“Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.” Psalm 37:37-38.
“But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” Psalm 37:39-40.
Psalm 37:37-38 was covered in Justice for the Just, Part 1 posted on 10-2-24 is quoted here for context. We will now begin this post with Psalm 37:39 above.
Now this word salvation in Psalm 37:39 is not in reference to eternal salvation, though that also comes from the Lord, no, here it refers to salvation in time of trouble.
Too often we first try to fix things ourselves without consulting the Lord. This is a grave error. The tendency is to react to a situation, rather than to allow the Lord room to work; for salvation is from the Lord.
You still have to use your brains, it is true, but God is in control.
For instance, if someone were to find a child floating in a swimming pool, the need is to jump in immediately and rescue the toddler. However, at the same time they and any bystanders should be praying to God for help in the rescue and the resuscitation. Assuredly the life of the child is in God’ s hand.
Prayer does not negate the need for speed, and action.
You ve heard the old sayings, “He who hesitates is lost” , and “Look before you leap” , as you can see they are in opposition to each other, but on the other hand they are each appropriate in a given situation.
The same can be said about prayer, to stand at the edge of the pool and pray for the child s welfare and rescue is inappropriate. Prayer and action are needed simultaneously.
Other situations may call for extended prayer and waiting, or perhaps a simple one before going into a job interview.
King Hezekiah is a good example of dependent prayer; the Assyrians had overrun the northern kingdom of Israel and were now planning to take Judah as well.
These were a cruel people and whole villages were known to commit suicide rather than be captured by them. Now Hezekiah was faced with this evil.
The accounts, which are better read, because they are fascinating, are located in, 2 Kings chapters 18-19, in 2 Chronicles chapter 32, and Isaiah chapters 36-37. This all occurred around 701 B.C., about 2,700 years ago.
Before getting to the point here, let us take a look at an interesting passage, this will be pivotal in your response to the story.
Second Chronicles chapter 31 mentions all the wonderful things that Hezekiah did, which included destroying all the heathen altars in Israel.
This account is of a man wholly serving the Lord. Then the very first verse of the next chapter says this.
“After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.” 2 Chronicles 32:1.
After all these deeds of faithfulness the rug was pulled out from under Hezekiah, not by God, but by Satan.
Do not be surprised if you live righteously before God and find yourself facing an unexpected trial in your life. Your response will determine your success in overcoming whatever trial has come upon you.
Hezekiah will be your example for the proper response, and remember he and his people are faced with death or enslavement, this is no small trial.
In a nutshell, the Assyrians have come to the very walls of Jerusalem and are calling out threats to the king and all the people if they do not surrender.
Hezekiah had anticipated this invasion and done much to fortify himself, this however was too little too late, and the enemy was at the gate. Having delivered the message, which included severe blasphemy against the God of Israel; the Assyrian representative left.
In anguish Hezekiah went to the temple to pray to the Lord, he then sent messengers to Isaiah the prophet asking him to intercede for the people, and for a word from God.
Isaiah’s reply was that God would defend the city and that not a weapon will be used against them.
The Assyrian king meanwhile has his hands full because of rumors that another nation is preparing to make war with him, and so sends a letter to King Hezekiah telling him not to rely on his God to save him, his ruin is inevitable.
“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord …” Isaiah 37:14-15.
What follows is a beautiful prayer glorifying God, extolling His power, and petitioning His salvation from this evil nation.
Then Isaiah the prophet sent a message to the king, saying thus says the Lord God of Israel, because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is what I will do.
God then stated that Assyria has blasphemed against Me, and He reaffirmed that Assyria will not so much as shoot an arrow over the wall or build a siege mound against the city; “For I will defend this city to save it” .
The angel of the Lord then went out into the camp of the Assyrians and killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand of them; leaders and men of valor.
The king of Assyria then returned in shame to his own country, where after a period of time he was murdered by his own sons in the temple of his god.
At the beginning of this trial, we find Hezekiah doing what he can to avoid a disaster, but no apparent prayer, though at one point while talking to the people he affirms his faith in God and in His delivering power. By this we can see that his faith is strong in spite of the circumstances.
This certainly resembles us in our response to hardship. Prayer, fasting, sackcloth and ashes, should have come at first warning, not as disaster was descending down on them.
But hindsight is 20/20 and we cannot judge these things, nevertheless it is a good example for us as to what our first response should be to trouble; lift your hands up in prayer.
Finally, as noted before, Hezekiah did what was right in God’s sight, and then an evil nation came against him.
This did not mean that God was angry with him or displeased with his service to Him, nor was God showing ingratitude. No this was proof that Hezekiah was making headway against Satan s kingdom of darkness.
Passages like these and others in Job show us too that trials from God are not necessarily due to our own sinfulness, but are often meant to refine us as Christians.
Even so we need to examine ourselves to be sure there is no unconfessed sin in our life.
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.” Hebrews 12:5-13.
Just think.
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32.
God gives us all things, discipline, security, and life eternal; justice will not be forgotten. Justice is as sure as the morning sunrise.
“And [after His resurrection] Jesus came and spoke to them [the disciples], saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” Matthew 28:18.
“The Father loves the Son [Jesus], and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:35-36.
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes [1 John 5:4-5] shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son [this includes all babies and children]. But [John 3:36] the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:1-8.
“He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21.
Justice for the Just, Part 2 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 7-28-15, updated on 10-5-24 ck.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.