Sticks and Stones
Opening Prayer
Glorious God, there is no one like You. You are the Lord of heaven and earth.
Read 2 Kings 18:17-37
[17] The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. [18] They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them. [19] The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: “‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? [20] You say you have the counsel and the might for war-but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? [21] Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. [22] But if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”-isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? [23] “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses-if you can put riders on them! [24] How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? [25] Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.'” [26] Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.” [27] But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall-who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?” [28] Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! [29] This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. [30] Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ [31] “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, [32] until I come and take you to a land like your own-a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ [33] Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? [34] Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? [35] Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” [36] But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” [37] Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
In what way was the king seeking to intimidate?I was bullied a fair bit at school, and I remember two things: bullies exaggerate their power; and appeasing them didn’t stop the bullying. If anything, it made it worse. This is a struggle between two rulers: the “great king” of Assyria (19,28), and the King of kings, the Lord (32-35). Receiving the gold stripped from the Temple must have given Sennacherib a god complex (16). If words were weapons, this battle would have been over with the shouting. Sennacherib sent his strutting general to taunt Hezekiah. How many times I heard the bullies say: you’re weak (20), you have no friends (21), go on, hit me (23,24)! The experience of many conquests told the commander that the end was quicker if the people could be panicked (27). This was psychological warfare, but it didn’t work. Hezekiah’s people were disciplined and did not answer (36). If Sennacherib was going to take Jerusalem, he would have to back up his words with actions, and he had no idea who he had picked a fight with!
Apply
Take a walk and talk to the Lord about the areas in which you need his perspective.
Closing prayer
O Lord, when my enemies seem great, help me to see You, who is greater than all.
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