You say you have strategy and military strength -
but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel
against me? Isaiah 36:5
Footnote:
Hezekiah put great trust in Pharaoh's promise
to help Israel against the Assyrians, but promises are only as good as the
credibility of the person making them. It was Pharaoh's word against God's. How
quickly we organize our lives around human advice while we neglect God's eternal
promises. When choosing between God's word and someone else's, whose will you
believe?
And if you say to me, "We are depending on the
Lord our God" -- isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,
saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this alter"? Isaiah
36:7
Footnote:
The field commander from Assyria claimed that
Hezekiah had insulted God by tearing down his altars and making the people
worship only in Jerusalem. But Hezekiah's reform sought to eliminate idol
worship (which occurred mainly on high hills) so that the people worshiped only
the true God. Either the Assyrians didn't know about the religion of the true
God or they wanted to deceive the people into thinking they had angered a
powerful god.
In the same way, Satan tries to confuse or deceive
us. People don't necessarily need to be sinful to be ineffective for
God; they need only be confused about what God wants. To avoid Satan's deceit,
study God's Word carefully and regularly. When you know what God says,
you will not fall for Satan's lies.
Keep reading -- 166 days left!
All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV
No comments:
Post a Comment