Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

“Prayer vs. Ritual Manipulation”

Previously in Chapter 37, we read last week, that Hezekiah received a letter from the messengers of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, tooting his own horn and proclaiming destruction over Israel. Hezekiah didn’t check in with his human authorities, but went straight to the temple and laid the letter down on the altar and talked with God. I am going to go out on a limb here and presume that Hezekiah must have felt like he was at the end of his human resources. You know what I mean. When all else fails, you lay all of your cards out in front of God and say something like, “Okay, I’ve got us into this mess, it’s your job to get us out.”

Did you notice that God did not respond directly to Hezekiah, but went through Isaiah to give His answer.

How many of us pray to God, and expect a response to come back one way, and

God chooses to use another means to communicate with us?

It reminds me of the man who was stranded during a major flood. He prays to God, and asks Him to save him. The sheriff knocks on the door and offers him a ride out and he refuses, stating God will save him. The water rises and he manages to get to his rooftop. There was nothing but water all around him. A rescue boat comes by and offers him a ride. He refuses, claiming God will save him. Finally, he has only the chimney on his roof to stand and a helicopter arrives and offers him a ladder for him to climb to safety. He again refuses thinking that God will save him. Well, the man drowned. And when he gets to heaven he asks God, what happened, how come He didn’t save him. To which God responded, I sent a sheriff, a rescue boat and a helicopter, what more did you want?

Hezekiah may have prayed to God, but God was using Isaiah to give him the answer. As you can read, God addressed Sennacherib in the first section, Hezekiah in the second section and then back to Sennacherib in the third section.

The opening phrase, “the Virgin Daughter of Zion” compares the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem to that of a dominant male seeking to rape a beautiful young girl. The dominant male doesn’t see anything to keep him from following through with his desire,

except,

he has obviously discounted the role of the “Holy One of Israel” the beautiful young girl’s father. The real issue here was Sennacherib had an incorrect view of the God. He had no clue as to whom he was speaking. In Sennacherib’s mind, the God of Israel, was just another king, and up to this point, Sennacherib had wiped out any king he had come in contact with, so what was another one? Especially one with not idols that you could see.

Major faux paux!

One doesn’t easily get away with self-exaltation over and above the Creator, God.

We have encountered this theme before, with the creature telling God they are more powerful. Yet, the result is always the same. In fact, as we continue to read, although Sennacherib had previously shown himself to be master of the world, from north to south, and from heights to depths and it seemed that nothing could stop him, alas, the truth comes out.

God planned this whole thing, “long ago.”

There was no contest between God and Sennacherib. Sennacherib was a puppet being moved by the God of Israel. God brought to pass, that Sennacherib “turned fortified cities into piles of stone,” and reduced their inhabitants to wilted “scorched” plants. The reality was, that God brought Sennacherib onto the stage and He could take him off, any time He chose. God described Sennacherib like a bull with a “ring” in his nose, or a horse with a “bit” in his mouth.

Then God addressed Hezekiah. He gave him a sign, that it was indeed God speaking. This sign was one that was forward-looking. It was not given to create faith, but to promote it. For God goes on record stating He will do what He says, and has given a means to check whether what He has stated is true. God declared to Hezekiah that He would preserve a harvest for himself, among His people.

The Assyrians were out to devastate God’ people.

Wipe them out completely.

God claimed that this would not happen. Although God had permitted a great deal of devastation to occur, a total annihilation was out of the question. God’s passion, or “zeal” as stated in verse 32, for His people, allowed God to maintain a remnant for himself.

I keep thinking as we read through the book of Isaiah, how similar things today seem to how things were during the time Isaiah wrote this book.

We have Sennacherib’s around us, everywhere. Christianity is not only under attack from the outside, it is also under attack from within. Everywhere we look, it seems the enemy is winning. Many of us question what is going on, where is God in all of this? Could God’s response be that like Sennacherib He has permitted a great deal of devastation to occur, yet a total annihilation is out of the question. God’s passion, or “zeal” as stated in verse 32, for His people, allows God to maintain a remnant for himself. If so, are we part of that remnant?

Then in verses 33-35 we read where God’s promises were summed up. Isaiah makes one negative assertion and one positive assertion about what will happen. He then gives a reason for each assertion. The negative assertion was that the Assyrians will not attack the Jerusalem. Not only will they not conquer the city, they won’t even “shoot an arrow” against it. This does not bode well for Assyria to have Hezekiah not even be part of a battle. What will all the other rebels against Assyria think?

But not only will the Assyrians not mount a siege against the city, they will be leaving the area completely. Let it be known, the reason this will happen has nothing to do with Hezekiah,

No.

He has been pushed out of the picture.

Sennacherib has challenged God, and now we are going to see which king is right, God or Sennacherib.

The final verses, 36-38 are terse and matter-of-fact. It is as though it were just another day in Jerusalem. No frills, no excitement, God simply sends the angel of death.

Done deal.

A hundred and eighty-five thousand men found dead. Now what do you have to say about that Sennacherib?

But the angel wasn’t finished.

Sennacherib may have thought that by going home he was safe. Especially while worshipping in the temple of his god.  Oops! His own sons cut him down and then flee. Who was stronger?

Hezekiah demonstrated wisdom, to trust in God, rather than in nations. The result of humility placed in the right hands.

When we look back at Hezekiah’s prayer we see that it was a wonderful antidote to pagan prayer. He was in no way trying to manipulate God. He did not suggest that God owed him or his people anything. His focus was on God’s character and God’s nature. He didn’t offer to do something for God should God perform in a certain way. Hezekiah’s main concern was that God be known in the world, correctly,  for who He is, and he seeks for that to happen, somehow in the midst of the oppressor’s boasts. Hezekiah realized he was unable to fix things and should circumstances turn out positive, he would need to let God take control.

Unfortunately, that is not how many of us pray.

Pagan ways of thinking have an insidious way of slipping into our practices without our even being aware of it, especially when it comes to prayer. Let’s begin with looking at the economic theory the United States has adopted. Not that it is inherently evil, but there is something slightly perverse about our constant wish to get the greatest return for the smallest outlay. Isn’t it interesting that we are not encouraged to ask,

“Where can I make the greatest contribution?”

but rather, we are encouraged to think,

“Where can I get the biggest return with the least amount of input from me?”

Like that is supposed to make us profitable and successful?

If you ask me, this is what drives the gambling instinct and definitely what drives the pagan thought. The world thinks like this: “I know what my needs are, and I must find the means to supply those needs at the least cost to myself.”

Contrast that statement to what the Bible suggests: “Your transcendent Creator-Father knows what your needs are, before you do, and wants to supply them out of His bounty. In order to receive that supply, give yourself away to Him without reservation.”

The human side of us answers like Adam and Eve, or like the man with one talent in Matthew 25:25,

“We’re afraid of God.” Or,

“The price you are asking God, is too high.”

Our fear makes us think,

“Maybe God will take our all and give nothing back.”

A lie, straight from the pits of hell.

But we listen, and we begin to think that the pagan option looks good. So we decide to find ways to manipulate God and make Him give us what we want/need, while keeping ourselves to ourselves. And what do we gain?

Well, for Christians, much of our religious life begins to change, in subtle but significant ways.

We continue to go to church, we continue to read our Bible, we tithe, we pray, we reject sin, but we do these things all as a means of manipulation. Slowly, but surely these behaviors begin to take on the shape of idolatry. We are no longer doing these out of love for God but they become mechanical devices, whose purpose is to get the maximum out of God with the minimum of investment of themselves.

Isaiah argues against such activities throughout his book. He did so in the first chapter and will do so again in chapter 58. Unlike pagan religious activities, biblical rites have no efficacy in and of themselves. It doesn’t matter how many hail marys you state. In and of themselves they are useless, unless they are recognized as being symbols of an interpersonal relationship between God and the worshipper. Jesus addressed this point when He told His disciples how not to pray in Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Let’s choose to pray and live like Hezekiah. Let’s give ourselves to God absolutely and without limit. Hezekiah was about at the bottom of his life. He heard what Sennacherib was saying, and parts of it were true, and the parts that were true, meant that on an earthly plain, Hezekiah and the Israelites were toast, goners.

It’s at that point in his life, and ours, that God has an opportunity to demonstrate His love for us and His power over all things. And when God is asked to step in, like in the prayer of Hezekiah, and we allow Him to rescue us, we develop a special reassurance of God’s great love for us. What began as bad news, becomes the best news of all: God truly loves us regardless of the situation we have gotten ourselves into. God desires that we lay our supposed needs at His feet for Him to supply as He sees best. This kind of prayer is not a sort of manipulation. Now we are talking of about a conversation between a trusting child and a loving Father.

You see, God has been revealing Himself long before Jesus Christ was born. The Hebrews were able to say, “We know God and commend Him to you because we have seen Him at work in context of our experience.”

Can you honestly give a similar account? Have you experienced God in such a way that you can claim that you have seen Him at work in the context of your experience? After reading today’s Scripture, that is certainly what Hezekiah would have claimed. He was at the end of his rope, and he took that end and set it before the Lord and the next morning, there were a hundred and eighty-five thousand men dead in his enemies camp.

What if Hezekiah had never brought the letter to God? What if He had simply stated “Whoa is me? Where is God?” Hezekiah didn’t ask where God was, He went to God’s temple, where he knew he would be and he talked with Him.

He brought the letter, the threat and he didn’t ask for God to save Him, he asked God what God was going to do with the threat Sennacherib was making against God’s integrity. Hezekiah knew he was already doomed, but God wasn’t about to let a personal offense go unaddressed.

Are we as concerned about God or are we concerned more about ourselves? Our culture teaches us to take care of ourselves, first. The Bible tells us to serve God and others first. Which one is correct?

The God who wiped out the Assyrian army is still alive and active today. Regardless of the popular view, or even the majority view, I encourage you to stand on the Biblical view of placing God first and trusting Him to take care of your needs. Remember, He is the one in charge of who goes on and off the stage of life.

Let’s pray.