The Scenic Route Through Isaiah, Part 4.2, King Ahaz And A Rescue Message, The Hard Part

There was a 4 part message from God to King Ahaz:  Be Careful, Be Quiet, Don't Fear, and Don't lose heart.    In the past two episodes we covered "Be Careful" and addressed the fear and losing heart issues.     This episode tackles the "Be Quiet Statement".   Quite possibly one of the most difficult things for us humanoid's to do!!!

This episode starts in Alaska, jumps back in time to Joshua and Jericho, bypasses Isaiah 7 to hit a verse or two in James, at which point in time we will be ready to hit Isaiah 7:4.

I think this will be a solid challenge to anyone who takes the time to listen, especially those who want to take their game to the 'next level'.... there is a challenge for you right at the end!!!  (that's not too much of a teaser is it?    I suppose you could jump to the end tho.....   anyhow, enjoy, God Bless!   Nate

Transcript

The Scenic Route Through Isaiah, Part 4.2 King Ahaz And The Rescue Message… (the hard part)

Welcome to the Something To Gnaw On Podcast, a parable – style devotional designed to mentally or spiritually give you something to gnaw on throughout your day, and I’m your host – Nate Vainio.

This episode is a continuation of King Ahaz and The Rescue Message, and you might call this the hard part of the message from Isaiah.   And just a heads up….  We’ll be looking at a passage in Joshua before getting to Isaiah, and before we get to Joshua….well, we’ll be looking at a story from the great state of Alaska.  We’ll get back to Ahaz near the end.  Let’s dive in!  

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They sat on the ridge, just glassing the valley.  They had moose to hunt, and tags to fill, but sometimes watching rare events in nature is more important than pulling the trigger.

This story is recorded in a book called “Wild Men, Wild Alaska” in which the author is an outfitter and over the years he’s managed to log few crazy tales…. From celebrity clients, to presidents like George HW Bush (and their secret service entourage).  There are the crazy animal encounters. There are miraculous moments, and then there’s this scene… not something you would likely see on a normal pack trip into the wild.  I don’t have the book anymore, but this story has been imbedded on my mind since I picked this book up nearly 20 years ago.

In the process of scoping the land for a moose worth shooting, the outfitter spotted a Grizzly feasting on a moose that had been freshly killed.   This is not an abnormal sight. And if you are concerned, this far into the interior of Alaska, they are grizzlies, not brown bears.   The author jokes about the bears changing back and forth from grizzlies to brown bears when the cross some random line on a map.  The issue is that whether you call it a brown bear, or a grizzly they are genetically all the same….  It’s just that the ones that are called grizzlies are a little more inland, and have a significantly different diet which results in significantly different coloration, and sometimes size.  The grizzlies don’t get to gorge themselves on salmon each summer, and their coats show it.  

Ultimately, the line is irrelevant… and is irrelevant to our study… but in the day and age of identifying and self-identifying, I figured I ought to make it clear.  So, here endeth the wildlife biology lesson.

Anyhow, as the outfitter and his hunters were watching this Griz gorge himself on the moose, 3 wolves show up.   They didn’t come in running and rush the griz in numbers.  They walked in methodically.  Evenly spaced.   And they began to walk around the Griz.

Now I want to ask you quickly to think about this.   Who’s gonna win this fight?   The Griz has all the strength and power, and he is still about twice the weight of the three wolves combined.  By The Way,  have you ever seen a Bear fight?  If you haven’t I’d almost suggest you take a break and watch a fight on youtube because they are absolutely menacing;  they are powerful, and amazingly enough, for their size, they are incredibly quick!

The wolves continued their walk around the bear, teeth visable, they saunter with their heads down low in a way that causes their shoulder blades to pop off their back…. And slowly and methodically, step by step, the three walk a circle around the bear.

The bear eyes the most risky wolf and turns to follow him, then spins to follow the grey one.  Then spins again to follow the black one, he doesn’t want them to get behind him…. and that’s the weakness of the grizzly, they usually travel alone, and have no one to watch their back.

This went on for quite a while… the wolves simply walking slowly and quietly  around the griz, and the griz spinning in circles trying to guard his kill.   Eventually the confrontation came to an end, in a very anticlimactic fashion.  I expected the Griz to put a beat down on the wolves, and, if not dead, for them to limp away in pain and regret.  

But it didn’t end that way.  

Overcome by the taunting eyes combined with the perpetual and silent war path walk from the wolves, the bear apparently lets fear arise within.   And without a roar, without a fight, without a drop of blood, he abandoned his domain, he abandoned his kill, and ran away.

Three dogs that keep their mouths shut, walking in slow taunting circles, manage to chase off North America’s most menacing mammal… and Whether it would prefer to  identify as a Grizzly or a Brown bear, well, I cannot say.

If ever there were a story of walking in circles it would be the Israelites.   For 40 years they walked in circles in the desert, and when it comes to their first battle at Jericho….. well, what better way to instill fear in you enemy than to walk around them in circles, right?  

But that is PART of what would happen.   Surely you remember the story from the book of Joshua, chapter 6…   walk around Jericho once per day for six days, then on the seventh day walk around seven times…. It starts off like bad prescription medication instructions.   Then they were to blow the ram’s horn, lift up their voices to the Lord, and the walls would come tumbling down.   The End.

But have you ever read verse 10?   He adds this command to his instruction, and I would ask the question WHY as we get into our time talking about Ahaz and Isaiah in the Rescue Message…..  Why would Joshua say this, why would Isaiah say this, Why would anyone say anything like this in a conflict situation? 

Here is verse 10, “Do not shout; do not even talk’ Joshua commanded.  ‘Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout.   THEN  shout.” (NLT)   Peterson puts it this way in the Message “… Don’t even speak, not so much as a whisper until you hear me say “SHOUT”  (Message)

Why does Joshua have to say this?  God parted the red sea, did many miracles in the desert, days prior they all saw God part the Jordan river, and stop it up completely,  why do they now have to be silent?

Put yourself in the shoes of the average jew who is told to walk in circles for 6 days around Jericho.  At some point Mosha is going to get tired and begin questioning out-loud the wisdom of this battle strategy.  Shortly after that all those around Mosha  begin to question the strategy, even people who weren’t thinking of it in the first place.  Then Shemp comes up with a better plan and plays the ‘we shoulda’ card, like a CNN analyst, to everyone who will listen to him.   And people who up to this point in time were walking in silent obedience, who were ok with this strategy are now questioning the whole gameplan.   And the doubt and subversion spreads like COVID throughout the whole camp.   

Then the families of Magbish and Micmash begin comparing their fears, and all the ways this cold go wrong.   ‘What if they throw rocks on us tomorrow’, what if what if what if.  And each day it gets worse as they imagine new ways this plan could go wrong.  What they don’t get is that fear spreads like wildfire when it’s verbalized.  So does dissention. And numerous other sinful behaviors.

In the New Testament, with the blessing of hindsight, James comments on situations like this in chapter 3:

o   And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by [b]hell.

§  THIS RIGHT HERE is the reason why a guy like Joshua commanded the Israelites to keep their mouths shut!!!

§  This Right Here is why a guy like Ahaz should keep his mouth shut too.

§  And this is the lesson we should learn as well.  

§  It doesn’t seem like that should be that hard…but never underestimate the destructive power of a fool, especially a wicked fool when they speak… or even the ignorance of the innocent.

§  And the gameplan to walk around Jericho is ripe for that, even though they are coming out of an incredibly great miracle by crossing the Jordan River, Joshua steps up and puts a spiritual Gag Order in place.  WHY?  

Because what God is doing is awesome, and the timing is incredible, there are times that idle words can destroy the things God is wanting to do, sometimes true words can destroy the things God is wanting to do…  and this one is tough to swallow…  just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to say it! …. You don’t have to vocalize every thought that crosses your mind……  it is not necessary, and dare I say it’s probably detrimental in a lot of cases. (and that’s the end of my marriage counseling ‘thought of the day’….) 

But, joking aside,  sometime you need to simply ….. wait for it…..  if you are a bit old school, brace for it….. but sometimes you simply need to …..SHUT UP.  Be Quiet. Give your vocal cords a rest.  Close your mouth.   Fermi Vou Bouche…. Which is French for shut your mouth…. And I know this because I took one year of French in High School, and the teacher used to say this to me all the time.

Fear, and envy, and a critical spirit, and all kinds of evil that are bound up in the thoughts of our minds are contagious…….. and they are spread like fire through our words…. And that’s why Joshua issues the Gag order.

In a moment we will take a quick look at what Solomon has to say about the topic, and keep in mind where we are heading with this lead-in….. we are going to get back to talking about King Ahaz…. One of the worst kings of Judah, an impulsive man, a people pleaser, a pot smoker, a child sacrificing rebel…  But God in His mercy reaches out to him and gives him a plan of attack to deal with the threat from the North, and today’s study focuses on the second statement he makes in Isaiah 7:4  which is “BE QUIET”.

In the last two episodes we discussed the first statement of “BE CAREFUL”,    The whole statement made to Ahaz through Isaiah is Be careful, be quiet, don’t fear and don’t lose heart.”  In the last two episodes we looked at how Being Careful in and of itself reduces fear and the likelihood of losing heart by simply eliminating the situations that arise that cause the fear in the first place.  And the BE QUIET command, does the same.   

 But before we go any further, let’s look at what Solomon had to say,….and as I read these, think about how they relate to causing or eliminating fear and faintheartedness….this is just a random sampling through the book of Proverbs:

·         A fool’s lips walk into a fight and his mouth invites a beating.   A fool’s mouth is his ruin, his lips are a snare to his soul.  8:6-7

·         The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.  15:28

·         A gentle answer deflects anger, but a harsh word makes tempers flare…….. the tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of the fool belches foolishness……. Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.  15:1-2, &3

·         A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe.  14:3

·         LASTLY…………    Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding….   Even a fool (AHAZ) who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is deemed intelligent.  17:27-28

o   Keep in mind that Ahaz had access to these writings.  Ahaz didn’t have access to the James reference mentioned earlier, but he did have access to his great grandfathers books of wisdom….  He should have known better. 

There is an interesting bit of the “Back Story” of Ahaz and Isaiah that I want to revisit.  

Have you ever heard someone play the “you don’t understand me” card?   This is the person that says “yeah that gospel message about grace and forgiveness is great and all, but you don’t understand what I’ve gone through.”  Or “hey pastor, you can preach it from the pulpit pretty easy – you’ve had an easy life, but you don’t understand me and where I come from”.    

Now keep in mind that the fact that one persons understanding of another persons background does not change the value/impact/or importance of the Gospel message.   So, let’s call a statement like that for what it is, it’s a smoke screen, a diversion tactic.   But, nonetheless, people use it because if they can focus the fight between themselves and another human, a preacher maybe, then they delay the more important fight between themselves and the Holy Spirit!

Now that being said, I think it a thing of beauty that, while it may not be identical, Isaiah’s transformation in Isaiah 6 came on a confession of having unclean lips and living among people of unclean lips….. he had a problem with his mouth.  And all this came about when he had a front row seat to the rebellion of Ahaz’s grandfather, Uzziah

It’s a thing of beauty really, Ahaz can’t tell Isaiah ‘you don’t understand’…. He can’t play that card.  God doesn’t send a perfect man to Ahaz to instruct him, he sends a recovering potty mouth…. Who is now the Lords mouthpiece.  A man who hasn’t shared in all of Ahaz’s many faults, but certainly one who has been victorious over the most important one.  The Taming of the Tongue!

I love our first amendment right to free speech… but let’s keep in mind that having the right to speak freely doesn’t mean it’s wise or profitable to do so, and it’s not a mandate that we speak everything, in fact, we have the fifth amendment right to keep silent.  We live in a culture right now that maniacally churns this pot to get people talking as a way to provoke drama, and pain, and hurt, and attention, and distraction, and all of this for a myriad of negative reasons like driving ratings and clicks – or for someone to simply get the attention they desire.  The challenge for the Christian is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, and I think if we’re tuned in to things, especially when things are bad, there is value in being silent – spending time in prayer – and letting God work…. As we see, not only in Jericho, but multiple times in scripture.  

As we wrap this charge from Isaiah to Ahaz, take hold of the wisdom to be careful and to be quiet…. It truly is the RESCUE MESSAGE, it’s tough but will get the job done.  Remember from Proverbs and James, the greatest way to mitigate fear and anxiety is to control what we say and do.

It’s no great exploit for a wolf to take down a sheep.   It’s no great exploit for a wolf to make noise, howl at the moon, and strike fear in those around them.  But never forget how powerful disciplined silence can be.    A bear isn’t afraid of the wolf, or his howl… but a quiet and intentional walk can accomplish great things…… Just ask Joshua!  

The Israelites silently walk a single lap for six days, and on the seventh day they walk another six laps silently… but the time finally comes when its time to ‘raise a hallelujah’ in the presence of their enemies.  

 In their confrontation with Jericho, they spent 91% of the time being quiet, holding their tongue, keeping their opinions to themselves.  9% of the time they opened their mouth, and what came out was a shout of praise and worship.   And what happened???   The miraculous happened.   Walls came down in miraculous fashion and an entire city was destroyed without physical might or mental acuity or diplomatic silver tongue words.

It is a testament to the power of being quiet, and only speaking when instructed to.  It’s a testimony that King Ahaz is unable to boast of.   

I wish I had time to give you 5 easy steps to keeping your mouth shut…. But lets be honest… if you have to ask the question, you might want to err on the safe side and keep things to yourself, especially in heated moments.   Certainly there is a time to speak, but lets be honest…. Saying what’s on our mind is not something we struggle with… it’s the taming of the tongue, as James 3 puts it, and even then, when we speak, it should be with great restriction, and wisdom that we can easily glean from the book of Proverbs.

My challenge to you this week, and really throughout the summer months is to get into Proverbs…. Read one per day and gnaw on it.  That’s where you will find you 5 easy steps, or your quick reference guide, or your pro-tips on how to be careful in a myriad of situations, when to keep your mouth shut, and when it comes time to speak, pray that the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of proverbs will guide you.

Until Next Week

God Bless