…When You Are Up to Your Neck in Trouble!
“The people of Judah have rejected the waters of Shiloah that flow softly – My gentle care – and are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah. Therefore, the LORD will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River: the king of Assyria and all his mighty armies. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck…” (Isaiah 8:7,8)
“So, this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: ‘My people in Jerusalem, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you just as the Egyptians did long ago.’” (10:24)
“In that day the LORD will end the bondage of His people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders, because of the anointing (blessing).” (10:27)
DETAILED PROPHECY OF THE ASSYRIAN INVASION
“Look, the mighty armies of Assyria are coming! They are now at Aiath, now at Migron. They are storing some of their equipment at Mishmash. (10:28)
“They are crossing the (mountain) pass and are staying overnight at Geba. Fear strikes the city of Ramah. All the people of Gibeah – the city of Saul – are running for their lives!” (10:29)
“Well may you scream in terror, you people of Gallim! Shout out a warning to Laishah, for the mighty army comes. Poor Anathoth, what a fate is yours!” (10:30)
“There go the people of Madmenah, all fleeing. And the citizens of Gebim are preparing to run. But the enemy stops at Nob for the rest of that day. He shakes his fist at Mount Zion in Jerusalem. (10:31,32)
ACCOUNTS OF THE INVASION: 2 KINGS 18 & 19; 2 CHRONICLES 32; Isaiah 36 & 37
The leaders of the kingdoms that would attack Judah were called heads. (7:9) Head signifying the highest authority.
JERUSALEM WAS THE HEAD. THE ASSYRIAN ARMY, 180,000 STRONG, ENTERED THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH LIKE A FLOOD, BUT GOD PERMITTED THEM TO REACH ONLY TO THE NECK OF JERUSALEM. THE LORD THEN DESTROYED THEIR ARMY!
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH
Ephesians 1:22,23. God has put all things under the feet of Jesus, who is the head over His body, the church.
Jesus, the Head, nourishes the Church, His Body, which holds Him as its Supreme Authority. (Colossians 1:18 & 2:19) When it does not the Church gets “up to its neck” in trouble! Erroneous doctrines and practices ‘flood in’. However, they cannot submerge its Head, who is “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named…” (Ephesians 1:21)
When floods threaten to overflow your income, your health, or your fellowship, and you’re “up to your neck” in trouble – don’t lose your Head! (Ephesians 4:16)
But DO use your mouth and speak! The definition of a “good confession” is “To repeat what you’ve been told and know to be true.”
WE HAVE THE FACULTIES OF CHRIST
The apostles had “the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
*They thought the way Jesus thought, with heavenly wisdom. (1 Corinthians 2:6,7)
*They walked by faith, and not by sight, because they had spiritual vision. (2 Corinthians 4:18 & 5:7)
*They listened to Jesus with spiritual ears. After He ascended into heaven, they heard what the Spirit was saying to the churches.
*They had spiritual discernment – they could “smell a rat”! (Acts 5:3 & 8:23)
*They extrapolated prophecies that related to Jesus and applied them to their own situation and circumstance. (Psalm 2:1, 2; Acts 4:25, 26) Even though it applied the psalmist’s term “heathen” to “the rulers, the elders, and scribes: — including the High Priest and his family!
IF YOU CAN HEAR WHAT GOD IS SAYING, AND IF YOU HAVE A GOOD CONFESSION, AND IF YOU RETAIN YOUR VISION, AND IF YOU HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST, AND IF YOU HOLD FAST TO YOUR CONFESSION OF FAITH, YOU WILL KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER — EVEN WHEN UP TO YOUR NECK IN TROUBLE!