Weekly Devotional - July 20, 2012

"Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land
from the hand of the king of Assyria?"

2 Kings 18:33 NIV

The king of Assyria was a brutal leader. His army had conquered everyone around, including the northern kingdom Israel. Then he sent messengers to Hezekiah, king of the southern kingdom Judah. The message was simple: surrender. Even mighty Egypt was no match for Assyria. Surrender was the logical action to take.

Hezekiah's representatives asked the Assyrian messengers to speak in Aramaic rather than in Hebrew so the Jewish people in the city would not be able to understand them. Instead, the Assyrians spoke even louder in Hebrew. They told the Jewish people how powerful their army was and how they had defeated all enemies.

And they mocked God by putting him in the same category with all other gods. If the other gods had not been able to stop Assyria's army, then the Hebrew god would be of no help, either.

The Assyrians only knew false gods. They had never encountered the God of the Hebrews. They imagined Judah's God to be just like all the others. And all the others had been powerless.

But Hezekiah prayed to the all-powerful God. And Isaiah prophesied the fall of the Assyrian king. God responded by killing 185,000 Assyrians in camp that night. The king retreated and was later killed by his own sons while worshiping his false god.

God will not be mocked. He will not be considered just as any other god. He is the one true God who is supreme and sovereign.

You may face an enemy that mocks God. You may hear a message like Hezekiah heard: "What god can help you?" No false god can but the living God will. Pray asking God to help you stand firm in the face of enemy attacks.