II Kings 18:25

25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’

Up until now, the Assyrians have publicly cast doubt on Hezekiah’s strategy of using words and trying to make a deal with Egypt. They have ridiculed the strength and military might [or lack of] in Israel. And now their threats take a more ominous tone as they seem to say that the Israelite’s own God, Yahweh, [and they use His name] has sent them to destroy Jerusalem.

The aim of the Assyrians would seem to be to undermine any confidence the people of Israel have in Hezekiah, Egypt, the military, and even their own God.

I think one of the things that I recognise about our enemy over the years is that he always goes too far, he can’t help himself I think. I wonder if it’s because he doesn’t have any limits for his own behaviour? For sure his aim is to degrade, distress, and destroy. It’s good to know your enemy and to recognise his tactics.

However, the Assyrians have made a tactical blunder when they chose to put words into the mouth of the living God, and have him speak out against his own people. Now God’s name is involved. Up until this point, in some ways, it was a contest between Judah and Assyria.

We can recognise this is no different a tactic than Genesis 3:1 “Did God  [‘elohiym] actually say……” once again the enemy is trying to do something with the words that come out of God’s mouth, a little hint of truth in the question, and the question designed to cause doubt, leading to a decision in Adam and Eve’s case, that brought in death.

There are plenty of times in the Old Testament where God has allowed things to befall his people because of their disobedience. This is not one of them. In fact, Jerusalem has just gone through a season of repentance and restoration. The rebuild is on.

I love how God’s name is at the centre of this whole story, it’s such an encouragement to us to trust in his name and what he says, not our own thoughts or even words that others may speak, but every word that comes from the mouth of God is trustworthy and eternal.

What have people said to you – or what perhaps are they saying about you? No matter the circumstances, the opposition, the challenges, we can trust God – He is good all the time.

Principle of Change 29 – We can trust every word God speaks.

Strength –  Communication – Storyteller, Great presence, Easy to talk to, Energiser, Charismatic, and Entertaining