-Judah-

And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.

And Hezekiah set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke comfortably to them, saying, "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles." And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when Sennacherib was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own body killed him there with the sword.

Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from then on.

And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor, and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and manger’s for flocks. Furthermore he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.

-Isaiah-
-The Messiah’s Mission and Message-

" ‘Comfort you, comfort you my people, says your God. Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, "Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

" ‘Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

" ‘The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

" ‘Look, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: look, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

" ‘Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants there are as grasshoppers; that stretch out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to live in.

" ‘Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things, that brings out their host by number: he calls them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one fails.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

-God’s Servant Foretold-

" ‘Fear you not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

" ‘Look my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

" ‘A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth justice unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till justice in the earth: and the islands shall wait for his law.

" ‘There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots, and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD….

" ‘He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with fairness for the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he kill the wicked. And righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the sash of his waist.

" ‘The wolf also shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

" ‘And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

" ‘And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a signal of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left…. And he shall set up a standard for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

" ‘And in that day you shall say, "O LORD, I will praise you: though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Look, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.

" ‘Lift you up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

" ‘Look, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at you; his appearance was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: so shall He sprinkle many nations….

" ‘Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he has no form or majesty; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

" ‘He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our grief, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his wounds we are healed.

" ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the sin of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

" ‘He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; though he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

" ‘Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the anguished labor of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their sins.

" ‘Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he has poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

-Gods Description of True Religion-

" ‘This says the LORD, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it; that keeps the sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

" ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

" ‘Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh and blood?

" ‘Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your reward. Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, "Here I am."

" ‘If you take away from the midst of your the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of you shall build the old desolate places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.

" ‘If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then shall you delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.’ "

REFERENCES

2 Chronicles 32:2-3, 6-8, 20-23, 27-29; Isaiah 40:1-5, 8,10-11, 21-22, 26, 28-31; Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 11:1-12; Isaiah 12:1-3; Isaiah 13:2; Isaiah 52:13-15a; Isaiah 53:1-12 Isaiah 56:1-2; Isaiah 58:1, 6-14.

CHAPTER 46