The Believer’s Response To Crisis

Isa 38:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Introduction: A crisis is any event or period that will lead, or may lead, to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. Have you ever been caught in a crisis? A child of God caught in crisis may be a difficult subject to address because of todays’ social climate. With so many Gospels being preached, many followers of Christ seem confused about how to respond and how to act. Some believe godly living, great faith and positive thinking will exempt them from trials. How do you respond when you are living your best, walking by faith, serving God and the bottom falls out?

Yet, in our text, Hezekiah, a godly king of Judah and Jerusalem finds himself in a dilemma. The prophet Isaiah for many years had approached the kings of Judah with the word of God, proclaiming God’s call to repentance. The nation was encouraged to seek God’s forgiveness that the nation might spared. Isaiah pleads were rejected, now the prophet received a new message for the nation. Isaiah comes with the judicial sentence, dooming the nation to exile and the land to desolation. While this was righteous retribution, it was a measure of mercy as well. Although Isaiah pronounced judgment, he knew that holy love, devoted zeal and sincere repentance would restore God’s mercy and blessing.

In response to the prophet, King Hezekiah and his people turned to God with repentance, and uprightness. God intervened; the nation of Assyria was not allowed to invade Judah. This was a crisis of danger! When the nation of Judah seemed without hope, Isaiah became their intercessor as the prophet Moses of old, and God granted deliverance to Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a great and good king, who followed in the way of great-grand father King Uzziah. Hezekiah abolished idolatry, and even destroyed the brazen serpent which Moses had built. He brought about a great reformation during his reign of Judah.

Hezekiah’s trouble began when he refused to pay the tribute which his father had paid and rebelled against the king of Assyria. The enemies of life will not allow you to leave their oppression without a fight. Whenever you are trying to break the yoke of bondage, expect a fight! Hezekiah’s act of rebellion led to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib and his army. The Assyrian army took 40 cities of Judah and besieged the Holy city, Jerusalem itself. Finally, Hezekiah yielded to the demands of the Assyrian king and agreed to pay him 300 talents of Silver and 30 talents of Gold. Sennacherib dealt treacherously with Hezekiah and chose to invade Judah again two years later.

Even before the situation with Sennacherib had been settle, Hezekiah had become very ill. In his weaken condition, Hezekiah received this unsettling message from God’s prophet, Isaiah. Isa 38:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live."

Although Hezekiah was highly favored of God, he was not exempt from sickness and disease. Hezekiah finds himself sick unto death when he is middle age. His father died at 38 and he is only 40 years old. Death is the common lot of all, regardless of age. Isaiah brought a pertinent message, “set your house in order.” This text reminds us that it is our duty to prepare for death, before it approaches, to provide for it, by a settling all our worldly affairs, and more especially by dying daily to the flesh, the world and sin. The day of our departure will come and may be soon. There are some lessons we can learn as we see how other saints, disciples of God faced crisis.