Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION
Today’s study of chapters 45 and 46 is a continuation of chapter 44 and of the prophesy about king Cyrus. In the conclusion of last week’s study, we learnt that God chose Cyrus long before he was born because God saw in him that he will certainly do what was asked of him. “he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’” (vs28). And we closed with this question: “Can God see that in us?” The royal proclamations of Cyrus fulfilling these prophecies can be found in Ezra 1:2 and 2 Chronicles 36:23. In today’s two-part study titled “Proof of God's Sovereignty” we will further investigate the purpose of God’s choosing of Cyrus, as well as His salvation plan.

PART 1: CHAPTER 45:1-25
Verses 1-3 God’s Calling And Mission For Cyrus.
From these verses, we learn a couple of things that would naturally give birth to questions. Questions such as:

• Why would God call Cyrus His anointed?
He was not even born yet, and would later be born into a heathen nation and not brought up to know God. Yet, God called him His anointed.

• Why did God make him so powerful?
To crush the strength of mighty kings. The MSG says God gave him . . . “the task of taming the nations, of terrifying their kings—He gave him free rein, no restrictions:”

• Why did God choose to go ahead of him clear the way for him?
Again the MSG says: “I’ll go ahead of you, clearing and paving the road. I’ll break down bronze city gates, smash padlocks, kick down barred entrances. I’ll lead you to buried treasures, secret caches of valuables— Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, God, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name”

Verses 4-7 The Purpose Behind Cyrus’ Calling
Verse 4 kicks off by saying “For Jacob My servant’s sake”
It was not because Cyrus was the smartest or most talented or strongest man available. It wasn’t Cyrus that moved God to act, but the condition and cry of His people. It was for their sake.
The MSG says “It’s because of my dear servant Jacob, Israel my chosen, That I’ve singled you out, called you by name, and given you this privileged work. And you don’t even know me!”

Amazing that although Cyrus didn’t even know the LORD, yet God could anoint him, guide him, bless him, and use him. How much more should God be able to do through those who have at least a mustard seed’s worth of faith in Him. Proverbs 21:1 says, The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. God can work in and through others in very unexpected ways.

In most religions of Isaiah’s day, it was believed that a god would do nothing for a person unless one gave something to that god, usually a sacrifice or promise of offerings. The Lord, however, is not like that. He dispenses His grace and favor on whoever He pleases. It is not determined by what one promises Him.
Verse 6 says: “That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me”
This verse was fulfilled in Ezra 1:1-3. That passage shows how when Cyrus made his proclamation allowing the people of God to return to the Promised Land, that he acknowledged to the whole world the greatness and uniqueness of the LORD God of Israel.

Verses 8-10 The Foolishness of Resisting Our Creator.
Verse 8 shows us that salvation and righteousness always spring up together. When God brings salvation to a life, He also brings righteousness to that life.
In verses 9-10, we see that while God desires everyone to be saved, not all people accept His righteousness. Questioning God’s creation is to make oneself God’s judge, telling Him what He should or should not have created. Humans have no right to critique their Creator.

Verses 11-21 The Almighty is the God of All Creation
Repeatedly through chapter 44 and in these verses, God emphasizes His place as Creator. By sheer repetition, Isaiah virtually pounds it into our awareness – that God is our Creator, and we have obligations to Him as our Creator. And when we seek for God with all of our heart, we will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Hebrews 11:6 says, he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

As Creator, He can choose to do as He pleases! How He fashioned His plan for the salvation of Israel and ultimately the world is not what anyone could have fathomed. Cyrus, did not conceive any of the ideas or strategies on his own. It was God who raised him (vs 13). It goes to show that we cannot stereotype God. His ways are incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; they are mysterious and unfathomable. The ultimate truth is that knowing God as Creator isn’t an option, or a matter for debates. When we reject God as Creator, we reject the God of the Bible, and serve a god of our own imagination. (Romans 1:18-20) As the LORD declares His own greatness, faithfulness, and saving power, it naturally contrasts with the foolish idols of the nation – which must be carried, instead of being able to carry the one who worships them.

Verses 22-25 Look to God and be Saved.
These verses of scripture portray a simple but powerful message that reveals God’s plan of salvation.
•It shows the simplicity of salvation: all we must do is look. “One can read many bookson theology which expound all kinds of things in an attempt to show how man canreach God, but these theories are far from the truth.
•It shows the focus of salvation: we must look to God, and never to ourselves or toanything else of man. “Look unto ME, is His Word, which means looking away fromthe church because that will save nobody; away from the preacher because he candisappoint and disillusion you; away from all outward form and ceremony. You mustlook off from all this to the throne and there, in your heart, see the risen, reigning LordJesus Christ.”
•It shows the love behind salvation: God pleads with man, “Look to Me.”
•It shows the assurance of salvation: and be saved.
•It shows the extent of God’s saving love: all you ends of the earth!

PART 2: CHAPTER 46:1 -13
In this Chapter, Isaiah exposes the inability of the main Babylonian gods to protect their city from an inevitable coming attack. He also writes about the power and majesty of God, as well as His worthiness of worship.

Verses 1 -7: The One True God
These verses are like a continuation from last week’s study of chapter 44:18-20. In verse 1, reference is made to Bel and Nebo. Names of Marduk and Nabu, the two principal gods in the Babylonian pantheon. “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;”
From these verses we can make out two great contrasts:
• The people who make idols have to carry those idols themselves; but God carries His people. (vs 3&4)
• The people who make idols have to use their skills to make the idol look pretty; but God has made His people fearfully and wonderfully; in His image and likeness!

Verses 8 -13: God Displays His Majesty
In a similar manner to the way in which God asked Job to account for himself (Job 38:1–3), In verses 8–10, God summons the subjects of Isaiah’s prophecy to give a full account for themselves: “Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors” (vs 8).

Interestingly, in verse 9 God goes further to say: “Remember the former things of old.”
It was a call for His people to review the track record of His dealings with mankind and conclude that He is God, despite their present captivity.
In this passage God declares the following:
(1) that He alone is God; (vs 9)
(2) that there is none like Him; (vs 9)
(3) that He determines the end from the beginning; (vs 10)
(4) that He establishes all that takes place; (vs 10)
(5) that His divine counsel is sufficient and sure; (vs 11)
(6) that His good will is always accomplished. (vs 11)

CONCLUSION
In verses 11–13 God speaks of His future work, which would entail the overthrow of Babylon, which Isaiah has been prophesying about. God, through the prophet Isaiah declared saying that I will be: “calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”
This bird of prey referred to here, was Cyrus, the leader of the Medo-Persian empire (Isa. 45:1), who would capture Babylon in 539 BC (Dan. 5) the fulfilment of the prophecy we studied last week, which was more than 150 years after the writing of this prophecy. God can choose to use anyone; that is why He is sovereign. In Ezra 1:2 the Lord instructed Cyrus, giving him the responsibility to build a temple in Jerusalem.
In verses 12–13 God describes the recipient of the prophecy as “stubborn-hearted” and “far from righteousness.” Next, God affirms that His righteousness and salvation is “near, it shall not be far off; my salvation shall not delay” (vs 13).
Ultimately, this refers to justification by faith alone in the promised Messiah. (Eph. 2:8-9)

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION
Today’s study covers two chapters of the book of Isaiah – chapters 43 and 44. Isaiah 43 is one of the high-point chapters in all of the Old Testament, as here in this chapter, God makes it clear that the reason for the creation, salvation, and deliverance of Israel did not arise from something within the nation itself, but from God’s own sovereign choice of Israel as a people to worship Him. The same applies to us today. It was not because of anything we did that He chose to call us His own. Isaiah 44 sheds light on the confusion which permeated the societies of biblical times as well our societies today. The foolishness of idolatry; where people attribute power to, and worship gods that they have made by themselves. But in all, God continues to be gracious and faithful to His promises.

PART 1: ISAIAH 43:1-28
Verses 1-7: God’s Deliverance
This is a unique part of Scripture, as here God spoke through Isaiah to those who would be captive in Babylon some 100 years after the writing of this book. Note God begins this chapter by referring to Himself as the one “who created you . . . who formed you, O Israel” (Isa. 43:1).

• Verse 1
God’s declaration to Israel is one that is two-fold. The first outcome was to humble the proud and the second was to comfort the humble, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.” (Paraphrased).
The same declaration goes out to you and I today.

• Verses 2–4
God graciously promised to be with His people in their trials—whether it be deep waters or raging fires, God would protect Israel and consequently, you and I. The rivers will not overwhelm us, neither will we be scorched or burnt by the flames of the fire of life’s challenges. This is an everlasting and comforting promise we must always fall back to.

• Verses 5–7
God encouraged His people not to be afraid, as He promised to gather them from all places—north, south, east, and west. This promise has dual fulfilment. Firstly, it promises Israel’s return from exile back home to Palestine on the one hand while on the other, it represents God gathering His people to Himself at the end of the age.
Verse 7 is a key verse in this chapter, here God says, “Everyone who is called by My Name,
Whom I have created for My glory.” When God says “Everyone” He means “Everyone”!

Verses 8–21 God’s Character
In these verses, God reminded His people that His deliverance and redemption is not unusual but is in accord with His character.

• Verse 8
God calls Israel to testify about His past deliverance, as well as about His future salvation. Because God delivers His people, the blind can see and the deaf can hear. Of course, spiritually speaking, this happens in salvation (Isa. 42:7, 18), and was even physically manifest in Jesus’ gospel ministry (Luke 7:22). Furthermore, as Isaiah had previously recorded, this will happen again when Christ returns (Isa. 29:18; 35:5; 42:7).

• Verse 9
God calls the nations to testify about the inability of their own gods to deliver them.

• Verses 10-13
Here we see God using thirteen personal pronouns to highlight His sovereign power. As He calls His people to testify about the nature of His holy character.
o ““But you are my witnesses, . . . You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. . . .” vs 10
o “I, yes I, am the Lord, . . . vs 11
o “First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. . . You are witnesses that I am the only God,” vs 12
o “From eternity to eternity I am God.
o No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”

Verses 14–21: The Lord’s Promise of Victory
God again describes the future deliverance of His people as well as His own holy character.

• Verses 14–15
These verses refer to the fulfilment of a near prophecy. Here, God reveals that He would soon cause the Babylonians to become fugitives. Surely, this was both surprising and encouraging to the Israelites who were themselves exiles in Babylon.

• Verses 16–21
Next God through the prophet Isaiah, speaks about the future deliverance of His people at the end of the age. Just as He had delivered Israel from the Egyptians by making a path through the Red Sea, so God will rescue His people from their enemies by making a path through the barren desert of the fallen world. God refers to this deliverance as “a new thing” (Verse 19). “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Three times between verses 19 & 20, God notes that the rescue of His people will be like rivers in the desert or water in the wilderness.

Verses 22–28: God’s Plea
After writing about Israel’s future deliverance and His own character, in these verses, God reminds the nation that their history was one of abandoning Him. Implicitly, God was calling His people to trust in Him, while at the same time reminding the nation that their own history was full of sin.

• Verses 22–24
God noted the while He had not burdened the nation with religious requirements, they had burdened Him with sin.

• Verse 25
God again taught the people salvation was both of Him and for Him, writing, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake” (Ps. 106:8).

• Verses 26-27
God invited Israel—likely with sarcasm—to state their case before Him. Because the nation was guilty of sin and unable to defend herself. “Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.” If this was written in our age, there would have been three smiley faces (😊😊😊😊😊😊) following. Because there was no way they could have defended themselves. Their sin had been from the very beginning (vs 27). Even our righteousness is as a filthy rag before Him. (Isaiah 64:6) But thank God for Jesus! (1 Cor. 1:30, Rom. 5:19; 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21)

• Verse 28
God declared that, apart from their trust in Him, He would “give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

PART 2: ISAIAH 44:1-28
In this chapter, God continues to address Israel with grace despite their sins. This chapter also sheds light on the confusion which permeated the societies of biblical times as well our societies today. Where people erroneously attribute the power to perform a task to the tool instead of the one who uses the tool; leading to the rise of idol worshipping.
A good example of this is the way many handle money. Money is a tool to exchange for goods and services. It serves a purpose and is neither good nor evil in any way. But when people see that it can get them things, they begin to elevate it above its proper place and attribute power to it when, in fact, the power still resides in a person to use the money.

Verses 1-5: The Almighty’s Patience

• Verses 1-2
Even though the Jews as a nation have sinned, God promises them grace. When a society falls away from God, if there is a faithful remnant, God may show grace instead of judgment (Genesis 18:22-33). Additionally, if God sees that in the future one will repent, He will patiently withhold judgment to give one time to repent (2 Peter 3:9). This holds true of both nations and individuals. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

• Verses 3-5
Seeing that the children of the present day Jews would repent, God promises blessings and restoration. This is a direct counter prophecy to the end of chapter 43. God will punish the fathers for their sins yet bless the children for their faith. Such a refreshing promise:

“For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. 4 They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank. 5 Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

Verses 6-20: The Foolishness of Idols

• Verse 6
Here, both the King of Israel (God) and the Redeemer and Lord of hosts, (Jesus), make this declaration. (See I Sam. 8:7, Josh.7:13-15, and Rev.1:11). Even though the two are speaking, they, plus the Holy Spirit, are one God (Deut. 6:4). I believe this goes to emphasize the potency of this promise.

• Verses 7-8
God is saying that He does not need anyone’s help to perform His will, since from the beginning of time He has appointed all things. This is not a verse in opposition to free will; God, seeing what choices people will make, appoints certain things to ensure that His plans are carried out despite man’s rebellion. This verse is similar to chapter 41 where God challenges the false gods to defend themselves by declaring the future, a task they cannot perform but should be able to if they were gods. Because God’s prophecies have been fulfilled in the past, one can trust that whatever God says about the future will come to pass.

• Verses 9-11
In the time of trouble, rather than seeking refuge in the Almighty God, those who believe and seek refuge in false gods will be ashamed. “Who but a fool would make his own god
. . .?” Vs 10a. Idol worshippers know in their subconscious that their gods are their creation and cannot help them. (See Romans 1:18-23.)

•Verses 12-20
In these verses, God exposes the foolishness of idol worshippers. And the folly of the creation of their own gods. How the remnant from the wood they used to roast their meat for instance all of a sudden become a god they bow down to worship. Verse 18-19 say: “Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god?” However, unfortunately, they cannot bring themselves to ask: “ “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” (vs 20)

Verses 21-28: Restoration for Jerusalem

•Verses 21-22
Having entered into a covenant relationship with God, Israel will not be forgotten by Him. Anyone who has become a child of God has this same promise. Once we receive forgiveness from God, we become beloved children. God will beckon on us to return when we stray. A person who has strayed does not have to be saved again but instead is to return to the Lord.

•Verse 23
Redemption is a cause for praise, for the one who is saved, for those who are already saved, for the angels, and even for creation itself. (Luke 15:10)

•Verses 24-28
In an amazing promise of grace, God declares His sovereign power, His superiority over the wicked, His faithfulness to His servants, and a very specific prophecy of Jerusalem’s restoration. God mentioned Cyrus by name many years before he was born and about 160 years before he conquered Babylon. History tells us that in Daniel’s time, he took over Babylon by digging tunnels and diverting the great river Euphrates into lakes and his army walked into Babylon unhindered and invaded the city as king Belteshazzar partied with the gold and silverware taken from the temple of God. In Daniel 5:5, the king saw the writing on the wall that predicted his end. Verse 27 is exactly how Cyrus conquered Babylon.

CONCLUSION
God promises good to those who endure chastisement. Because it is those He loves, He chastises. (Hebrews 12:6) Sometimes, we also suffer for righteousness sake. But if we are faithful to God, He will restore us at the end. The story of Job is an example. (See also Matthew 10:22 and James 1:12). Cyrus, referred to in verse 28 was the king of Persia who conquered Babylon and freed the Jews after their seventy years of captivity (2 Chro. 36:20-23). God saw in him that he will certainly do what is asked of him. “ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’” (vs28). God saw the same in Abraham (Genesis 18:19) “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Can God see that in us?

Parts of this study was culled from:
https://redeemedmind.com/2021/04/02/redemption-of-gods-people-isaiah-43/
https://www.melissabeaty.com/devotionals/bible-study-isaiah-441-28

Contributor: Adewale Abiona

INTRODUCTION
As we continue in our study of the book of Isaiah, looking at chapter 41 and 42 which bring some hope about God sending help to Israel to deliver them from their great difficulty of their exiled from their land and their exposure to all sorts of practises and false religions and false gods in those Gentile nations to which they were exiled. The nations that cared not for the true God or for His ways. So, in previous chapters, Isaiah prophesied, and he warned them of the dangers and the snares that would come their way. But the 2 chapter we are looking at today, he wrote to give them hope that someone is coming, someone who could right the wrongs and establish righteousness and justice in this earth.

Chapter 41 God's care for His people Israel in raising up Cyrus to be their deliverer.
This chapter is intended both for the conviction of idolaters and for the consolation of all God's faithful worshippers.

2 Things From This Chapter
A. God by the prophet shows the folly of those that worshipped idols. God especially challenges the idol worshipper and their idol to a contest for knowledge or power with Him either (v. 1-9; 21-24).

B. He encourages his faithful ones to trust in him, with an assurance that he would make them victorious and bring about a happy change of their affairs (v. 10-20; 25-29).

Isaiah 41:1-9
(2 Chronicles 36:1-14 Gives us catalogues of Kings after kings doing evil in the sight of the Lord (vs 14-15) and the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, but they mocked the messengers of God. Therefore, He brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew them in their numbers (vs 17-20) And them that had escaped from the sword carried away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, (vs 21) to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.(70years)

Remember Daniel’s Prayer for His People in Daniel 9:1-3. It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.2During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the LORD, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.[3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. (Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10) “If my people who are called by my name….”

Verses 1 - 9
This is a challenge to the worshippers and admirers of idols to "Keep silence before God because their argument is baseless and void of the truth. Let them come say what they have to say, in about their idols; let them speak freely (vs:21), let us come near together to judgment.
The enemies of God's church are permitted to say and do their best for the support of their unrighteous cause. He that seat in heaven laughs at them, and the daughter of Zion despises them, because the truth and will prevail. Similar experience is found in 1 Kings 18:24-40. . Why? The Lord that is strong and mighty… will defeat them.

The fear of the greatness both of Abraham that was a convert from idolatry, and of the people of Israel drive them to their old gods for protection, but also made new ones, Deu. 32:17. So
they gather to make war. Sinners thus animate and quicken one another in the ways of sin and make so much noise that believers do become worried and sometimes terrified but the Word of the Lord in verses 8-9 stress the fact that we have been chosen by God, we are the seed of Abraham his friend and though we may have been scattered among the heathen, but He will fetch us from the ends of the earth.

He had not yet cast them away, though they had often provoked him, and therefore he would not now abandon them. What God has done for his people, and what he has further engaged to do, should encourage them to always trust in him.
In Gods defence, He reminded them of how their fathers worshipped idols (Jos. 24:2, 3) and how Abraham the righteous man raised up from the east to become God’s friend. Gen. 12:2. He called him follow Him with an implicit faith; for he went out, not knowing whither he went, but whom he followed, Heb. 11:8.
He empowered Abraham so much that nations bowed before him Gen. 23:6.
God is the first and the last. He’s unchangeable and eternal.

• That He has made Israel His own and in whom He will be glorified. As Elijah prayed in 1 Kings. 18:36, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel”.
• That it is He who will raise up Cyrus from the east. It is spoken of according to the language of prophecy as a thing of the past, as if it were already done because it will surely be done in its season.

God will raise him up in righteousness (so it may be read, in chapter. 45:13), will call him to his foot, make what use of him He pleases, and make him victorious over the nations that oppose his coming to the crown, and give him success in all his wars; and he shall be a type of Christ, who is righteousness itself, the Lord our righteousness, whom God will, in the fullness of time, raise up and make victorious over the powers of darkness; so that he shall spoil them and make a show of them openly.

Verses 10-20
The scope of these verses is to silence the fears and encourage believers of God's support in challenges; that they should serve God faithfully through patience and comfort of the hope these verses bring. It is also addressed to Israel as a single person, that it might the more easily and readily be accommodated and applied by every Israelite indeed to himself.
It is against the mind of God that his people should be a fearful, so he assures us

• That we should depend upon His presence with us as our God, and a God all-sufficient in the difficult times" Ps. 48:10.
• That God will strengthen our hands, that is, He will help us " Ps. 73:23.
• That He will silence our fears by Saying unto us, Fear not. He has said it again and again in his word and has there provided sovereign antidotes against fear: but he will go further; he will by his Spirit say it to our hearts, and make us to hear it, and so will help us.
• That believers will become a terror to those who were now a terror to them, and power will change hand.

Verses 14-16
We may be little, so weak, and so defenceless, despised and trampled on by everybody, forced to creep even into the earth for safety; but we must not wonder that a believer has become a worm, Ps. 22:6. The helper of the helpless is coming to our aid.
The need of the needy shall be meet.

• God Himself will be nigh unto them, in all that which they call upon Him for.
• They shall have a constant supply of fresh water,
• They shall have a pleasant shade to screen them from the scorching heat of the sun
• They shall see and acknowledge the hand of God, His power and His favour.

Verses 21-24
The Lord, by the prophet, repeats the challenge to idolaters to prove that their idols are gods, and worthy of their adoration. To bring proofs of their knowledge and power, let us see what they can inform us of, and what they can do.
They can tell us nothing that we did not know before, so ignorant are they. They cannot declare the former things, or what shall happen.
They can do nothing that we cannot do ourselves, so impotent are they." He challenges them to do either good or evil, good to their friends or evil to their enemies: "Let them do, if they can, anything extraordinary, that people will admire and be affected with.
A servant is at liberty to choose his master, but a man is not at liberty to choose his God. He that chooses any other than the true God chooses an abomination; his choosing it makes it so.

Verses 25-29
God here produces proof that He is the true God, and that there is none besides Him

• His irresistible power will appear shortly in the raising up of Cyrus and making him a type of Christ (v. 25): He will raise him up from the north and from the rising of the sun.

Cyrus by his father was a Mede, by his mother a Persian; and his army consisted of Medes, whose country lay north, and Persians, whose country lay east, from Babylon. God will raise him up to great power, and he shall come against Babylon with ends of his own to serve.
God has an infallible foresight. He would not only do this, but by his prophet, foretell it. None of all the false gods or idols had foretold, or could foresee, this work of wonder

2 Chronicles 36:22-23
"22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him and let him go up!"

CHAPTER 42 - GOD'S SOLUTION TO THE EMPTINESS IN THE GENTILE NATIONS
We know that these verses speak of Christ, for the book of Mt. 12:17-21 tells us expressly that in him this prophecy was fulfilled.
 

Isaiah 42:1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations."
God says 'Behold My Servant' Who is this?

'Behold' means to look intently, to fix your gaze. It also means to consider and to perceive. This is what whole Christian life is really based around this 'Beholding'. The Christian life begins with this looking unto Jesus. It's what John the Baptist said when he first saw Jesus - 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But the Christian life doesn't just begin there. Every aspect of coming into what God has for us is a new beholding of His Son - the Servant, the Messiah. The New Testament says that we are changed as we behold in a mirror the glory of the Lord. So as we look at the glory of Jesus Christ through His nature and character, who He was then and who He is now and who He is in us, well that is how we are actually changed.

The world is looking for answers but unfortunately in many wrong and different directions. But only a few are following God's command to 'Behold His Servant'. Now if we were to Behold Jesus Christ we would see someone totally unique... someone who came to do the will
of God 100% of the time - twenty four seven. You know the first thing we learn in Isaiah about this one, this Messiah, is that it says 'Behold My Servant'. Jesus was a servant. He was a bond Servant of the Father. He only did and said that which came from the Father and He could not be distracted from this. He couldn't be distracted by praise, by fear or by temptation. And we see here in Isaiah that it gives God's testimony of His servant. He says: 'He is my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him.'
What delights God's heart is when we delight in doing His will. When we make it our aim to want to be pleasing to Him... When we offer ourselves (even when we are broken and fell unworthy in many regards), when we offer into His hand all that we are, to be used and to make something of - that is what delights Him. Jesus Christ offered Himself up 100% and that delighted the heart and soul of God.

Isaiah 42:2 "He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street."

Now this is not saying that He was not going to speak! We know that Jesus did. He did go around teaching, instructing, and helping people. What this is trying to bring out is that He was the ultimate non-showman! In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus Christ did not need to be noticed, or recognised. He never put on a show!

Matthew 12:15-21 'But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. "HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. "A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. "AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE."

So Matthew quoted the passage that we are looking at today - Isaiah 42:1-4. So firstly he knew that this passage was about Jesus. But he also knew that it was fulfilled in the fact that Jesus warned people to actually not say who He was! He was not there to be a showman, to whip up a crowd or anything like that. He never, ever drew attention to Himself, put on a show or tried to entertain or please the masses. He was there solely to do the will of God. Full stop! The man who comes to do the will of God doesn't have to resort to fleshly efforts to please the crowd. Jesus gave the Word that God the Father had placed on His heart and He did not ever try to please the crowd. But look at what we have got today... the surveying of non-Christians to see if the church service is right for them. It's just a load of nonsense. Let's go back to the book of Isaiah and look at verse 3.

Isaiah 42:3 "A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Another reason why that this Servant was unique is the type of people that He ministered to. Verse three speaks about 'bruised reeds and smouldering wicks'. Jesus Christ did not come just looking for perfect reeds. He came looking for those who knew of their need for Him. Nor did He come looking for those that were already burning brightly. [6] What this marvellous passage in Isaiah 42 is telling us that a lot of us are like broken and bruised reeds or we are like a dimly burning wick that is just giving of a tiny bit of smoke and a little bit of light... but Jesus isn't going to extinguish us or throw us away!

This world is actually leaving more and more people battered and bruised and with little light. All of us feel this way at times. Maybe you do today? There are some problems in this life that
only Jesus can deal with. But thank the Lord that God has sent One to this world, to live, to minister, to die and to be raised again so that He can come into our hearts and grant us the hope, strength and encouragement that we need. He is not one that will ever turn His back on us.

Isaiah 42:4 "He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

This verse says that He will not be disheartened or crushed. It is the same Hebrew word that is in verse 3 where it is translated 'bruised'. It basically means, cracked, broken, bruised, crushed, or discouraged. What it is saying is that there will never, ever come a time when Jesus Christ says, 'I have had it with you, you've blown it too many times'. There will never, ever come a time when Jesus will just give up. He will not be disheartened, or crushed until He has established justice in this earth. Praise the Lord that this is His ministry as our High Priest as well. He will ever intercede for us. This is the one who has said that He will never leave or forsake us. That's God's servant, that's the One who God asks us to behold. And God is in the business of restoring damaged reeds so that we can make some pretty good music again. The Bible says that we 'have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be from God and not from us.' So yes, that means that we will be battered from time to time. We will be bruised; we will be cracked but that is actually God's will. Why? So that something of God's character, something of God's life can come forth through our life.

CONCLUSION
Chapter 41 may be summed up in those words of Elijah, "21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word." 1 Kings 18:21

God examined the philosophies of the nations and is presenting a case against the Gentile nations. What God was doing in this whole chapter is surveying the entire religious and spiritual thought and actions of these Gentile nations and He was seeing if there was any merit to it.

Basically, God's assessment of the best that these nations could offer - It's wind and its emptiness! And if God were to survey the Gentile nations today what would He find? He would find the New Age, He'd find atheism, He would find evolution, materialism, humanism... and He would say they are simply chasing after the wind and emptiness - and nothing to it! There is nothing that can help the soul of man in any of that... ultimately it is simply emptiness. So that's the background..
And this leads us into chapter 42 where we have God's answer to the emptiness . We have got something that does amount to something, a better promise, a better covenant, a High Priest.

Jesus Christ is God's absolute unique 100% Servant. He is unique in His commitment. He is unique in His compassion. Has wasn't attracted to people who looked like they had life working just as they had planned. He wasn't attracted to the perfect looking reeds down by the river side. What attracted Him to those that He ministered to and spent time with. They were battered reeds and smouldering wicks... many of whom society had totally given up on! But praise God that He is also unique in His endurance. Jesus Christ will not give up, He will not back down, He will not change plans, He will not be discouraged until He has established justice in this earth. And that is what He will do. That is what we long for. That is what we hope for. There is a day coming when this earth is going to be transformed by the coming again of the Messiah and the setting up of His Kingdom where justice will reign from one end of the earth to the other. That is the hope that we have and that is what we look for... but until that day we need to behold the Servant of God. We need to behold Jesus Christ. We need to behold His character. We need to turn our eyes and look into His face and to see who He is in us and through us. Amen.

Contributor: Dolapo Olaoye

INTRODUCTION
In the last bible study, we started to look at “Hezekiah’s healing”. In that study, we learnt there is always a need for prayer, that prayers that come from the heart passionately connects to God’s heart, we learnt that God delights in answering prayers and that once we receive answers to prayers, we should not forget to be thankful. This week’s study will be in two parts. In the first part, Chapter 39, we see how Hezekiah seemed to lose his values on the accounts of “show off”, while the second part, Chapter 40, we see a change of tone with God promising comfort.

PART 1:
Isaiah 39 vs.1-8
Verse 1-2: Hezekiah’s Vanity
At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them and showed them the house of his treasures the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

When Hezekiah received the letter from the king of Assyria, he handled the threat by spreading it before the Lord in the house of the Lord. But when he now receives a letter from Babylon (a flattering letter), AND a present with it, Hezekiah acts very differently.
Hezekiah’s illness gave the Babylonian king an excuse to send representatives to Hezekiah and
Hezekiah taken in by the flattery of Babylon, he trusted these ambassadors. Hezekiah’s faith, which had been strengthened through his miraculous recovery from death, soon weakened. He was proud of the prosperity he had brought to his kingdom, and he jumped at the opportunity to impress Babylon. He therefore gladly showed his willingness to cooperate.
We have need to watch over our own spirits when we are showing our friends our possessions, what we have done and what we have gotten. We must always remember it is not by our might or our merit that we have purchased or obtained any wealth. When we look upon our enjoyments, and have occasion to speak of them, it must be with humble acknowledgments of our own unworthiness and thankful acknowledgments of God's goodness.

Verse 3-4: Isaiah reproves Hezekiah
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So, Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So, Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

Isaiah already knew the answer to these questions he was asking Hezekiah here. We could say that his questions were guided by God to give Hezekiah the opportunity to answer honestly (which he did) and perhaps to see his error himself as he speaks of it (which he apparently did not) but instead, Hezekiah was proud to tell Isaiah all about it (small boy like me got the attention of a big man).
Hezekiah’s pride and extravagant ego have made him blind to anything else that was happening at the time. Let’s practice to always observe! Observe before acting, and observe after acting.

Verse 5-7: The Word of the LORD to Hezekiah through Isaiah.
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Hezekiah kept thinking his display of wealth would impress the Babylonians however, what that display did was show the Babylonians what Hezekiah had, and what was available in their camp to be taken away. Which did happen under a different king, year after, but it did happen - the kings of Babylon did come and take it all away. Worse than taking the material things of the kings of Judah, the king of Babylon would also take the sons of the king of Judah — his true riches.

Verse 8: King Hezekiah’s Response
8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

A very disappointing sad state of heart and response from a king (shows himself to be almost the exact opposite of an “others-cantered” person). God declares judgment coming, and all his reaction was with relief stating that at least it will not happen in his lifetime, and he won’t have to deal with it although he exposed them to such. All he cares about is his own personal comfort and success.
Hezekiah was certainly a godly king without a doubt in the beginning, and overall, his reign was one of outstanding godliness. Yet Hezekiah did not finish well (his beginning was much better than his end). The extra gift of years of life God gave him did not make him a better or more godly man.

Conclusion
Time or age doesn’t necessarily make us any better. Consider that time does nothing but pass away. We sometimes say, “time will tell,” “time will heal,” or “time will bring out the potential in me.” But time will do nothing of the sort! Time will only come and go. It is only how we use time that matters. Hezekiah didn’t make good use of the extra time the LORD gave him.

PART 2:
Isaiah 40 vs.1-31
This chapter begins with a change of tone (softer). Instead of wrath, God is promising comfort. Where do we find comfort when life is overwhelming? How do you handle the news that you are being laid off? How do you deal with moments when your children live in rebellion? How do you fight depression and loneliness? This chapter provides the “comfort” needed in such moments. We’ve all experienced times in our lives when we struggled to maintain a godly character (for example that moment Hezekiah had in chapter 39) in the midst of a godless culture. This chapter however reminds us that God desires his people to have comfort. The chapter also provides us with method of giving comfort to others.

Verse 1-11: The promised Comfort for Zion
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.” 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

A message of comfort, pardon and tenderness follow the ending of Jerusalem's warfare and the pardoning of her iniquity.
In the first verse, “Comfort” is repeated as a form of emotional intensity. It also includes the phrase “says your God” which indicates that this is a command. Something else we see in this first verse is the word “my people” and “your God”. God has not cast them off - He is still their God. Just as a loving father will discipline his children, so God disciplines those He loves but it doesn’t mean He still won’t bring them “comfort”! These verses can be used to lift those who are downcast and troubled – it’s the Word of God to those who have lost hope. It’s not the time for anyone to give up but rather time for those weak in faith to be strengthened.

The second verse reminds us that true comfort comes from knowing God and His Word, and if we are in need of encouragement, we are not to go to “modern prophets” who are better characterized as “motivational speakers” who only make you feel better about yourself but rather we must turn to God.

Verse three then goes on to tell us that across the wilderness and desert the way of the Lord is to be prepared, and His glory will be revealed to all. Jesus is the ultimate Comforter, the coming King whose glory was revealed in the manger of Bethlehem, and throughout His life. He is our Comforter. He is the King who is coming to deliver His people from their enemies. Encouraging us to prepare ye the way of the Lord. Zion is commanded to shout the good tidings that the Lord God comes to rule with might and to tend His flock like a shepherd. God’s might is not to be underestimated, and His presence brings joy and blessing to His children.

Verse 12-17:
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

Who Measured Heaven and Earth? The heavens, earth, seas, is lands, and nations are as nothing when compared with God. Compared to the nations, God has so much more wisdom and resources. The point and reminder here is that no one can measure the amount of blessings God is able to give out by His hand because it is so vast. There is no amount of blessing you can offer to appease God, even if one uses up all the wood in the earth’s greatest forest as “burnt offering” still won’t be enough! So the least we can do is offer Him what He asks (praise, or taking comfort as the case may be).

Verse 18-26:
18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? 19 The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. 20Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

There isn’t anybody like God - No person or image can be a likeness of God in ALL this Earth. Visualise this for a minute: God siting above the earth and spreads out the heavens like a tent seeing all of us here on earth as grasshoppers. So, who do you even want to dare compare the Holy One to? He who created the stars and calls them by name. God is so superior to humanity that man is like a tiny little insect in His sight. God is sovereign over all creation, even the princes and rulers of man (the toughest of them all). To compare God’s power and authority to any created work is great foolishness.

Verse 27-31
27Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

An everlasting Creator THAT’s who God is. He is the in-comparable Lord of the heavens and earth. He does not overlook the faint and exhausted, but everyone who wait for Him will be renewed to fly like eagles and to keep running “life” without getting tired. God calls out to the Jews, reminding them that He will never change, will not cease to be, and will not be stooped down to the level of human understanding. It is pointless to say that one has hidden oneself from the Lord and that He will not judge us for our actions. God is just, holy and sees ALL - These facts will never change.

Those who foolishly believe they have escaped God’s judgment will be stripped of their strength and fall, but those who believe in God and trust in His ways have been promised to have everlasting strength and renewal. On the earth, God performs this through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost who gives believers the strength to press on towards the goal of serving God even when your physical strength has run out. After death, we (believers) will all have everlasting life and a glorified body that will never tire. The sinner, however, has none of this! So let’s keep going because our end goal has been revealed and Glorious as it is – it’s worth the push.

Conclusion
Even as we speak here now, some are here, low and dry! Tired and weary!! You are really feeling the weight and wondering what's happened to God’s promises. You have called out to God and it seems like you are not getting any answer. Today, I would like to encourage and remind you that God IS the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth and YOU are His reward. Your sin has been paid for so stop downsizing yourself because of sins you have already confessed, and He has forgiven you for! You've received double grace. You're His people, He is your God and you need to start trusting in Him again today.

Contributor: Esther Alajiki

INTRODUCTION
Hezekiah was the first king since David to keep the Lord's commandments, He restored right worship for the people, and the honor of God as the True God. But in this chapter, we learn that he became gravely ill and was at the point of death and God had decided that He would use the situation to call him home. But Hezekiah appealed to the Lord, he called on the Lord to remember his service onto Him. Philippians 4:18c implies that our faithful services are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. Exodus 23:25 tells us that when we serve the Lord, He will bless our bread and water and take sickness away from our midst. Cornelius’s account in Acts 10:1-4 tells us that service rendered to God goes up to Him as a memorial and in today’s study which is in two parts, we see that within the confines of God’s prerogative, we can “cash in on it” just like Hezekiah did.

PART 1 VERSE DISCUSSION (Isaiah 38 Amplified Bible (1 – 9) Message Bible (9 – 22).)

Verse 1: God Speaks to His Children
In those days Hezekiah [king of Judah] became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, “For the LORD says this, ‘Set your house in order and prepare a will, for you shall die; you will not live.’ (2 Kings 20:1-11)

God sent His prophet to Hezekiah. He sends His word to His children, we are not to walk in darkness concerning any area of our lives. from comparing 2 Kings 18:2 with 2 Kings 20:6, Hezekiah was around 39/40 years old when he got his death sentence.

Verses 2 -3: Be Honest With God
“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, (3) and said, “Please, O LORD, just remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth, and with a whole heart [absolutely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly.”

He did not hold on to the prophet to seek solution. When faced with difficult situations, what do we do? Hezekiah had trusted God to deliver His people from an invading army but his personal situation was overwhelming for him. When trouble comes, instead of blaming God in frustration be honest with God. Trust for divine intervention.

Verses 4 – 6: God Answers His Children
“Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, (5)“Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘For the LORD, the God of David your father says this, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; listen carefully, I will add fifteen years to your life. (6) I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city [Jerusalem].”

God re-sends His prophet back to Hezekiah. God delivered on a personal and a national level. He gave 2 gifts to Hezekiah - an extended life and knowing how many years’ left

Verses 7 – 8: God Can Alter the Natural Course of Nature
“This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that He has spoken: (8) Listen carefully, I will turn the shadow on the stairway [denoting the time of day] ten steps backward, the shadow on the stairway (sundial) of Ahaz.” And the sunlight went ten steps backward on the stairway where it had [previously] gone down.”

Did God make the earth go back in its orbit? Did He spin the earth backwards while still keeping gravity intact? Do not focus on rationalizing how God would perform miracles, recognize and celebrate His power and interventions. You may not know how, you may not know when but He’ll do it again.

Verses 9 – 15: Honesty and Simplicity in God’s Presence
“This is what Hezekiah king of Judah wrote after he’d been sick and then recovered from his sickness “In the very prime of life I have to leave. Whatever time I have left is spent in death’s waiting room. No more glimpses of God in the land of the living, No more meetings with my neighbours, no more rubbing shoulders with friends. This body I inhabit is taken down and packed away like a camper’s tent. Like a weaver, I’ve rolled up the carpet of my life as God cuts me free of the loom And at day’s end sweeps up the scraps and pieces. I cry for help until morning. Like a lion, God pummels and pounds me, relentlessly finishing me off. I squawk like a doomed hen, moan like a dove. My eyes ache from looking up for help: “Master, I’m in trouble! Get me out of this!” But what’s the use? God himself gave me the word. He’s done it to me. I can’t sleep— I’m that upset, that troubled.” [MSG]

Hezekiah expressed himself as he felt- no fancy words. He was grieved and expressed his grief to God.

Verses 16 – 20: Always Give God the Glory
“O Master, these are the conditions in which people live, and yes, in these very conditions my spirit is still alive— fully recovered with a fresh infusion of life! It seems it was good for me to go through all those troubles. Throughout them all you held tight to my lifeline. You never let me tumble over the edge into nothing. But my sins you let go of, threw them over your shoulder—good riddance! The dead don’t thank you, and choirs don’t sing praises from the morgue. Those buried six feet under don’t witness to your faithful ways. It’s the living—live men, live women—who thank you, just as I’m doing right now. Parents give their children full reports on your faithful ways. God saves and will save me. As fiddles and mandolins strike up the tunes, We’ll sing, oh we’ll sing, sing, for the rest of our lives in the Sanctuary of God.”

In response to God’s miracle, Hezekiah writes a song of praise, give Him praise for His daily mercies, Let God and others know how thankful you are. Shifted to the correct perspective of his illness, Hezekiah writes that his sins had caused his bitterness, not God. The Lord is interested in life and healing as the dead cannot be a witness of a living God and one of the privileges of man is to praise God while on earth. Hezekiah promised to praise God and teach the next generation about Him. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Verses 21 - 22
“Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and put it on the boil so he may recover.” Hezekiah had said, “What is my cue that it’s all right to enter again the Sanctuary of God?”
The Lord already knew the remedy, and He provided a sign to Hezekiah because the king had wanted proof that Isaiah spoke truthfully.

PART 2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
A Need for Prayer - When Hezekiah received his sentence, he had no heir. He chose to appeal to God in prayer. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James. 5:15-16). For us could be a situation or a challenge. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

A Heart of Prayer - Notice the heart Hezekiah exhibited when he prayed. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, he poured his heart out to the Lord. Prayer that truly touches the heart of God and changes things comes from a heart that is passionately dependent on God. Luke 22:42 yet not my will, but yours be done.”

An Answer to Prayer - God delights in answering the fervent prayers of the righteous - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7) If you remain in Me and My Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)

A response to answered prayer – thankfulness in receiving, faithfulness in stewarding, humility in responding. Psalm 34.

CONCLUSION
Hezekiah knew when to “turn his face to the wall” and pray to the Lord. He knew God well enough to hold on to Him and appeal to God’s justice and mercy, and present his case before the throne. Whenever we face whatever we deem to be the greatest challenge, the deepest valley, an impossible situation of life, seemingly hard and impenetrable walls we must turn to God. God heard Hezekiah’s cry, changed his death sentence, and added fifteen years to his life! Furthermore, God responded to Hezekiah beyond what he actually prayed for. This is a reminder of Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all we ask or think. God even set aside the astronomical laws to give a sign to Hezekiah!
In the face of unpleasant circumstances, you can “turn your face to the wall” and get through to God boldly and without shame, because you are anchored in His love, His word, and His blood bought redemption! God is ready to pour out His compassion, ready to bare His strong arm of deliverance in response to your prayer and loves praise in response to His goodness.

“14Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Saviour]. 15For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment]”. Heb. 4: 14 -16. [AMP]

Contributor: Peter Folikwe

INTRODUCTION
Assyria from our recent study was the super power of the world at this time: conquering many nations. Amongst nations conquered was northern Israel and the target of the Assyrians was to conquer the southern part of Israel called Judah.
During David and Solomon’s reigns, Israel was a single nation, later spilt into two during the reign of Rehoboam. The Northern part maintained its identity as Israel, but the south was named Judah. Hezekiah was the King of Judah at the time of Assyria’s invasion. In Chapter 36, we see Assyria evade the fortified cities surrounding Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. Judah had shut the gate of its capital Jerusalem to protect its inhabitants and the king. The Assyrians laid siege and their king Sennacherib wrote a threat letter to Hezekiah, demanding a wilful surrender. By way of repetition of the questions posed at last week’s study: Can God be trusted? Is He strong enough, is He good enough, to deliver us? Will He be faithful to keep His promises? In today’s study we will see from this chapter how the Hezekiah reacted to the threat and how God responded in His power and splendour.

Verse 1                                                                                                                   

“When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord.” [NLT]

Just like Hezekiah, some challenging times overwhelmingly make us helpless and fearful, but our response to the threat/challenge makes all the difference. He tore his clothes as a sign of morning. He wore sackcloth as a sign of humility/helplessness. In those days the trend was offer prayers in the house of the Lord. Today our body is the temple of the Lord. We don’t need a special location for prayers.

Verses 2-3                                                                                                                 

“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.” [NLT]

Imagine the description of the problem: a woman in labour unable to deliver the baby. It’s a case between life and death. Besides seeking the face of God, Hezekiah sent for the Prophet Isiah to pray for the nation against the Assyrian assault. When in trouble or challenges of life, it is wise to deploy a two-prawn approach to addressing the problem: Seeking the face of God and asking your friends to pray for you. Apostle Paul in 2Thess 3:1 requested for prayers from the brethren. Jesus in Matt 18:19 reiterated the power in prayers of agreement. Hezekiah recognized the value of prayers.

Verses 5-7
“5 After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, 6 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. 7 Listen! I myself will move against him,[a] 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.’” [NLT]

Isaiah, a true prophet of God (not like the fake prophets), after seeking the face of God, debunked the threat of Sennacherib delivered through Rabshakeh – his General.

Verses 10-13
‘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?

Rabshakeh reels out a credential presentation of Sennacherib’s conquest. These are voices the enemy uses to intimidate and destabilise its victims. Here the enemy warns that the people of Judah should not trust their king. Secondly that their God cannot save them either.

Verses 14-20
‘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, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God. “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.’

Hezekiah spread this letter of sorrow before the Lord in His temple. He knows the true God he serves. Many who run to God when in trouble are not in right standing with God. The prayer of the sinner the Bible says is an abomination.

Prov 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”

Some, when they run to their gods they get no answer, just like the nations overrun by the Assyrians. Furthermore, their god were burnt together with their covens. In V20, Hezekiah charged God to glorify Himself. The real trust for our prayer should be to bring glory to God.

Verses 21-22
 “Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken this word against him: “The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee.”‬‬ [NLT]‬‬‬‬

‭‭This testifies that when we are confronted by overwhelming life’s trials and we seek the face of God in prayers, He hears us and respond appropriately. Particularly when the name of the Lord is disdained, the culprit will have himself to blame.‬‬‬‬‬‬
 

Verses 23-26 God Responds
“Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest. I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.’ “Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.”[NKJV]
God clearly stating that He permitted the Assyrians to possess all the have, because He created all things and gives to whom He pleases. Sennacherib is making an empty boast. IsaiahThe Lord says in 37:29 NLT “And because of your raging against me and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I will make you return by the same road on which you came.”

God says I will put my hook in Sennacherib’s nose and my bit in his mouth. Scary I must say! The nose and the mouth are critical organs that supply nourishment to the body - air and water. A man may survive without water for a while but, if he loses breath for more than 5-7mins he is a goner.

Verses 30-32
“This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” [NKJV]

Usually during a siege, the farmlands are destroyed by the intruder.
God here promised to give a sign of their deliverance that for two seasons they will harvest their crops without planting.

Verses 33-35
“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside its gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls. The king will return to his own country by the same road on which he came. He will not enter this city,’ says the Lord. ‘For my own honour and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend this city and protect it.’””[ NLT]

God is Covenant Keeper, not a Covenant Breaker.
God pronounced that He will defend Judah against the onslaught of Assyria for His name sake. God is ever faithful to keep His covenant, a covenant He had with David, years before.
Each time we are oppressed, repressed or depressed by those who assume undue authority over us, rather than become confrontational, let’s remember our covenant keeping God who fights our battles.

Verses 36-37
“That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.” [NLT]

In one night, an angel of God killed 185 thousand soldiers of the Assyrians. The survivors woke up to see many of their colleagues slain without fighting a war. Quite terrifying.
No surprise that king Sennacherib took to his heels and fled. This is what is called ‘a victory without a fight’. Psalms 20:7 AMP says: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, But we will remember and trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

CONCLUSION
Finally, in Isaiah 37:38 PAM “It came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat [in Armenia]. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.”

The gods of Sennacherib could not save him from the swords of his own sons.
Zechariah 2:8 AMP says, “For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent Me against the nations which plunder you—for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”

If only many in privileged positions of authority today can understand how ephemeral such powers and authority that come with such positions are, they will use such for the good of mankind. May the Lord help us to focus our gaze on the eternal, and not on the temporal.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION
The Chapters 36 - 39 of the book of Isaiah is like an interruption to one’s regular programme on television by a late night breaking news. In these chapters, Isaiah interrupts his prophesies to bring news from the battle front. Chapter 36 records a historical account that can be likened to the first part of a 4 part movie. In Part 1, today’s study, we see the faith of the people of God being attacked. This was not simply a contest between two kings or two nations, but actually an epic showdown between arrogant humanity and the living God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Sovereign of the nations, the Holy One of Israel. And the question, as always, is: Can God be trusted? Is He strong enough, is He good enough, to deliver us? Will He be faithful to keep His promises? In today’s study we will see from this chapter how the enemy uses the power of intimidation and deceit to manipulate the world.

Verses 1-3: Jerusalem Threatened
“Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.”

King Sennacherib king of Assyria has come up against all the fortified cities of Judah and taken them. He’s just taken the city of Lachish, and Jerusalem now is left. So, he sends the “field commander” of his great army with an ultimatum for King Hezekiah.

If you recall in chapter 7, when Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, God told Ahaz to ask for a sign, but he refused to “put the Lord to the test.” (Isaiah 7:10-25) Why? Because in reality, he had chosen worldly wisdom over faith. Furthermore, Isaiah prophesied in Chapter 8: 7-8a:

“7 Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against [you] the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck”
And that’s exactly what happened in 701 BC—our text today. Because of his father’s unbelief, because God’s Word of judgment had proven true, King Hezekiah is now faced with essentially the same decision: Will he trust the Lord?

Verses 4-6: The Rabshakeh Speaks Against Judah’s Trust in Alliance With Egypt
4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

a.What confidence is this in which you trust? One of the great battles for Hezekiah during this time was the temptation to make a defensive alliance with Egypt, which seemed to be the only nation strong enough to protect Judah against the mighty Assyrians. As a prophet, Isaiah did everything he could to discourage Hezekiah and the leaders of Judah from putting their trust in Egypt (Isaiah 19:11-17, 20:1-6, 30:1-7). The Lord wanted Judah to trust Him instead of Egypt.

So what Rabshakeh spoke in these verses, was the truth! God wanted Judah to have no confidence in Egypt at all. But Rabshakeh isn’t doing it to bring Judah to a firm trust in the LORD God, who can and will deliver them from the Assyrians. He does it to completely demoralize Judah and drive them to despair.
Satan attacks us the same way! Often, even when he tells the truth (“You are such a rotten sinner!”), he never does it to lead us to a firm trust in the Lord our God (“Jesus died for sinners, so if I am a rotten sinner, Jesus died to forgive and free me!”). Instead, Satan’s strategy – even if he tells us the truth – is always to demoralize us and drive us to despair.

b. You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt: Strangely, Rabshakeh could see the truth of Egypt’s weakness better than many of the leaders of Judah could. He refers to their alliance with Egypt as a broken reed that is not just a worthless one but that leaning on them for support and will cost Judah.

Verse 7: The Rabshakeh Speaks Against Judah’s Trust in God.
“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”

The devil seeks to deceive us: by twisting the truth, speaking lies that have a ring of truth to them and sound like something God has actually said! Even though Hezekiah did tear down the high places (which he was supposed to do), and though Assyria was a tool in God’s hand, this did not mean that God was against them!

Verses 8-9: The Rabshakeh Speaks Against The Army of Judah.
“8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?”

Although king Sennacherib had a vastly superior army and could have just attacked Jerusalem without this little speech, he would prefer it if Judah would simply give up, out of fear, discouragement, or despair. The Assyrians were masters of intimidation and cities usually just surrender without a fight. The devil uses the exact same approach. Many of us picture him as always “itching for a fight” with us. Really, he doesn’t want to do battle with us. First of all, there is the strong chance you will win. Second of all, win or lose, the battle can draw you closer to God. Thirdly, what the LORD does in your life through the battle can be a great blessing for other people. So he would much rather not fight but rather, talk you into giving up or have you distracted from fulfilling your purpose in life.
(In Luke 4:5-8, we see him attempting to distract Jesus with his temptations.) He also attempt to frighten us, deceive us or bully us into surrendering. 1 Peter 5:8 says he prowls like a roaring lion. But James 4:7 tells us that if we submit to God and resist him, he will flee!

Verse 10: The Rabshakeh Claims God is on His Side.
“Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

In this verse, he goes for the jugular; in other words, “Admit it, Hezekiah. You know that your God is on my side.” And like all good deception, it would have been easy for Hezekiah and his men to believe this one. After all, hadn’t the Assyrians been wildly successful? Surely, God must be on their side. Didn’t they have the most powerful army? Surely, God must be on their side. Then he moves in with a finishing blow: “The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land, and destroy it”. “Hezekiah, God told me to destroy you. I’m just doing His will, and there is nothing you can do to stop it, so you may as well surrender.”

Verses 11-20: The Rabshakeh Sows the Seed of Doubt in the Hearts of the People
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

It was a difficult situation for the leaders in Hezekiah’s government. It was bad enough that they had to hear these words themselves, but because he was speaking in Hebrew, everyone could hear, become discouraged and possibly ask the king to surrender so they appealed for him to speak in Aramaic

But the Rabshakeh would not have it. The more fear, discouragement, and despair he can spread, the better. He pointed forward to what conditions would be like in Jerusalem after an extended siege (that people will eat and drink their own waste). He wanted this to disgust everyone who heard it, and he wanted to magnify the sense of fear, discouragement, and despair.

And then, in verse 16, Sennacherib’s devilish ultimatum was given by the Rabshakeh: “Thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me.” “Don’t trust the Lord. Don’t listen to Hezekiah. Trust me. If you don’t, we’ll besiege your city and cause you unimaginable pain and suffering. You will perish unless you follow me. But in reality, the Lord was not against His covenant people. He had not deceived them. Rather, He had brought them to the end of their resources so that Judah might depend upon her God in wholehearted trust. The Rabshakeh’s speech was going on well until he overstepped in verse 20. “Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

The gods of other nations have not been able to protect them against us. Your God is just like one of them and can’t protect you either. It is one thing to speak against Judah, its people and leaders. It was another thing altogether to mock the Lord God of Israel this way and count Him as “just another god.” And just like the officer in 2 Kings 7:2 who ran his mouth challenging Elisha and consequently, the Almighty God by saying: “That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!”
There was no way God would let him off the hook for this one. He has offended the Lord God in a way he will soon regret. He just kicked against the pricks, Acts 9:5, Exodus 14:14 says the Lord will fight for us and we will hold our peace.

Verses 21-22: CONCLUSION
“But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.”

Hezekiah had instructed the leaders not to argue with the Rabshakeh but to give him the silent treatment. King Hezekiah was wise enough to make this command, and his officials and the people were wise enough to obey him. It is often useless – if not dangerous – to try and match wits with demonic logic. It is much better to keep silent and trust God, instead of trying to win an argument. We can never win the battle with the enemy in the place of reason but the place of faith.
No matter how relentless the schemes of the devil are, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, and no matter how undeserving we are, the Lord is a mighty and gracious King. So we must be still in God’s presence. In Deuteronomy 32:35 God tells us that vengeance is His. Exodus 14:14 says: “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.”
The chorus of the song “Stand Still” by Deitrick Haddon says:
“Stand still and know that He is God
There's no need to fight
For the battle is not yours
The battle is the Lord's”

Parts of this study was culled from
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/isaiah-36

Contributor: Tobi Morakinyo

INTRODUCTION
This study is a continuation of a prophecy by Isaiah about two events of the end times starting from chapter 34 studied last week which was about the judgment of God and the consequent catastrophe during the Great Tribulation period.
Chapter 35 however talks about the blessings that will come to the world when Jesus returns to reign upon the earth together with the raptured saints for one thousand years (Rev. 20:1- 6) in what is known as the Millennial reign or Millennial Kingdom. It would be a time of peace, righteousness, and restoration. During this period, Satan will be bound and unable to deceive the nations.
This study will delve into the specific nature of God's restoration for the regathered Israel during this kingdom and examine the spiritual infrastructure known as the Highway of Holiness.

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF GOD’S RESTORATION FOR THE REGATHERED ISRAEL
After the devastating tribulation period, Jesus Christ and the Saints will come back to Earth. Isaiah chapter 35 vividly describes the prophesied restoration of both the physical world and the people of God during the millennial reign of the Lord. The prophecy specifically highlights three areas where this restoration will occur:

1. Restoration Land And The Glory Of Cities (Verses 1-2,7)
(vs. 1&2) The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God. 

(vs.7) And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water:
in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

Isaiah 34:9-15 describes the desolation that will befall Edom, symbolizing a proud nation opposed to God, leading it to become a "Land of Nothing." However, in contrast, after God's judgment is lifted and His Kingdom is established, the once deserted and ruined land and cities will undergo a remarkable transformation. Instead of desolation, there will be joy, rejoicing, and abundant growth, likened to the blossoming of a rose. This flourishing will be widespread, with biodiversity restored to previously barren places, resulting in great joy and singing. This imagery represents a complete and joyful renewal, where life emerges and fills the once barren land. The glory of cities such as Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon will also be restored (Zech 11:1-2; Isaiah 60:13; Ps. 92:12).

Practical applications for daily life
The terror of the Lord is real, but so is His plan for restoration. No matter the challenges you may be facing, may be likened to a wilderness experience, take comfort in knowing that God is coming to bring transformation. He will turn your life around, causing it to flourish abundantly, and fill your heart with rejoicing if you hold on to Him.

2. Restoration Of Physical Health And Vitality (Verses 3-6)
"3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert."

The impending judgment could easily weaken anyone's hands and make their knees feeble. However, considering the magnificent restoration that God will bring about, it is not a time for weakness or hesitation (Hebrews 12:12). Especially for the regathered Israel and surviving believers, God desires them to be strong. After experiencing the horrors of the great tribulation, it is natural for survivors to be filled with fear. However, upon the return of the Lord, fear will dissipate, and a profound faith will be reignited within the hearts of people. The reign of our Lord will be days of miraculous power just like it happened during His ministry, there will be widespread healings and restoration of physical health.

Practical applications for daily life

- Present day believers with weakened hands (lacking in diligent service to the Lord) and feeble knees (struggling to walk closely with the Lord and pray fervently) can find encouragement in this promise. It assures them that they can receive divine strength and spiritual vitality to carry them through the remaining journey of their Christian walk.

- God is never late! When fully trusted, He will surely come and save His people to the uttermost (Hebrew 7:25). In our present trials, we need the strong hope of the LORD to overcome our fearful hearts by the assured confidence that He will come and save.

3. Restoration Of Spiritual Life - The Highway Of Holiness (Verses 8-10)
"8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

The "highway of Holiness" symbolizes a path of holiness, righteousness, and obedience to God. During the millennial kingdom, holiness will prevail due to the righteous reign and the binding of Satan, limiting his corrupting influence. Consequently, the majority of those living in the millennial kingdom will be saved, although a rebellion may occur among those who are not truly saved towards the end of the Millennium. The highway of holiness has three important characteristics.

1. (vs.8) The highway of holiness is a is a place of holiness, a path exclusively for the righteous; the unclean and wicked fools are not welcome. The way of holiness is made possible solely through Christ, who, in exchange for our sins, offers His perfect righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

2. (vs.9) The highway of holiness is a place of safety, set apart for the redeemed of the Lord. It represents the safety and protection that God's people will find on this path without the fear of lions and ravenous beasts. The redeemed of the Lord will walk there in peace and safety.

3. (vs 10) The highway of holiness will be a place of joy. The path of holiness will be filled with indescribable joy, as the joy of the Lord becomes the strength of His people. All those who have been redeemed by the Lord will enter the millennial kingdom with great rejoicing.

Practical applications for daily life
Hebrews 12:14 states that "Without holiness, no one can see the Lord." In order to partake in Christ's millennial kingdom and reign with Him, we must make it our aim to live our lives on the path of holiness. Embracing a lifestyle of holiness not only ensures our participation in Christ's reign but also guarantees us safety, security, peace, and an overwhelming sense of joy. Although the road may sometimes feel lonely and narrow, we can be assured of a safe landing.

CONCLUSION
Isaiah 35 is a prophecy of hope, restoration, and transformation following the destruction in the preceding chapter. It about the characteristics of the millennial kingdom when God will bring about remarkable changes, both in the physical world and in the hearts of people. The highway of Holiness represents a path of righteousness and obedience to God, where the redeemed will walk in safety and joy. Overall, it reminds us that God's promises of renewal and abundant life are certain, and that He has the power to bring about a glorious transformation in our lives. It encourages us to place our trust in God, knowing that He will guide us on the path of holiness and lead us to a place of everlasting joy.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION

Isaiah 34 begins a prophecy that spans two chapters (34 & 35), and deals with things of the end times. Isaiah 34 deals with the judgment of God during the Great Tribulation period, while Isaiah 35 will talk about the blessings that will come to the world when Jesus returns. In today’s study, we see the prophet Isaiah being transported into the future, and onto the final battle of Armageddon

Verse 1: A Demand for Universal Attention – An Invitation of the Nations
“Come here and listen, O nations of the earth; let the world and everything in it hear my words.”
After the promise of heaven and hell from chapter 33, God expands His judgment to all people. God is not partial in judgment, for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).

In the previous chapters, the judgment of God had either been directed to Babylon or Assyria, but here we see God’s judgment directed to all nations because it is only at the end of times that “all nations” will be rallied by the anti-Christ to come against Israel. Revelation 16:13-16 tells us that when the sixth vial is opened, lying demon spirits are sent out to the kings of the whole world to bring them down to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” more popularly known as the Battle of Armageddon. If we look around the world today, there are several things that are being put in place that will ensure that at the end time, all nations will be able to unify. One of them is Globalisation. In Genesis, God dispersed the people at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), but at Armageddon, the anti-Christ will rally the whole world against Jerusalem. That is why the call was being made to all the nations of the earth, the world and everything in it.

Verses 2-7: A Scene of Blood and Confusion - God’s Coming Judgment on Edom
“2 For the Lord is enraged against the nations; his fury is against their armies. He will utterly destroy them and deliver them to slaughter. 3 Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land; the mountains will flow with their blood. 4 At that time the heavens above will melt away and disappear just like a rolled-up scroll, and the stars will fall as leaves, as ripe fruit from the trees. 5 And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, then watch, for it will fall upon Edom, the people I have doomed. 6 The sword of the Lord is sated with blood; it is gorged with flesh as though used for slaying lambs and goats for sacrifice. For the Lord will slay a great sacrifice in Edom and make a mighty slaughter there. 7 The strongest will perish, young boys and veterans too. The land will be soaked with blood, and the soil made rich with fat."

These verses reveal the fury of the Lord Jesus, and we should therefore make no misstate, the cross is the only beating Jesus will ever take. When He comes again He will spill the blood of the armies of the world. He will utterly destroy the armies of the world. As depicted by the destruction of Edom mentioned here. It is no doubt a picture of the ultimate end of all who oppose God and His people (verses 6-7).

Ezekiel 36:5 tells us that Edom was a perpetual enemy of Israel
“5 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’

Isaiah 63: 1-6 says:
“Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his magnificent garments of crimson? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation; I, the Lord, the one who is mighty to save!” 2 “Why are your clothes so red, as from treading out the grapes?” 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes. 4 For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. 5 I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment. 6 I crushed the heathen nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.”

When we studied the book of Revelations 11 years ago, in chapter 14 Verses 16-20 we learnt about the bloody judgment at Armageddon, where the of bloodshed will be so much that it will yield a flow of blood deep enough to come up to the bridle of a horse. A "thousand and six hundred furlongs" is the distance in which the blood will flow "unto the horse bridles" 1,600 furlongs is about 183.86 miles which is approximately 296km. The distance between Newry and Cork is 291km. We are talking about a flow of blood across Ireland deep enough to drown a horse!

Verse 8: The Reason Given for These Judgments
“For it is the day of vengeance, the year of recompense for what Edom has done to Israel.”

Time and time again in our study of this book, we have heard the prophet Isaiah explain the reason for God’s judgments. God is a just God, and no matter how the world tries, no one can prove He is not just. Because of sin, God will destroy the nations. All the enemies of the Lord will one day be gathered together in battle and slain by God Himself. See Revelation 19:11-21, 20:7-10.
Just before the coming of the Lord, society will be as it was in the days of Lot (Luke 17:28). While he focused especially on Edom, he was using that proud nation as an example of what God would do to all the Gentile nations during the coming of the Lord. As a result of God’s judgment on Edom, it will lie desolate for many generations (v. 17).

Verses 9-15: Continued Desolation
“9 The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire. 10 This judgment on Edom will never end. Its smoke will rise up forever. The
land will lie deserted from generation to generation; no one will live there anymore. 11 There the hawks and porcupines will live, and owls and ravens. For God will observe that land and find it worthy of destruction. He will test its nobles and find them worthy of death. 12 It will be called “The Land of Nothing,” and its princes soon will all be gone. 13 Thorns will overrun the palaces, nettles will grow in its forts, and it will become the haunt of jackals and a home for ostriches. 14 The wild animals of the desert will mingle there with wolves and hyenas. Their howls will fill the night. There the night-monsters will scream at each other, and the demons will come there to rest. 15 There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs; she will hatch her young and nestle them beneath her wings, and the kites will come, each one with its mate"

Verses 9-10 depict the world-wide carnage of the Battle of Armageddon. God made humans stewards over the earth (Gen 2:15). When a person sins, whatever they touch becomes defiled (Hag 2:13-14). A person’s sin therefore has wide-reaching consequences, even to the point that the land can be cursed (Gen 3:17). That is why it is so very important that we take care of whatever is in our charge.

Verses 16-17- CONCLUSION
“Search the book of the Lord and see all that he will do; not one detail will he miss; not one kite will be there without a mate, for the Lord has said it, and his Spirit will make it all come true. 17 He has surveyed and subdivided the land and deeded it to those doleful creatures; they shall possess it forever, from generation to generation.”

Verse 16 isn’t only an assurance of justice from a just God but an assurance of His promises as well! Search the book of the Lord and see all that he will do; not one detail will he miss.Isaiah 55:10-11 says:
“10 As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, 11 so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.”

This is such a reassuring promise. But you don’t know unless you search the book of the Lord. It is our responsibility to search the book of the Lord (the Bible) and see that God's prophecies and declarations are always fulfilled. The wicked will inherit a terrible, ruined land from generation to generation, that is, forever. But you and I have a sure promise of the Lord’s goodness, here on earth and for eternity. Matthew 19:29 says:

“And everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."

Contributor: Ngozi Roberts

INTRODUCTION
In the previous chapter we discussed about how God detests the trusting of the arm of flesh instead of God. The Jews trusted in the Egyptians prowess which is a symbol of trusting the arm of flesh or man and God did not like it. He assured the Jews and ultimately you and I of God's care and protection. The study ended by the prophet calling all to repentance, and prophesied the destruction of those that do not trust God. Following these sequence, the prophet in the next two chapters 32 and 33 prophesies of the coming righteous king that will bring about a righteous government establishing the fact that the blessings that comes out of this righteous rule will only be experienced by the repentant children of God while the sinners will experience His judgement.

PART 1: CHAPTER 32
This chapter contains a prophecy of the Messiah which is, however applicable to Hezekiah, as a type of Christ as it only has its full accomplishment in him, and in his times. He is described as a righteous King, having Just princes ruling under him. The chapter is filled with metaphors and will require attentiveness to be able to understand these chapters. It is divided into 3 sections. The first section talks about the period of peace and happiness which will characterise the reign of the righteous king. The second section talks about the times of trouble which would be as a result of the existence of bad people and the third section reflects on the blessings that will be seen in the end.

CHAPTER 32, VERSES 1-8 - THE PERIOD OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS
The Prophet prophesies about the reign of a righteous King. This godly king is going to establish a godly government and will have many godly helpers within the society. It is evident this is about Christ our righteous King and His true disciples. Though during the time of Isaiah this king seems to reflect the local historical king – Hezekiah however, for us this ultimately talks about the messiah Jesus Christ and His kingdom. The metaphorical expressions seen in verses 2-8;
See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. 2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear
These expressions connotes that the this government will bring about stability and comfort in the society. This brings to remembrance, Psalm 47:5-9, which praises God as…the King over all the earth, who reigns with justice and equity.
Also in Isaiah 2:2-4, which foretells that the…nations will stream to Jerusalem to learn from the Lord, and that He will judge between the nations and make peace.
Similarly, in Rom 14:17 : 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

CHAPTER 32: VERSES 5-6 – FOOLS WILL NOT BE IN THE GOVERNMENT
Here again, the use of metaphorical expressions that indicates that during this righteous reign that fools will not be found in this helm of affairs. Why? Because the characteristics of fools as in verses 6-7 will not be found in this government.
"5 No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. 6 For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the LORD; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water. Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just."

So Isaiah prophesies that even in this ideal society, there is going to be rogues and bad people but however, these bad people are going to be recognised and ostracized from leadership

CHAPTER 32 VERSE 8 - CHARACTERISTICS OF NOBLE MEN IN GOVERNMENT
8 But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.
Note that the government will be constituted by noble and princely men.

CHAPTER 32 VERSE 9-14 - CONSEQUENCES OF COMPLACENCY
These verses talks about the rich people of Isaiah days. Again the use of metaphor to express and reflect on the warning to those who are relaxed in their luxury and feel secure due to their own means. The prophet sounds a note of warning that if the ones that are bad continue to provoke God then there is going to befall them a time of hardship and series of anguish that will be coming to them. In reflection for us, we are being admonished to repent and be on the alert and not to rely on our own strength. Reminds us of 1Cor. 7:29-31 where we are admonished to live as if end is at hand. It says:
29What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

CHAPTER 32 VERSE 15 -18 - THE PEACE OF GOD’S REIGN
Vs15 talks about the out pouring of the Spirit of God. This brings to mind Joel 2:28-29 that said:
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Also in Isaiah 44:3, For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
So the prophets lists out the things that will be the outcome of the spirit outpouring.
The Sprit of God will pour out the power and presence of God for us to be able to act on God’s will. When the manifestation of the Spirit of God is on mankind there will be :
1. Abundance of justice,
2. Personalised life style of righteousness that will bring about -
a. peace, quietness,
b. confidence,
3. Undisturbed resting places ; undisturbed land, home,
4. Real security and peace
Again, this brings to mind the scripture Rom. 14:17- 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

CHAPTER 32: VERSE 19-20
Note that in the middle of blessing of pouring of spirit, Isaiah also prophesies judgement (Vs. 19). which seems odd and makes me to believe judgement refers to the destruction of Assyrian (Chapter 27). So putting this into context, while the Assyrians are being punished by God, the children of God are experiencing the out pouring of the spirit of God and its benefits. However, it is also true that in situations where the children of God are, evil exists. Remember, God treats His enemies differently as we learnt in our previous lessons and they usually end up being destroyed. That is why the scripture tells us that Job 22:29 29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
So as believers, we should always understand that it is in allowing ourselves be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit that we can experience exemption from the judgement that will befall the evil ones. He says in Romans 8: 14 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
When believers are led by the Holy Spirit , they shall live in fertility, in so much abundance that no matter the poverty that grips the world around them, they shall not be affected.

PART 2: CHAPTER 33
In this chapter, Isaiah gives an account of God's judgments upon the enemies of his people, and of the peaceable, comfortable, and happy state of the church in the latter day. This chapter is divided in two sections. The first section refers to Gods judgment on His enemies while the second section refers to the happiness to be experienced as a result of the glorious reign of the Messiah.

CHAPTER 33 VERSES 1-14 - A PRAYER IN DEEP DISTRESS
In verse 1 the prophets reminds us of the Assyria who were a tool in the hand of God to punish the children of Israel in other to bring them back to repentance. These Assyrians did not go unpunished. They still had to experience the wrath of Gods anger. God still held them responsible for their godless action so they have to pay the price. The lesson here is that we as children of God will always be held responsible for any of our actions, even though God already knows from the beginning. If we do evil, without repentance, we will reap whatever we sow. Remember the story of Judas, though it has been prophesied that someone will betray Jesus, Judas stepped into the prophesy and without repentance he was destroyed. He was held responsible for his betrayal action. Same also was Pharoah, he was held responsible for his action when he was destroyed in the Nile pursuing the children of Israel. The righteous ruler often pays the sinner in their own coin. Those who by faith humbly wait for God shall find Him gracious to them.
In Vs. 2, Isaiah both prays and prophecy. He becomes emotional as he calls on God to have mercy. “LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. This reminds me of the Lord prayer where in Matthew 6:11 it say 11Give us this day our daily bread. Praying for the help of God for daily living. And true to the word, there is no way we can live the Christian life without trusting in Him to lead us daily. God wants us to trust him daily for our daily need. Day by day walk in fellowship with Him. This will bring about our genuine stability and security.
In Vs 3- 6 – The prophets takes us into a peep of his life and experience in God. He leads us to understand who God is. The fear of the Lord is the key to his treasure. When we live in the fear of the Lord we will experience Gods wisdom, salvation and knowledge. The greatest treasure is knowing God and it is a great blessing.

Vs 7 – 9 highlights to us the distress that Jerusalem was brought into.
The prophet reflects on what really happened to the negotiations between the representatives of Israel and Assyrians. The break down on the negotiations brought about the men crying and mourning on the streets of Jerusalem. Why? Because the treaty they had with Assyria had broken down. Everyone is afraid and runs into hiding. This is described in 2Kings 18:13-16. Even though Hezekiah gave the king of Assyrians a lot of treasure to stay away yet he came back anyways to fight.

CHAPTER 33 VERSES 10 – 15 - IMPENDING JUDGMENT ON ZION
It’s interesting to know that it is when all other helpers fail, that is the time for God to appear in our lives. Psalm 60:11 says 11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
The Prophet prophesies about the help of God. As God arises to help His people , the children God praise, and exalts Him on high.
The Prophet kind of blows the trumpet of God, letting those who have heard of what God has done to acknowledge that God can do all things. He also reiterates that those sinners that are still living in Jerusalem and outside will experience the wrath of God as He delivers His true children. Reminding us of Hebrew 12:29 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Also, Deuteronomy 2:24 tells us same. God’s wrath will burn those who make themselves fuel for it. So, He warns the jews that are far away and near to watch what God was going to do. When God arises, his enemies scatters!

Vs 15-16
Isaiah reflects on the characteristics of the people in this new day of righteousness. They reflect the character of God himself. In the Old Testament the goal of righteousness was to be like God. The word righteous connotes straightening - measuring reed and describes God himself. God’s characteristics manifested in humanity and in the New Testament is Christ. These characteristics of God’s righteous people are best explained in Psalm 15:
Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. 5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
And psalm 24-3-6 also stipulates same as God’s righteous people characteristics.

CHAPTER 33, VERSES 17-24 - THE LAND OF THE MAJESTIC KING
From verse 17, the prophet makes reference to the righteous King that we talked about in verse 32. It is during the reign of this miraculous child and king that the children of God will start wondering why they revolted against God in the first place. They note that there is no longer the terror they used to experience. No more task masters. No more strangers with foreign language (Chapter 28:11- indicating that the Assyrians language was foreign to them). They will then appreciate the new government and the new land. Zion the city of Gods dwelling place. A land of peace with stability and no chaos. This is because the Lord God almighty will be the ruler. A land without sickness and there will be so much abundance that none will lack and none will be harmed.

CONCLUSION
As believers we are reminded to remember the conditional response from God. We should understand that our hope, our Jerusalem will not be destroyed if we as believers follow God and love Him and walk in His ways. He will keep us in Zion, our abode from all harm if we live righteously, however, if we don’t by living unrighteous, He will take His presence from us and we will fall. Note that all of man’s relationship with God is based on unconditional promise followed by man’s individual response which is conditional.
As true believers, we should watch out for all occasion to sin and avoid it. By faith we take Christ as our King and Saviour. Most importantly is that He will be our King in heaven where there will be no sickness or trouble, all our transgressions blotted out and souls healed.
Zephaniah 3:15 says The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel's King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm
Job 36:11-12 says 11 If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. 12 But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die [e]without knowledge.
Also, Matthew 24: 13 encourages us :13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Ultimately, we are all encouraged and admonished to endure to the end. As long as we trust in God and not man, He will bring us home safely. God is saying to you and I to trust Him and He will forgive us and bring us home to an everlasting life.
Parts of this study was culled from : Matthew Henry – Commentary on the whole Bible