I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Kings 19-21.

Now we read how King Hezekiah responded to the King of Assyria’s demands and threats. He did not arrogantly reply to the Assyrians that the God he worshiped was more powerful than they knew, or that God would show them His power. No, Hezekiah sent word to the prophet Isaiah asking for Isaiah to pray to God for them and to find out what God would say that they should do. Through Isaiah God’s answer was, “I will take care of the Assyrians.” The Assyrian emissaries needed to return to the main army, but before they left they sent Hezekiah one more message, doubling down on their claim to be more powerful than God, declaring that they had defeated other peoples and none of their gods had been able to stop them. Therefore, neither would God be able to stop them.

Once again Hezekiah turned to God. This time he took the Assyrian letter and laid it before God. He declared his faith in God. He did not deny the reality of the situation he was in. The Assyrians had indeed defeated all of those other nations, but those nations relied on idols, on gods that were not God. Once more God replied through Isaiah. God’s answer was that yes indeed the Assyrians had marched their armies where they willed and conquered all who stood against them. They were the mightiest nation on earth and no nation could stand against them. But now they had declared that God, the Creator, could not stand against them. What they failed to understand was that their power and conquest was all according to God’s plan. Now God would show the world His power and, despite his boasting, the King of Assyria would return to his land without conquering Jerusalem, without even beseiging it. And here is the lesson for us. King Hezekiah did not defeat the Assyrians, by force of arms or any other means, but God protected him and his kingdom. A plague struck the Assyrian army, killing such a large number that the King of Assyria was forced to return home and regroup. He died before he was able to threaten Judah again, and the Assyrian Empire fell without ever marching against Jerusalem. We do not need to defeat our enemies, not with money, not with violence, not at the ballot box. We need to pray to God and do His will. Let Him defeat our enemies.