King over Kings

Isaiah  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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God promised to discipline His covenant people for their rebellion and idolatry through various means, of which God reserved foreign invasion as a severe consequence. Although the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms were divided, God kept His promise to discipline both regions through the surrounding nations. During the time of Isaiah, Assyria was such a nation used by God. But why would a holy God use an unholy nation for such a sacred purpose? Only the King of all Kings is all-wise and powerful to carry out such a righteous plan.

Notes
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Isaiah 10:5–34 ESV
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! 6 Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few; 8 for he says: “Are not my commanders all kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?” 12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones. 14 My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.” 15 Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 18 The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the Lord will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down. 20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.” 28 He has come to Aiath; he has passed through Migron; at Michmash he stores his baggage; 29 they have crossed over the pass; at Geba they lodge for the night; Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! Give attention, O Laishah! O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. 32 This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

Godly Purposes: Judgement

Sovereignty describes God's unique possession of ultimate power, authority, independence, rightful status, and prerogative. The book of Isaiah gives us insight into God's sovereign action toward His covenant people. God's sovereignty may make us feel at a disadvantage. We may conclude that we have a limited realm of "control and choice," but that should not cause us to be without hope. God's sovereignty is rooted in His faithful love. He sovereignly acts in our best interest so that we would make our way back to the doorsteps of God's grace and mercy.
God promised to discipline His covenant people for their rebellion and idolatry through various means, of which God reserved foreign invasion as a severe consequence. Although the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms were divided, God kept His promise to discipline both regions through the surrounding nations. During the time of Isaiah, Assyria was such a nation used by God. But why would a holy God use an unholy nation for such a sacred purpose? Only the King of all Kings is all-wise and powerful to carry out such a righteous plan.

Assyria is one of God’s Tools

Like a soldier who uses a weapon or tool, God used the kings of Assyria. God used their natural and sinful tendencies to bring Israel’s discipline. During the time between 733-608 BC, Assyria arose to the status of a conquering empire. Assyria typically conquered surrounding nations, or intimidated them, and forced the defeated kings to become subjects of the Assyrian Empire. Those new kingdoms then waged war on behalf of the empire.
The Kings of Assyria naturally credited themselves and their gods for their success. They did not see any signs of decreasing in their future. Their empire continued to expand closer to the regions of the Northern and Southern Kingdom. And sadly, the covenant lands would eventually end up like the other idolatrous nations.
Isaiah had previously prophesied that Assyria’s army would come. They would take over the Northern Kingdom but stop short of overtaking the Southern. God deliberately limited the "success" of Assyria. Assyria could touch the South but not overtake it. God would allow Assyria to only go so far. And in time, God would be finished with Assyria. The term "finish" is a term derived from sewing or weaving to "snip off" a final thread.

God will judge the arrogant heart

God knows the hearts of all people. He knows the inner voices of the King of Assyria. Notice what the "unclean lips" of the kings of Assyria declare. They attribute their success as a result of their:
Abilities
Achievements
Power
Military Strategies
He would use Assyria as a tool. A tool is only as valuable as the one who uses it, and it's potential is limited to the worker's actions. Even a walking stick needs a person to use it for it to be effective. But God would not let it continue without a reckoning. Because of Assyria's arrogance and failure to recognize God's sovereign power, God would judge them. Assyria's soldiers would become weak. The Holy One of Israel would act as a fire to burn up Assyria's power like thorns and briers in one day. God would chop down Assyria's great and mighty army to a minuscule power.
This prophecy would take some time to come to pass. But along the way, the Southern Kingdom would see parts of this fulfillment during the reign of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:32-37.
2 Kings 19:32–37 ESV
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” 35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Hope in a Remnant

In the Bible, the concept of remnant is described in this manner:
It often has a negative connotation: the catastrophe undergone by the community is so great that only an insignificant remnant survives, or none at all ... In many instances, however, the connotation is positive: despite the greatness of the catastrophe, a remnant survives as the basis for renewed community life ... Because the catastrophe is understood to be an act of divine judgment, the survival of a viable remnant is, correspondingly, an act of divine mercy .....
Meyer, Lester V. “Remnant.” Ed. David Noel Freedman. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary 1992 : 670. Print.
The hope for the future is in the remnant. Like Noah, his family, and the representative animals, God would continue to keep His covenant promise and rebuild from a representative remnant. But the remnant of Assyria would not benefit from this hope. Their kingdom eventually came to an end under the next world power and empire, Babylon.
Isaiah looked forward to a day when God's people would no longer lean on any other source than God. In the past, the Southern kingdom looked to Assyria and other resources for their security and future. But one day, God would be their complete confidence.

The Big Picture

The bigger picture is this. God is in control and acts within the world's affairs to bring about His plan that began with His covenants to Abraham, David, and for us in the New Covenant. When God's people stray from Him, He allows world affairs to be the tools to redirect stubborn hearts back toward God. In some cases, stubborn hearts respond quickly, and the consequences are lesser. However, in some cases, the stubborn heart continues to resist God's every action and is ultimately judged and cut down. But even in that situation, God will ensure that His covenant promises and His eternal kingdom will continue despite the unfaithful actions of His people.

God will move against the Enemy

God used the discipline of the North in 722 BC not only to correct them but to serve as a warning to the remaining Southern Kingdom. Judah's people would experience the great mercy of God's salvation from the enemy of Assyria; however, God would allow it to come fairly close to touching the Southern Kingdom. And likewise, the actions toward Assyria served as an example of God's power over the nations. Even the "strongest" is no match for the One True God. It is this truth that God encouraged people not to fear the Assyrian encroachment. Though they get closer and closer to Mount Zion and Jerusalem, they will not succeed in overcoming the people. God will ensure that Assyria will meet the same defeat as did the Midianites and the Egyptians of Israel's history. Once again, God would move against the enemy and grant his people salvation and victory. This promise was the hope that the people needed to grasp tightly and entrust themselves to God alone.

Does God still rule over the nations?

We are far removed from the time of Isaiah. We know the fulfillment of God’s promises resides in Jesus Christ, the True King. And we await the fulfillment of Christ’s second coming and the restoration of all things with a new heaven and earth. But can we still conclude that God is in the business of sovereignty among the affairs of the world today? The answer is yes. Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 13.
Romans 13:1–7 ESV
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Paul wrote this during the time of the Roman Empire. Rome and its leaders were far from godly. Yet God allowed them to be in power for a time. God used elements of the empire structure to spread the gospel. During this time, there was one common language, Greek, due to the spread of Greek culture from Alexander the Great, another ungodly empire. There were a common currency and structure that facilitated travel. Paul used Roman roads and ships on his missionary journeys. He even used his Roman citizenship to shame those who unlawfully beat him. But later, Rome became a direct enemy of Christians with persecutions under Nero and other nationalistic movements. Yet in all this, God used this for His purpose. It was not to discipline the believers but to spread the gospel through those who fled persecution. God used his saints' suffering to be the salt and light that ultimately turned the empire upside down.
Throughout scripture, we see the pattern that God uses evil plans and rulers for a greater purpose and His sovereign will.
Let’s not forget how God used an ungodly ruler named Cyrus to bless and initiate the return to rebuild Jerusalem under Nehemiah and Ezra in 539 BC, approximately 48 years after the exile of the Southern Kingdom.
How can we forget the experience of Joseph, who was unjustly treated by his brothers, and then by the wife of Potiphar, an Egyptian leader. He continued in following God and ultimately, Joseph became a leader in the ungodly Egyptian empire. And when he looked back on his complicated past, through faith he declared to his repentant brothers, “...you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good...”
Paul also recognized that his imprisonment under Rome served a greater purpose. He was in chains for the sake of the Gospel.
And we must not forget that Jesus was crucified under the hands of the religious leaders and the decree of a Roman governor.
We can assuredly affirm that God is still involved in the affairs of the world today. And He is working toward a future that leads us closer to Him.

What about our country?

The USA is experiencing an uncommon time in our history. We must not make the error to assume that somehow the USA is a covenant people of God. Neither can we wholly declare that we are a Christian nation. Our founding as a nation and early efforts at self governance were flawed and sinful. And yet, among the sins our our nation, we can see small glimpses of good, especially in our freedom of worship. We should neither hate nor adore our history, we should realistically admit the sins and successes. And after that, we need to humble ourselves before God and seek His kingdom. We ought to proclaim the sufficiency of Christ and the power of the gospel to change that part of humanity that no law, power, or effort can resolve, the sinful heart. We must recognize the reality of Ephesians 6:12. The spiritual battle is only won by standing firm in Jesus Christ and proclaiming the gospel.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When we consider the future of America and await the official results of the election, many believers will be tempted to equate one candidate with the will of God and not the other. Which represents God’s will? We will have to wait and see. Soon enough, we will be able to say with certainty that one has become the president and that it was God’s will. We must not be discouraged nor arrogant. We must not be deflated. We should not assume that our work as believers is accomplished with the arrival of a new leader. Our best hope is that we continue to be dedicated to God’s work and His Kingdom. Whoever may be our next leader, it will be for a short time in the timeline of God’s story. We must learn to appreciate that God has a sovereign perspective. He can raise a leader and bring him down just as quickly. And if we place our hope in that leader, we will be quickly defeated because we forgot the lessons given to Isaiah. Only God is the True King.
Our future with the Corona Virus may be unsettling. But could we take a moment to stop and think what God might accomplish, even through this difficult time? It often in unsettling moments that God reveals that He is the only solid foundation. We must be careful to not assume anything other than this, God is in control whether it seems like it or not. Consider the wisdom of this little story.
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse….
People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused…
One morning, he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse…It would have been better to have sold him…Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."
The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgement. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"
….After fifteen days, the horse returned…he had run into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. "Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."
The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back…How do you know if this is a blessing or not. You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?"
.."Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another…But down deep, they knew he was wrong.
The old man had a son…The young man…fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgement.
"You were right," they said. "You proved your were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing…Your only son has broken his legs…Now you are poorer than ever."
The old man spoke again, "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go so far…We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."
…a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man…"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it."
…The old man spoke again, "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."
From Max Lucado, "The Woodcutter's Wisdom," In the Eye of the Storm

Is Jesus your King?

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