4. God rules – but differently

The good news according to Isaiah – 

4. God rules – but differently

Sermon on July 5th, 2020

Kirche am Bahnhof FKB

by (Volker Aßmann)

(Isaiah 36-39)

This sermon is translated from German into English. You can find the original video here

It is about history in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. As is so often the case, or even as always, the question is: Who has the power? Who wins?
Who makes history?
Isn’t that the same question to this day?
If e.g. Putin in Moscow has the Russian constitution changed for him to be able to remain president for another 16 years.
Or Trump, apparently without regard to losses and human lives, seems to do everything possible to remain in power even after November. Or China brutally invades a global metropolis like Hong Kong and establishes its injustice regime there.

People, even whole peoples, always become the game ball of the powerful and despots. Wars are waged with tens of millions of deaths as in World War II, in which almost 30 million people from Russia lost their lives and 6 million Jews in the world’s concentration camps. It seems to be true: “There is nothing new under the sun!” (Ecclesiastes 1: 9) And this is the historical story that the book of Isaiah, AT, is about:

Approx. 760 BC Isaiah is born.
His mission from JAHWE, the only God, is to call the people of God’s people to turn to God and to have undivided trust in JAHWE. They would avoid the impending doom, the conquest and destruction of their country and the abduction or death.
At the same time, right from the start, Isaiah had the mandate of JAHWE to announce to the people the salvation and return of a small part (remnant) to their homeland when people turn to JAHWE in exile.

“And the liberated of the Lord will return and come to Zion with joy, and eternal joy will be on their heads. You will gain bliss and joy, and grief and sigh will escape. ”(Is.35,10)

  The very name Isaiah was the program and promise of God:  Isaiah = Yahweh is (creates) salvation (salvation)

That is exactly why we chose “The Good News after Isaiah” as the theme of our worship series.
But back to the story at the time of Isaiah and afterwards: 722 BC the greater northern empire of Israel is defeated and conquered by the Assyans. The Assyrian Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf over what is now Iraq, Syria to Egypt. The u.a. punishment of God announced by Isaiah was 722 BC. for the first time with the demise of Israel’s reality.
Approx. 692 BC the Assyrians lay siege under the mighty King Sennacherib Jerusalem and the smaller southern empire of Judah with the capital Jerusalem was threatened. And with that we are exactly in the time from Isaiah 36 to 39 and the question: Who has the power? Who survives? Who wins? Who makes history.
A significant sentence from Isaiah 7.9 receives both 722 and now 692 BC. brutal meaning:
“If you do not believe, you do not stay!” (Isa.7,9): “But if you have no faith, you will not endure!”)

It is about existential questions and threats that will certainly raise other questions in our time in our country:
Will I keep my job?
Will the money be enough?
Do we keep peace and prosperity?
Will I survive the illness?
How will the Corona pandemic continue? Is there a time after Corona?
When will we finally get back to normal?

Admittedly, compared to the major catastrophes in our world and the situation at the time of Isaiah, these seem to be relatively minor problems. But there are crises in themselves: They threaten us and make us afraid and maybe we lose sight and confidence.
No matter how big the threat, the key question is: Who can I trust? Who has the overview? Who makes history? Sennacherib and the Assyrians? The Babylonians? Corona? …

That was the first great promise of God that we heard from Isaiah’s mouth in Isaiah (in the first sermon of the series):

I’m making history! I am the LORD of history!

Is that correct? Can I experience that in my life today? Because apparently others have the power and not God.
Isaiah means that JAHWE brings salvation and rules. And that is exactly what we want to discover from Is.36-39.

GOD RULES – BUT DIFFERENT!

Hezekiah had defended Judas against the Assyrians and others. reinforced by the construction of a water tunnel (Is.22.8-11).
As a result, the residents of Jerusalem felt safe but did not trust their God who cared for them (22:11). They lived according to the motto: “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we are dead!” (22:13) And God had answered them: “Truly, this guilt shall not be forgiven you until you die> (22:14) This has been the typical human motto for millennia.
What have we learned from the catastrophes of the past and the crises of the present?
Racism and anti-Semitism have been around for a long time, despite the terrible tragedy of the Third Reich worldwide and in our country.
What have we learned from the 2008/2009 financial crisis and changed our lives? Little to nothing.
What will we learn from the current global crisis caused by the corona pandemic? I’m not very afraid!

Back to the supposed security of Jerusalem’s safe water supply.
And right where the Jews felt safe, at their safe water supply, stands Rabschake, the envoy of the Assyrian king, who stands in front of the city walls with an overpowering army, and provokes Hezekiah (it makes the danger of cutting the lifeline and Jerusalem clear “Drying out”):
> Report to your king Hezekiah: This is how the great king, the king of Assyria, said: What is the basis of the firm trust that you have? … Who do you rely on for revolting against me? Well, yes, you rely on Egypt, this buckled one Pipe rod that drives into anyone’s hand and pierces it, leaning on it. <(36.4-6)

Sennacherib’s strategy consists of overconfidence and arrogance, contempt for JAHWE. And he shows off his obvious superiority and the impotence of Judas:
“Make a bet with my lord, the king of Assyria! I want to give you 2,000 horses if you can set up the necessary riders! ”(36.8)
What grows out of this is intimidation and panic, because presumably they couldn’t even find a fraction of the 2000 riders for the horses. And he even claims that God sent the Assyrians to Jerusalem. An infamous lie that should undermine the trust of the people of Jerusalem in their God.

The emissaries of the Jewish king Hezekiah sense the catastrophic effect of this contemptuous and discouraging speech by the Assyer and ask him not to speak anymore in the language of the people but in Aramaic, which only a few understood. But it only gets worse, so you don’t want to say it at all, because he continues in the Jewish language and everyone heard it:
“Did my lord (Sennacherib) send me only to your lord (King Hezekiah) and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall to do their feces with you (out of pure despair) to eat and drink their urine?” And he speaks louder to everyone: “Hear the words of the great king of Assur: Hezekiah will not deceive you! Because he can’t save you. And Hezekiah did not put your trust in the Lord, saying: The Lord will surely save us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria! Don’t stop Hezekiah! (36.11-16)”

Discouragement and contempt for people is never a method that God uses, but it has a lasting effect, then as now. Undermining trust in God is never God’s speech and method, but a terrible lie. No one should hastily believe someone who comes piously and even quotes the Bible! He is far from speaking in the name of God. Seduction is often a religious one, which e.g. also applies to conspiracy ideas that have nothing to do with God’s speech. We have to check it very well and stay awake.

Let’s stick to the picture of the kinked pipe. With this, the Assyrian even said the truth superficially: Whoever leans on the Egyptians and leaves like on a staff to gain support and security, his hand is pierced by it. Egypt cannot save Judah.
But the Assyrian speaks with arrogance and arrogance.

Later Isaiah will speak of a “GOD’S SERVANT”, and here the picture of the kinked pipe reappears:
“My servant (the Messiah) will not shout and raise his voice … He will not break the broken pipe, and He will not extinguish the glowing wick. He faithfully brings the right out. ” (Isa.42,1-3)