Noble Visions

Isaiah 36:7 ESV

“It is not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed…?”

It was a bad time for the kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians were on the warpath and had a string of victories that pushed their assurance to new heights, even for them. Now they stood at the door of Jerusalem pressing their advantages into a propaganda campaign designed to lower morale or win without having to fight. The Assyrians had studied their intelligence and could tell Hezekiah had placed himself in a precarious position. He had pushed for changes to the religion of the country that had led to some fractioning in the base. Whisperings was going around about why all the bad this was befalling them. The same factions that would latter tell Jeremiah the fall of Jerusalem was because of Josiah’s reforms were present here, years prior, sowing the same thing, pressing to get back to the convenient worship of God.

Hezekiah had been captured by a vision of worship. A worship that would have God’s people worshiping as God had told them in the scripture. Hezekiah had fallen victim to the idea of Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone. The book of the law said the people were to bring their offerings and sacrifices to the temple and so he would do his best to “encourage” that. This change to the established norm was not wholly welcome and when times start getting hard the whisperers start to come out. His reforms didn’t “work”, good times weren’t here to stay, and now they were reminded of what a siege looks like, that they were destined to “eat their own dung and drink their own urine” (vs 12). Theirs was a small country, whose pretensions had died with Solomon, trying to exist independently on the edge of an empire.

Are small visions less noble because they are small? Are ministries and relationships insignificant if they aren’t “made for T.V.” (or Facebook)? Such are the lives most of us lead. Noteworthy if someone looked but not noteworthy enough for anyone to look. Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel the years and died (Judges 12:11) and that is all we know about him. The Priests of Nob who died because David came to town, we don’t even know most of their names (1 Samuel 22:18-20). Such are the dictates of providence and the record of history. Elon was needed to save his people and lead them for ten years, and we will never know the value of that faithful service was. Had faithful priests not continued to serve faithfully and given David food and weapons, what would be the end? In a culture that fixates in its “superheroes” it is hard to value the faithful service of a father that turns off the alarm and goes to work at a job he does not love, the lonely mother who does the dishes…again, and the elder individual who prays again for grandchildren who have forsaken the faith. Yet, they are more noble than the actor pretending he is heroic in front of a green screen.

It is a hard thing to rest in the call of scripture. To have our sight completely shifted to see things as they are, not as they are portrayed to us. Things were bad for Hezekiah, the nation was on the verge of collapse as the Assyrian army was on its door, but he was in the strongest position possible. He was on his knees before the living God. Not trusting in his strength but appealing to God for deliverance. The nation had reformed and was finally walking with God, and so things got tough, and God was shown stronger. Let us turn our sight from earthly things and see our strength for who he is.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO