Continue on with On to Judah and Jerusalem

Faith-that is what will carry King Hezekiah through this crisis.  Faith is 'the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld."  (Hebrews 11:1) It involves looking beyond the obvious.  But faith is based on knowledge.  Hezekiah likely remembers that ahead of time Jehovah spoke these comforting words:  "Do not be afraid, O my people who are dwelling in Zion, because of the Assyrian . . . For yet a little while-and the denunciation will have come to an end, and my anger, in their wearing away.  And Jehovah of armies will certainly brandish against him a whip as at the defeat of Midian by the rock Oreb; and his staff will be upon the sea, and he will certainly lift it up in a way that he did in Egypt."  (Isaiah 10:24-26) Yes, God's people have been in difficult situations before Hezekiah's ancestors seemed hopelessly outclassed by the Egyptian  army at the Red Sea.  His forefather Gideon faced staggering odds when Midian and Amalek invaded Israel. Yet, Jehovah delivered his people on those two occasions. -Exodus 14:7-9, 13; Judges 6:33; 7:21, 22.

Will Jehovah do again what he did on those previous occasions?  Yes. Jehovah promises: "It must occur in that day that his load will depart from upon your shoulder, and his yoke from upon your neck, and the yoke will certainly be wrecked because of the oil."  (Isaiah 10:27)  The Assyrian yoke will be lifted from the shoulder  and the neck of God's covenant people.  Indeed, the yoke will be "wrecked"-and wrecked it is! In one night, the angel of Jehovah kills 185,000 of the Assyrians.  The threat is removed, and the Assyrians leave the soil of Judah forever.  (2 Kings 19:35, 36)  Why?  "Because of the oil."  This may refer to the oil  used to anoint Hezekiah as king in the line of David.  Thus, Jehovah fulfills his promise:  "I shall certainly defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant." -2 Kings 19:34.

The account of Isaiah discussed in this chapter has to do with events in Judah more than 2,700 years ago.  But those events have the utmost relevance today.  (Romans 15:4) Doe this mean that the major players in this thrilling narrative-the inhabitants of Samaria and Jerusalem as well as the Assyrians-have modern-day counterparts?  Yes, it does. Like idolatrous Samaria, Christendom claims to worship Jehovah, but she is apostate to the core.  In An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Roman Catholic John Henry Cardinal Newman admits that items  Christendom has used for centuries, such as incense, candles, holy water, priestly garb, and images,  "are all of pagan origin." (which for your information is not Christian) Jehovah is no more please with Christendom's paganized worship than he was with Samaria's idolatry. 

For years, Jehovah's Witnesses have warned Christendom of Jehovah's displeasure.   In 1955, for example, the public discourse entitled "Christendom or Christianity-Which One Is 'the Light of the World'?" Was delivered worldwide.  The talk graphically explained the way that Christendom had strayed from genuine Christian doctrine and practice.  Thereafter, copies of this powerful lecture were mailed to clergymen in many countries.  As an organization, Christendom has failed to heed the warning.  She leaves Jehovah with no choice but to discipline her with "a rod."

Next time: Conclusion of On to Judah and Jerusalem

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000