Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; 2 Chronicles 32:1-23; Isaiah 36-37
The King of Assyria was pressing in on the nation of Judah, making threats and taunting the people with plans to destroy Judah. He attacked the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. Jerusalem was next. The king sent a message mocking Hezekiah’s faith that God would protect them.
WHAT ARE YOU TRUSTING IN THAT MAKES YOU SO CONFIDENT?
“Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me?” – Isaiah 36:4b-5
Assyria’s chief of staff made comments like, “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us…’” (2 Kings 18:29-30).
“But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’… I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord’s direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’” – Isaiah 36:7-10
But King Hezekiah, knowing and trusting in God to deliver, prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of ALL the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God” (2 Kings 19:15-16).
Hezekiah knew how big his God was! In response to his faith, God sent Hezekiah a message through the prophet Isaiah: “Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword” (Isaiah 37:6b-7).
I WILL FIGHT THIS BATTLE FOR YOU!
The King of Assyria had destroyed so many nations, each having a god that they were trusting in for their protection. But King Hezekiah recognized that these were not gods at all – they were only idols made of wood and stone, carved and shaped by human hands. He recognized the difference between other nations and the nation of Judah — they didn’t have the God of Israel on their side! So the king prayed in confidence, “Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God” (Isaiah 37:20).
“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
nor build banks of earth against its walls.
The king will return to his own country
by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
I will defend this city and protect it.’”
That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. – 2 Kings 19:33-37a
WHAT ARE YOU TRUSTING IN THAT MAKES YOU SO CONFIDENT?
When others mock your faith in God, do you stand confident in what your God is capable of doing? Let me encourage you today to see the difference between your God and the “kings” of this world. Your God is aware of everything going on in your life. Your God has the power and strength to win any battle. Your God has the heart to fight your battles for you. He knows you well — where you stay, where you come, and where you go. Your God is great and there is no one else like Him — no battle too big, no distance too far, no love as great as His!
“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!” – 2 Samuel 7:22
“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.” – 1 Kings 8:23