2 KINGS 18 AND 19 (SUMMARY OF A READING)

^[p. 196] 2 KINGS 18 AND 19 (SUMMARY OF A READING)

2 Kings 18:13-25; 2 Kings 18:37; 2 Kings 19: 1 - 7

It would seem if we are to get a right bearing of these scriptures that we must go back to the prophetic word given to Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father as recorded in Isaiah 7: 3, “Jehovah said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, thou and thy son Shear-jashub” and “If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established”, Isaiah 7: 9. Jehovah was still waiting on the house of David with a view to their recovery and with a view to there being a remnant. The name of the prophet’s son, Shear-jashub means, ‘A remnant shall return’. I suggest that that word is the key to Hezekiah’s history and the key to the ways of God occurrent today. God’s thought and work is that there shall be a remnant that shall return to full confidence in Him. As we know, Ahaz had no faith. I suppose that no man ever had a better opportunity to have faith: God sent him this special message and told him to ask for a sign “in the deep, or in the height above”. Ahaz was so unbelieving that he would not take advantage of God’s wonderful offer but what the father missed the son, Hezekiah, got. It is very interesting to see that just at this juncture such wonderful prophecies concerning Christ were brought in. These prophecies are among the most precious of any in the Old Testament, and they are brought in at this time as though God would encourage by any means the faith of the remnant. All these prophetic words in Isaiah 7, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11 and so on were to encourage the faith of the remnant. If God was going to do such things by Christ that is the measure He will do for His people. The remnant are not to be afraid of what is going ^[p. 197] on however great their pressure may be. We do not always obtain what we start with. Hezekiah gave great place to the prophetic word; we are told at the beginning of the chapter that he trusted in Jehovah, his heart was set to carry out what was right in the sight of Jehovah. He had paid attention to the prophetic word through Isaiah and understood that a remnant would return but after fourteen years he was not so bright. Fourteen years of prosperity weakened the power of the prophetic word in his soul; that is like us. How many of us here tonight are at the top point of our spiritual history? Is this the brightest spot in my spiritual history this minute? How many of us could say, Thank God it is? After fourteen years of prosperity Hezekiah lost his confidence in God. He was one of the best kings of Judah but he lost his confidence; he had not kept near the pool and highway and fuller’s field. It was there that the prophet met him. There is a suggestion in these things of cleansing and purifying influences; it was a spot selected by Jehovah. He says, Meet king Ahaz there at “the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field”, Isaiah 7: 3. It speaks of purifying and cleansing; that is how the remnant returns. If that does not go on, our confidence goes down; we cannot keep confidence in God without purifying influences in the soul. We find that Hezekiah is not so bright after those fourteen years and when the king of Assyria comes up he does not think of God. How solemn! He does not pray or send to Isaiah or go to the house of Jehovah. He falls back on his own plans. He has lost the remnant character and this history shows how he recovered it. God brought tremendous pressure on him, and that was to produce true remnant character. God brings pressure on the remnant; God has a rod and His great thought is the return of the remnant. If we get to the counsels of heaven, we shall find out what God has in view in what He permits in the world, and that it is the remnant ^[p. 198] which has the first place in God’s thoughts. The great prophetic word summed up is, ‘A remnant shall return’ — Shear-jashub. Isaiah was to take him with him. If Ahaz did not return, God saw to it that a remnant did return. He sees to it today that a remnant shall return. God is with us. The important decree that went out from Caesar Augustus (Luke 2: 1) was ordered of God because it had bearing on what was happening at Bethlehem. It was important that there should be a remnant at Bethlehem at the right time. In all the pressure that is coming on Europe at the present time, God’s thought is that there should be a remnant. We need pressure. See what Hezekiah came to; he started so well, but in fourteen years he had so wandered that he had lost all confidence in God. That is like you and me. What else is worth thinking of apart from relations with God and with Christ which are the great thing? If I lost everything in this world and my link with God and with Christ was strengthened, I have made a good exchange. I hope it is the holy ambition of each one of us to be in the remnant who had to return.

I believe the virgin daughter of Zion is found in two men, Isaiah and Hezekiah. They gave up all confidence in schemes of their own and had full confidence in God. They can laugh the Assyrian to scorn. The virgin character is to mark every local company of saints. The upper pool suggests purifying influences of an elevated character. If we are not prepared to abide by the pool and the fuller’s field where our garments are made white we shall never form part of the remnant or be able to laugh the Assyrian to scorn. The fuller’s field is where the garments are made white. What good are we for testimony if our garments are not purified in the fuller’s field? The world will always try and overcome us; if it does not succeed one way it tries another. We find here in the early part of the chapter that Hezekiah was not thinking of God.

^[p. 199] His soul had gone down. He proposes to buy off the Assyrian and takes the treasures from the house of God to do it. This shows that if we compromise with the powers of the world it involves the surrender of what is due to God. God is working to get rid of the element of laxity; He takes account of us as we are. If we have loose principles and surrender what is due to God He will see to it and bring enough pressure on us to crush it out of us if we are to have place in the remnant. It is a peculiar test today as to what our confidence is. Are we on the same lines as the world around us or is every saint shining like a star amid the blackness around? Amid the blackness of this world’s night every saint should shine like a star.

A beautiful word had been uttered before this time in Isaiah 10: 20, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob shall no more again rely upon him that smote them; but they shall rely upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God”. What a character! The remnant is relying on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel in truth. Our spiritual value is measured by how much we rely on the blessed God.

We find in chapter 19 how beautifully the remnant does return. When the message is brought to Hezekiah, he rent his garments and went into the house of Jehovah. He sends the men mentioned to Isaiah and calls on him to pray for the remnant that is left. It is beautiful the way he received the letter: he “went up into the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah”. He is a fully restored man. The remnant has no resource save to pray, but we must not forget that these are weapons more powerful than anything the world knows about. The enemy is often surprised when he has observed our decline perhaps for fourteen years and thinks we shall be easy prey, he forgets ^[p. 200] the work of God can quickly restore one who has been going down for that time. The king of Assyria thought that Hezekiah had destroyed the worship of Jehovah. Satan does not know everything; the simplest saint knows much more than Satan about moral things. Satan understands the man after the flesh thoroughly but he knows nothing about the new man. If I walk in the new man, the creation of God, Satan does not know the least about me. He says to God, Touch job “and see if he will not curse thee to thy face!” Job 2: 5. Satan does not know anything about a saint. As soon as I move on natural lines I come within the knowledge of Satan at once; he had no knowledge of the Son of God or he would never have suggested such things to Him as he did at the temptation; he would have known it was hopeless. No doubt he observed the Holy Child growing up for thirty years and watched His ways, yet he did not know Him one bit or he would never have suggested what he did.

It is beautiful to see Hezekiah cover himself with sackcloth, showing that the prophetic word was in his heart. Now in the time of distress he turns to Isaiah. Great pressure may come on the world, and we may have to live through scenes little thought of; what is going to be our resource, what are we going to live on? Only one thing, the prophetic word God has sent us in His Son is as substantial in the darkest day as in the brightest day. What is of God and worthy of Himself cannot be obscured by anything that happens.

One of the worst things about decline is that the heart is so slow to admit to itself that it has declined. People who have gone down in their souls do not know it and will not admit it; they think they are all right; that is the hardening influence of departure. Hebrews speaks of being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. If we are away from the Lord we are in sin. Purifying influences are always there, the ^[p. 201] great influence is the word and to be among the brethren is purifying. We come out of the atmosphere of the world in coming together. It is a dreadful thing when saints forsake the assembling of themselves together; they are on the road to destruction. We know how purifying it is to get among the saints when the word of God leaves its mark on every heart. In the poorest meeting we were ever in we have heard something about God and about Christ and about His Spirit, holy influences are there. We need to learn the value of what is holy. It is most important that we should not neglect the prayer meeting; you are encouraged there by those who have more faith than yourself. It is a question of faith and nothing else will do. God will see to it if conditions come about that nothing but faith will go through. The moment the remnant returns we shall all be concerned about return. None of us will dare to say there is no need for me to return. We all need in some measure to return. The result is the greatest triumph. Nowhere in Scripture is there such a note of triumph as here, “The virgin-daughter of Zion despiseth thee, laugheth thee to scorn”.

Hezekiah is a wonderful picture for us, he not only returns so that he can laugh at the Assyrian but in the next chapter there is a greater exercise. He is sick to death, he learns something about himself that is worse than the Assyrian. It is something if the world is brought to recognise that there are persons who are overcomers. It is a wonderful favour from God that the government of this country has had to recognise there are certain persons living in Great Britain who are different from others and that their exercises and convictions command respect. It is beautiful to see that God has this great thought, the remnant shall return. It is a sovereign thought in the ways of God today, “I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory”, 2 Timothy 2: 10. That is the remnant. God made use of the Assyrian to bring a little true remnant character in Hezekiah and Isaiah and others so that the virgin daughter came to light.

We can rely on an immediate answer if it is requisite and if we are in the position that we must have an answer this minute, but if it will do next week we may have to wait until then for it. It “shall be given you in that hour” the Lord says (Mark 13: 11). We cannot imagine the blessed God being behind time.

It is beautiful to see Hezekiah’s self-judgment in his sackcloth. He had gone through something to get to sackcloth; he had to pass through fourteen years decline; and then he got to fellowship in Isaiah. It is most encouraging in a day of pressure. When God put this word of triumph into the mouth of the virgin daughter He had gained a great point and soon dealt with the Assyrian.