Be Quiet. Do not fear. (Isaiah 7:4)

Politics in Isaiah’s Day

During the days of the prophet Isaiah, the political situation was tense in Jerusalem. In the early 730s B.C. Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, was busy on his northern frontier. At the same time, Rezin, king of Syria and Pekah, king of Israel, combined forces to withstand the expected attack from Assyria as soon the they were done in the north. Rezin and Pekah wanted Ahaz, king of Judah to join them, but Ahaz wanted nothing to do with them. So Rezin and Pekah plot to remove Ahaz from the throne and put a puppet king on the throne who they would be able to manipulate and control. With all that going on, God steps into the chaos and tells Ahaz to be quiet and to not fear.

God Interrupt’s Ahaz’ plans

Ahaz was contemplating paying the Assyrians to rescue him from Rezin and Pekah but God steps in and sends His prophet Isaiah to deliver a message. God says, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, and say to him: “Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted.” Ahaz had no need to worry. God said that none of what was planned would come to pass and their plans would not stand. Isaiah’s message from God would challenge the king to consider what the source of his trust was: Yahweh or the Assyrians. The All-knowing God was in control and if Ahaz would not trust God, God said he would not be established (vs. 9)

Who is your “Rezin and Pekah”?

All of us have times where there is a “Rezin and Pekah” breathing down our backs, trying to manipulate us to do what they want. We all have some big, bad “Assyrian King” that wants nothing more than to destroy us, take us captive, or even kill us. Maybe your “Rezin and Pekah” is a co-worker, or even a boss, that wants you to break a company policy. Maybe your “Assyrian King” comes in the form of a politician with a new law he wants to pass or maybe its a diagnosis from a doctor.

Politics today

Around the world today, politics grow more and more intense, maybe even scary. Sometimes it comes down to voting for the “lesser evil” because there really just isn’t a God-honoring candidate running. It seems each year we see more and more of stamping God out of the world and moving away from Christian values and morals. Instead of peace and unity, there is discord, strife, and division. Without a revival, our world is spinning faster and faster toward God’s final judgment. Today’s world isn’t really much different that Israel and Judah or even Sodom and Gomorrah. Without revival, judgment is just around the corner.

Be quiet; do not fear

Whatever threats are in your life, God says, “Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted.”

Take heed

To “take heed” means to pay attention or to take notice of. We need to pay attention to the events of our world. We also need to pay attention to what happened to Isreal and Judah because of the unwillingness to repent and return to God. Why? Because we can learn from their mistakes. We can repent, invite the Holy Spirit back into our nation and watch Him bring revival to our world. Lastly, we need to pay attention to end-time prophecies and understand how the events of our world fall into line with those prophecies.

Be quiet

It is so easy to get caught up in the rush of moment by moment – always running behind, trying to get the next thing done. But God wants us to just be quiet. In the quiet, we can hear the still small voice speaking to us. In the quiet, we can rest. It is in the quiet, we can dwell on the things of God. And in the quiet we reconnect with Him and draw closer to Him.

Do not fear

Sometimes it seems impossible to not be afraid of things going on in our world. However, God is in control. His promises are true. We can live in peace when we surrender our hearts to Him and trust that He will work all things out for our good – even when we can’t understand what’s happening. He has good plans for us.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

God has promised to never leave or forsake us, so no matter what happens in our world today, God is never surprised or unprepared for it and He is there with us.

Isaiah’s challenge

The same All-knowing God that was in control in Ahaz’s life is in control of your life. Isaiah issues the same challenge to you today: Will you trust God? Will you choose to believe Jeremiah 29:11 that says that God has good plans for us? Even if the threat occurs, we can know that God is in control. He goes before us. He walks beside us. God is there. He is near. He will never leave us or forsake us. So be quiet. Stop worrying. Do not fear. Don’t be fainthearted. God is still on His throne and He has you in the palm of His hand.

#judgment #revival #bequiet #donotfear

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