by: Dr. Allen Domelle
Isaiah 36:6
“Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.”
When Sennacherib, King of Assyria, came up against Judah, he made great threats which he could not back up. His threats seemed very believable to those who heard them because he could show what he had done to other nations. Every other nation crumbled when they faced Sennacherib.
When he threatened Judah, he went to the core of what and Who they believed. He warned them not to trust in the “staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it.” The reed is a long piece of bamboo that someone leaned on to keep from falling. It wasn’t uncommon for the reed to break and pierce the hand of the one who was leaning on it. Sennacherib was saying that it would hurt them if they continued to trust in what the LORD had done for them in Egypt.
My answer to the modern day Sennacherib’s who criticize those who walk the old paths is that I will choose to trust the “broken reed.” There are many modern day Sennacherib’s who criticize the old paths and those who trust in them by saying that they are only hurting themselves. They say that we will never be able to build a great work. To every modern day Sennacherib, I will continue to trust in my “broken reed.”
Go ahead and criticize, you modern day Sennacherib’s, I choose to trust the “broken reed” of our past. You can criticize the past of those who walked the old paths, but God blessed our past to make us who we are today. I’m not going to run from who I am because our past will successfully lead us into a blessed future. I’m not going to change who I am because of these empty threats.
Moreover, I choose the “broken reed” of our methods. The modern day Sennacherib’s have said that the methods of soul winning, separation, passionate preaching and running busses won’t work today, but it is amazing how they are still working. Friend, we don’t need to run to liberals to have our cocktail filled dramas to validate that we are relevant in today’s society, our methods that we have copied throughout the years will still work today.
Furthermore, I choose the “broken reed” of God’s power. The modern day Sennacherib’s can say that our reed is broken, but what they forget is that God is still alive. The same God, Who empowered the saints in the Book of Acts, is still very capable of empowering the Christian today. The same God who said to “come out from among them, and be ye separate” is very capable to empower and powerfully use those who practice separation from the world. God’s power is as powerful today as it was when He created the world.
Friend, there are many modern day Sennacherib’s who say that we trust in a “broken reed.” Let them criticize, but don’t change who you are. Let them condemn, but keep doing what the Scriptures teach to do. If what they have is so great, they wouldn’t need to threaten because their works would prove them right by their fruit. Always remember that the only reason they threaten is because threats are their only weapon to stop you. You have the Almighty, powerful God on your side. Let the modern day Sennacherib’s threaten, but you just need to keep trusting God and doing what His Word commands to do because He will prove them wrong.