DAY 209: 2 Kings 19; Psalms 46, 80, 135

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's July the 28th, and we'll be looking at 2 Kings 19, Psalms 4680 and 135. Yesterday, Isaiah showed us Babylon's idols being carried away as burdens while the Lord promised to carry His people home.

He even named Cyrus before the Persian king was born, proving that rulers and empires remain servants in God's sovereign hands. Well, today the reading briefly returns to the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem.

Hezekiah Brings Assyria’s Threat Before God

2 Kings 19 recounts Hezekiah's prayer and Sennacherib's defeat. And then Psalms 4680 and 135 teach us how to interpret such deliverance. The Lord is refuge when nations rage, shepherd when His people need restoration, and sovereign king above every idol and earthly power.

Well, in that way, 2 Kings 19 then begins after Rabshakeh mocks Judah's trust in God. Hezekiah tears his clothes and he enters into the house of the Lord and he sends messengers to Isaiah the prophet.

And then the prophet tells him, do not fear. Sennacherib answers with another threatening letter. Assyria has crushed the nations and their gods didn't save them, so why should they think that Yahweh will save them as well?

Hezekiah spreads the letter before the Lord and he prays. And he confesses that Assyria destroyed those gods because they were only wood and stone. And then he asked God to save Jerusalem so that every kingdom may know that the Lord alone is God.

God’s Decisive Judgment on Sennacherib

And the Lord answers through the prophet Isaiah. Sennacherib's victories occurred only because God had appointed them and the Assyrian king will not enter Jerusalem, shoot an arrow there, or build even a siege ramp against it.

That night, the angel of the Lord strikes the Assyrian camp and the dejected Sennacherib returns home and later is killed by one of his own sons in the temple of his God. Psalm 46, therefore, then sings the theology of this kind of deliverance.

Psalm 46: God Is Refuge When Nations Rage

The nations rage and the kingdom shake, but God is refuge and strength. He's the one who breaks the weapons of war and commands his people, be still and know that I am God. Psalm 80 then adds a needed prayer to this.

Psalm 80: Restoration for God’s Ravaged Vine

Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, because God's vine has been ravaged. The psalm repeatedly pleads, restore us and cause your face to shine upon us. Psalm 135 then celebrates the Lord who does whatever he pleases in the heavens.

Psalm 135: The Lord Above Every Idol and King

He defeats mighty kings and gives his people an inheritance. The idols of the nations have mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, but Lord is sovereign over all. So as you read today, I want you to ask the following question.

Learning Trust, Repentance, and Worship from Deliverance

What should God's people learn from the deliverances that he's already given them? Because past salvation should produce present confidence. It should give us repentance and prayer and thankfulness and worship.

The God who shattered Pharaoh and defeated kings and preserved Zion and exposed the lifeless idols hasn't surrendered his throne. When the next crisis arrives, he's still reigning now. And in that way, the central tension is between the raging nations and the unshakable rule of God.

Hezekiah’s Faith Instead of Panic

Assyria is loud. Sennacherib sends all sorts of messages and lists all of his victories out. And fear works that way, doesn't it? It rehearses the enemy's resume and it imagines a disaster is on the horizon.

But Hezekiah does something better. He carries the threat immediately into the presence of God. He lays it out there and prays, God, will you help me? Which is usually right at the beginning when God answers prayer.

Then Psalm 46 changes our perspective. The nations may roar, but God doesn't need to shout. He speaks and the earth melts. Psalm 80 prevents our confidence from becoming pride. Judah has been delivered, but God's people still need restoration.

Israel's northern kingdom has fallen. Judah remains spiritually inconsistent. The proper response is not, look how strong we are. It's restore us, O God. And then Psalm 135 joins both of these truths together.

The Living God Is Unlike Lifeless Idols

The Lord rules over the kings of the earth, but His people must not become like the idols that they reject. Those who trust gods that can't see, hear, or speak will end up becoming like them. The living God is utterly different.

He sees the afflicted, hears the prayers, acts in history, remembers His covenant love, and He saves His people. Deliverance, therefore, teaches us neither panic nor self-congratulation. It teaches us to be still, to repent, pray, and to know that He is God.

Christ as Refuge, Shepherd, Vine, and King

And in that way, all of these passages point to Jesus, our refuge, our shepherd, our true vine, the enthroned son of man and the victorious king. Psalm 46 celebrates that God is dwelling in the midst of His people.

In Christ, God comes to dwell among His people in the flesh. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus establishes a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Psalm 80 cries to the shepherd of Israel and asks him to restore the vine that he planted.

Well, Jesus comes as that good shepherd who gathers His scattered sheep, and He is the true vine that's going to produce fruit in His people forever. The psalm also asks God to place His hand upon the man at His right hand, the son of man, strengthened for Himself.

That hope reaches its fullness in Jesus, the son of man seated at the Father's right hand. Psalm 135 mocks the idols that can't speak, hear, or breathe, and Christ exposes them all by rising from the dead.

Christ’s Greater Deliverance

Kings die, empires fall, idols crumble, but Jesus Christ lives and reigns forever. And He accomplishes a greater deliverance than Jerusalem could have ever experienced. He defeats the enemies of every exile, guilt, death, and dominion of sin.

He's the refuge of Psalm 46, the shepherd of Psalm 80, the sovereign Lord of Psalm 135 who's active decisely in history as the crucified risen king. So in all of that, as you read today, I want you to remember that deliverance should deepen our trust, not our confidence in ourself.

Isaiah’s Coming Answer for Israel’s Restoration

And tomorrow, Isaiah is going to return to the servant of the Lord and answers the greatest question in all of this section. If Israel herself is sinful and blind, how can restoration happen? And Isaiah 49 -53 answers that very question.

But with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, and may the Lord use His word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow. God bless you.