"The God of All Nations" Sermon 7/6/25 at Eastminster on Hezekiah rev. dr. J. Ben Sloan

"The God of All Nations"  Eastminster by Rev. Dr. Ben Sloan  2 Kings 19:10-19, 32-37; 1 Pt. 5:6,7

Here is the vimeo video of the sermon: https://eastminsterpres.org/sermons/the-god-of-all-nations/

Picture of King Sennacherib mentioned in this passage: 

Below is the transcript: 

Hezekiah was in some ways, the greatest king of Judah.  18:3 says he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as David did.  Verse 5 even says, “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.”  Ironically, he was sandwiched between two of the worst kings.  His father- King Ahaz- had shut down the temple nailing its doors shut and then put up false idols in it.  His son, Manasseh sacrificed his son to foreign gods and rebuilt all the altars to other gods that his father had destroyed.  Manasseh was blamed for the exile of Judah and the first destruction of the Temple.   But Hezekiah tried to reform the faith.  He built up the Temple.  He had a nationwide Passover. He is responsible for the writing down of 5 chapters of the BIBLE (PROV. 25-29)  He built up the defenses of Jerusalem in 1838 Edward Robinson found the tunnel to the springs that he built to make sure Jerusalem had water and that those surrounding Jerusalem did not.  We know it is Hezekiah’s because of a Hebrew inscription dating back to his day.  There are many who are skeptical about almost everything the Bible says.  But this passage in particular has a lot of archaeological backing.  For almost 100 years (1750-1840) top critical scholars  could find no evidence of the existence of the Assyrian kingdom.  Yet the Biblical stories of Jonah, the book of Nahum, are all about them.  The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom and here they were defeated by Hezekiah- in what seems to be an unbelievable story.  But Austin Layard unearthed Nineveh and found a relief- picturing the king we are talking about- and 70 years later they found an inscription that Sennacherib says “I caged Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird.” And descriptions of his conquering all but Jerusalem- and then there is also evidence of his army’s sudden defeat and his assassination as described exactly in 2 kings 19 and Isaiah 37 and 2 Chronicles 32.  We have found references in Herodotus (a 5^th century Greek historian) to the Assyrians being destroyed by the work of a plague of field mice that stopped their Egyptian campaign.  and Berossus (a 3^rd century Babylonian historian) the Assyrian army was destroyed outside Jerusalem by a plague.  I am saying you to encourage you to not be like those who doubt because they couldn’t see what scripture was talking about.  In fact, that is one of the great lessons of this great passage- to trust in God. 

 

How do you feel about a Tropical Storm hitting today?  52% of Americans and 60% of all people experienced high stress in the last year to the point that they felt they could not cope (IPSOS 2024).  Where do you go in your stress and  anxiety?  According to the NIH, One in five Americans experience an anxiety disorder in a given year.  Anxiety is something all have some times.  It can be helpful to be anxious in a stressful situation, it is not good to be continually paralyzed so that you cannot live your life.  94% of Americans talk to others to relieve anxiety;  77% listen to music to calm anxiety;  Exercise, meditation, and more can be tools, creative activities can help, 20% use anti-anxiety drugs to help them; Many go to counseling.  I am not against any of these at all.  But the Christian has another tool that has proven itself across cultures, across horrible problems and across time- that we often neglect- deep prayer.  An NIH study says in general prayer lowers heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate- and puts us in a state of relaxation- if we believe God is not distant and cold toward us.  Scripture says Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.  Paul said it like this- “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Today’s story from Kings is a true story of high anxiety.   Hezekiah was told by his enemies that prayer is a waste of time- putting confidence in God is a losing proposition that has failed so many.  Hezekiah’s father and son would also give up on trusting in God and both times their kingdoms were ravished by enemies.  But Hezekiah called out to God anyway- and did not give up. 
     There were probably about 200,000 Assyrian soldiers lined up against Hezekiah’s small army of about a tenth of that size.  Already every other fortified town of Judah had fallen. The sister kingdom of Israel had fallen 722 BC 21 years before this happened. 
     Sennacherib’s messengers basically said, “No other god could save their people out of King Sennacherib’s hand- why should your god be any different?  Then they gave a false prophesy- that God had even told them to conquer them.”  This was clear blasphemy of the God of Israel.  There may be times when you feel like you have no strength, no power on your own.  Your mighty resources that you thought would last forever have disappeared- like in when the Trade Towers fell, or like in 2008’s housing crisis, or the Columbia flood, or whenCOVID took away all relationships, or uncertainty about AI or AGI, or even possibilities of nuclear war or terrorism…or maybe you have been told you have some illness, or lost your job, or lost the ones you depended on.  Then you are beginning to get a taste of what Hezekiah was feeling. 
      But Hezekiah cast his cares on the Lord- believing that God still cared for him.   Job cast his cares on the Lord believing God still cared for him.  Jesus cast his cares on the Lord though he was the suffering servant.  The disciples gave themselves fully to God.  The word “cast” is like “cast a net.”  The same word is used when they cast their coats before Jesus as he came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  They gave their coats up.  They cast their cares- giving control of them up to God.   Hezekiah tore his clothes- He asked God to hear their cry for mercy- and he humbled himself just as 1 Peter 5:6 says and as James 4:10 says- humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.
  To call on God in times of anxiety is not a passive act but an act of defiance against despair.  We are as someone described it “”grasping for God. Like a drowning person lunges for air.  We reach out not because we are strong but because we are wired to need Him.”  (David Zuccolot- Christian Post 6/9/25).  To call on God is not some kind of Christian stoicism.  It is not a surrender to fate- but to the One who cares for us.  This is countercultural.  The world will tell you to escape, to numb, to distract- maybe go on a vacation to someplace cooler and prettier- or “You NEED a shot, a pill, or whif of something.”  But when you come back from your escape- reality still awaits you.  Call out to Jesus. 

Some scholars say that in Mesopotamia and in much of the world each country had their own private god/goddess.  This is called henotheism or ethnotheism.  So Athens had Athena.  So Assyria had Asher; The Babylonians had Marduk;; So Egypt had Amon-Re; Troy had Apollos; Amaterasu for the Japanese.  The messengers of the King of Assyria said no other god could stand against the mighty kings of Assyria. The lesson of this passage is that the God who made the heaven and earth is not like every other idol.  No ruler can stand against the living God. It makes a difference what you believe.  There is no doubt that Isaiah and Hezekiah promoted the idea of monotheism- that God is the God not just of Jerusalem or Judah- but He is the Maker of Heaven and earth.  This is based on other scripture: Abraham’s promise (Gen 12) is that all nations would be blessed through him. Psalm 67 says, “May the peoples praise you- may all the people praise you.”  Hezekiah says (vs. 15,19) says, “You alone are god over all the kingdoms of the earth…19-Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”  A pretty bold statement in an anxious situation.    In this story- Hezekiah and Isaiah and the people all called out to God- casting their cares on Him for he cares for them.  The lesson here is not about military strategy as much as reliance on God to help us. Scripture does not say things like- mice came and gave the army disease, or they drank poisoned water because Hezekiah had blocked all the clean water.  Instead it says, “That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.”  To the writers of Isaiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles- it is not the means that is important- but it is seeing the hand of God working that is important.  Sure Hezekiah built up the walls, built water tunnels and stored food- sharpened spears.  But in the end Hezekiah wanted to give God the glory.  This story is amazing.  It is also testified to by archaeology and historians as well as three different chapters of the Bible that all say the same thing. But it is not just a story of the past.  It is a story of the living God who invites us to trust in Him. 

[Read Passage- 2 Kings 19 and 1 Peter 5:6,7] Parallels 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 37

Do you believe God able to save us- to help us- protect us?  Is God able to bless us?  Do we want God to bless us- and do we believe God can-without choosing political sides?  Can I tell you some stories of the American Revolution without offending you?  There is no doubt that many in American leadership during the American Revolution called on God- and believed that God’s providence blessed them.  American general and later first president, George Washington, was a colonel for the British in 1755 in the French and Indian War under General Braddock.  Braddock was killed and every officer on horseback was shot except for Washington.  Washington wrote to his brother afterwards, “But by the all-powerful dispensations of providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me.” Early writers in the American Revolution credited God’s help with the American army’s escape though surrounded by twice the force at Long Island by a sudden dense fog that hid the escape of the American army. Or the absolute surprise when Washington crossed the Delaware in a snowstorm to win a vital victory.   
          Henry Laurens-born and baptized in Charleston SC, was the grandson of French Huguenots- John Calvin the founder of Presbyterian or Reformed theology is a French Huguenot.    Laurens considered entering ministry.  He also was one of the few leaders in SC who opposed slavery.  He was the President of the Continental Congress during most of the American Revolution.  He was the only American put in the Tower of London and later exchanged for British General Cornwallis.  Upon his release he learned he was part of the commission to negotiate the Peace Treaty of Paris with Great Britain ending the war with the United States. He is buried at Mepkin Abbey.  The Continental Congress was formed in part when the British abolished the Virginia House of Burgess in May 1774 because they called for a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer as the British blockaded Boston Harbor.  Talk about anxious times.  The British had the best navy, the most up to date weapons, and the largest army in the world- and America was beginning a war with them.  In June 12, 1775 the Continental Congress, led by Laurens, proclaimed July 12 a national day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer.” The congress proclaimed three other similar days.  In some ways, I cannot help but think Laurens was influenced by Hezekiah’s humiliation, fast, and prayer that God clearly answered in a positive way.   Laurens credited God with helping us- and He believed in calling out to God.
     God has helped this country in the past.  I believe despite our sin and failures God still is at work today. I believe we must as individuals, families, a church, community, nation- call out to God.  The God who made the heavens and the earth.  I also believe that despite my sin and failures- despite your sins and failures- God is still at work today in our individual, family, church and community lives.   Let us humble ourselves before the One who is the lifter of our heads and hearts- Let us cast ALL our anxiety on Him- and then see God at work through His providence.