The Eyes and Ears of God

 

II Chronicles 7:11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

God sees and He hears.  We have seen that theme for the last several weeks. There are some places and situations where we see that more intensely. Here at the dedication of the temple was one of those times and places.  God hears; He chooses; He acts.  And He will continue to hear, listening for us to call out to Him as Solomon did.  This classic promise in verse 14 is founded upon the fact that God does hear us and pay attention to us. Always has; always will.  Do you believe this? If so, act accordingly. 

Humility Helps Hearing...

 II Kings 22:16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” 

As we have seen the last few days, Hezekiah was a king who mostly sought God, crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness, and God heard him. This chapter concerns Josiah, the young reformist who also brought himself and his people humbly before God.  There is definitely a connection, as these reformer kings to whom God said: "I have heard you," and to whom He also promised to hold off judgment until after their times as king.  There are many more evil kings who did not humble themselves and were not heard.

God Hears Hezekiah Again!

 

II Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” 

It is interesting that three times in a row our passages on God hearing have to do with the life and reign of King Hezekiah.  The ultimate outcome of this account is highly debated: "Would it have been better for the kingdom if Hezekiah had died at that point?" That's one of those questions for heaven, but this was not all about Hezekiah.  The prophesy of his healing is also tied into God's promise to deliver the nation from Assyria.  By healing Hezekiah, God confirmed the greater promise, increasing the faith not only of him, but the whole nation.  God's hearing and acting can be contagious. We need to ask, trust, and tell others when and how He has heard our cries.

God Has Heard... Have You?

 II Kings 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
“She despises you, she scorns you—
    the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you—
    the daughter of Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you mocked and reviled?
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!...

Yesterday we looked at Isaiah's response to Hezekiah that God had indeed heard the mocking of the king of Assyria toward Israel and their God.  Now, Isaiah reassures Hezekiah that God has heard and is going to act by telling him the message God is now sending to the Assyrians:

25 “Have you not heard

    that I determined it long ago?

God goes on to say, through Isaiah, that all the lands and peoples the Assyrians had been taking were allowed by God - that they were merely pawns in His hands.  But now that they were mocking the God who allowed them such victories, the tide was going to turn on them.  God hears all. Do you hear Him?

Maybe God Hears???

II Kings 19:1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me.

King Hezekiah has just heard the intentions of the Assyrians to turn their siege of Jerusalem and Judea into a total annihilation of his people.  He has also heard the report that the Assyrian spokesperson had mocked God in the process.  His plea was for Isaiah to intercede on the behalf of his people - that perhaps - it may be, that God overheard.  Isaiah reassures King Hezekiah that God indeed heard and was going to do something about it.  How often do we think this way - that maybe God has heard. He has heard all right, and calls on us to believe He hears all that is going on, and call on Him ourselves to move His hand.

God Hears, Sees, and Cares

 I Kings 9: 3 And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

Solomon had called out to God for His blessing on both His palace and the Temple of the Lord. He wanted God to use what he built for His glory.  When God communicates with us, He makes promises He keeps. We have already seen that God hears and sees.  Here He tells Solomon He also puts His heart where He hears and sees: He really cares about His people.  It's so basic, but we often forget the simplest things: God hears; He sees; He cares; He can do something about it. May we trust in the full character of God. 

The Song of God Hearing

 II Samuel 23:2“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
    my stronghold and my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.
5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.

This Song of David is also found in Psalm 18.  Here it is in its historical context, as verse 1 says, David sang it on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. For years David had cried out to God, be it from his heart, in a cave, or through the priest with the Ephod, seeking wisdom how to proceed with persecution from the hand of Saul on one side and from the Philistines on the other. At every point, with every decision, God heard and answered.  He does the same for us, if we will only call upon Him.