Devotion: Trembling and Taunting
July 19th, 2018 | Isaiah 36-37
“The Prince of Darkness grim / We tremble not for him / His rage we can endure / For lo! his doom is sure / One little word shall fell him.” Martin Luther’s great Reformation hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” recognizes the powerful spiritual warfare faced by all believers. The enemy’s “craft and power are great,” says Luther. Yet this hymn also affirms that there is a Godgiven means to defeat the enemy.
When Rabshakeh, spokesman for the armies of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, came to offer terms of surrender to Hezekiah and Israel, he unleashed great words of taunting. The might and power of Assyria were foreboding enough that the mocking words carried the force of a real threat. So scary were the words that the envoys of Hezekiah appealed to Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic so that the soldiers might not understand the predicament before them.
Instead, Rabshakeh became even more vulgar with his proclamations of doom for Jerusalem’s residents (36:12). His heckling revealed true dangers ahead. But he made a mistake when he mocked the Lord and His power to save Jerusalem.
Unlike his envoys, Hezekiah did not seek to silence the enemy. Rather, he humbled himself in fear before the Lord and His word. He recognized that God is sufficiently able to handle the army of Assyria. God heard his prayer, and by supernatural guidance Sennacherib’s army pulled away from Jerusalem and Sennacherib met his death.
Both Hezekiah and Martin Luther knew that the Word of the Lord—Jesus, the Word of Life—is more powerful than the attacks of the enemy (see John 1:1; Heb. 4:12). Like Isaiah’s word to Hezekiah, the Word of Truth is the sword against our foe.
APPLY THE WORD
Read about the powerful spiritual armor we have in Christ, including “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:10–20). Sing the words of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and consider what Luther says about the word of Christ. Ask the Lord to ready you for greater spiritual warfare through trust in His Word.
PRAYER | VIETNAM
Pray with evangelist Vang Atu* and for fruitful discipleship of the many ethnic minorities coming to faith in rural areas. Pray also for a loosening of restrictions and increased freedom.
Today in the Word’s Devotion is a production of Moody Global Ministries
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*Names changed to protect identities
