Hey everybody. Welcome back to another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast. Good morning, and hello. Yeah, or good afternoon, good evening, whatever you happen to listen to this. Good day to you, sir. We just hope that you're having a good day, whatever it is. Did you ever watch that movie The Truman Show? I did, yeah, probably recently, now that I think about it. Yeah. Yeah, it was it was interesting. Fascinating concept. Yeah. Ahead of its time. 'cause I remember back in av, as a college pastor, I was dealing with college kids four or five years ago that were like, what if we're in a simulation? What if this whole thing is fake? And that was the premise, although it was a controlled simulation in a real movie studio and set there. But I still remember watching that movie the first time and seeing the boat hit the wall. Be like, wait a minute.

What? What's going on? Yeah. Yeah, you're removed by that scene. I was Did you start crying it? I teared up maybe a little bit. I could tell. Yeah. It's still moving you now.

It was like when everybody's watching it happen on the TV and the movies and they're all crying, they're cheering him on, getting to the Yeah. To get out and and then it goes, the TV's all go blank. Felt like the first time in 40 years there's no feed going anymore.

Yeah.

Yeah. What a fascinating idea that is. Let's chop that up for a second. What do we do with the person that says we're in a simulation? How do you know that? Okay, how do, what if they respond back and you go chances are as good that we are as that we're not. How can you prove that we're not?

Elon Musk is a proponent of that theory, and I think this is a really good example as to why we all need, and we all possess, even if we don't believe it. A highest value, a highest. Highest level, authoritative source of truth. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, I can't disprove him. And he can't prove it. He can only suggest this is a possible. Reality. And I would say the ultimate level of authority has to come from somewhere. And for you who believes in the idea of a simulation, it's coming from you and your own idea and maybe other people who suggested the idea. Your highest authority is other people. My highest authority comes from God who says he created the heavens and the earth and scriptures framework for reality fits better with our lived experience as opposed to you're in a simulation, and here's what I mean by that. I can look at scripture and scripture better explains my experience of how life works. It doesn't feel like a simulation, and I know that's a weak argument, but it is an argument. It showcases that scripture explains reality better than alter alternative and competing theories.

Yeah, I would agree with that. And I remember a conversation I had with a student back in California and one of the other things that I said to him is, to your point, you can't necessarily disprove it, but one thing that we can do is we could say, okay, I. Set aside whether or not we are, let's ask ourselves the question, what's our responsibility within the parameters of this, if you wanna call it a simulation? This simulation? That's where we can go into the apologetic arguments for the existence of God. And it's absurd to say in this simulation, 'cause we're gonna reject the notion that a simulation exists. But even still, if you want to jump onto their playing field for a second in this simulation that evidence stacks up for the existence of gup. And we have to reconcile with that. And now all of a sudden you're into a conversation about what are you going to decide to do right now? Because if you, if that's really your worldview that this is a simulation, okay then how do you quote unquote win the simulation? How do you survive this thing and come out on the other side? 'cause you can't remove yourself from it. Nobody can that's not a possibility. So then you have to live within the parameters of the designer. We can even get there. The one that designed this. You have to live within those parameters. And what is the one that designed this simulation, again, using that term very loosely here. What is he required? We have a creator who we're accountable to. So let's talk about again, the existence of God and what you're gonna do about that in the here and now.

Yeah. And to your point. If you were going to say, this is a simulation, I could easily argue. Okay. The simulation is called Reality and the simulator is called, God. You should look at what scripture says about this, because I think there's a lot more there than what you understand presently. A lot of people, I guess the alternative. Or at least one of them is nihilism. Nihilism. The idea that none of this really matters. It's all for Naugh. We're just the latest of the random beneficial mutation that's taken place according to Darwinian evolution. So I can understand the appeal because then if there is a simulation, that means there's a simulator. That means there's an intelligence beyond us that gives us a sense of comfort. I suppose the discomfort is we have no idea who's behind this, the terminal who's putting in the commands and letting things run as they will, and maybe that designer and that simulator decides to turn the computer off someday than what I think bi, the biblically defined reality, which is to say true reality is so much more satisfying. And so much more hopeful and so much better than this alternative.

And I used to teach our students at Campus Bible Institute during my worldview class that once you reject the existence of God, then every other worldview, the God of the Bible, that is every other worldview, ends up as an attempt to escape nihilism. Nihilism is the only logical, rational conclusion if God doesn't exist. Why do we exist? What's the point? Why do I get up in the morning? If God doesn't exist, if I've taken him out of reality, nihilism is the only thing that makes sense anymore. That there is no meaning. There's no purpose, there's no reason to get outta bed in the morning. And so you have these other false religions emerge that are creating ways to try to escape and avoid that. And a lot of it comes down to. A man based I control my own fate, my own outcome, my own destiny type situation. And I would say the simulation thing is just another version of that. It's trying to avoid reconciling the idea that there is a creator, there is an intelligent designer, and we're accountable to him. And we need to understand based on his revelation, how we should conduct ourselves. And speaking of that revelation, we should turn to some of that in the form of God's word today. That was a good transition. Isaiah 37, 38, 39, and then we're in the Psalms again, I think today, right? Psalm 76. I believe so, yeah. Isaiah 37. We are back into Hezekiah. So just to re remind everybody and to set the stage, you've got Assyria coming against Judd. In the Southern Kingdom now Jerusalem, and this is 7 0 1 bc so the Northern Kingdom's already gone off the scene. He's sakib and really in the form of the Rabbis Shaka, which was probably not the guy's name as much as his title is being dispatched. He sent from Sakib and he's come with a message that says to the Judean people, who are you to trust in the Lord? Has anyone been able to deliver you from? From the Assyrians. Has anyone been able to stop the Assyrians? And he's saying, don't trust in Hezekiah. Don't trust in the Lord. Don't trust in these things. So we left off there with the people not answering them a word because they trusted the king at this time. Hezekiah. Hezekiah, what does he do? Chapter 37. He does what so many before him had not done and what the Israelites in the north had not done. And he seeks the Lord. And this is key. And I think this is one of the main reasons why. God sustains Judah at this time, aside from his faithfulness to the covenant of that he had made with David. He's gonna take Judah out by the hands of Babylon later. So it's not as though he couldn't have just said, okay, Assyria, you're gonna be the Babylon instrument for me. But here, Hezekiah turns to the Lord and he prays and he asks the Lord to to intervene, and he seeks guidance from the Lord. And the Lord responds and basically says, okay, I'm gonna take this rap Shaka out of the picture, which he does, but then later in 37, Rab now. Sends a letter to Hezekiah that says, Hey, buckle up because I'm coming for you and it's not gonna go well for you. So again, what does Hezekiah do? Hezekiah? Verse 14, he takes the letter and he goes and he lays it before the Lord in the temple and he prays to God and he turns to the Lord. Again, a commendable act here from King Hezekiah. And God responds and says, because of Hezekiah's concern for his direction and his glory he responds and says, Hezekiah, I'm gonna take out Sinna rib. And that's the rest of chapter 37. Sin and as Syria, they're gonna fall. And God is saying, I'm gonna get glory over him. I'm gonna defend this city. He says, in 37 35, I will defend the city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. And then you find the angel of the Lord going out to fight for the people of Judah

and he slays 185,000. That's pretty impressive. Yeah. Yeah, it's, yeah. One of the things that's amazing about Hezekiah, and there's a lot of things is. This is the guy that God uses to protect, providentially, sustain the kingdom of Judah for another a hundred and some odd years. And of course, the thing that's most remarkable that you'll see is that he responds by taking his issue to the Lord. And I love the way that it puts it here. He spread it before the Lord in verse 14. He's essentially saying, Lord look at what they're saying. Look at what they're doing. And I love that that imagery because I think we can sometimes. It's as one Peter five says to, cast off your burdens to the Lord. So many of us, we just carry it upon our own shoulders and we think, Lord I've got this, Lord, this, that would be helpful if you take care of this for me, but I'm gonna take care of it until you do. I think a lot of us need to unburden ourselves with what has been in order to, how does Kamala say it? Unburden yourself with what has been,

I don't remember Ben.

It was some word salad. Anyway I was trying to make a joke. You need to spread it before the Lord is my point here. Like Hezekiah, you need to take your issues to the Lord. So many times we don't do it until we absolutely have to. Like we are in a crisis situation, we can't act anymore. And sometimes the Lord will put us there in order so that we could do that. But at Hezekiah, he takes it to the Lord, spreads it before him and says, Lord, look at what he's saying. Will you please do something about that? That's so commendable. That's so good. But notice also in verse 20 the reason that he wants God to act. He says, so now, oh Lord, our God, save us from his hand. That. All the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord. His concern is for his kingdom, yes, but it's not disconnected for from God's kingdom. He sees him as interwoven, and ultimately he's praying for the Lord's glory and the Lord's honor. And so he's saying, protect us for your sake. Protect us so that you might be honored and glorified. And I think that's a really helpful measurement of your prayer. If you can pray and say, Lord, this is about your glory, I think you're on solid footing. If it's not, if it's about something else, I think you ought to examine the thing that you're concerned about and say, is this really the thing that I should be giving my attention to here? Hezekiah prays to the Lord spreads before, and then it says, Lord, its about you and your glory.

Yeah, in, in chapter 30, 38, then it's not. The Assyrians drawn up against Judah, but it's sickness coming up against Hezekiah. And so Hezekiah is waylaid by some form of sickness that takes him 38 1 to the point of death. And again, just like he did with Sinna rib and with the rap Shaka, Hezekiah turns to the Lord and he seeks the Lord's favor here, and he prays. And the Lord says to him, Hey. I'm gonna gather you and Hezekiah asks for more time, and he's given 15 years more added to his life. And God even gives him a sign that this is gonna be the case. As the sundial of Ahaz turns back 10 steps on the the time instrument there. And so Hezekiah is granted these 15 years in, in response, Hezekiah. Praise and recounts what's happened after he recovers from his sickness. And it's an interesting it's an interesting thing. I read it this time, I guess maybe in light of a little bit of everything gone on with John MacArthur of late and people celebrating his passing into eternity. And I think, I don't know. 'cause I wasn't there and, but I've heard some things about his final moments. I don't think John. Feared death. I, in fact, it was reported recently some of his final words where there is no sting and I fear I have no fear. Yeah, I read that too. Yeah. So cool. So cool. And here you see a what a boss man. Yeah. Yeah. Come at me death to, to have like eisha with Elijah, to have just a small portion of MacArthur's faithfulness. I want double, bro.

I'm gonna do Elisha man. Let's

get triple,

I want a quadruple portion board. Yeah, please.

But how cool. And. And yet what we've seen in Hezeki is a guy who fears death. And this is, I think, a little bit of the discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament and the view of death that was possessed by those Old Testament Saints versus the New Testament saints. We've talked about that before. Somebody in the churches has had lots of conversations with me before going, Hey, why didn't God reveal more in the Old Testament about eternity and about what that looked like? Versus what we understand as New Testament Saints because he's afraid of death. And even in verse 17, it was for my welfare that I had this great bitterness, but in love, you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction for you've cast all my sins behind your back. And there it's oh, maybe he's hoping an eternal life except very next. He says, but shield does not thank you and death does not praise you. So he's Hey you gave me 15 more years of actual life here. So it just struck me this time. Hes Aki. Death was not something that, that was a, he was not MacArthur in this instance. He was not saying there's no sting and there's no fear. He was afraid of dying.

In fairness, hezeki did not have the whole corpus for sure. No canon. So it would be harder for him to see some of the things that we see. But I do take issue with it as well. I think, and. Part of the reason why is because his progeny as a result of this 15 extra years, is Manasseh one of the worst kings that Judah ever has. I would also say that it's one of the things that should be characteristic of God's people, that we don't fear death, that in fact we look forward to it. Paul will say, I'd rather. Die. Die. His gain to live his Christ to die. His gain is what he says. He says, but I'm gonna stay here so that I can serve you. In other words, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be in the flesh. I'm gonna support this endeavor so that I can serve you here. I think, Hezekiah's sadness, and I'm reading between the lines here, it's hard to know exactly what motivated him. But notice here in verse number three, it says, he prayed, please. Oh Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart. And have done what is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. It doesn't seem like Hezekiah is concerned for much else except man I like living, I like this. I like what I have here. I like my kingdom. I like whatever he's enjoying as king. It's evidence that he is focused much more on the here and now than on the there. And then into what you just said. He doesn't have a fully orbed conception of the next afterlife. We understand that, but. It is a sign of maturity and Christian wisdom to say, I'm ready to die when the Lord has set for me. I think God honors his prayer, and this shows me that God really does interact with us in a dynamic and real way. Notice God doesn't say I expected to for you to pray this way, so I'm gonna add 15 years as I planned. No, God responds. In real time from our perception to Hezekiah's Embittered request, please let me live longer. And God says, okay, I'm gonna let you do that. This isn't apart from God's plan, God didn't change his mind. God knew what he was gonna do, and yet at least he gives this sense that he is dynamically and truly acting with us. And so on the one hand, I see God's graciousness. On the other hand, I see Hezeki immaturity. And in all of it I see God's sovereignty.

Yeah we're gonna talk a little bit on Sunday about a different facet of what you're describing there in, in God's emotions because that's fascinating. 'cause scripture describes God as an emotional God, but he's not one that re responds and reacts in the moment. So it's similarly here. He's not hearing Hezekiah's prayer going, oh, I hadn't considered that actually. Yeah. I'll change my mind. But as we read this, and from Hezekiah's perspective, yeah. Hezeki was gonna die had he not. Made the decision to turn to the Lord and seek the Lord and pray these things. So yeah. Good point on that. Chapter 39, then he Hezekiah to celebrate invites the king of Babylon in his envoys over to, to show him all the kingdom. And he's Hey, look at all this cool stuff I've got that you guys don't have. That would be really cool if you guys could have someday. And then he's confronted, Hey, what did you show them? And he says I'm everything. And this is where Hesi. Slips a little bit in, in our esteem because the word from the Lord says, man, you made a grave error and now Babylon is gonna come and carry all of these things away to Babylon. And here's the first time that he doesn't seek the Lord. He doesn't go to the Lord and repent, which what he should have done. He doesn't go to the Lord and say the Lord I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done this and this was wrong of me. Is there any way that you might show mercy to us and not have that be the outcome? Instead he says it's not gonna happen on my watch, so I don't really care about it.

Yeah. And then he just basically throws his whole family and his city. Yeah. All of his subjects under the bus. I hate verse eight. If I could rip it outta my Bible I don't hate it that bad. I just, I don't like reading it. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Hey, the word of the Lord that you have spoken, that's good for, he thought there will be peace insecurity in my

days, which goes back to his mindset in chapter 38 as some of the reason why he didn't wanna die. 'cause he was just loving life so much. And now he's as long as I can keep loving my life, what does it matter? What happens after my life?

Yeah. Who cares about my progeny? Yeah. Who cares about my family? Yeah.

Man, that's rough.

Cares about my subjects. Yeah.

Ugh. Overall Hezekiah is a good king. Yeah. And he's one of the best kings that Israel, that Judah has, and yet even the best are our men at best. That's right. We see some of that there in the end. Let's pray and then we will be done with this episode. Or we can look at Psalm 76 or that because we forgot, because I forgot that we have Psalm 76. That's a good call. And then we, thanks for checking that. We'll, yeah, then we'll pray. Psalm 76 expresses praise, fear of God praises God for defending Jerusalem calls on the people to fear him in his wrath. So I, I think this is here and probably rightfully so because it fits the context that this could have been written. After Sin Arab was turned away. And it's praising God for winning the battle. Verse three, he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, the weapons of war. In other words, God did. And the response of verse seven, God, you are to be feared, Yahweh, you are to be feared. Who can stand before you one. Once your anger is roused. Think about this. They go to bed and they wake up in the morning and there's 185,000 corpses lying on the ground out there. And not a single arrow was fired from the city. That's. Overwhelmingly frightening and terrifying to realize, man, that's what God did. And so Psalm 76, I think rightly responds by worshiping God for what he did to deliver them.

Yes and amen. Should we pray now? That's a good idea.

Okay, let's pray. God, we want to be like Hezekiah and that we want to seek you, especially when things are difficult. We don't want to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps or turn to idols or other sources of hope in this world. And so we want to model ourselves after Hezekiah in that sense. But Lord, we also want to be those that are. That are confident in death, like Dr. MacArthur was, that can say there is no staying and there is no fear. We want to look forward to it even as a friend in the sense that it brings us into your presence. And certainly we don't wanna be those that say it doesn't matter what happens after us, as long as our life is comfortable here and now. And so help us to do the good things that we see in Hezekiah's life and to leave behind the things that are less admirable and less less imitable. And so God we understand that so much of scripture is to see the good things and the flaws in these men that you record for us in the Bible, and to learn from both their strengths and their weaknesses. And so help us to do that here with Hezekiah and to respond as Psalm 76 calls us to respond when we see your power exercise, to respond in fear and to worship you with our lives. And we, so we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Keep reading your Bibles. Tune in again tomorrow for another edition at the Daily Bible Podcast. And. Ladies, don't forget about Women's Bible Study tomorrow morning.

That's right.

Bye bye. thanks for listening to another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast. This is a ministry of Compass Bible Church in north Texas. You can find out more information about ourChurch@compassntx.org. We would love for you to leave a review to rate to share this podcast on whatever platform you happen to be listening on, and we will catch you against tomorrow for another edition of the Daily Bible Podcast.