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Post by oliverwithatwist on Mar 8, 2024 15:22:58 GMT -5
Thank you! I can't wait till this age is over and Jesus reigns on earth. AMEN! |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
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Post by fearnot on Mar 13, 2024 10:28:02 GMT -5
A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for the one who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.
Isaiah 35:8
This will be for God's chosen both the Messianic Jews, and Christians.
No harm can come to them.
This is a road of beauty, peace and Holiness.
it reminds us of this verse:
Jesus *said to him,
“I am the way,
and the truth,
and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6
Not only will they be safe from ungodly wicked foolish men,
but also from any fierce wild animal.
No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious animal go up on it;
They will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,
9
Nothing will be a threat to their safety!
They will walk with confidence and security!
Not even satan who walks around like a lion:
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Jesus bought them with His blood!
They are redeemed.
And the redeemed of the LORD
will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10
Joy and gladness will forever replace
sorrow, tears, or sadness!
What a wonderful future!
What a blessing to look forward to!
It can't come too soon for me!!
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with
the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18
Also:
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with joyful shouting.
Psalm 126:5
and
When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
Proverbs 11:10
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Mar 13, 2024 10:58:54 GMT -5
 I love that part! I can almost imagine it in my mind. That will happen after Jesus returns and "all Israel" has been saved. Satan will have been locked away till the end of our Lord's reign, when he will be allowed out for a short time after which he will be locked away in Hell forever. What a wonderful time that will be!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 13, 2024 14:15:05 GMT -5
I agree Cindy...
what a wonderful time!!
Amen!!
Thank you oliver :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 14, 2024 14:35:34 GMT -5
Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,
Sennacherib king of Assyria
marched against all the fortified cities
of Judah and seized them.
Isaiah 36:1
Isaiah had predicted the crises, devastating blows, grievous adversities, etc.
that would come upon his nation...
but also, that God would be merciful.
God often intends such histories,
to be testimonies for future generations....
and
as examples for others watching.
It reminds me of God saying this to Pharoah:
For if by now I had put forth My hand
and struck you and your people with pestilence,
you would then have been cut off from the earth.
But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain,
in order to show you My power
and in order to proclaim My name
through all the earth.
Exodus 9:15,16
On to verse two.
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh
from Lachish to Jerusalem
to King Hezekiah with a large army.
And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool
on the road to the fuller's field.
Isaiah 36:2
Rabshakeh seemed to be the official spokesman for Sennacherib.
The conduit of the upper pool was where Isaiah,
approximately forty years earlier,
had been commanded to meet Ahaz,
and he tried,
without success, to dissuade,
Ahaz from trusting in foreign powers.
Hezekiah being eager for peace sent out these
three important officers of Judah as intermediaries:
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household,
and Shebna the scribe,
and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary,
went out to him.
Isaiah 36:3
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 14, 2024 18:28:47 GMT -5
Double post
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Post by Cindy on Mar 16, 2024 11:13:29 GMT -5
True, and now all the history of the old testament is for us to learn from. To bad our government doesn't learn from it, huh?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 16, 2024 16:22:43 GMT -5
Cindy: Indeed, but it does not seem it does?
At least, It doesn't seem that way to me....
So like you said some time ago,
our country is under God's judgment,
and I can only think, it is going to get worse,
and I am thinking that could be rather quickly!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 16, 2024 16:56:05 GMT -5
And Rabshakeh said to them,
"Say now to Hezekiah,
'This is what the great king,
the king of Assyria says:
"What is this confidence that you have?
Isaiah 36:4
Some ambassador, he rudely omits any title concerning King Hezekiah
but calls his 'king' the great king!
A lot of hubris, arrogance, and intimidation but not very diplomatic!
Rather this was disdainful treatment of the 3 Jewish delegates.
However, he was right concerning the unreliableness of Egypt.
"I say,
'Your plan and strength for the war
are only empty words.'
Now on whom have you relied,
that you have revolted against me?
Isaiah 36:5
The Egyptian words, were in fact, worthless,
leaving Judah defenseless.
Unreliable words are no help in war!
"Behold, you have relied on the staff
of this broken reed, on Egypt,
on which if a man leans,
it will go into his hand and pierce it.
So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
Isaiah 36:6
Well, as rude, puffed up and arrogant as Rabshakeh was,
his evaluation, of Egypt, was pretty much in alignment with Isaiah.
This is a good council, and can be an application for us today:
To put your trust in man, and not God,
is a mistake,and foolish,
in any time, year or season.
Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Mar 19, 2024 12:09:42 GMT -5
True! I love the way Hezekiah dealt with what happened!(it's in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-33.) What an inspiration!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 20, 2024 18:01:45 GMT -5
"But if you say to me,
'We trust in the LORD our God,'
is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away
and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem,
'You shall worship before this altar'?
Isaiah 36:7
Rabshakeh mistakenly thought that Hezekiah,
had removed all the altars of Yahweh,
and thus they had no chance to worship God.
He is attempting to weaken Hezekiah's
resolve, strength, and hope for help
from man or God.
The Assyrians were polytheistic,
so removing false idols,
did not make sense to Rabshakeh.
"Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria:
I will give you two thousand horses,
if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
Isaiah 36:8
More deeming taunts and scorn.
In fact, I do not think most Jews were skilled horsemen,
and they did not have a cavalry.
It was not that Hezekiah had only a few men,
just that he did not have many skilled riders of horses.
Thus the implication is to say, just surrender!
"How then can you drive back even one official
of the least of my master's servants
and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
Isaiah 36:9
In this Rabshakeh,was correct,
mainly, that Egypt was unreliable.
And he continues his insolent boasting,
saying that even the very least/weakest of the Assyrians,
were so much stronger and powerful, than the Jews.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Mar 21, 2024 11:44:49 GMT -5
Yep, and all the stuff he's saying reminds me of what the world tries to put in our minds every day. Not a day goes by that we don't hear or see things that are meant to cause us to put our trust in other things and other people instead of God.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 24, 2024 8:04:20 GMT -5
I agree with you Cindy!!!
No man (President etc.)is going to be our savior,
nor AI,
etc.
Only Jesus.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 24, 2024 8:41:55 GMT -5
And have I now come up without the LORD'S approval
against this land to destroy it?
The LORD said to me,
'Go up against this land and destroy it."
Isaiah 36:10
Rabshakeh boasts that God has commanded him to punish the Jews...
therefore they should surrender, because to resist, would be in vain,
because they would be fighting against God.
So with these threatening words and ploy, he hoped to win a quick surrender.
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh,
"Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,
for we understand it;
and do not speak to us in Judean
so that the people who are on the wall hear you."
Isaiah 36:11
Even though Rabshakeh's words were slanderous and false,
Hezekiah's representatives understood, that the people
might be alarmed and terrified,
thinking that maybe God,
has sided with the Assyrians.
So they ask Rabshakeh to switch speaking in Hebrew to Aramaic.
But instead Rabshakeh intensifies his rhetoric, giving graphic
examples of the horrors of starvation.
But Rabshakeh said,
"Has my master sent me only to your master
and to you to speak these words,
and not to the men who sit on the wall,
doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"
Isaiah 36:12
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Mar 24, 2024 11:07:27 GMT -5
Our pastor was telling us what he saw in a country that was in a famine. He said the children especially would quite literally go outside and make "mud pies", just like many of us did a little children. The difference is that they actually ate theirs because all though there was no nutrition in it, it did stop the hunger pains. Sad, isn't it?
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Post by oliverwithatwist on Mar 24, 2024 14:09:01 GMT -5
This rock we live on is one miserable place.
I feel so blessed. Saved by grace and faith in the Lord Jesus, in decent health for my age, food to eat, old but dry house to live in, etc. I am blessed, a saved sinner.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 25, 2024 16:05:13 GMT -5
Cindy: Wow! That is sad!!!
I think, I heard something similar at one time, but cannot remember where or exactly what, now.
But yes, that is so sad!
And Oliver:
I totally agree with you!!
Can basically say the same thing!
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Post by Cindy on Mar 26, 2024 9:52:06 GMT -5
Amen Oliver!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Mar 28, 2024 15:24:13 GMT -5
Then Rabshakeh stood
and called out
with a loud voice
in Judean and said,
"Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
Isaiah 36:13
Kind of reminds me of what happens today,
when logic, and truth etc.
come against those spewing,
lies and false word...
,
and they are not getting the results,
they want...
then, one of their tactics is to yell!
Rabshakeh wants to destroy faith in King Hezekiah,
but even more so, in God.
Showing great disrespect to the ambassadors,
who had asked him NOT to do so...
Rabshakeh rebelliously speaks in the Hebrew/Jewish language.
And sort of like Satan, he, in pride,
exaggerates and boasts, about the power
of his king.
"This is what the king says:
'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you,
for he will not be able to save you;
Isaiah 36:14
Rabshakeh now uses another tactic,
instead of talking about facts and/or solutions,
he instead, attacks
( falsely),
the character of the person, he is opposing...
and in addition: lies about the person!
He states ( lies),
that it is Hezekiah, who is the deceiver and liar.
However, in one respect Rabshakeh, does state the truth...
by himself
( without God's help)
Hezekiah cannot save them.
People today often make the same mistake,
thinking this or that politician or President,
will save them.
But, as I mentioned before, Rabshakeh,
does not only disrespect Hezekiah,
in a way, he is being used by the devil/Satan
to diminish and disrespect God.
and do not let Hezekiah lead you to rely on the LORD, saying,
"The LORD will certainly save us.
This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!"
Isaiah 36:15
Which reminds me of this verse:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
I think this applies to the people then,
as it does now, today, in our time.
Done for Today
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Post by Cindy on Mar 29, 2024 10:39:13 GMT -5
So true. And since the media today can't yell, they just put out more and more lies and insist that the truth isn't true and that there really is no God.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 3, 2024 17:43:26 GMT -5
'Do not listen to Hezekiah,'
for this is what the king of Assyria says:
'Surrender to me and come out to me,
and eat, each one, of his vine
and each of his fig tree,
and each drink of the waters of his own cistern,
Isaiah 36:15
Noticing how Rabshakeh continues to be disrespectful
not giving King Hezekiah his full title,
but always, always giving his king the title of KING.
And he suggests, If they surrender,
that his king, will fill the Hebrews with abundance.
They get to eat from the fruit of their own labors.
But what he does NOT say is:
the cruel savage truth,
that the promised prosperity,
would “only”last,
until Sennacherib carried them away to Assyria.
until I come and take you away
to a land like your own land,
a land of grain and new wine,
a land of bread and vineyards.
Isaiah 36:16
So now he is a little more truthful,
it will be only for a time,
and then he ( the king of Assyria)
will have them deported.
so now we see,
that this condition,
will be far harder than the former!
They will be banished.
But Rabshakeh is attempting to lure them
with temptations, and pleasures of the world,
kind of reminds me of Satan.
And he like a magician, tries to hypnotize them,
into thinking, they really would not be losing, because
their new 'home' would be as good as, if not better,
than what they had.
And so of course, Rabshakeh thinking the God of the Jews,
was just another 'god' that the Assyrians had conquered,
no big deal!
But as often happens with liars,
they cannot keep their lies straight...
Because he had previously said:
Have I now come up without the Lord’s approval
against this land to destroy it?
The Lord said to me,
‘Go up against this land and destroy it.
Isaiah 36:10
Suggesting that the Lord, their God,
was very mighty, that he had to obey!!!
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Apr 4, 2024 11:47:18 GMT -5
Good one, thanks Barbara! Yes, the field commander was telling the people that they couldn't trust their military, their strategies, their king or their God, since it was God who had given them over to him. The people weren't completely stupid though. They knew that the Assyrian army had ruined their farms, orchards and vineyards, as they always did when conquering someplace. But God wants us to walk by faith and not by sight. That would have been really hard at that time, because things looked really bleak. But God always stands by His Word and He never fails to uphold it! That's the lesson I got from this portion, that no matter how bad things look, that I can trust God to always cause what happens to work out for His glory and in my best interest. But that requires that I keep myself from trying to manipulate the situation and/or people into how I want it to be. I love this note I have in my Bible about what it means to wait on God. It's really helped me a lot, so I'll share it here in case it will help someone else too:
Waiting on God does not mean being idle. It is active, daily obedience in the things you know to do with supreme confidence in His perfect, sovereign answer. Waiting on God means you know that He is at work when all appears silent and frozen. In His time, in His way, He will meet your needs and bring honor to His name. The correct way to hope and wait for the Lord is to steadfastly expect His mercy, His salvation, and His rescue, and while waiting, not take matters into your own hand.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 4, 2024 17:33:24 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy!!! I love your posts!!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 5, 2024 14:35:33 GMT -5
'Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?
Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?
And when have they saved Samaria from my hand?
Isaiah 36:19
Haha!
Even before reading any commentaries etc...
I am like a kid in classes jumping out of my seat, hand waving:
"I know, I know the answer!!
They were not 'gods' at all..
maybe they idols were made of wood and stone,
But.....There is only God!
So Rabshakeh is trying to make the claim that,
Yahweh was no better than the 'gods',
of the other nations
( whose 'gods' could not save them).
And so, he further boasts, to make clear his claim:
'Who among all the gods of these lands
have saved their land from my hand,
that the LORD would save Jerusalem from my hand?"
Isaiah 36:20
But actually, as one commentary pointed out:
It was NOT Sennacherib who had won those victories.
They belonged to Shalmaneser or Sargon, or Tiglath-pileser III.
So, even this boast, is a lie,
and pure insolence.
But further, I think, this could backfire,
as it is a stupid stupid, comparison,
and perhaps,
many of the Jews, would begin to see through this bluff?
Not to mention, he is treading on very dangerous ground,
suggesting that He ( and well the Assyrians, the King etc.),
will overthrow,
the all powerful, all knowing, infinite, eternal God.
It is useless to spread out a net
right where the birds can see it.
But sinners will fall into their own traps;
they will only catch themselves!
Proverbs 1:17,18
Still, this kind of puffed up foolish bragging and pride,
can and often is, in every person,
so we ought to
beware, and repent,
when it rears its ugly head in us.
But they were silent and did not answer him
so much as a word;
for the king's command was,
"Do not answer him."
Isaiah 36:21
Hezekiah, apparently saw this coming,
and prepared them, as to their response.
Just for starts, why should they answer such degrading disrespect!
In fact, even Jesus at his phoney trial did not answer:
He kept silent and answered nothing..........
Mark 14:61
Plus, they were being obedient to their king's command.
Further, they no doubt were in pain and were grieved.
There is a time to contend with wicked people,
(Jesus did that a LOT)...
and,
a time to be silent.
We see this in the next verse.
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
who was over the household,
and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary,
came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn,
and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
Isaiah 36:22
They were wounded in their hearts.
Their king and their God, had been highly insulted!
They were grieved, and in despair.
This was a dark moment.
I am thinking we must always remember,
when we might find ourselves,
in a similar state
BUT GOD.....
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 7, 2024 19:06:12 GMT -5
Now when King Hezekiah heard the report,
he tore his clothes,
covered himself with sackcloth,
and entered the house of the LORD.
Isaiah 37:1
The tearing of his ( King Hezekiah's) clothes,
was symbolic of his great grief,
regret, and need for forgiveness.
He went to the house of the Lord,
to confess his sins, and ask forgiveness.
Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household
with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests,
covered with sackcloth,
to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
Isaiah 37:2
This is a lesson for us today.
The best way to thwart the evil and
malicious designs of our enemies,
is to go to God, in prayer,
and to enlist the help of other godly believers.
In days of troubles,
we should be living in a day of much prayer.
They said to him (Isaiah),
“Thus says Hezekiah,
‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection;
for children have come to birth,
and there is no strength to deliver.
Isaiah 37:3
Hezekiah compares his crisis to,
a woman in labor,
who is too weak and helpless to make it happen.
However, our prayers, and Hezekiah's
is like God's midwife,
of grace, mercy, and loving favor.
Perhaps the Lord your God
will hear the words of Rabshakeh,
whom his master the king of Assyria
has sent to reproach the living God,
and will rebuke the words
which the Lord your God has heard.
Therefore, offer a prayer
for the remnant that is left.
Isaiah 37:4
Hezekiah has hope of mercy from God,
and for the Lord to avenge,
Rabshakeh's belittling God,
as if, the Lord were some idol of stone.
Hezekiah is now doing the right and godly thing,
asking Isaiah to pray for the remnant left in Jerusalem.
And indeed Isaiah offers King Hezekiah assurance, saying:
So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
Isaiah said to them,
“Thus you shall say to your master,
‘Thus says the Lord,
“Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard,
with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
Isaiah 37:5,6
God was quite aware of the blasphemy,
and thus, they ( Hezekiah and the remnant)
did not have to be afraid,
of those, who were God's enemy....
Judgement and ruin were their end.
Done for Today.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 8, 2024 16:26:52 GMT -5
Thank you Oliver!  |
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Post by Cindy on Apr 11, 2024 10:40:54 GMT -5
I enjoyed those last two!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
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Post by fearnot on Apr 12, 2024 10:48:04 GMT -5
"Behold, I am going to put a spirit
in him
so that he will hear news
and return to his own land.
And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land."
Isaiah 37:7
This is kind of a four part prophecy:
1) God would so incline Sennacherib's attitude and spirit in him,
(perhaps of fear)
Perhaps like this:
Now the Spirit of the LORD left Saul,
and an evil spirit from the LORD terrified him.
1 Samuel 16:14
2) that he would hear a rumor or news
3)so he would return back to his home
4)and there he would be eventually killed by a sword.
Then Rabshakeh returned
and found the king of Assyria
fighting against Libnah,
for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
Isaiah 37:8
Rabshakeh finds that Sennacherib is now fighting
a smaller town, Libnah (an easier conquest).
Note: Rabshakeh had not received
an answer of surrender from Jerusalem.
Now he heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of Cush,
"He has come out to fight against you,"
and when he heard it
he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Isaiah 37:9
Isaiah, in calling Tirhakeh,
'king of Cush',
is seeing forward to the time,
when he will be king.
thus, Isaiah anticipates Tirhakeh 'future' title.
Nevertheless, Tirhakeh is a threat to Sennacherib.
And this may be the reason (the rumor),
that caused Sennacherib to
leave Jerusalem.
"This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah:
'Do not let your God
in whom you trust deceive you by saying,
"Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."
Isaiah 37:10
So he sends messengers to Hezekiah summarizing,
and renewing their threats and
ultimatums.
Again, he insults God,
and accusing God of deception,
which is total and complete blasphemy,
against the God of truth.
This shows the utter pride of man,
exalting themselves above God,
in downright foolishness.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Apr 15, 2024 11:32:42 GMT -5
I always flinch when I read Isaiah 37:10 
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
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Post by fearnot on Apr 16, 2024 14:59:49 GMT -5
Wow!!! Good point Cindy!!!
And isn't that exactly what Satan did in the garden....
Same tactic, and NOT a good one!
In fact, like you said, we should flinch!!!
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I love that part! I can almost imagine it in my mind. That will happen after Jesus returns and "all Israel" has been saved. Satan will have been locked away till the end of our Lord's reign, when he will be allowed out for a short time after which he will be locked away in Hell forever. What a wonderful time that will be! 
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