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We continue our study of the book of the prophet Isaiah we are this morning in
Isaiah chapter 10 and my sermon text is verses 20 through 34 Isaiah chapter 10
verses 20 through 34 and you’ll find that beginning on page 682 in your pew
bibles. Dear friends this is the word of God hear it with reverence and awe.
In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will
no more lean on him who struck them but will lean on the Lord the Holy One of
Israel in truth. A remnant will return the remnant of Jacob to the mighty God
for though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea only a remnant of them
will return. Destruction is decreed overflowing with righteousness for the
Lord God of hosts will make a full end as decreed in the midst of all the earth
therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts all my people who dwell in Zion be
not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their
staff against you as the Egyptians did for in a very little while my fury will
come to an end and my anger will be directed to their destruction and the
Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip as when he struck Midian at the
rock of Oreb and his staff will be over the sea and he will lift it up as he did
in Egypt and in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke
from your neck and the yoke will be broken because of the fat. He has come to
Ayathe he has passed through Migron at Micmash he stores his baggage they have
crossed over the pass at Giba they lodge for the night
Rehma trembles Giba of Saul has fled cry aloud oh daughter of Galim give
attention Elisha oh poor Anathoth Madmena is in flight the inhabitants of
Gabim flee for safety this very day he will halt at knob he will shake his
fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion the hill of Jerusalem behold the
Lord God of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power the great in height
will be hewn down and the lofty will be brought low he will cut down the thickets
of the forest with an axe and Lebanon will fall by the majestic one the grass
withers and the flower fades but the word of our God endures forever please
join me in prayer almighty and most merciful God gracious Heavenly Father
once again we pray that you would give us assistance by your Holy Spirit to
understand this portion of your word and we ask that you would set a guard over
my lips that I might only declare that which is faithful and true to your word
for the upbuilding of your people for the salvation of the lost and for the
glorification of your holy name hear us Lord and open our minds to behold
wondrous things from your word we pray in Jesus name and all of God’s people
said amen you may be seated
the title of my sermon this morning is a remnant shall return and there’s only
three key words that the children can be listening for in my sermon today and
those are the words remnants returning and retribution well dear ones if
you’ve been following the news lately you know that in recent weeks the
terrorist organization Hamas has released a number of Israeli hostages
many of them young women who had been held in captivity by Hamas for over a
year imagine that we can only imagine the treatment these hostages likely
received at the hands of their terrorist captors and we can only imagine the dark
psychological trauma that they must have endured as they lived through long dark
days of uncertainty and gloom not knowing whether or not they would survive not
knowing whether or not they would ever be freed not knowing whether or not they
would ever see their loved ones again I watched a few videos on the internet
featuring some of these former hostages being reunited with their loved ones and
as you can imagine the raw emotion that comes through as they finally get to
embrace their loved ones their mother their father their sister their boyfriend
their wife the raw emotion that shines through is almost indescribable one gets
the sense that for these former hostages being freed and reunited with their
loved ones is like finally waking up from a long dark nightmare into a bright
sunny day of warmth of welcome and of love finally emerging from a dark time
tears of joy stream down their faces as they step into what hopefully is for
them a much brighter time ahead in their lives well dear ones I bring up this
illustration to plant within your mind the idea of coming out of a time of
deep darkness into a time of light and hope and joy and dear ones on the level
of God’s dealings with his covenant people our passage represents such a
movement our passage for this Lord’s Day morning presents us with a similar
movement a movement from the darkness and the doom and the gloom of God’s
judgment into the bright light of God’s mercy and forgiveness the bright light
of divine hope in our passage for this Lord’s Day morning it is as if the thick
darkness of doom and gloom is pierced and a light of hope finally breaks
through and all of this is by God’s sovereign unmerited grace a sovereign
unmerited grace which moves the hearts of a remnant to return in repentance to
Yahweh their God and to truly lean by faith upon him who is the holy one of
Israel to lean upon him in truth as we’re told in verse 20 in that day the
remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on
him who struck them that would be on the king of Assyria and the Assyrian forces
but will lean on the Lord the holy one of Israel in truth now friends our
passage for this Lord’s Day morning is recorded after a section of judgment
oracles a section of judgment oracles that goes from basically chapter 9
verse 8 through chapter 10 verse 19 and in these judgment oracles Yahweh the
Lord the faithful covenant-making covenant-keeping God of Israel had
pronounced his righteous judgment against his unfaithful covenant-breaking
people Israel and then also he had pronounced his judgment against his own
instrument of judgment against Israel namely the wicked Assyrians and their
arrogant king probably King Sennacherib but now after this section of judgment
oracles with all of the doom and gloom that is communicated in those sections
now a section of Isaiah is begun which proclaims hope and restoration for God’s
people the restoration of a remnant that will be in fulfillment of God’s covenant
promises to Abraham and ultimately in connection with the promised Messiah the
one who is called the mighty God as it says in verse 21 a remnant will return
the remnant of Jacob and who will they return to they will return to the mighty
God now what’s so significant about that title for God well because that’s a
messianic title go back to chapter 9 verse 6 very familiar passage a messianic
prophecy where it says for to us a child is born to us a son is given and the
government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called what
wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father prince of peace the
remnant will return to the mighty God the messianic mighty God this is a
messianic prophecy brothers and sisters in Christ we have brothers and sisters
in this passage of God’s Word a strong emphasis upon what the scholars call
Isaiah’s remnant theology and in the words of dr. EJ young here grace breaks
through the promises of God have not failed you see Isaiah’s contemporaries
after hearing the Lord pronounced judgment against the unfaithful the
covenant breaking in their midst might have thought oh there’s only doom and
gloom for us God’s promises have failed but no God’s promises have not failed
for a remnant shall return to the mighty God the God of Israel while God will
indeed bring his holy and righteous judgment down upon his unfaithful
covenant breaking people those who are really hypocrites and unbelievers
amongst his visible covenant community God’s judgment will indeed come upon
them nevertheless the Lord would not utterly destroy the people who are
called by his holy name on the contrary through his sovereign grace he would
preserve a chosen remnant a remnant who unlike King Ahaz would no longer rely
on the power of the pagan Assyrian who is described in verse 20 as him who
struck them but instead would lean on the Lord the Holy One of Israel in truth
and so we consider first of all friends the remnant as we look at go through
verses 20 through 27 we consider the remnant now it’s interesting this
remnant language that Isaiah uses in verse 20 because that’s what connects it
with the passage that immediately precedes it in back in verse 19 another
remnant had been mentioned but the remnant of the Assyrians that God would
destroy it says in verse 19 the remnant of the trees of his forest will be so
few that a child can write them down in verse 19 at the end of a judgment oracle
against Assyria the remnant language is used to make the point that the mighty
army of the Assyrians known for their strength known for their cruelty known
for their skill in defeating their enemies that strength which is compared
to a great forest will be reduced to an almost nothing it will be reduced to a
remnant of trees that are so few that a child can write them down and so when
applied to Assyria wicked pagan Assyria who had viciously attacked God’s people
and had intended evil and violence against the people of God when applied
to Assyria the remnant language highlights the devastation of God’s
judgment against that wicked nation and its king but in verse 20 this same
remnant language indicates God’s preservation and the salvation of his
people while judgment begins with the house of the Lord as we’re told in the
scriptures it doesn’t end there judgment begins with the house of the Lord leading
to the destruction of the wicked and unbelieving amongst God’s visible
professed people but nevertheless God will not allow his people to be entirely
fully snuffed out God has always and indeed he will always preserve a
faithful remnant of his true people in all ages of redemptive history and so
there will always be a true visible church in every age all the way until
the coming of Christ at the end of this present age in the in line with this
biblical teaching on the remnant the our Westminster confession of faith puts it
well when it states in chapter 25 section 5 which is the chapter on the
church it says this the purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture
and error and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ but
synagogues of Satan but then listen to what it says nevertheless there shall be
always a church on earth to worship God according to his will and why is that
the case why will there always be a church a true church of Christ on earth
to worship God according to his will well of course the reason for this is
that God himself will always preserve a faithful remnant for the praise of his
glorious grace when things look the darkest when it looks like God’s people
are going to just be completely annihilated and destroyed God in mercy
intervenes and he preserves his people now let’s go through these verses and
let’s begin with verse 20 and how does this this prophecy of hope of renewed
It begins with the words in that day in that day the remnant of Israel and the
survivors of the house of Jacob in other words those who have survived of the
chastisement and punishment of the Lord against his unfaithful people in that
day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no
more lean on him who struck them as King Ahaz wicked King Ahaz had leaned upon
Assyria and its forces for help and assistance instead of leaning on Yahweh
the faithful covenant God of Israel in that day they will no more lean on him
who struck them the Assyrians whom they relied upon had actually struck them and
had threatened them but instead in that day they will lean on the Lord the Holy
One of Israel in truth they won’t just pretend anymore to lean on to trust him
to rely upon the Lord they’ll actually return to the Lord and lean upon him but
when when is in that day what’s that referring to well this is what the
theologians call eschatological language this is language that points us forward
to a future time of redemptive history now I believe that as we compare
scripture with scripture that there was an initial fulfillment of this in the
return of the Jews from their exile in Babylon they did return to Jerusalem
they did rebuild eventually rebuild the temple after the exile and so forth so
there that was an initial fulfillment of this promised remnant returning to the
land but nevertheless because this is a messianic prophecy that points us
forward to the new covenant age the messianic age the age that was
introduced by Jesus of Nazareth our Lord and Savior when he came to this earth
and accomplished our redemption because of that this is fulfilled ultimately in
Christ and in the new covenant era and verse 21 makes that clear as it
clarifies in verse 21 a remnant will return the remnant of Jacob and who will
they return to again they will return to the mighty God and when you compare
that verse with chapter 9 verse 6 where the Messiah the child to be born the
son to be given is described by the title mighty God everlasting father
prince of peace a remnant will return it’s interesting that’s actually the
name of one of Isaiah’s sons one of his sons was named Shiar Jashub and Shiar
Jashub guess what that means it means a remnant shall return the Lord had
instructed Isaiah to give his son a symbolic name a prophetic name and here
Isaiah’s son’s name Shiar Jashub symbolized what is taught in this passage
a remnant shall indeed return this is again a messianic title as I pointed
out in the words of Dr. Young in returning to the mighty God the remnant
will return to God as manifested in a descendant of David the promised Messiah
was to be of the house and lineage of King David right and so this is pointing
forward to this promised son of David great David’s greater son namely the
Lord Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and the point here that we learn from
this is that you can only return to the Lord if you return to him in the person
of Christ it is only through faith in Christ that you truly turn to or return
to the Lord and so humanity has fallen away from the Lord and Adam we have
turned aside from the Lord we’ve gone our own way and many folks think that
well I’ll get back to God but I’ll choose my own path I’ll choose my own way
I’ll choose the way of Christ consciousness sort of the New Age way
or I’ll choose the way of Islam or the way of Judaism the Bible says if you
have not the son you have not the father those who reject the son reject the
father it is only those who have the son who have the father so we return to God
into a right relationship with God by faith in the promised Messiah now in old
testament times that’s how God’s people were saved too it’s not like in the Old
Testament they were saved by works by works of the law but now in the New
Testament were saved by grace through faith in Christ no our Old Testament
brothers and sisters they too were saved by faith in the promised Messiah they
just didn’t know his name yet but now that he has come we know his name his
name is Jesus and we are saved by returning to him by returning and
resting upon him and him alone for our salvation and so again we see the light
bursting through the darkness of judgment and beginning to shine as we’re
told in verse 21 a remnant shall return the remnant of Jacob to the mighty God
and then it goes on to say in verses 22 and 23 for though your people Israel be
as the sand of the sea only a remnant of them will return destruction is decreed
overflowing with righteousness in other words God will bring his righteous
judgment against the unfaithful and unrepentant among his professed people
that has been decreed and it will happen God is not a god of sloppy agape he’s
not a god that ignores that ignores justice he is a god of justice and
holiness but he’s also a god of mercy and grace destruction is decreed
overflowing with righteousness for the Lord God of hosts will make a full end
as decreed in the midst of all the earth judgment will come now he mentions that
Israel is as the sand of the sea where do you find that language what does that
remind you of well it ought to remind you of God’s covenant promise to
Abraham God had promised Abraham the patriarch he had covenanted with Abraham
that Abraham’s would descendants would be as the sand of the sea for multitude
for example turn back to Genesis 13 verse 16 and we see here how Isaiah
alludes to a number of different events and figures and promises in earlier
redemptive history in Genesis chapter 13 verse 16 we read these words it says I
will make your offspring as the dust of the earth the Lord is speaking to Abraham
he says I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth so that if one can
count the dust of the earth your offspring also can be counted and then
skip ahead to Genesis chapter 22 verse 17 where this promise is reaffirmed in
verse 17 the Lord says I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply
your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore
and your offspring shall pass the gate or possess rather the gate of his
enemies so friends here this again reminds us of God’s covenant promises
and the promised remnant that will return it may seem to contradict this
covenant promise that God made to Abraham but it is through the remnant
that God will fulfill his covenant promises to Abraham we need to remember
as we’re taught in the New Testament that the true descendants of Abraham the
true seed of Abraham are those who share Abraham’s faith so whether you have
Abraham’s blood and genetics coursing through your body whether you are a
physical descendant of Abraham or whether you are of Gentile stock doesn’t
matter salvation has never been by race or ethnicity it’s always been by grace
alone so if you are a Gentile but Jesus is your Savior and you trust in the God
of Abraham Isaac and Jacob then you are a true son or daughter of Abraham and so
this the remnant promise is ultimately fulfilled in Christ and in his church
and thus it is a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham it’s also interesting
to note that verses 22 and 23 are quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 9 verse
27 and 28 where Paul speaks of the remnant within the context of teaching
about the doctrine of election that passage was read earlier in the service
and then it goes on to say in verses 24 and following therefore thus says the
Lord God of hosts oh my people who dwell in Zion be not afraid of the Assyrians
oh the Assyrians were a very fearful people if you read the history and read
about how the Assyrians treated their enemies and their captives they were
known for their brutality their cruelty they were very strong very well trained
they were numerous and mighty the Assyrian the Assyrian army was was a
fearful sight and if you knew that the Assyrians were coming to your
neighborhood you would tremble with fear but here the Lord God of hosts and
notice the Lord is called the God of hosts he is Yahweh of hosts he is the
God of the armies of heaven there are more hosts on the Lord’s side than on
Assyria’s side he says therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts oh my people
you who dwell in Zion be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the
rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did even that kind of
calls to mind doesn’t it what happened to the Egyptians remember the Egyptians
had enslaved the people of God cruelly enslaved them and yet the Egyptians and
their so-called gods were no match for Yahweh the true and living God and so
he’s reminding them remember what God has done in the past how he delivered
from the Egyptians and then he goes on to say in verse 25 for in a very little
while my fury will come to an end my fury against my sinning people will come
to an end and my anger will be directed to there to the Assyrians destruction the
Lord’s gonna take his focus off of punishing and chastising his faithless
people and he’s gonna put the focus of his righteous wrath and anger against
the Assyrians who with cruelty and violence sought to destroy the people
of God and then it goes on to say and the Lord of hosts will wield against
them a whip as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb this rock of Oreb
recalls the defeat of the Midianites under the Israelite judge Gideon so
again Isaiah is alluding to numerous events in past redemptive history where
the Lord had shown himself faithful as the deliverer of his people and his
staff will be over the sea and he will lift it as he did in Egypt and what does
that remind you of this idea of lifting a staff over Egypt well let me give you a
clue turn to Exodus 14 verse 16 Exodus chapter 14 verse 16 it says this the
Lord said to Moses why do you cry to me tell the people of Israel to go forward
lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it that the
people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground remember the scene the
people of Israel were by the Red Sea the Egyptians were hot on their heels Moses
lifted up his staff and the Lord split the sea and the people went through the
Red Sea on dry ground but when the Egyptians tried to follow them foolishly
Moses again lifted up his staff and the Lord closed the sea over the Egyptians
who pursued them so again the Lord is the Lord is assuring his people that
brighter days are ahead that deliverance is coming now what are some of the
takeaways some of the lessons that we can learn from what we’ve considered so
far well first of all beloved understand we serve a God who is faithful in
keeping his covenant promises and one of the ways that he does that is by
preserving a faithful remnant dear listener if Jesus Christ is your Savior
if you have trusted in Christ as he is offered to you in the gospel then rejoice
for you are part of that remnant God in his mercy has given you a new heart a
heart that is open to Christ a heart that receives and rests upon him so
praise God he who began a good work in you will carry it through to completion
another lesson we learn of the many lessons we can learn from this passage
is that the Assyrian army was indeed mighty and powerful and fearful but they
were no match they were no match for the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob they were
no match for the heavenly hosts that attend his heavenly throne and likewise
my friends we read in the scriptures that Satan and his demonic hordes are
very powerful very intelligent very mighty but though they are mighty they
will never be able to fully destroy God’s church on earth they’re mighty
they can do much harm but they are not able to destroy God’s church for they
are no match for the mighty God that is to say our resurrected and reigning
Messiah and Lord Jesus Christ remember the scriptures tell us he who is in us
is greater than he who is in the world that doesn’t mean that we that we don’t
take Satan seriously he prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour but nevertheless as we take shelter in Christ under the shelter of
his blood and righteousness we are preserved and the Lord will protect us
so we read of this remnant that God in sovereign mercy and grace preserves but
we also learn in this passage about the returning the the remnants language
highlights the sovereignty of God in preserving and saving his people and
while this passage underscores God’s sovereignty in preserving a chosen
remnant notice that this remnant is described as a remnant that does
something and what does the remnant do according to this passage again look at
verse 21 what does it say a remnant will do what a remnant will return this is
speaking of true conversion true penitence faith in the Lord the remnant
returns to the Lord that is their characteristic that is what they do God’s
sovereignty and so in the salvation of sinners is certainly highlighted by the
remnant theme but at the same time how does this chosen remnant show itself to
be a remnant by returning to the mighty God the Lord Jesus Christ a remnant will
return notice again here the language of returning which indicates repentance and
conversion and also the language of leaning upon the Lord again verse 20 in
that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no
longer will no more lean on him who struck them on the king of Assyria but
will lean on the Lord or rely on the Lord that’s describing faith personal
saving faith in the Lord a remnant will return and so forth for though your
people Israel be as the sand of the sea only a remnant of them will return dear
friends yes God is absolutely sovereign in our salvation and that point is
highlighted by the remnant language and it means that we cannot boast of our own
works or even our own will if you believe in Christ and your neighbor
doesn’t it’s not because you make better choices or you’re smarter than your
neighbor or that you’re better or more virtuous than your neighbor it means
that God has simply had mercy upon you so don’t pat yourself on the back for
your faith but nevertheless at the same time man is totally responsible to
return to the Lord in true faith and repentance Martin Luther was correct
when he said that the Christian life is a life of ongoing repentance and faith
yes there is an initial conversion where you first repent and believe and in
Christ but that initial repentance you know do you repent once and then stop
repenting no I hope not you don’t you don’t arrive at initial conversion no
that’s just the beginning of a lifetime of ongoing daily renewed repentance and
faith and if that describes your life you say pastor my Christian life is a
battle I’m always struggling against sin I’m always having to repent every day
having to repent and go back to the Lord well guess what that means you are a
returning one that’s characteristic of a true Christian that means you’re part
of the remnant for you would not engage in daily earnest repentance and faith
unless the Lord had sovereignly worked his grace in your heart and in your life
so yes ultimately it is only because of God’s unconditional unmerited grace that
the remnant returns but nevertheless they return God doesn’t return for them
they return dear listener have you returned to the Lord maybe if you’re
you’re listening you’re out there today listening or you’re listening through
the internet whatever the case may be perhaps you have strayed from the Lord
perhaps you have gone into a far country like the prodigal you’ve gone into the
far country of sin and rebellion and unbelief will you return to the Lord to
the mighty God the messianic King you say oh I’ve I’ve gone too far to turn
back while there’s life there’s hope may you turn back to the Lord may the Lord
draw you back turn to the Lord he will receive you in mercy look to Christ who
was crucified for sinners for prodigals like me and like you turn to Christ and
rest in him for your salvation so we’ve seen the remnant we’ve seen the
returning and finally very briefly we consider the retribution which is again
highlighted in verses 24 through 34 even though this passage throbs with gospel
hope and points to the return and restoration of God’s people it also
comforts God’s people by assuring them that their enemies who hated them who
sought their destruction would experience the righteous and holy
retribution and judgment of the Lord for their wickedness in verses 24 through
27 we see God’s righteous fury against his faithless people would indeed come
to an end as we’ve already considered and his wrath would be redirected toward
the Assyrians who violently persecuted his people and then in verse 28 we we
begin a an interesting section a visionary section which pictures the
Assyrian forces inching closer and closer to Jerusalem the holy city the
place where the temple of the Lord was the place where God’s special presence
dwelt as he as they inch closer and closer and if you were to get out of
and look at these various villages and towns or cities on the map you would see
that this depicts the Assyrian forces coming down from the north descending
upon Jerusalem AF is the furthest north and then Migran’s a little closer
Miqmash where they store their baggage is even closer then there’s Giba and
and then there’s Galim and Lysha and Anathoth and then Nob I believe that
some have suggested that Nob which was a priestly city was that you could even
see Jerusalem in the distance from Nob but the picture is that the forces of
Assyria these fearful forces are inching closer and closer the threat is is
getting closer and closer to Jerusalem from a human point of view it seems like
Jerusalem is most certainly doomed to perish at the hands of the Assyrians but
wait wait though the Assyrian King in verse 20 32 we are told that he will
shake his fist at the Mount of the daughter of Zion the hill of Jerusalem
he and his forces will not prevail why they’re so close why will they not
prevail well look again at verses 33 and 34 behold that means pay attention kids
behold the Lord God of hosts again Isaiah reminds them that the God is the
God of the armies of heaven he is the Lord God of hosts will lock the boughs
with terrifying power the great in height will be hewn down and the lofty
will be brought low God will bring down the proud Assyrian army he will bring
them down verse 34 he will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe and
Lebanon will fall by the majestic one
versus once again Assyria is compared to a forest that the Lord will cut down
with an axe again look at verse 18 and 19 go back to verses 18 and 19 it says
the glory of his force that’s speaking of the forces of Assyria the glory of
his forest and of his fruitful and the Lord will destroy both soul and body and
it will be as when a sick man wastes away the remnant of the trees of his
force will be so few that a child can write them down and then compare that
with verses 33 and 34 where it says that the Lord God of hosts will
lop the boughs with terrifying power the great in height will be hewn down and so
forth again we notice God returns in this passage to the imagery of he’s the
forester he’s cutting down the forest of Assyria with his axe and it’s
interesting isn’t it Assyria and its king boasted like an axe that boasted
itself against the Lord who had decided to chop with it that very axe will be
cut down by the axe of the Lord go back to verse 15 where again God confronts
the arrogance of the Assyrian King and says shall the axe boast over him who
hews with it or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it as if a rod
should wield him who lifts it or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood
powerful imagery isn’t it here is Assyria this axe that was cutting down
mighty nations boasting in its own power its own strength and the Lord says
you’re an axe that I hew shall the axe boast against the one who wields it but
the Lord says in verses 33 and 34 that he’s going to lock down this forest
where was this fulfilled how was this fulfilled was it fulfilled the answer is
not certainly it was I suggest that we read a probable fulfillment of this
prophecy later on in Isaiah turn with me if you would to Isaiah 37 and let me
just read verses 33 to 38 Isaiah 37 verses 33 to 38 and here King Sennacherib
the king of Assyria and his forces threaten Israel they threaten Jerusalem
but this is what it says beginning in verse 33 of chapter 37 therefore thus
says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria he shall not come into this city
or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege
mound against it by the way that he came by the same he shall return and he shall
not come into this city declares the Lord for I will defend this city to save
it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David now how did the Lord
do this how did he fulfill this promise look at the following verses beginning
verse 38 and the angel of the Lord went out and again the Assyrians had a huge
force that they were bringing to bear against Jerusalem but the angel of the
Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians and when
people rose early in the morning there were some survivors to see the wreckage
when people arose early in the morning behold they were all there were all dead
bodies some historians have suggested that there was a great plague of
sickness that went through the Assyrian camp how does the king of Assyria
respond to that look at verse 37 then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and
returned home and lived at Nineveh probably departed in shame but that was
not the end of the story verse 38 and as he was worshiping in the house of
Nisrock his god Adramelech and Sherezer his sons struck him down with the sword
and after they escaped into the land of Ararat Esarhaddon
his son reigned in his place the Lord had said he would chop down the forest
the army of the Assyrians and he most certainly did and not only that he
brought his holy judgment against this arrogant king of Assyria Sennacherib
final thoughts first of all we learned brothers and sisters that God is just
and righteous in his judgments his judgments are always overflowing with
righteousness as we’re told in verse 22 let us therefore reverence him as the
righteous judge of all the earth and let us seek opportunities to warn the
rebellious to flee from his wrath another lesson we learn is that our
sovereign omnipotent God is able to humble the proud even as he is able to
exalt the humble let us not be like the proud Assyrians boasting in themselves
exalting themselves above the Lord instead let us humble ourselves under
the mighty hand of God trusting in his saving mercy trusting that he will
exalt us in due time amen let us pray heavenly father we thank you and praise
you that you are holy and righteous and just that you will vindicate your
suffering people and bring your righteous judgments against the wicked
who refused to repent but we thank you also Lord God that you are merciful and
kind even to undeserving sinners such as us we thank you heavenly father that you
sent your son Jesus our Messiah to save us from our sins and we ask Lord that
you would help us to live lives of daily returning unto you and leaning
upon you and you alone we pray these things in Jesus name and all of God’s
people said let’s close our time of worship by rising and we’ll sing
together 427 I sought the Lord and afterward I knew 427