When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’ ” (Isaiah 37:5–7)
We like to say that talk is cheap, and that words don’t matter. But Scripture describes a different reality. In this episode, Hezekiah, the Assyrians, and God battle with words.
On the one hand, the Assyrians come to Jerusalem and SAY some scary things. This practice was the usual method of attack by Assyria. Rather than risk lives, cut into profit, and take time, the Assyrians talked their way into victory. The Assyrians are skilled wordsmiths. Nearly everyone who hears the words of the Assyrians becomes afraid, insecure, and hopeless.
It was like the “trash talk” that competitors use before a sporting event. And it worked.
But God answers the “trash talk” of the Assyrians with three things.
First God says to Hezekiah and Jerusalem (through Isaiah,) “Do not be afraid.” He combats the Assyrian words with BIGGER words of His own. A single, “Do not be afraid” from God trumps a gazillion words of Assyrian braggadocio.
Second, God goes deeper than words, and works in the heart and mind of Assyria’s King. Beyond feelings and a mood, God is preparing the King to be beaten by the King’s own weapon: words.
Because Third, God brings a rumor to the ears of the King. A rumor about an enemy. A rumor about trouble. A rumor that caught his attention and turned him away from Jerusalem.
As the Assyrians leave Jerusalem to deal with the rumor, more words are bandied about. The Assyrians don’t want to just leave. They leave with threats. They leave with “trash talk.” They leave with fear-inducing-words.
But when Hezekiah, Judah’s King, bring those words to God (actually bringing the threatening letter into the temple,) God answers Assyria’s words with words of hope. Words of victory. Words that can end fear.
These words end with this powerful promise: “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.” (Isaiah 37:33-35)
We hear a lot of scary words these days. The news media has become adept at building fear. As Australian songster John Williamson sings, “Good news never made a paper sell.”
But God offers to combat that fear in the same way He fought the Assyrians.
He has better Words. Stronger Words. Hopeful Words.
Listen to HIM. He will defend us to save us, for His own sake and for the sake of His servants, us.
Fear not, because of God's Words.