"Fourth of July Fireworks"

Sermonettes on 2 Kings 18:1-8

Weekend of July 2, 2000

Saint Mark's, Watertown, WI

Pastor Karl Walther

Introduction: Fourth of July Fireworks From Scripture

Dear fellow Christians-- and also fellow Americans:

The Fourth of July is just two days away. On it, of course, we celebrate the independence of our country. And I hope your celebration is filled with thankfulness for the many good things the Lord has supplied to us: especially our precious freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and the press.

I also hope a lot of you get to see the fireworks. I've always thought fireworks are really spectacular. I love the big booms and the bright colors, which are especially pretty over the water. Fireworks are something special by which we are able all the more fully to celebrate Independence Day.

Well, God's Word to us today provides to us even more fireworks with which to celebrate this Nation Sunday. You'll catch a feel for that as I read Second Kings, chapter eighteen, verses one through eight-- which I guess we could title "Fourth of July Fireworks from Hezekiah." It says:

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.

He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.

And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

As I mentioned to you, this section of Scripture provides for us: * FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS. We'll observe that (1) HEZEKIAH PROVIDED THEM in his day, that (2) OUR NATION NEEDS THEM now, and that (3) WE OURSELVES OUGHT TO DISPLAY THEM, too. Those are the titles for the three sermonettes we will hear today on the basis of this Word from God.

Sermonette One: Hezekiah Provided Fireworks

God's Word to us today begins this way: In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

The Bible's two books of the Kings are filled with paragraphs like that one. That's because First and Second Kings narrate the stories of forty different kings, in two different kingdoms, many hundreds of years before the time of Christ. Back in the ninth through seventh centuries bc, you recall -- after the time of Saul, David, and Solomon -- God's people were divided into two kingdoms....

There were the ten northern tribes called Israel. They went through six dynasties of twenty different kings, none of which were good and godly rulers. The Hoshea that's mentioned here, who ruled at the time of our hero Hezekiah, was the last of these northern kings. And then he and his people went into exile in Assyria, never to be heard from again.

Then there was the southern tribe called Judah. It had a single dynasty, the house of David, and in it was also the line of the Savior. It also had twenty different kings: eight of which were good and godly rulers, and twelve of which were not. Only two of the good and godly rulers were really, really good and godly. The second one was Josiah. The first one was Hezekiah -- whose name means "the Lord is strong" -- the man about whom we're reading today.

It says: He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. And in what did this goodness of his consist? Ah, here's where the fireworks come in...!

We read that: Hezekiah tore down the high places. The high places were special worship sites: usually at the tops of hills, because that was nearer to heaven. Some of the time the high places were used to worship the Lord. At those times the Lord tolerated them, especially before the advent of the tabernacle and the temple. On the other hand, lots of the time, these high places were used to worship false gods. Now either way, the Lord's command was for people to worship him at his temple. So, Hezekiah tore down the high places-- much to the chagrin, I'm sure, of some of his ungodly people.

It also says that Hezekiah smashed the sacred stones. Now, every so often the Lord himself had his people set up stone memorials. You recall that Jacob did that with the stone he had used for a pillow when he had his dream of a stairway to heaven. You recall that when Israel crossed the Jordan River under Joshua, the Lord had them take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan and pile them together to remember the event. The sacred stones here, however, were demonstrably dedicated to false gods. And Hezekiah smashed them-- I'm sure much to the chagrin of some of his ungodly people.

More fireworks! It says Hezekiah also cut down the Asherah poles. Asherah was sort of the chief goddess among the native idolatries of Palestine. She was a fertility goddess: like Aphrodite of the Greeks or Venus of the Romans. Worship of her involved perverted sexual practices-- all sorts of sex outside of marriage and also ritual prostitution. The Asherah poles referred to here were somehow wooden pillars in her honor, that served as centers of worship toward her. Hezekiah chopped 'em down: and again, I'm sure, not everybody was in favor-- but he did it anyway.

Finally, we read that Hezekiah even broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made. Remember: that bronze snake Moses made at the behest of the true God. It was the instrument by which the Lord had cured an incidence of snake bites in the wilderness, some seven hundred years earlier. But Hezekiah busted it up into so many pieces of jingly bronze: for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it, probably praying to it and treating it like a god. It says: It was called Nehushtan-- apparently something like "bronze snake god".

Wow! Tearing down high places, smashing sacred stones, chopping down Asherah poles, busting into pieces what had become an idol-- that's fireworks! Now what in the world had occasioned all this energy and activity on the part of Hezekiah?

We read: Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. God never says the same in quite the same way about any of the other forty kings in these books. It says: There was no one like Hezekiah among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He was completely unique in his connection to Christ. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him. The picture is such that Hezekiah literally stuck to the Lord and chased down the Lord so that the Lord could not get away from him. Hezekiah kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. This was David's charge to Solomon over two centuries earlier, but it remained unfulfilled until this Hezekiah came.

So, Hezekiah distinguished himself due to his faith. And what was the result? The LORD was with Hezekiah; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

Specifically: Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. The King of Assyria was the warlike emperor to Judah's northeast who had conquered every little country for six hundred miles straight, right up to the very doorstep of Judah. But Hezekiah bowed to the Lord instead of to the Assyrian king, and Hezekiah's Judah was the only country not to fall.

On the other side, to the southwest, we read: From watchtower to fortified city, Hezekiah defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza (the Philistines' most remote outpost) and its territory. The Philistines were Israel's historic enemy. They had blocked Israel's path from Egypt. They had troubled Israel's judges. They had slain Samson. They had sent Goliath against David. They had plagued Hezekiah's father, Ahaz. But God enabled faithful Hezekiah to beat the Philistines.

See, that's how the Lord supports those who faithfully make fireworks for him....

Sermonette Two: Our Nation Needs Fireworks

So, my friends: now make the transition from Hezekiah's time to our time. Fast-forward from the year seven hundred bc to the year two thousand ad. And move from Israel: which was really ruled by the Lord through Hezekiah-- to the USA: which is not really ruled by the Lord, but which can (nevertheless) benefit from good and godly rulers. Suppose we had a set of good and godly rulers: executive, legislative, and judicial branches / federal, state, and local levels-- rulers like Hezekiah.

What would they do now, in our day and age? ...Well, first of all, I'm quite sure they wouldn't try to turn our nation into a Christian theocracy. That was exactly the right thing for Israel in the Old Testament. It was God's will back then to invest himself in one godly nation to bring the good news of salvation in Christ to all the nations of the world. In the New Testament, however, God's will is to invest himself in work among all nations through his Church. So, Hezekiah-like rulers in America would not, I'm sure, usurp the Church's freedoms of speech and religion and press and assembly-- nor the Church's work of gathering souls to trust in Jesus. And Hezekiah-like rulers would, necessarily, extend those freedoms to other (quote-unquote) "religions", too.

Nevertheless, are there still high places for Hezekiah-like rulers to tear down? ...are there still sacred stones to smash? ...are there Asherah poles to chop? ...are there bronze snakes to bust up in our nation? Let me suggest to you that there are....

How about the Asherah pole of support for homosexuality? Wouldn't that one be a good one for our leaders to chop down? Homosexuality is perversion-- not only according to Christianity, but also according to an honest conscience. On the one hand, I suppose we could have a good debate about how strictly to enforce laws against homosexuality. On the other hand, the idolatry toward homosexuality that our country is beginning to display, making it equally as advisable as heterosexual marriage-- that would be a good Asherah pole for Hezekiah-like rulers to tear down.

In his day Hezekiah smashed some sacred stones. Do we nowadays have any sacred stones to smash? Let me suggest to you "yes". How about the sacred stone of abortion? Abortion is murder-- not only according to Christianity, but also according to an honest conscience. You'll even find more and more pro-abortion people admitting that these days. The sacred stone of abortion would be a great one for Hezekiah-like rulers to smash these days.

In his day Hezekiah tore down the high places. So, does modern-day America have any high places to tear down? How about the high place of divorce-at-any-cost? Now sadly, there's got to be provision in any nation for divorce. God himself says that sex outside of marriage busts a marriage and is cause enough for divorce. God himself says that desertion -- and sometimes that doesn't even involved a change of address -- desertion busts a marriage and is cause enough for divorce. But do you realize that it's easier in this country to dissolve a marriage partnership than it is to dissolve a business partnership? In some cases it's harder to get a house, or a car, or a credit card than it is to get a divorce? Hezekiah-like rulers would aim to tear down the high place of divorce-at-any-cost.

And Hezekiah busted up the bronze snake. So, do we have any bronze snakes to bust up-- any attitudes that were good in their time, but have become idolatrous? How about our legislative bias against spanking, or against the death penalty, or against men's and women's different roles?

For example, it's unquestionable that years ago spanking could easily turn into child abuse. But doesn't the terror modern-day parents have to hold against slapping their little child's rear -- and then hugging him -- speak against God's own words: "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him" (Proverbs thirteen, twenty-four)?

Again, lynchings years ago no doubt betrayed a willingness to execute the death penalty without due process. But doesn't the way many people these days prohibit any exercise of the death penalty speak against God's own words: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Genesis nine, six)?

And again, no doubt years ago women were constantly discriminated against. Nevertheless, doesn't our modern-day legislative insistence that we can recognize absolutely no difference between men and women speak against God's own words: "Male and female (separately) he created them (Genesis one, twenty-seven)?

So, I guess the question becomes: If our nation needs Hezekiah-like rulers to lead us from wrong to right, what can you and I do to promote them? Well, how about praying, participating, and preparing ourselves?

Chiefly, we need to pray for rulers like Hezekiah. We need to pray for those who are in government already: so that they stick close to God's Word, and not lose courage, and not suffer harm. We need to pray for more such rulers to arise-- and for them to get elected or appointed eventually. And we need to pray this regularly: not just once or twice a year in church, but week by week in our homes.

Besides praying, it's appropriate for us to participate in the political process. If we find an appropriate candidate -- and if the Lord supplies us with the time, money, and energy we need -- it's service for the Savior himself if we work to put such a person in place in government, so that they too can render honor to the Lord.

Finally, we might consider preparing ourselves to work in this way. If a person is concerned about the quality of people in our government, there's hardly a better way for him to address the concern than for him to offer himself as a replacement. A Christian, living his confidence in Christ and rendering his service in government, offers a great deal of benefit to all those around him.

Lord, multiply the number of such people-- so that they make fireworks for you!

Part Three: We Ourselves Ought to Display Fireworks, too

My friends, as we've proceeded today, one thing might have started disturbing you. You take a look at Hezekiah-- trusting the Lord: boldly, confidently, and energetically serving him. And you get to thinking, there aren't a lot of guys like that in government today.

Now, why is that? Well, the best answer is: "Us!" We -- the sinful, selfish, pitiful, perverted American people -- we are the reason so many sinful, selfish, pitiful, perverted people are walking our streets: and even any number of them are in our government. And it's not just "those" American people I'm talking about, it is in fact "us" American people.

Folks, we have this tendency to tolerate homosexuality because we're perverts ourselves! We are also given to sex outside of marriage, at least in our thoughts. We have this tendency to tolerate abortion because we're selfish! We're too busy -- aren't we? -- to defend other people. We have this tendency to tolerate a scandalous level of divorce among those who have not broken their wedding vows because we're not so dedicated to marriage ourselves! We don't support a parent's discipline because we're too lazy to care. We don't recognize a difference between men and women because we men are lousy leaders: lazy!-- and you women really do like to take over anyway.

And we can't possibly support any death penalty because we know we ourselves deserve it! We deserve punishment! We deserve death! We deserve hell! We deserve a whole eternity without God!

It makes you glad that twenty-some generations after King Hezekiah there came from Hezekiah's line another King. This new king's ancestry was even more noble than that of Hezekiah-- because while he had Hezekiah's royal blood in him from his mother's side, his Father was a much wiser and more powerful King from a Different Land.

Surprisingly, though, this new King led no sheltered life. He faced life's bumps and bruises, and sneers and jeers, more than most. He did it in order more closely to associate with his people.

And then in one final great act of love for those he ruled, he refrained from standing over them in order to command them to himself. Rather, he placed himself under them. He did it in order to bear your every infraction of law, your every transgression against him-- on an executioner's cross.

After which: Jesus rose in kingly power. In royal love he promised to prepare you a place with him far above the heavens. And with kingly wisdom he instructs you until this very day.

It means that after all the prayers, and all the participation, and all the preparation of this life -- after all our falterings and failures -- you have a better country, a heavenly land, to look forward to: and to which you want to invite all others. It lies beyond the skies in the hand of God and at the side of Christ: your Savior from your every sin.

...That should give you something to which to look when you're gazing off into the dark sky, waiting to check out the fireworks this next Tuesday night...! Amen.