Breaking The Cycle In A Land Misled-5

BREAKING The CYCLE In A LAND MISLED--V—

2Kings 16:1-4; 18:1-7(16:01-18; 18:01-07, 14-16, 17-18; 19:1-7, 14-20, 35-37)

Overcoming Political Acquiescence

Overcoming The Politics of Spiritual Acquiescence.

Attention:

“America was founded by people who believed that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.”—Ronald Reagan

•King Ahaz of Judah’s reign was marked/defined by political expediency, acquiescence, & compliance.

•A land defined by those things is misled & to be pitied.

•Why/How should the cycle of misleading be broken?

•18 reasons for breaking the cycle of misleading in our land.

*In a misled land there is much that is Wasted, until that cycle of mismanagement is broken.

Previously, we’ve found that...

The cycle must be broken in a ‘misled’ land, because in it there is Wasted...

1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)

2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)

3. YOUTH(16:2)

4. TIME(16:2)

5. CHOICE(16:2)

6. HERITAGE(16:2)

7. DEPENDENCE(16:3-4)

8. CONFIDENCE(16:5)

9. EFFORT(16:6)

10. ALLEGIANCE(16:7)

11. AID(16:8-9)

12. PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY(16:10-18)

13. TRANSITION(18:1-7)The cycle has potential to break!

14. PROTECTION(18:13-16)

15—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...

INTIMIDATION(18:17-18)

Explanation:(18:17-18)The cycle is beginning to break!

18:17-18—“Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, & the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up & came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went & stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, & Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.”

The Assyrian king Sennacherib had sent 3 officers to Judah’s King Hezekiah rather than come himself. Sennacherib’s pride would not allow him to initiate an approach to an ‘underling’ like Hezekiah.

However, King Hezekiah boldly returns the favor & does not meet with Sennacherib’s officers face-to-face!

Hezekiah’s actions are a stance of defiance against the most powerful & influential nation of the day(prominent/infamous/formidable), Assyria!

The following are not personal names but rather titles of government/military officials associated with Assyrian hierarchy. These three men are the upper echelon of Assyrian military commanders. The meanings of these titles are somewhat tenuous.

1)“Tartan”—‘Commander-In-Chief’

2)“Rabsaris”—‘Chief Eunuch’ or ‘Chief Courtier’—He would have acted as the official scribe who handled the documentation of the events.

3)“Rabshakeh”—‘Chief Cupbearer’ or ‘Chief Officer’ or ‘Chief of Staff’ or ‘Governor’—This man obviously handled the face-to-face speaking with the enemy(18:19-35).

Illustration:

Consider a time when you were in the right but were ‘intimidated’ by someone’s presence & maybe backed down. You were fearful!

Consider what would have happened if you had spoken up.

Some people are intimidated by the pastor, or by the deacon, or by the committee head. They may see something clearly out of kilter but say nothing. Why?...Intimidation/Fear

Negatively:

Some people are masters of using intimidation to their advantage—intellectual/economic/business & political constituency--Anyone who can be talked into agreeing with them, ‘friends’, or allies.

Positively:

Christian faith is not just to be shared with the unsaved, other Christians learn & are empowered thru our faith!

•Keeps you from saying-doing-thinking something unwise!

Like Hezekiah’s, your faith in Christ Jesus is actually Intimidating to a lost world...That’s why people try to shut you up when you start talking about a personal relationship with Jesus.

Your faith can be so intimidating to the belief of God’s people, that it prayerfully brings them closer to God.

READ YOUR BIBLE, MEDITATE/ruminate upon it & PRAY it!

Application:

?Is there INTIMIDATION that has gone to waste in our/your Land’s Governance?

?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?

16—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...

PATH(19:1-7)

Explanation:(19:1-7)The cycle is breaking!

19:1-7—“And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, & went into the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, & the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, & rebuke, & blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, & will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Surely I will send a spirit upon him, & he shall hear a rumor & return to his own land; & I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”