M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Typically, kings’ good and faithful works before God are rewarded with peace and prosperity. But not Hezekiah’s. His devotion to God is tested with an invasion by the most powerful army in the world—the Assyrian Empire, led by Sennacherib. Sennacherib is not just another bully coming to take the temple treasures; he intends to conquer the world, and Israel is a bump on his road to Egypt. Sennacherib is ample temptation for Hezekiah to abandon God and surrender Jerusalem in return for his own life. But Hezekiah is more faithful than that.
32 After his acts of faithfulness toward God, Hezekiah faced the greatest challenge of his reign. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities intending to conquer them for himself. 2 Realizing that Sennacherib would eventually reach Jerusalem, Hezekiah prepared the city for a long siege. 3-4 First, the king’s officers and warriors with a large number of the people dammed the water sources, both springs and rivers, outside the city so that when the Assyrians came they could not readily use the water sources. 5 Second, Hezekiah reinforced the city by repairing the existing wall structure which surrounded the city, building towers for offensive position, and erecting another wall far outside the main city wall. Between the two walls, he strengthened the city’s millo.
This millo is an immense earthen rampart that supports the structure of the main city wall and prevents the attackers from tunneling under it to attack the city from the inside, should they destroy the new outer wall.
Third he cast new weapons and shields in abundance. 6 Finally he appointed the military leaders over the people and commissioned them at the city gate.
Hezekiah: 7 We can be strong and courageous because of the One who fights with us. Don’t be discouraged or fearful of the Assyrian king and the multitude of his people, for greatness is with us more than with them. 8 Sennacherib will fight with an arm of flesh and bone, but we will fight with the Eternal God’s help and His warfare.
The people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
9 While Sennacherib, with his forces, was busy besieging Lachish in a bloody battle, the king of Assyria sent messengers to Jerusalem to persuade Hezekiah and all the Judahites to surrender.
Sennacherib’s Message: 10 Why are you remaining in Jerusalem when you know I am about to come destroy your city? What could you possibly be trusting that could save you from my army? 11 Hezekiah must be entertaining you with lies, telling you how the Eternal God will save you from my conquest. If you listen to him, we will certainly conquer you while you die of hunger and thirst inside those walls.
Sennacherib cleverly poses the question to those inside the walls of Jerusalem: Do you really think your God will defend a king who has made it harder for His people to worship Him?
Sennacherib’s Message: 12 Hezekiah removed His high places and altars from all over the country, forcing everyone to come to Jerusalem to worship. 13-14 Haven’t you heard how my empire’s army has destroyed peoples and nations for years? We even conquered your own brothers in the Northern Kingdom. Where were their gods when their nations needed defending? Where will your True God be when you are being tortured and murdered? 15 Stop listening and being deceived by Hezekiah. He is only giving you false hope. No god has ever rescued his people from me or my royal fathers before me, so what makes you think your God will?
Of course, Sennacherib completely misunderstands the nature of God and the reforms of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is only ingratiating himself to God when he consolidates the religion in Jerusalem. Sennacherib’s taunting of God, saying that He could never save His people, leaves the Assyrian king wide open for a display of God’s power.
16 Sennacherib’s servants continued blaspheming Hezekiah and the Eternal God. 17-19 The Assyrian king himself wrote additional letters insulting the Eternal God of Israel, reminding the people that no god had ever saved his people from the Assyrians, and Israel’s God couldn’t either. Furthermore, Sennacherib wrote that God was a creation of humans, just as all the other pagan gods are. These letters were shouted in the common Judahite language of Hebrew as the people of Jerusalem stood on the city wall listening. The messengers thought their words would terrify and disturb the people into surrendering the city.
20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, were not threatened by the Assyrians’ words. They relied on their God and called to heaven for help. 21 The Eternal responded quickly, sending a heavenly messenger to slaughter every Assyrian soldier, commander, and officer. Having been decidedly defeated by the very God he had taunted, Sennacherib, in shame, journeyed back to Assyria. In the security of his own god’s temple, Sennacherib was stabbed to death by his own children. 22 In this decisive way, the Eternal saved Hezekiah and Jerusalem from Sennacherib’s attempted conquest and any other nation’s imperial intentions. So God provided for His people by those around Judah. 23 Many people brought gifts to the Eternal and Hezekiah in Jerusalem, so that other nations recognized the king’s authority.
24-26 Hezekiah became proud and neglected to appreciate the gifts he received. So the Eternal was angry with him and all of Jerusalem and Judah. When Hezekiah became deathly ill, he realized what he had done wrong. He humbled himself and prayed to the Eternal, who answered the prayer and healed him as a sign. The people of Jerusalem and Judah also humbled themselves so that He was no longer angry with His people during Hezekiah’s days. 27-29 In fact, the True God blessed them with great wealth and honor. Hezekiah filled his treasuries with silver, gold, gems, spices, shields, and other valuables. He filled his storehouses with grain, wine, and oil. His stables contained all kinds of cattle and flocks. Then Hezekiah built more cities and acquired more flocks and herds. 30 He also dammed the Gihon River and diverted its waters to the west side of Jerusalem. Hezekiah was successful at all his endeavors.
31 Later, when the rulers of Babylon sent diplomats to learn about the miraculous sign given at Hezekiah’s healing when the sun moved backwards,[a] the True God left Hezekiah and tested the king’s heart and devotion to Him.
Near the end of Hezekiah’s reign, Mesopotamia is in turmoil. The Assyrian Empire is weakening due to internal struggles and a string of impotent kings. But the Babylonians are slowly gaining power and testing the strength of their surrounding nations. Soon Babylonian leaders will come to Jerusalem again. But the next time will not be a friendly visit.
32 The other actions and devotion of King Hezekiah, from his birth to his death, are recorded in the vision of Isaiah the prophet (son of Amoz) in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 33 Hezekiah joined his ancestors in death and was laid in an upper tomb, a place of honor, with the descendants of David. He was mourned by all Judah and all Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh reigned in his place.
Because Babylon is the city responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem’s first temple in 586 b.c., John uses this ominous symbol to describe the Babylon of his day—Rome, the city on seven hills. In a.d. 70, the Roman armies march against Jerusalem, destroy the second temple, and scatter the Jewish people.
The whore, who is identified as Babylon, is a symbol to readers in John’s day of Rome and its allure. Its beauty and power are legendary, but beneath the surface lies the truth of its nature. People who ally themselves with Rome and all that it represents are partners with ruin. In the years since John’s Revelation was first written, the whore has been seen as many different world forces. What Rome represents in John’s day has been replicated by many different world powers and their material attractions.
18 Next I saw another messenger descending from heaven. I knew he possessed great authority because his glory illuminated the earth.
2 Heavenly Messenger (with a powerful voice): Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great city!
It has become a habitat for demons,
A haunt for every kind of foul spirit,
a prison for every sort of unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk deeply
from the wine of the wrath of her immorality,
And the kings of the earth have disgraced themselves by engaging in gross sexual acts with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown fat and rich, profiting off the power purchased with her luxury.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven urge,
A Voice: My people, get away from her—fast.
Make sure you do not get caught up in her sins.
Put some distance between you so that you do not share in her plagues,
5 For her sins are higher than the highest mountain. They reach far into the heavens,
and God has not forgotten even one of her missteps.
6 Deal out to her what she has dealt out to others,
and repay her double according to her deeds.
In the cup where she mixed her drink, mix her a double.
7 Whatever glory she demanded and whatever luxury she lived,
give back to her the same measure in torment and sorrow.
Secretly she says in her heart:
“I rule as queen;
I am not like a widow;
I will never experience grief.”
8 Because of this arrogance, in a single day, plagues will overwhelm her.
Her portion will be death and sorrow and famine,
And she will be incinerated with fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who exacts judgment on her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who committed lewd, sexual acts and lived lavishly off of her, will weep and wail over their loss when they see the smoke from her burning body rise into the sky. 10 They will stand at a distance, fearing they, too, might fall victim to her torment. They will moan,
Woe to you, our great city!
Babylon, the most powerful city in the world.
In a single hour, your day of judgment has come.
Since greed and seeking unjust gain are two of Babylon’s greatest sins, economic collapse becomes the basis of God’s judgment.
11 And the merchants and the magnates of the earth weep and mourn over her demise because no one is buying their goods any longer: 12 warehouses remain full of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine fabrics, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; fragrant woods, items made of ivory, and items finely crafted out of expensive wood; bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, rich flour, and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and human cargo (the trafficked souls of humanity).
14 Everything your heart desired
has gone away;
All the glitz and glitter
are lost to you forever;
you’ll never have them again!
15 The sellers of these goods, who made a fine profit from her, will stand at a distance. Like the kings, they will fear her punishment might fall on them too. They will weep and mourn their loss.
16 Woe to you, our great city,
dressed in finest linens, in purple and scarlet fabrics,
dazzling in gold and jewels and pearls.
17 In a single hour, all this wealth is gone.
And all the sea captains, all those who sail the seas, sailors, and those who make a living by the sea, stood at a distance. 18 Strong men were reduced to tears as they gazed on the smoke that rose from her ruins. “Was there ever any city like her?” they asked. 19 They threw dust in the air covering their heads. They wept bitterly and mourned their loss.
Woe to you, our great city;
all who had ships at sea
became rich off your wealth!
In a single hour, you have been utterly ruined.
20 Rejoice over her torment, O heaven. Join in the celebration, you saints, emissaries,[a] and prophets because God has judged in your favor and against her.
21 Then a mighty messenger picked up a huge stone—it looked like a great millstone—and he cast it into the sea.
Mighty Messenger: Watch and see. This is how Babylon, the great city,
will be thrown down; violently will she go down,
and they will search for her in vain.
22 Never again will the sound of music grace your streets.
The melodies and harmonies of the harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters
will never be heard again.
And never again will an artisan of any craft
be found in your markets,
And never again will the grinding of the millstone
provide rhythm to your city,
23 And never again will the light of a lamp
bring warm light to your houses,
And never again will the voices of the bridegroom and bride
bring joy to your festivities.
For the merchants were the magnates of the earth,
and all the nations fell prey to your sorceries.
24 And in her streets the blood of the prophets, saints,
and all who have been slaughtered upon the earth, ran freely.
14 Pay attention. The day for the Eternal is coming, a day of judgment when your enemies will plunder your goods and divide them right in front of you. 2 For I am going to incite all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city will be surrounded and taken. The houses will be ransacked; all of your treasured possessions will be looted. Your wives and daughters will be raped. Half of the city will be forced into exile. The other half will remain in the city to pick up the pieces. 3 The Eternal One will join in the battle and fight against those enemy nations as your champion as He would on any day of any battle. 4 When that day comes, His feet will stand securely on the Mount of Olives, which sits east of Jerusalem. The mountain will quake under His weight and split in two, divided by a wide valley that runs east to west. Half of the mountain will retreat to the north, the other half to the south. 5 That valley will become your escape route because the valley of My mountains will lead as far as Azel, and you shall run as you ran from the earthquake that hit during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. Once you are safe, the Eternal my God will come to you with all His holy ones.
6 On that day, there will be no light, no cold or biting frost. 7 There will be a single, continuous day—a unique kind of day known only to the Eternal One—when night does not eclipse the day and when light shines through the evening. 8 On that day, living waters will stream out of Jerusalem. Half of them will flow to the eastern Dead Sea; the other half will descend the hills and cross the plains to join the western Mediterranean Sea. These waters will flow throughout the dry summer as they do in the wet winter. 9 And the Eternal will be crowned as King over all the earth. On that day, the Eternal will be one and His name will be one. 10 The mountainous land around Jerusalem will be turned into plains from Geba to Rimmon, south of the city. Jerusalem itself will then sit prominently in her place between Benjamin’s gate, the location of the first gate, and the corner gate; she’ll sit between Hananel’s Tower and the royal winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem will remain secure, bustling with residents, because she will never again be destined for destruction.
12 Every nation that attempts to wage war against Jerusalem will be struck with a plague. The Eternal will infect them with a disease making their flesh decay even as they stand, their eyes decay in their sockets, and their tongues decay in their mouths. 13 When that horrible day arrives, the Eternal will provoke them to panic, so that in their confusion they will grab each other for safety and then turn and attack each other. 14 Even Judah will be forced to fight in Jerusalem. And the riches of all the surrounding enemy nations will be gathered together—gold, silver, and costly clothing piled deep. 15 Then the same disease that plagues the enemy forces will infect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys—whatever domesticated animals are in their battle camps.
The day of the Eternal One is coming. It is a day of judgment when a great final battle is fought. Jerusalem and her people are under attack; and the city, it seems, falls to her enemies. But ultimately, God’s people do not fight alone. The Lord comes—commanding the army of heaven—to rescue and defend His people. Ultimately, He is crowned King over all the earth. In that day, Jerusalem is transformed and reinstated as God’s holy city; it becomes the center of the world, the source of life-giving waters. Even her enemies make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship and adore the one True God.
16 In days to come, all people who took up arms against Jerusalem and survived will make a choice: they will either journey to Jerusalem every year to keep the Feast of Booths and to worship the King—the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies— 17 or the families of nations will refuse the journey to Jerusalem to adore the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. The rains will never come to those who refuse the journey. 18 Even the family of people known as Egypt, if they do not come up to and travel through the gates of Jerusalem to present themselves to God, the Eternal will afflict them with the same plague of drought He’ll use to crush those nations who won’t keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This is the punishment Egypt and the enemy nations can expect if they refuse the journey to keep the Feast of Booths.
20 On that day, every aspect of the land will be ritually pure. Engraved on the bells worn by horses will be the same phrase on the high priest’s turban: “Sacred to the Eternal One.” The cooking pots used in the house of the Eternal will be as sacred as those collection bowls used at the altar. 21 In fact every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be treated as sacred to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, so that anyone who offers a sacrifice may borrow them and use them to boil the meat of the sacrifice. In that day, no merchant[a] will be found in the temple of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
17 Jesus (lifting His face to the heavens): Father, My time has come. Glorify Your Son, and I will bring You great glory 2-3 because You have given Me total authority over humanity. I have come bearing the plentiful gifts of God; and all who receive Me will experience everlasting life, a new intimate relationship with You (the one True God) and Jesus the Anointed (the One You have sent). 4 I have glorified You on earth and fulfilled the mission You set before Me.
5 In this moment, Father, fuse Our collective glory and bring Us together as We were before creation existed. 6 You have entrusted Me with these men who have come out of this corrupt world order. I have told them about Your nature and declared Your name to them, and they have held on to Your words and understood that these words, 7 like everything else You have given Me, come from You. 8 It is true that these men You gave Me have received the words that come from You and not only understood them but also believed that You sent Me. 9 I am now making an appeal to You on their behalf. This request is not for the entire world; it is for those whom You have given to Me because they are Yours. 10 Yours and Mine, Mine and Yours, for all that are Mine are Yours. Through them I have been glorified.
11 I will no longer be physically present in this world, but they will remain in this world. As I return to be with You, holy Father, remain with them through Your name, the name You have given Me. May they be one even as We are one. 12 While I was physically present with them, I protected them through Your name. I watched over them closely; and only one was lost, the one the Scriptures said was the son of destruction. 13 Now I am returning to You. I am speaking this prayer here in the created cosmos alongside friends and foes so that in hearing it they might be consumed with joy. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has despised them because they are not products of the world, in the same way that I am not a product of the corrupt world order. 15 Do not take them out of this world; protect them from the evil one.
16 Like Me, they are not products of the corrupt world order. 17 Immerse them in the truth, the truth Your voice speaks. 18 In the same way You sent Me into this world, I am sending them. 19 It is entirely for their benefit that I have set Myself apart so that they may be set apart by truth. 20 I am not asking solely for their benefit; this prayer is also for all the believers who will follow them and hear them speak. 21 Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me.
22 All the glory You have given to Me, I pass on to them. May that glory unify them and make them one as We are one, 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be refined so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them in the same way You love Me.
In this great prayer that Jesus prays for His disciples, He returns repeatedly to the gathering of believers unified with the Father and the Son.
24 Father, I long for the time when those You have given Me can join Me in My place so they may witness My glory, which comes from You. You have loved Me before the foundations of the cosmos were laid. 25 Father, You are just; though this corrupt world order does not know You, I do. These followers know that You have sent Me. 26 I have told them about Your nature; and I will continue to speak of Your name in order that Your love, which was poured out on Me, will be in them. And I will also be in them.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.