2 Kings 19:8-13: a reflection

8So Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9When he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Tell Hezekiah king of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Will you be delivered? 12Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?’”

As the Assyrian threat against Jerusalem grows, the enemy sends King Hezekiah a message designed to undermine his trust in God. Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you, the message says; have the gods of the nations delivered them? The Assyrians point to all the nations they have conquered, whose gods could not save them, and taunt Hezekiah that his God will be no different, that his trust in God is misplaced and will fail. This is the voice of intimidation, seeking to undermine trust in God by pointing to defeats and difficulties, insinuating that God cannot help. Such voices, that say God cannot deliver you, that your trust in him is vain, are to be resisted, not believed. The taunt that God cannot help us, drawn from others' defeats or our own difficulties, is a lie to be resisted. Voices that say God cannot help us are not to be believed. To resist the intimidation that says our trust in God is vain is faith holding on. The lie that God cannot deliver is to be resisted, not believed.

Notice the strategy of the enemy's message: to undermine Hezekiah's trust in God. The Assyrians did not only threaten with force; they attacked the ground of Hezekiah's confidence, his trust in God, insinuating that God could not save him, pointing to all the nations whose gods had failed. Don't let your God deceive you, they said. This is a spiritual strategy: to undermine our trust in God by pointing to defeats, difficulties, and the seeming failures of faith, insinuating that God cannot or will not help us. We too can hear such voices, whether from others or from our own fears: voices that say our trust in God is misplaced, that he cannot deliver us, that our faith will fail like everything else. But these voices are to be resisted, not believed. The God who is taunted as unable to save is not, in fact, like the powerless idols of the nations; the intimidation that says he cannot help is a lie. To resist the voices that undermine our trust in God, rather than believing them, is what faith does under such attack. The taunt against our trust in God is to be resisted. Faith holds on against the voices that say God cannot help. We resist the lie that undermines our trust in God.

That is worth taking to heart, for the voices that say God cannot help us, that our trust in him is vain, are to be resisted, not believed. We can hear voices, from others or from our own fears, that seek to undermine our trust in God, pointing to defeats and difficulties and insinuating that God cannot deliver us; but such voices, like the Assyrians' taunt against Hezekiah, are lies to be resisted, not believed. God is not like the powerless things others trust; the intimidation that says he cannot help is false. When you hear voices that say God cannot help you, resist them rather than believing them, as Hezekiah was taunted but did not yield. Resist the voices that say God cannot help you or that your trust in him is vain, rather than believing them, as the Assyrians taunted Hezekiah that his God would fail like the gods of the nations they had conquered; for such intimidation, whether from others or from our own fears, seeks to undermine our trust in God by pointing to defeats and difficulties and insinuating that he cannot deliver us, but it is a lie to be resisted, since God is not like the powerless things others trust and the taunt that he cannot help is false, so that faith holds on under such attack by resisting the voices that undermine our trust in God rather than yielding to them.

Lord, as the Assyrian threat against Jerusalem grows, the enemy sends King Hezekiah a message designed to undermine his trust in you. Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you, the message says; have the gods of the nations delivered them? The Assyrians point to all the nations they have conquered, whose gods could not save them, and taunt Hezekiah that his God will be no different, that his trust in you is misplaced and will fail. This is the voice of intimidation, seeking to undermine trust in you by pointing to defeats and difficulties, insinuating that you cannot help. Such voices are to be resisted, not believed. Show me the strategy of the enemy's message: to undermine Hezekiah's trust in you. The Assyrians did not only threaten with force; they attacked the ground of Hezekiah's confidence, his trust in you, insinuating that you could not save him. This is a spiritual strategy: to undermine our trust in you by pointing to defeats and the seeming failures of faith. I too can hear such voices, whether from others or from my own fears: voices that say my trust in you is misplaced, that you cannot deliver me, that my faith will fail. But these voices are to be resisted, not believed. You are not, in fact, like the lifeless idols of the nations; the intimidation that says you cannot help is a lie. Take that to my heart, for the voices that say you cannot help me, that my trust in you is vain, are to be resisted, not believed. I can hear voices, from others or from my own fears, that seek to undermine my trust in you, insinuating that you cannot deliver me; but such voices are lies to be resisted, like the Assyrians' taunt against Hezekiah. When I hear voices that say you cannot help me, help me resist them rather than believing them, Lord, as Hezekiah was taunted but did not yield, for the taunt that you cannot help is false, and faith holds on by resisting the voices that undermine my trust in you.