A Proper Response To Crisis Series

Subject: A Proper Response to Crisis

Text: Isaiah 38:1-8

Isa 38:1 “About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” 2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. 4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city. 7 “‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial[a] of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.”

Introduction: Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”

We have assurance that life is filled with times and seasons of change, often we are caught by surprise. Have you ever been caught by surprise in a crisis? Believers caught in crisis may be a difficult subject to address because of todays’ social climate. With so many Gospels being preached, many followers of Christ seem confused about how to respond to crisis and how to act when life takes an unexpected turn. Some believe godly living, sound faith and positive thinking will exempt them from all the trials of life. Yet, in our text, Hezekiah, a godly king of Judah and Jerusalem finds himself in a dilemma. Isaiah, his scribe, and friend comes with an unexpected message. The prophet Isaiah for many years had approached the kings of Judah with the word of God, proclaiming God’s call to repentance, God’s promise of protection and God’s promise of future blessings. The nation was encouraged to seek God’s forgiveness and be spared from judgment. Much of Isaiah prophecies were rejected, now the prophet received a new message for the king and the nation. Although Isaiah pronounced judgment, he knew that holy love, devoted zeal and sincere repentance would restore God’s mercy and blessing.

In response to the prophet, King Hezekiah and his people turned to God with repentance, and uprightness. God intervened by saying that the nation of Assyria would not be allowed to invade Jerusalem. The pending invasion was a crisis of danger! When the nation of Judah seemed without hope, Isaiah became their intercessor like Moses, the prophet of old, and God granted deliverance to Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a great and good king, who followed in the way of great-grand father King Uzziah. Hezekiah abolished idolatry, and even destroyed the brazen serpent which Moses had built. He brought about a great reformation during his reign of Judah.

Hezekiah’s trouble began when he refused to pay the tribute which his father had paid and rebelled against the king of Assyria. The enemies of life will not allow you to leave without a fight. Whenever you are trying to break the yoke of bondage, addiction, poverty, expect a fight! Hezekiah’s act of rebellion led to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib and his army. The Assyrian army took 40 cities of Judah and now were besieging the Holy city, Jerusalem itself. Finally, Hezekiah yielded to the demands of the Assyrian king and agreed to pay him 300 talents of Silver and 30 talents of Gold. Sennacherib dealt treacherously with Hezekiah and chose to invade Judah again two years later.