Sennacherib himself was ugly and bloody as well—where his own sons assasinated him “while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch” (37:38). So much for a big head with a big arrogant mouth! And there is something very scary about that phrase, “his god.”

King Hezekiah was basically a good king, with a basic HEART AFTER GOD. But, like the rest of us, he was flawed. The FOCUS VERSE contains some evidence of a flaw. He seems to hold the view that this life is all there is to one’s existence. He could have been a good Sadducee who did not believe in a life after death. So when Isaiah reprimands him for showing all the treasures of Israel to the visiting officials from Babylon and pronounces a “woe” against Israel’s treasures—that they will one day be plundered by Babylon—Hezekiah does not appear very worried or concerned because it wouldn’t likely interfere with his own lifetime. That concept is also implied in the song of Hezekiah in the previous chapter. He says, “For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit (who die) cannot hope for your faithfulness” (38:18). How can you be so sure of that, Hezekiah? Contrast his view with that of David who declared, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6). I’ll take that view over the alternatives any day—not just because I like it better, but because it is most compatible with the hallmark of Biblical truth—“…that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”(John 3:16). Hang on that last phrase—ETERNAL LIFE!