Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to Yahweh’s house, and spread it before Yahweh. Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to defy the living God. Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God alone.””
(2 Kings 19:14-19)

“In Judah, God is known.
    His name is great in Israel.
His tabernacle is also in Salem.
    His dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flaming arrows of the bow,
    the shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.”
(Psalm 76:1-3)

“A revelation about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Yahweh is a jealous God and avenges. Yahweh avenges and is full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he maintains wrath against his enemies. Yahweh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Yahweh has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel languish. The flower of Lebanon languishes. The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him. Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. What do you plot against Yahweh? He will make a full end. Affliction won’t rise up the second time. For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble. One has gone out of you who devises evil against Yahweh, who counsels wickedness.”
(Nahum 1:1-11)

Hezekiah was facing the destruction of his nation, his city, and his kingship. The challenges weren’t just against him, but they also mocked the ability of Yahweh God to save them. Hezekiah could have taken offense. He could have given up. Instead, he took the matter to the Lord and laid it all out before God. He based his decision on the truth that God brought them up out of Egypt to show the nations of the world that He was THE God, the ONLY God, and was the God of Israel. Though the nation had split and Hezekiah was king of Judah, he refused to let go of his trust that God WAS God, WAS able to save them, and WOULD defend His people – who were following Him and worshipping Him properly (obeying His commandments and statutes). Because they were keeping the covenant with God, Hezekiah was certain God would keep the covenant as well and deliver them. He left it totally in the Lord’s hands.

Because Judah honoured the Lord and did not despair. Because they brought their plight to Him and let Him handle it. Because they looked to Him as the source of their deliverance and salvation. Because they humbled themselves before Him, He honoured that worship. That commitment. That TRUST.

Over a hundred years previously, God had made a prophetic statement through Jonah to these enemies of Judah (Jonah 3:1-3). When God prophesies, it is EITHER a prophetic promise or a prophetic warning – depending on what WE do with His words. The people of Nineveh at that time heeded the warning, repented, and turned to God. But time had passed. They had slipped into old behaviours. And they were once again revelling in their wickedness. God’s word had NOT passed away. It was still LIVING and ACTIVE. What had been a warning because of their repentance, became a promise because of their return to wickedness. They attacked His people and mocked His ability to save them. But they were wrong. God saved His people and destroyed them for their wickedness – wickedness they CHOSE to revel in.

Summary

God honours those who honour Him. If we lift Him up and glorify Him, He will lift us up and reward us. It is our humbleness that lifts Him up. It is our humbleness that glorifies Him. It’s not about being joyful at the victory, it’s being joyful and acknowledging that God is the One who GAVE us the victory. We don’t have to wait for the victory to proclaim it either. We can look forward to His solution, His victory, His conquering. We can praise Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is GOING to do. There is no time restrictions. God is God and God WILL win. We need to bring our issues to Him and then leave Him in charge of them. Let Him solve them. Our job is to thank Him for what He does, listen for what we need to do, and then obey what He tells us. He won’t forget. He won’t be unjust. And He WILL honour us if we honestly honour Him.