something to think about

As you may have gathered already I am reading through the book of Isaiah.  As I was reading today I had a thought, I know surprising isn't it :) . I have wondered this many times, and it is this:  Why doesn't God do things today like we read about in the Old Testament.  There is a great theological answer and that is that from the New Testament to today God has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3).  I get that, I really do.  However could you imagine if God did things today like He did in the Old Testament.  Like the 10 plagues, parting of the Red Sea, providing manna, water from the rock, and so on and so forth.

I am not suggesting by any means that we should go back to priest, high priest, and sacrifices on the alter for our sin.  But imagine for a moment if God did these things how people may react.  Quite frankly I don't think it would make any difference.  Anyway, getting to the point of this blog.

In Isaiah 37 Sennacherib was bearing down on King Hezekiah and things were looking pretty bleak for the nation of Israel.  Hezekiah does what we should do when things start looking bad, he prayed.  Now here is where I am going with this.  In Isaiah 37:14-20 is his prayer, the key is found in the closing of his prayer in verse 20:

20 Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God." (NIV)

There it is in black and white, Hezekiah's motive.  He didn't ask for deliverance because he was scared of losing his kingdom, afraid of dying, or losing loved ones.  He wanted God to deliver them so that He (being God) would get the glory.  Maybe, just maybe, our motives are too selfish.  Maybe when we pray, we are so focused on our own wants that we lose sight of what God wants.  We pray with the mindset that we don't want to get hurt, we don't want to be sick, we don't want a family member or friend to deal with problems.  I know what you are thinking: Chris praying like that is not selfish we are praying for others.  True, but are we praying for them so that we can feel better about ourselves and our lives..... or because we want people around us to know that the LORD is the only God.

Now, here is the verse that got me thinking about this whole scenario, it is one of those times God did something dramatic, unbelievable, and jaw dropping:

36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (Is. 37:36-37)

Can you imagine waking to this scene.  Thinking that morning that you would be facing a huge battle, and yet waking to find 185,000 of the enemy soldiers dead.  So why was this done, why did God do it this way?  "so that all the kingdoms of the earth would know that you LORD are the only God".

Hezekiah's motive was pure: He wanted his enemy to know that his God was the true God.  Just something to think about when we pray.

Have a blessed day!  Chris