Through the ESV Bible in a Year with Jackie Hill Perry

Episode Date: October 10, 2025
Readings: Isaiah 37–38; Psalm 93; Acts 17

Episode Overview

This episode offers a reflective journey through three distinct passages:

• Isaiah 37–38: The dramatic salvation of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army and King Hezekiah's personal trial and miraculous recovery.
• Psalm 93: A song of God’s eternal majesty and unshakeable rule.
• Acts 17: The continuing mission of Paul and Silas, featuring their impact in Thessalonica, Berea, and Paul’s famed discourse at Athens.

Jackie Hill Perry guides listeners through these readings, highlighting God's faithfulness, His sovereignty over the nations, personal prayer and deliverance, and the gospel's powerful confrontation with religion and culture in the New Testament world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Isaiah 37–38: Hezekiah’s Trial and God’s Deliverance

• Hezekiah’s Response to Crisis
  • Upon hearing Assyria’s threats, Hezekiah mourns, turns to prayer, and seeks Isaiah’s counsel ([00:01]).
  • Hezekiah’s prayer illustrates humility and trust:
    • "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth." ([02:43])
• God’s Word Through Isaiah
  • God reassures through Isaiah:
    • "Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard… I will put a spirit in him so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land." ([00:56])
• Judgment of Assyria
  • The Assyrian king Sennacherib is dismissed:
    • "He shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David." ([04:18])
  • The dramatic deliverance:
    • "The angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians." ([05:13])
• Hezekiah’s Sickness and Divine Intervention
  • Hezekiah becomes deathly ill; Isaiah warns him to prepare for death ([05:31]).
  • Hezekiah’s desperate prayer for healing is answered:
    • "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add 15 years to your life." ([06:00])
  • God grants a miraculous sign by turning back the shadow on the sun dial ([06:22]).
  • Hezekiah’s heartfelt song reflects on mortality, deliverance, and gratitude:
    • "O Lord, by these things men live… O, restore me to health and make me live." ([07:23])

2. Psalm 93: The Majesty of God

• A brief but powerful affirmation of God’s eternal kingship and might:
  • "The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty... Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting." ([08:21])
  • "Mightier than the thunders of many waters…the Lord on high is mighty." ([08:48])

3. Acts 17: The Gospel Encounters the World

• Thessalonica: Paul expounds from Scripture that Jesus is the Christ, leading some Jews, many Greeks, and prominent women to believe ([08:59]).
  • Hostility ensues:
    • "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also... acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." ([09:43])
• Berea: The Bereans are celebrated for their open-mindedness:
  • "They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." ([10:15])
• Athens:
  • Paul is “provoked” by the city’s idolatry and enters into philosophical debates ([10:55]).
  • At the Areopagus, Paul’s famous sermon:
    • He connects with the culture (“To the unknown god”), then declares:
      • "The God who made the world and everything in it...does not live in temples made by man." ([11:26])
      • "In him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.'" ([12:29])
      • "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." ([12:47])
  • Afterward, some mock, some are intrigued, but some—like Dionysus and Damaris—believe ([13:06]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hezekiah’s Faith under Threat:

  • “Children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.” ([00:35])
    [A powerful image of crisis and desperation.]

• Divine Sovereignty in History:

  • “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass.” ([03:44])

• Assyrian Downfall:

  • “I will put my hook in your nose… and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.” ([04:06])

• Paul’s Evangelistic Strategy:

  • “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious... What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” ([11:49])

• Universal Call:

  • “God... now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” ([12:47])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Isaiah 37–38 (Hezekiah's Prayer, Deliverance, Illness & Healing): [00:01]–[08:17]
• Psalm 93 (God’s Majesty): [08:21]–[08:56]
• Acts 17 (Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Areopagus Sermon): [08:59]–[13:17]

Final Thoughts

This episode carries listeners through stories of threat and deliverance, songs of God’s might, and the bold expansion of the gospel into a questioning, pluralistic world. Whether facing the armies at your gates or wrestling with spiritual questions in the marketplace of ideas, these readings repeatedly invite trust in God’s sovereignty and call for a response to His ultimate authority and grace.