Day 182

2 Kings 18:13–19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8

YESTERDAY, WE SAW the Assyrian Empire conquer the northern kingdom of Israel and carry ten of the ancient tribes into exile, where they disappeared from history. As we began the second half of our year together, we saw the Assyrians attempt to further their conquest by conquering the southern kingdom of Judah. The fortified cities were falling, one after another, when Assyria’s king Sennacherib sent officials to Jerusalem to intimidate them into surrender.

Outside the walls, these officials taunted Jerusalem with Sennacherib’s message: “What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem from me?” (2 Kings 18:35).

Judah’s king Hezekiah took off his royal robes and wore sackcloth. He went into God’s Temple and dispatched messengers to find Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah’s message was that the Assyrians would withdraw because they would become aware of a threat from another army. This happened —but not before Sennacherib sent a threatening letter to Hezekiah, recounting the conquests of the Assyrians and assuring Hezekiah that Jerusalem would fall next.

Have you ever felt like Hezekiah? As if your back was to the wall, and the enemy was bearing down on you with taunts and intimidation, leaving you with no way out?

Hezekiah took Sennacherib’s letter into the Temple. He laid it before the Lord and confessed his own powerlessness:

It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all —only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 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.

After this, God wiped out the mighty Assyrian army. Sennacherib withdrew to the capital city of his empire, Nineveh. As he was praying in the temple of his god, two of his sons assassinated him.

When we face intimidation, we can remember this story. Sennacherib’s letter was meant to weaken Hezekiah, but the intimidation was nothing more than hot air when juxtaposed against God’s mighty power. When we find ourselves in these situations, we have a choice —we can either believe the taunting of the enemy or we can become more aware of what has always been true: There is no hope without God. There never was, and there never will be, for we are made to know and be known by God. And we can cast our cares on our Father (1 Peter 5:7) and rest beneath His wings of protection (Psalm 91:4).

MEDITATION:

Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.