Ancient Assyria looked greedily over the surrounding nations. They had one desire – rule them all. Within the kingdom of Judah, traitors took sides with Assyria, hoping that when Assyria’s ruthless conquest was complete, they would be provided cushy positions for being informants.
God sent a message to the traitors through Isaiah… “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we are at agreement, when the overflowing whip shall pass through it shall not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehoods we have hid ourselves,’… Your covenant with death shall be invalidated, and your agreement with hell shall not stand. When the overflowing whip passes through, you will be trampled down by it” (Isaiah 28:15-18).
God had already set forth the true Place of safety… His only Son: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation (for your life) a Stone, a tried (and proven) Stone, a Precious Cornerstone: the one who believes shall not make haste (fleeing from the enemy).” But they had rejected God’s offer of eternal safety in Christ and chose instead to trust the very enemy that hated them. Their end was just as God forewarned.
The same lesson applies today. The wicked deceive themselves with false assurances… “I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity… God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see it” (Psalm 10:6,11). But those trusting in Christ have proven Assurance to protect them… “I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish (John 10:28) … My people shall never be ashamed (Joel 2:27) … I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
May our lives always testify “the full assurance of our hope,” until the Trumpet sounds.
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