Have you ever heard an argument that was so persuasive that you began to believe what was said without taking time to research the facts? It’s easy to do. What is being argued, either by others or in your own mind, seems so logical it leaves absolutely no room for dispute. You find yourself believing what someone else is telling you or what you have experienced in the past and because of this, there are times when you come up short in the discernment department. Often you are comparing apples and oranges and that simply doesn’t work.
In the Old Testament there is a king named Hezekiah who ruled over Judah. He was a good king, the best ever since his ancestor David and because of this, Hezekiah led his people in ways that pleased God. At one point during his reign, Hezekiah found Jerusalem surrounded on all sides by the Assyrians, a powerful and brutal enemy who fought not only with weapons, but with words. It was with these convincing arguments that the battle was the most devastating as Satan tried to undermine the people’s faith in God with intimidation, fear and doubts.
The story in 2 Kings 18-19 and 2 Chronicles 32 explains how bad it really was. At one point the Assyrian general even offered to supply horses so Israel could fight. And if that wasn’t insult enough, the general went on to state that even with the offered horses and chariots, it would do no good. “What god,” he asked, “has ever been able to save any nation from my power? What makes you think the Lord can save Jerusalem? Don’t be fooled by that god you trust in.”
We’re told that Hezekiah approached God in humility to ask for help. Psalm 20, a psalm of David, was an important reminder for Hezekiah to trust in the Lord rather than chariots and horses. He knew that the Lord he worshiped was the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. It was true that Assyria had destroyed all those other nations and burned their idol-gods, but that was because their gods were only things that men had made of wood and stone and weren’t really gods at all. The Assyrian messengers talked about God “just as though he were one of the heathen gods—a handmade idol” (2 Chronicles 32:19), but Hezekiah knew better. He could tell an apple from an orange and he wasn’t going there.
The question thrown out to Hezekiah is also a good one for those of us who follow this “God of all the kingdoms of the earth.” When Satan begins to play mind games with us or uses other people or circumstances to cause us to question our faith in God, we need to remember who it is we believe in. God is not like other resources available to us when we need help, no matter how good those things may or may not be. As Satan is so quick to point out during the darkest part of the night, our good health, those funds set aside for retirement, or even our friends and family can all be gone in an instant.
Hezekiah knew horses and chariots wouldn’t solve his problem. He knew what his enemies had done to others around him. He also knew God. He wasn’t going to get into an apples and oranges argument. He did what he could and then encouraged the people—“Be strong, be brave and do not be afraid …. There is someone with us who is far greater!” Amen!