Hezekiah

The opening verse of today's reading stated that Hezekiah reopened and repaired the temple. I had to refresh my memory on what had happened to bring Hezekiah to that place. So in case you have also lost track of what all these kings and kingdoms were up to...here are the Cliff's notes. Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz, who was an evil king in Judah, not Israel. Ahaz had instituted idolatry, closed the temple, and raided the temple of it's valuables in order to pay the Assyrian army for their protection against some of Judah's enemies. By the time Hezekiah reopened the temple, it had been closed 16 years. Hezekiah was not like his father. He restored monotheism by not only reopening the temple, but also reinstating the observance of the Passover and destroying pagan shrines and altars. During that first Passover celebration, the people brought so many sacrifices that the priests could not take care of the offerings and had to enlist the support of the Levites. There was evidently so great a demand that they had to accept the help of those who were not properly cleansed for the ceremony. I like what Hezekiah said about that," May the Lord, who is good, pardon those who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony". The next verse says that the "Lord listened to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people. So perhaps these were Levites who were ceremonially unclean due to physical ailments such as rashes and discharges (ah, to be back in Leviticus again...). At any rate, the cool thing about that verse to me, was that it affirms that God looks at the heart, not the behavior. How many times have we seen people annihilated by God for seemingly inocuous infractions like offering "unauthorized fire" or for steadying the cart carrying the ark of the covenant? And yet these people who were neither "clean" nor priests, were allowed by God to serve in the temple. The only difference can be in the hearts of the men themselves.

Had Hezekiah not stepped in when he did, the wrath of God would surely have turned against Judah much sooner. But verses 1 and 21 of the 31st chapter of 2 Chronicles, describe a man who did what was good and pleasing in the sight of God and as a result, was very successful. According to an article I read, there is archaeological evidence for significant population growth and advancement of the culture during Hezekiah's reign. God has said many times in His word, that He desires to bless us if we will just obey. Hezekiah is a great example.

Tomorrow's reading: Proverbs 25:1-29:27

Isaiah's Prophecies for surrounding nations

Four nations were dealt with in Isaiah chapters 13 thru 16...Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, and Moab. I did some research to see when/if these prophecies had been fulfilled. Beginning with Babylon...

Chapter 13 is one of those prophecies like the "sign of Immanuel" that has both a near and distant meaning. Babylon did not come to prominence until about 100 years after Isaiah's prophecy. During his lifetime, Babylon was a province of Assyria. But in 609 BC, Babylon defeated Assyria. Four years later, Babylon deported the first group of Jews and completed the captivity in 587 BC. Isaiah pronounced judgement upon Babylon for this, and the "near" fulfillment took place in 518 BC when the Medes (specifically named in 13:9-13) together with Persia, conquered them. The Babylonian king was Nebuchudnezzar. The destruction they experienced at that time however, did not rise to the level of what is described, so many scholars have deemed the Assyrian seige as a partial fulfillment of the prophecy, to be completed to the full at some point in the distant future. The distant prophecy views Babylon as the "end-times" enemy and the king of Babylon as Satan. Verse 14:12 has been interpretted by many scholars as a reference to Satan as being the "son of the morning who has been cast out of heaven". The distant view interprets this passage as coinciding with the events of Revelation.

The prophecy regarding Assyria's judgment, as stated above, was fulfilled when Babylon defeated them.

We haven't read much about Philistia since David and Goliath but know that the two nations were long-term enemies. Isaiah's prophecy stated that Philistai should not rejoice "that the rod who struck you is broken- that the King who attacked you is dead". The rod/king is interpreted as being David's dynasty, which was broken with the death of Ahaz. The prophecy goes on to say that "from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born, a fiery serpent to destroy you". That "more poisonous snake" would be Assyria, who after conquering Israel would invade Philistia within 10 years.

Finally Moab. There had not been a history of great animosity between Israel and Moab, which explains why Isaiah was particularly saddened by the vision he received regarding their destruction. It seems the cause of Moab's judgment was idolatry, judging by verse 16:12. Isaiah was very specific in the timing of this judgment, predicting that it would occur within three years. Moab was also invaded by Assyria sometime between 715 and 713 BC, which fits the time frame.

Tomorrow's reading: 2 Chron. 27:3-31:21

Isaiah's prophecy on Judah

In these chapters, God turned Isaiah's focus from Israel to Judah. Hezekiah, a good king, was in power in Judah when Israel was besieged by Assyria. But in the 100 years that followed, Judah had only one other "good" king (Josiah). This decline in the character of leadership was apparently indicative of the character of the nation, and God would pronounce judgement on them as well, in the form of the Babylonian captivity. This took place in three waves of deportation, beginning in 597 BC and ending in 605 BC. So by virtue of their "good" leadership, Judah survived as a nation roughly 150 years longer than the northern kingdom, depending on whether you count from the beginnings of the wars or the ends. In today's readings, Isaiah discusses the eventual ruin of Judah but also the promise of national restoration, which could refer to the Jews' return to Jerusalem 70 years after the Babylonian captivity to re-establish their kingdom, or to the restoration spoken of in Revelation.

Tomorrow's reading: 2 Kings 16:19-20, 2 Chron. 28:26-27, Isa. 13:1-16:14

Israel Falls

As predicted, Israel (referred to by it's capitol city of Samaria) was besieged by the Assyrians in 734 BC. All of the inhabitants but the lowest classes were taken captive and the land was repopulated by people from Babylon and other pagan cities. When those people were given a clear message from the Lord that He expected their respect and obedience, they imported one of the priests of Israel to teach them about worshipping God. His instruction was not impactful however, and the new residents merely incorporated God into their pagan worship. What could have been an incredible conversion opportunity fell flat, possibly because there would not have been any true priests of God left by that time. Remember that when the kingdom divided, the Levites who were ministering in the area of the northern 10 tribes, relocated to Judah and were replaced by Jeroboam with non-Levites. Those priests ministered under 200 years of state-sponsored idolatry and had no idea how to impart reverence for God that they themselves did not possess. There's definitely a lesson in there for us as parents and grandparents. We cannot impart anything to our children/grandchildren that we don't possess ourselves.

Tomorrow's reading: Isa. 1-5:30

Hosea Part 2

I am combining the blog for June 26 and 27 because it is one continuous theme running throughout. The remaining chapters of Hosea focus not on his marriage but more specifically on Israel's infidelity. You can really hear the Lord's pain in today's reading. Hosea recounts all the ways that God had provided for Israel since the time of Jacob and goes on to list Israel's betrayal, in the form of idols, kings, and now the Assyrian army they looked to for protection. The book of Hosea ends with a call to repentance for Israel; one that would be ignored.


Tomorrow's reading: Hosea 9:1-14:9
Reading for June 28: Isa. 28:1-29, 2 Kings 17:5-41, 18:9-12, Isa. 1:1-20

Hosea

This book of prophecy details the relationship of a man and his adulterous wife, with the intent of paralleling the relationship between God and the idolatrous Israel. The correlation there is obvious, but what has been debated is whether or not this was an actual marriage or a dream or allegory meant to illustrate a point. The conservative Biblical viewpoint is that this was a literal marriage but most scholars admit that it is contrary to the character of God to ask a prophet to marry a prostitute. There are two means of explanation for this.

First, the Hebrew word used for prostitute ("zonah") is too restricted to allow for the meaning of a soliciting prostitute. It refers more to a personal quality than an activity. Accordingly, the meaning of "zonah" would be closer to "promiscuous" than a professional prostitute. Secondly, scholars suggest that in keeping with Hosea's succinct writing style, it is likely that he was combining what he knew at the time of writing the book with what he knew at the time of his marriage. In this view, the story was shortened to be a synopsis of what Hosea knew his wife would later become. The assertion is that God asked Hosea to take Gomer as his wife and that she was not a harlot at the time. Of course, God knew how things would play out and intended to use Gomer's infidelity and Hosea's loyalty to demonstrate His love for Israel.

Personally, I don't see why it is debated at all. God has asked others to do things that one would not think are befitting a follower of his. Abraham is a great example. Granted, God spared Abraham from following through, but he was asked to do something very contrary to God's nature. Yet we don't question that because we understand that God was using the situation to show His people His love.

Tomorrow's reading: Hosea 2:14-8:14

More Messianic Prophecy

Thank goodness for Isaiah chapter 9 and 11, with their un-debated references to the future Messiah. Though Isaiah prophesies about the immediate deliverance of Judah from her enemies, he is more concerned with prophecy about the distant future, when "out of the stump of David's family (a stump because they would be cut down by the Babylonians) will grow a shoot". Some of the prophecy written in today's chapters was fulfilled in Jesus' first coming and some will be fulfilled when he returns to establish His kingdom on earth.

As an aside, I was intrigued by Isaiah's depiction of Assyria as a "tool" used by God to accomplish His purposes in Israel. Strange to think that our enemies may be just that. Though we usually seek to blame Satan or man, God clearly uses evil people and circumstances at times to get His work done.

Tomorrow's reading: Isa. 12:1-6, 17:1-14, 2 Kings 16:10-18, 2 Chron. 28:16-25; 2 Kings 18:1-8, 2 Chron. 29:1-2; 2Kings 15:30-31, 17:1-4; Hosea 1-2:13