"Not Like Other gods"
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Enemy forces tried to convince the Israelites that they were too strong for Israel’s God. But Hezekiah and his people’s trust in the Lord revealed who was the real powerhouse in this battle.
Chapter 30, Royalty and Ruin
(Prophets and Kings)
Hezekiah was on top of the world. It is true that the northern kingdom of Israel had been so thoroughly wiped off the map that lions had started taking over the land. It was also true that Judah was a tiny country surrounded by mighty empires. But under Hezekiah’s wise leadership, the Israelites were once again connected to their all-powerful God, and prospering more than anyone then alive could remember. The thing about God’s blessings, though, is that we can start to think we did it all ourselves. As a result of this lesson, we want the students to learn the difference between confidence and pride.
Have people stand up (or perhaps keep sitting if they’re meeting via video chat) one at a time, and for 75 seconds list all the things they’re good at. Time them. After several have done it, ask the following questions.
Have your students take turns reading the following verses on pride:
“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2
“Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” James 4:10
“It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:19
“It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.” Proverbs 25:27
“ ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” 2 Corinthians 10:17-18
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
If practical, have your students team up—in a spot with a nice soft place to fall. Each person should take a turn kneeling on the ground, standing up, and standing on a stool or other object. In each position, their partner should try to push them over.
Alternately, you might have a volunteer (or yourself) stack objects on the floor and demonstrate how easy it is to knock a volunteer off of the objects. (Please use your judgment here to make sure that everyone is safe.)
Cue up about five songs (or more for multiple rounds) that your students would easily recognize. The songs could be something popular on Christian radio, Pachelbel’s Canon, the Star-Spangled Banner, the theme from Sesame Street, etc. The important thing is that most (and hopefully all) of them are ones your students would easily recognize from just a few seconds of music.
Then, perhaps after playing a snippet of one song so your students grasp the idea of the game, select two volunteers to play against each other. Choose one of the two (flip a coin, etc.) and ask that student how many seconds they think they’ll need to guess the song. After they have decided on the number of seconds in which they think they can guess, the second player can either offer to guess it in fewer seconds or challenge the first player to go ahead and guess it in the number of seconds in which they have claimed that they can guess it.
Play a snippet of a song, ideally mixing it up so that you play a different part of the song with each song you play—the beginning for one, the chorus for another, and a bridge for yet another. Be careful to play it for the exact number of seconds the players have chosen. If the player guessing gets it right, they score a point. If they fail, the other player gets a point.
Ever say something you regret before it’s finished coming out of your mouth, but you keep talking because you don’t know what else to do? Or have you ever looked back on something you did and wondered why you didn’t stop what you were doing before you finished it?
Hezekiah faced the world’s most powerful army, knowing that when it came down to it, he had no choice but to rely on God alone. His biggest challenge, though, might have been when a different set of visitors from the east visited his city, envoys from the then-small kingdom of Babylon. The story shows how small choices in a moment can make a difference a hundred years later, and in eternity.
You may remember this story from last week’s lesson, or an earlier encounter with the cautionary tale. Unlike the books of Isaiah and 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles doesn’t dwell on the details of where Hezekiah went wrong (showing off the riches of his kingdom without witnessing to his visitors of the power and love of God). The book of 2 Chronicles tends present an intentionally encouraging recounting of events all the way through. In Hezekiah’s case, it focuses mostly on God’s goodness and the lessons learned.
Let’s read 2 Chronicles 32:24-31.
24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. 25 But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.
27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.
This coming week, consider one or more of the following:
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
Be sure everyone takes time for personal applications before you end your Sabbath School time together.
The kingdom of Israel had been decimated by the Assyrians and its people taken into captivity, never to be heard from again. Now the Assyrians were marching to Jerusalem. Hezekiah and his people didn’t have a chance. Through written and verbal threats, King Sennacherib of Assyria positioned himself as unbeatable by any people and by any god. But that’s because he hadn’t faced the God named Yahweh—the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth and all that is in it. But how could Jerusalem and Judah be saved? And what steps would they take in this crisis? Their response can guide us when we face what seems like an unbeatable foe, whether that’s an invasion of an army or a pandemic. (The story is found in Isaiah 36:1-37:38, but can also be found in 2 Kings 19 and 2 Chronicles 33.)
When you were a child, who did you bully? Who bullied you?
Read Isaiah 36:1-37:38.
Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord
1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3 And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.
4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’ 8 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”
13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
21 But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Isaiah Assures Deliverance
37 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.”
The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him:
“The virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind your back!
23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, and said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, to its fruitful forest. 25 I have dug and drunk water, and with the soles of my feet I have dried up all the brooks of defense.’
26 “Did you not hear long ago how I made it, from ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, that you should be for crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field and the green herb, as the grass on the housetops and grain blighted before it is grown.
28 “But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.” ’
30 “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, and the second year what springs from the same; also in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,’ says the Lord. 35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
36 Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
1. What was likely to happen when King Sennacherib reached Jerusalem?
2. What was King Sennacherib’s message to Hezekiah and all Judah?
3. What was Hezekiah’s response to the verbal and written threats?
4. What was God’s message through Isaiah to Hezekiah?
5. What did Sennacherib get wrong?
6. What surprised you about the end of the story?
7. When have you trusted God, but He didn’t come through for you?
8. When have you trusted God, and He did come through for you?
In about 10 minutes we can read about this threat and miraculous change of events. But living through a crisis like this really tests people’s faith. In spite of doing all they could, they were no match for the Assyrian army and their pompous king. But the Assyrians were no match for just one of God’s angels. Through the crisis, God’s people continued to trust Yahweh, laying before Him their situation and plea. And God saved them. We may not know God’s timing or the actions He will use to save us, but we can trust Him even in what seems like impossible situations.
Throughout history, nations have fought against other nations. Some young people are not facing that kind of oppression right now. But, somewhere in the world, others are. In our story today, those in Jerusalem and Judah turned to God in with their problems. Isn’t that the way you’d like to live? Here are some ways to apply this Bible study to your life this coming week.
2. THINK ABOUT INVINCIBLITY.
3. THINK ABOUT THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS.
