Raging Against the Lᴏʀᴅ

Isaiah 37:14-20, 29

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, and spread it before the Lᴏʀᴅ. 
And Hezekiah prayed to the Lᴏʀᴅ: 
“O Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ear, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and hear; open your eyes, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lᴏʀᴅ, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lᴏʀᴅ our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

When I was in high school sixty-some years ago, English literature textbooks included the 1741 Jonathan Edwards sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God as viewed as an archaic misrepresentation of a loving God. Yet, in the context of those who would scorn Him, an ‘angry’ God seems more appropriate than the ‘loving’ representation of a God who overlooks sin.

When the Assyrian commander, Rabshakeh, scorns God as incapable of stopping the Assyrian invaders having their way with Judah, Assyria falls into the hands of the angry God.

Hezekiah receives the letter from the messengers, reads it, then Hezekiah goes up to the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, and spreads it before the Lᴏʀᴅ. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lᴏʀᴅ, 

“O Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ear, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and hear; open your eyes, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lᴏʀᴅ, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lᴏʀᴅ our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lᴏʀᴅ.” 1

The first Assyrian challenge had been verbal and when Assyria was redirected into another military campaign, this letter was sent to remind Hezekiah Assyria would be back demanding submission. Hezekiah responds taking it before the Lᴏʀᴅ and asking for God’s intervention so all will know that the Lᴏʀᴅ is Lᴏʀᴅ of all. God’s response to those who scorn Him:

“Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.” 2

This account ends with the reaping the consequence of arrogance against God, a direct affront against Him for who He is and His Sovereignty over the affairs of man and challenging His ability to complete:

And the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ 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. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. 3

While God is love and desires that none perish, He is willing to allow mankind to receive the consequences of rebellion against Him. Anger? What would you label the appropriate response to ‘raging against the Lᴏʀᴅ’, to trying to take the place of the Creator of all? The permissive will of God is permitting anyone who demands their own arrogance in defying Him to receive the consequence of that way. God does not accept distortion by those who would make Him other than Lᴏʀᴅ.

FOOTNOTES:
1 Isaiah 37:16-20 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/37/16-20/s_716016
2 Isaiah 37:29 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/37/29/s_716029
3 Isaiah 37:36-38 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/37/36-38/s_716036
Isaiah 37:14-20 (ESV) - https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/37/14-20/s_716014
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