Immediately following His baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus began to call the nation to repentance. The word in the Greek means to “change your mind,” and it is always followed by a change of heart, attitudes, and actions. Although there is the “individual” aspect of repentance, there is also the great need for nations to repent or face the consequences of abandoning God. It’s what the Prodigal Son did in the pig pen when he suddenly “came to his senses” and decided to return to his Father. Whether in personal encounters or in parables, Jesus called individuals, and the nation, to repent, warning them that failure to do so would result in both personal and national judgment. On Palm Sunday, as Jesus approached Jerusalem, He wept over the city and said,

“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, both you and the children within your walls.
They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s visitation” (Lk. 19:41-44). 

For the next 40 years, the nation failed to repent. In fact, they persecuted all those who claimed the name of Jesus. In the end, Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman army surrounded the city, placed it under siege, starved out the inhabitants, and eventually stormed the walls, burning the Temple, and dismantling the walls of the city stone by stone. Although a few repented and became part of “the remnant” of national Jews who would become part of the Church, the nation as a whole rejected their own Messiah, the One who had come to redeem them and bring them “peace.”

Over 700 years before Jesus began His ministry, the nation of Israel faced a huge crisis as Sennacherib, the King and Commander of the powerful nation of Assyria, surrounded the city of Jerusalem and threatened to destroy it and its inhabitants. Listen to what the Assyrians shouted to the Israelites guarding the walls of Jerusalem,

“Choose life and not death. Do not listen to King Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered them from the hand of the king of Assyria?…Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save them? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (2 Kings 18:32-35).

After receiving word of what the Assyrians troops had shouted to those on the wall, Hezekiah remembered what God had told King Solomon over 200 years prior at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem,

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, the I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chron. 7:13-14).   

King Hezekiah remembered these words that were recorded during the dedication of Solomon’s Temple. When Hezekiah heard what was said about the Assyrian destruction of one nation after another, and one city after another throughout Israel, Hezekiah went up to the Temple and with all humility laid out His petition before the LORD,

“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. It is true, O LORD that the Assyrian army has laid waste to many nations and to their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O LORD, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God” (2 Kings 19:14-19).

Notice what Hezekiah did – He acknowledged the presence and power of the enemy, and yet proclaimed the ability of the God of heaven to destroy the enemy. Furthermore, Hezekiah, in the end, wanted God to receive all the glory for accomplishing their deliverance. And indeed, He did! The next morning, those guards on the walls of Jerusalem noticed that 185,000 Assyrian troops had died during the night as the “angel of the LORD” went through the camp (probably a plague or a “super-bug” of some kind). In the end, what was left of the Assyrian army returned to Nineveh in disgrace, and while Sennacherib was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons assassinated him (2 Kings 19:35-37). Indeed, the God of Israel, the LORD, received all of the glory for answering Hezekiah’s prayer and delivering the city of Jerusalem, and the nation itself.

Today, our nation is besieged by political and social unrest that is causing fear and anxiety among the citizens of our country. Although there will always be differences of political agendas, the conflict between the two major parties has become divisive and destructive. Many followers of Jesus are asking God to raise up leaders and a citizenry who will, as the Prophet Amos said,  

“Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24).

I totally agree with what Franklin Graham said in my opening email, “America is in trouble. Our communities are hurting, our people are divided, and there’s fear and uncertainty all around us. Let’s join together and do the most important thing: pray!”

Yes, let’s do the most important thing we can do – PRAY! And if at all possible, please join one of the events mentioned earlier this Saturday morning. And let’s commit ourselves to pray when we can, wherever we can.  Blessings to all of you, and let’s see what God does in response. We will wait on Him and give Him the glory!