When Sennacherib, King of Assyria, began conquering the world, he sent men to convince King Hezekiah to surrender. But rather than go to the palace, they went to the City Gate and shouted to the crowds—in Hebrew—knowing that before Hezekiah could offer a rebuttal, the seeds of fear and doubt would grow into full terror. The Rabshakeh stood on the wall of Jerusalem and shouted:
“What are you trusting in? … Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God?’ Have I attacked this place without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’ Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you: he can’t deliver you from my hand…. Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from me?” 2 Kings 18:19-35.
The Rabshakeh lied. He claimed King Hezekiah had angered God by tearing down the high places and requiring everyone to worship at the altar in Jerusalem. (Hezekiah did tear down the high places, but that was what God wanted.) The Rabshakeh also claimed that God SENT the Assyrian army to wipe out Judah as punishment for tearing down the high places. Finally, the Rabshakeh added some truth: Assyria had already conquered many other kingdoms—what made Judah think they were so special?
Immediately, the King, the priests, and Isaiah the prophet tore their clothes and fell on their faces before God.
And God said, ‘Have no fear.’ God took care of everything:
“Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies.”
2 Kings 19:35-36.
God, remind us to bring You our fears! Thank you for RESCUING US.
ΑΩ
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