Week #29 | "God's Kingdom Over Every Kingdom"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Isaiah 15-37, 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 32

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Jesus the Cornerstone (Isaiah 13-39). The second major picture of Jesus that Isaiah gives us is the image of "the Cornerstone." We have already seen Jesus introduced as the Child who will become King (Isaiah 7-12), and now a long list of oracles are spoken over Moab, Syria, Tyre, Edom, Arabia, and Philistia, along with Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria in the first section (Isaiah 1-23). What is the point of God's oracles to the nations? In Isaiah 16:1, 4-5 we see: they are also called to trust in this coming King that Isaiah 7-12 spoke about as "the Child." In this specific passage in chapter 16, Moab is instructed to send a peace offering to "the ruler" of Mount Zion (it's intentionally ambiguous, specifically not naming Kings Jotham, Ahaz, or Hezekiah), promising that "a throne will be established in love, and one will sit on it faithfully in the tent of David, judging and pursuing what is right, quick to execute justice." Moab, along with all the other nations mentioned by implication, are instructed to make peace with the coming King who will sit on David's throne. In the second section (Isaiah 24-35) God announces that while all other Kingdoms will fall, his Kingdom is coming (Isaiah 24-25), and in Isaiah 28:16 and 21, he announces that he is setting up "a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: whoever believes will be unshakeable." This text has been seen as a prediction of the Messiah by both Jews and Christians. Jesus is the Cornerstone who will command the allegiance of all peoples. Other passages in this second section which I don't have space to unpack are Isaiah 30:20 and Isaiah 33:17, 22, which both refer to Jesus as a teacher-king and as the King who will be seen by his people... but interestingly, his identity is also expressed in such a way that this King is identified as God ("the LORD is our king"). The third section (Isaiah 36-39) is a historical retelling of the invasion of Sennacherib, underscoring that there are signs in Isaiah's own day that God is already subjecting the kingdoms of the world -even the powerful ones like Assyria- to his own Kingdom. In all of this, we see that God's Kingdom is coming, and all kingdoms will be subjected to it, and the cornerstone of God's Kingdom will be the Messiah who will reign in righteousness, teach his people, and be closely identified with God.

Sennacherib attacks Judah (Isaiah 36-37; 2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32). There are more confirmations of spectacular events in the Bible like this next one, but we'll stop here. This event is recorded in three different places throughout our readings, in Isaiah, 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles. The Bible records that in 701 BC the Assyrians came against Jerusalem and began a siege against it. About twenty years previous Assyria had carried off the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity leaving only the southern kingdom of Judah behind as a subject state. Now after rebelling against Assyria, King Hezekiah of Judah was facing down the Assyrian threat. In 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37 we're told that Sennacherib, who was ruler over the most powerful kingdom in that day, along with his large army of experienced city-conquering soldiers, had come from a successful campaign of conquest against many nations and walled cities and now had the city of Jerusalem totally surrounded and ready for the taking. Hezekiah had sent a large offering of gold and other goods to turn away the wrath of Assyria, but after accepting the offering they came against Jerusalem anyway. Kingdoms who lead rebellions against the empire can't be allowed to remain in place. The situation was hopeless. Then, in a desperate time, Hezekiah prayed for deliverance and the prophet Isaiah predicted that God would deliver Jerusalem the next day. That evening an angel killed a large number of the soldiers surrounding Jerusalem and Sennacherib turned tail and went back home. The city and the kingdom had been delivered. Jerusalem was surrounded by the most powerful king and the most powerful army in the world and then was let go after having led a rebellion against them. That's an incredible story, right? It's so incredible that it was bitterly disputed by skeptics of the Bible for years until Sennacherib's Prism was published in 1990, just 30 years ago, in which Sennacherib himself confirms many of the details of the story: "[Hezekiah] himself, like a caged bird I shut up in Jerusalem, his royal city. I threw up earthworks against him— the one coming out of the city-gate, I turned back to his misery." He had Hezekiah dead-to-rights and rejected any deal-making by the messenger who came out to meet him from the city's gates (the messenger who Sennacherib describes is named Eliakim [2 Kings 18:26]). And then, nothing. His long campaign of cities and nations conquered ends abruptly, and Sennacherib returns home. (Assyria doesn't record its losses.) While he tries to save face, those who are well-studied in these kinds of records describe this as a tacit admission of his failure to capture the city. This is a great story of God's deliverance, and one of the Biblical events for which we also have the opposing group's account of what happened as well.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean