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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 37: Gladiator Angels
What happens when a king's faith is put to the ultimate test against a seemingly unstoppable enemy? Join me on the Bible Breakdown Podcast as we explore the intense events of Isaiah 37, where King Hezekiah of Judah faces the fearsome Assyrian army led by King Sennacherib. Discover how Hezekiah's earnest prayer becomes a powerful testament to unwavering faith in the true God amidst a sea of false idols. Together, we'll uncover the breathtaking imagery of a "gladiator angel," symbolizing divine power ready to defend Jerusalem, and anticipate the Lord's dramatic promise through the prophet Isaiah—a promise that sets the stage for a miraculous resolution to the impending crisis.
In our journey, we also explore the profound theme of trusting God for victory, underscoring how divine intervention often surpasses our expectations to showcase His glory and draw others toward Him. Reflecting on Isaiah 12:2, we emphasize the vital role of faith and prayer in seeking divine guidance and strength, recognizing that when God is all we have, He is indeed all we need. As we conclude, let's share a prayer of gratitude for a deeper understanding of God's presence in our lives. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we continue with the captivating story in Isaiah chapter 38.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, isaiah, chapter 37, and today's title is Gladiator Angels. Gladiator Angels I don't know if you've ever watched the movie the Gladiator Maybe not but there's a scene when, of course, you've got the main guy, who he's just like this great fighter, and he turns around and he says you know, my name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. You know he's telling him his name and that's just the picture I have in my head. We are going to meet an angel today. That is no joke. Okay, we're going to call him the gladiator angel. He is the guy that if he were to take off his helmet and turn around, he would say I am Maximus Decimus Angelius. He is like the coolest. It's crazy. All right, we're going to get into all that in just a moment and the fighting gladiator angel in just a second. But before that, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast it really does go a long way to help and make sure you're joining us for the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook and going to thebiblebreakdowncom. The more we dig, the more we find All right. All right, if you've got your Bibles.
Speaker 1:I want to open up with me to Isaiah 37. If you remember, yesterday, assyria has finally come and this guy named Sennacherib has sent his chief of staff and he is trying to terrify all the nation of Israel that is really in Jerusalem, that's on the wall, and he's telling them all hey, man, you give up your freedom to me and you'll be fine. Of course you'll be my subjects and of course you have to do everything I say and you could pretty much die whenever I want you to. But it's fine, it's fine. Crazy that they didn't like that deal, right. And so now, at the end of the chapter rather it was what are we going to do? Well, now we're going to find out what happens, what we're supposed to do and then what God does as a result. You ready, this is going to be fun.
Speaker 1:Isaiah 37, verse 1 says this when King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the temple of the Lord. Now, by the way, remember, tearing your clothes was a symbolic act, saying you were in deep mourning over something. Verse 2,. When he then sent Elikim, the palace administrator, shebna, the court secretary and the leading priest Shebna, the court secretary and the leading priest, all dressed in burlap to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, they told him this is what Hezekiah says today is a day of trouble, insults and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. But perhaps the Lord, your God, has heard the Assyrian chief of staff sent by the king to defy the living God and will punish him for his words. Oh pray for those of us who were left After King Hezekiah's officials delivered the king's message to Isaiah.
Speaker 1:The prophet replied say to your master, this is what the Lord says. Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king's messenger. Listen, I myself will move against him. The king will receive a message that he has needed at home. He will return to his land where I will have him killed with a sword. Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libna.
Speaker 1:Soon after King Sennacherib received word that King Tarka of Ethiopia was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message. This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah Don't let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done. Wherever they have gone, they have completely destroyed everyone that stood in their way. Why should you be any different? Have the gods of the other nations rescued them? Gods of Gozan, haran, saif and the people of Eden and Telesasar my predecessors destroyed them all. What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sephirvaim, hina or Iva?
Speaker 1:After King Hezekiah received this letter from messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord. O Lord of heaven's armies, god of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim. You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, o Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, o Lord, and see.
Speaker 1:Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God. It is true, o Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them, but of course the Assyrians could not destroy them. They were not gods at all, only idols of wood, stone, shaped by human hands. Now, o Lord, our God, rescue us from this power. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, o Lord, are God.
Speaker 1:Then Isaiah, son of Amos, sent this message to Hezekiah. This is what the Lord says to the God of Israel. Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken this word against him. The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee. Whom have you been defying and ridiculing? Whom did you raise your voice At? Whom did you look with such haughty eyes? Was it not the Holy One of Israel? By your messengers, you have defiled the Lord. You have said.
Speaker 1:With my many chariots, I have conquered the highest mountains, yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down the tallest cedars and its finest cypress trees. I have reached its farthest heights and explored its deepest forests. I have dug wells in many lands and refreshed myself with their water With the sole of my foot I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt. But have you not heard? I decided this long ago, long ago, I planned it, and now I am making it happen.
Speaker 1:I plan for you to crush fortified cities into heaps of rubble. That is why their people have so little power and are so frightened and confused. They are as weak as grass and as easily trampled as tender green shoots. They are like grass sprouting on a housetop, scorched before it can grow lush and tall. But I know you well, where you stay and when you come and go. I know the way you have raged against me. And because of your raging against me and your arrogance, which I myself, which I have heard for myself, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth and I will make you return by the same road on which you came.
Speaker 1:Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah here is the proof of what I say is true this year you will eat only what grows up by itself. Next year you will eat what springs up from that. But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them. You will tend vineyards and eat their fruit, and then you and all who were left in Judah, who have escaped the ravages of the siege, will put roots down in your soil and grow up and flourish. And this is what the Lord says to that king of Assyria. His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not so much, or they will not march outside its gates with their shields, nor build banks of earth against its walls. The king will return to his own country by the same road on which he came. He will not enter this city, says the Lord. For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend this city and protect it. Wow, what a promise that this big kingdom won't even fire an arrow at it. That would have seemed preposterous at the time, because everywhere Assyria went they was wreaking havoc. But God said it's going to happen. Now watch what happens. Verse 38,.
Speaker 1:That night, the angel of the Lord we're calling the gladiator angel, the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Wow, that's a lot of folks. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then the king of Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. One day, while he was worshiping at the temple of his god, nishrach, his sons, adramalek and Asizar, killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat and another son, erashendan, became the next king of Assyria. Wow, isn't that amazing? What happened?
Speaker 1:And so if I lost you along the way, because there's a whole lot of talking going on what happened was Hezekiah sent to the man of God and said listen, we got to have God's help. Assyria is bigger than us. And then, while he was doing that, assyria sent a message and said yes, he's right, I am going to kill you fools. And then God comes back and he says no, no, no, no, no. Assyria thinks he's big, he thinks he's bad. I'm bigger, I'm badder. I got this. Are you sure, god? Oh, yeah, and this is how you're gonna know the series the siege is gonna stop, I'm gonna let you grow crops again, and then, when this fool goes home, he's gonna die by people of his own hand, and it's gonna be bad, because I really am God. And not only am I God, but he is not even going to shoot an arrow toward the city of Jerusalem. And then that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 1:This gladator angel, maximus Decimus Angelios, goes in and one night kills 185,000 soldiers that's a lot of soldiers and they get up and those who were left are going uh-uh, not me and they head all the way back to Nineveh, which was the capital of Assyria, and while they're there, sennacherib's own sons kill him, turns out God knew what he was doing, and so what does this teach us? And that is that sometimes you have to go through a difficult situation to realize, when God is all you have, you realize God is all you need. When it looks like the world is stacked against you but you're serving God, you realize God really is enough. And that's what the nation of Israel realized in this moment. They realized that man, egypt's not here anymore, edom's not here anymore, all these other nations where they at now, and they ain't here. All I got is God. Well, god, I'm riding with you. And they realize that's all they needed to begin with.
Speaker 1:And can I tell you, we bring our challenges to God in prayer. God can do amazing things, but we have to have enough faith to bring them to him and then let him deal with it the way he sees fit. Let him, deal with it the way he sees fit. Now, I guarantee you they didn't care that God did it with his angel and this, whatever, but they probably would have thought a little different. Maybe they thought, god, I want you to give us the strength and the courage and I want to go out and lead the army, because you know, as the king, if he leads that army, he's going to get all that glory, you know, and it's going to be great. But God did it in a way so that only he got glory.
Speaker 1:And can I tell you many times, god will do things the way we don't expect, because it's not just about us, but it's also about him receiving the glory so that other people will turn to him too. See, god's not insecure. He's not trying to get glory because he needs the attention. It's because he's trying to get the attention of other people so they can see his goodness and turn to him as well. That's why God does those things, and so our job is to trust him and then wait for him to do something amazing.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you this question right now Is there an area of your life that you need to trust God? Is there an area of your life that you need to just go to him in prayer, lay it out before him and trust him. Whatever that is, you may find out that when God is all you have, you realize God is all that you need. Let's pray together right now, god, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you are more than enough for us. I pray, god, that as we turn our lives to you, you will show yourself strong to us. Help us, god, that as we turn our lives to you, you will show yourself strong to us. Help us, lord, to know you more in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. And what God's Word says in Isaiah 12, verse 2, let's read it together God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 38.
