Adult II Couples Class
2013
Question of the Day
Prayer Requests
Physical
John Harris
Spiritual
Haraway Family
Heils in Brazil
-Xukari tribe
Practical
Lauren and Matt
Evans-pregnancy
Church
SS Classes
Morning Service
Kevin Young &
Paul Wilman
Misc
Events Calendar
 REAP Visitation (E)
 Benevolence Fund
 Monthly Fellowships
 20 July-Farrars
 August-Woffords
 September
 Dinner Out Friday (26 July)
 5th Sunday Breakfast (29 Sept)
 Quarterly Service Project
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Judea???
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Crochet Classes (10am Saturdays)
Eye Glasses Donation for Zimbabwe
Creation Museum Trip (18-20 July)
Olive Grove Terrace Visitation (28 July)
Mexico Mission Trip (30 Aug-6 Sep)
Question of the Day
Week No. 28
2 Chronicles
2 Kings
Micah
Isaiah
Psalms
End Times
Missions
Church
Gospel
Silent
Return
Captivity
Div. Kingdom
Kingdom
Judges
Conquest
Exodus
Patriarch
Creation
You
are
here
Creation: God reveals His goodness through creation and
His mercy in response to sin.
Patriarchs: God reveals His response to the faithfulness of
men (Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph).
Exodus: God liberates Israel, and leads them to the Promised Land and shapes them into a nation holy to Himself.
Conquest: Joshua, relying on God’s presence and power,
leads Israel to possess and settle the Promised Land.
Judges: Every man does what is right in his own eyes, and
Israel falls into a cycle of disobedience, judgment, oppression and deliverance (the sin cycle).
Kingdom: Israel asks for a king and God raises up a succession of kings (Saul, David and Solomon) who rule over a
united Israel.
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After the death of King Solomon, ten of the
tribes of Israel rebel against the rule of the
house of David and set up their own king,
and their own form of worship in the
Northern Kingdom (Isreal)
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The remaining two tribes (Judah and
Benjamin) remained loyal to the throne of
David and continued to generally worship
God in accordance with His law in the
Southern Kingdom (Judah)
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Both kingdoms eventually stray completely from God, falling
into idol worship and social disintegration even as God sends
His prophets to urge them to repent and return to Him
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Each would be carried into captivity and cease to exist as a
nation
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It is the time of the reign of good King
Hezekiah in Judah
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In Hezekiah’s 6th year, Samaria, the
capital of Israel, falls to Assyria
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Inherits the throne from his father, Ahaz, who
did evil in the sight of the LORD
Last king the prophet Isaiah serves
Israel is taken away into captivity (2 Kings 17)
They soon cease to exist as a nation as judgment for their disobedience to God
Assyria’s king Sennacherib turns his
attention to Judah
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Begins to lay siege to their cities
It is early in Hezekiah’s 29 year reign
Hezekiah faces a national crisis
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God hates sin because of its destructive consequences
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Hezekiah is faced with the enormous trial of dealing with
a real threat from brutal Assyrian invaders
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His grief over sin is magnified by His perfect knowledge of the holy potential
its corrupting influence denies of every soul
Sin’s consequences bring trials and burdens into men’s lives that God never
intended, yet God uses these trials to accomplish His purposes
He did not have an army that could fight off the Assyrians
He could not depend on any outside help (Egypt)
Hezekiah was turning Judah’s heart back to God
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2 Kings 18:4-6 ~ He removed the high places and broke down the sacred
pillars and cut down the Asherah…He trusted in the Lord, the God of
Israel…For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but
kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.
Hezekiah, in an exhibition of true faith, humbles himself before God
He expresses his fears plainly and God hears Hezekiah’s heart and answers
his prayer
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Assyria’s Brutality and Cruelty was Legendary
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They were merciless
 Displaced whole nations
 Ripped open pregnant women
 Flayed (skinned) nobles alive
 Cut off the noses, ears and hands of soldiers
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They were overwhelming
 Fielded large powerful armies
 Used them to loot and displace whole nations
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Sennacherib Sweeps Across Israel and into Judah
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Sends Rabshakeh with a large army to surround Jerusalem
Rabshakeh calls for a meeting with three of Hezekiah’s
ministers to try to intimidate Judah into surrendering
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Rabshakeh tries to Destroy the People’s Confidence
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In the ability of their leadership (Isa 36:4-6, 8-9)
 Refuses to address Hezekiah as king
 Demeans their army and plans for defense
 Ridicules their alliance with Egypt as a source of aid against Assyria
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In the faithfulness of the LORD (Isa 36:7,10)
 He accuses Hezekiah of provoking God’s wrath by removing the high places of
worship, “forcing” them to bring their sacrifices to the temple
 Plants a seed of doubt by claiming to be sent by God to destroy Judah
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Rabshakeh Tempts the People to Trust his Pagan King over
God’s Faithful King (Isa 36:13-20)
Everyone who surrenders will be guaranteed peace and prosperity
 Depending on Hezekiah’s promise of deliverance by God will lead
to the same ruin experienced those nations who had trusted in
their own gods
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What tactics did Rabshakeh use in his efforts to
demoralize Judah?
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Made them equivalent to every other nation they had
conquered by ridiculing their military strength
Tried to destroy their faith in God by comparing Him to
the gods of all the nations they had already conquered
Offered an easy path to sure survival and even new
prosperity
What parallels do we see in the way Rabshakeh
tried to shake the people’s faith in God and how
secular philosophy operates today to achieve the
same goal?
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Hezekiah’s Heart before God (Isa 37:1)
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He tore his clothes to demonstrate a broken heart
He put on sackcloth to show his humility
He did not turn to his own wisdom but went immediately
into the temple to seek God’s wisdom
Hezekiah’s Personal Approach to God (14-15)
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He goes into the temple and lays the problem before God
 He was spiritually ready to go to God (prayed up)
 He took the object of his need with him (Rabshakeh’s letter) to help him
focus the point of his prayer
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He makes a personal plea directly to God
 He prayed himself for that which he also sought the prayers of others
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Hezekiah’s Prayer to God (16-20)
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He begins his prayer with praise
 Acknowledges God’s position as sole authority over heaven and earth
 Confesses that He is “the God...alone” who created everything
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He presents the problem from his point of view
 Sennacherib insulted You
 He is enjoying success
 But those successes have been against nations who have no real god
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Finally, he makes an exact request of God for a holy purpose
 “deliver us from his hand”
 “that all kingdoms of earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”
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Hezekiah’s Personal Approach to God (14-15)

He goes into the temple and lays the problem before God
 He was spiritually ready to go to God (prayed up)
 He took the object of his need with him (Rabshakeh’s letter) to help him focus the point
of his prayer

He makes a personal plea directly to God
 He prayed himself for that which he also sought the prayers of others
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Why is it important to begin prayer with praise?
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Acknowledges God’s position of authority
Acknowledges our position of inferiority
Sets the stage for recognizing our need in the presence of
the One who has the ability to meet that need
What truths in Hezekiah’s prayer may have begun to
give him hope even as he voiced them before God?
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Sennacherib’s destruction of other gods just proved that
they were worthless
Judah had the opportunity to become God’s vehicle for
demonstrating His power
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The Angel of the LORD Kills
185,000 Assyrian Soldier in One
Night
God defends His people
 God defends His city
 God protects the line of David
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Sennacherib Returns to Nineveh
He is shamed by his great defeat
 He is killed by his own sons while
worshipping his god
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Why does God allow evil people to taunt His children?
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What might God be prompting us to do by allowing the evil
we see in society today?
Were the people of Judah more or less devoted to God after
witnessing this whole affair with Assyria?
How did Hezekiah respond when his faith was
threatened and belittled?
How should we respond?
 How do we respond?
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Our enemies’ pride leads them to think they
have unlimited power, but in reality, they can
only do what the Lord permits.
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God is often at work in our enemy’s camp to
disorient them and defeat them.
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God sometimes uses our enemies to get our
attention so that we will cry out to Him and
exercise faith in His promises.
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The enemy will say anything to boost his
credibility and to deceive God’s people.
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God will deal with the enemy in His time.
Bible Trivia Test
 According to Isaiah, in the last days the nations will, “beat their
swords into __________ and their spears into _______ _____”.
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“And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks.” (Isaiah 2:4)
 Where did Hezekiah get the gold demanded of him as tribute by
Sennacherib?
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“At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of
the Lord, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had
overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.” (2 Kings 18:16)
 What did God do to the foreigners that Assyria brought in to
occupy Israel after their defeat, because they did not fear the
LORD?
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“At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the Lord; therefore
the Lord sent lions among them which killed some of them.” (2 Kings
17:25)
Bible Trivia Test
 What ancient Biblical warrior’s name is also associated with the
nation of Assyria?
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“They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod
at its entrances...” (Micah 5:6)
 Name one of the four things Hezekiah ordered done to prepare
Jerusalem for defense against the invading Assyrian army.
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“…he decided…to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were
outside the city…and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken…and built
another outside wall…and made weapons and shields in great
number.” (2 Chron 32:2-7)
Adult II Couples Class
NEXT WEEK…..