What is it to trust in the LORD your God? In 2 Kings 18 an outstanding King came to the throne in Jerusalem, “and he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done” (verse 3). His descent from David is recorded but his immediate father, Ahaz, does not get a mention. The new king’s trust is tested to the uttermost. The Assyrian commander comes and shouts to the defenders on the walls of Jerusalem, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: on what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war?’” (verses 19,20).

Do we see the Bible as “mere words”? That is the human view, and it seems to be that of many church people too as they wilt under the barrage of atheistic and humanist propaganda. Remember the words of 2 Corinthians 10, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion …” (verses 4,5).

2 Kings 18:22 says, “if you say to me (says the Assyrian), ‘We trust in the LORD our God’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed …” Perhaps deserters to the Assyrians had reported Hezekiah’s decree, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”. Is this a parallel with those who desert the real truth of the Bible to believe and worship in the way that appeals to them?

The last verse in 2 Kings 18 tells us how the Jewish officials “came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him all the words of the Rabshekah”, the Assyrian commander. But Isaiah says, “Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard … I will put a spirit in him so that he shall hear a rumour and return to his own land …”

Today there is no Isaiah to encourage, but the word of God is “living and active, sharper than any two edged sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).  Now note 2 Kings 19:19 “That all the kingdoms of the earth may know …”