WITH US IS THE LORD OUR GOD
“Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” II Chronicles 32:7, 8
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, invaded Judah and sought to conquer the cities, including Jerusalem. Hezekiah, the godly king of Judah, took steps to strengthen the defenses of the city, set captains over the people, then called the people together to speak to them. His words of comfort and encouragement are the subject of our consideration today.
Hezekiah urged his people not to be afraid of the king of Assyria, nor his vast army. He may have had a mighty army, but Hezekiah was confident that God was on the side of Judah. “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” What timely and faith-building words were delivered to God’s people, and they took courage because of them. The Word of God says, “the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” They took his words to heart and believed that God would be with them and would give the victory.
We have this same assurance today, and how comforting it is! “With us is the LORD our God to help us.” Dear child of God, do you believe that today? Do you believe that God Himself is with us? We are not left to fight our battles in our own might or strength. The Lord is with us, “to help us, and to fight our battles.” We, too, fight battles, only not as Judah did in our text. We fight battles with our flesh, and with the devil, and with thoughts that are not godly, etc. He is with us to help us fight these battles. He has promised to give us strength, wisdom, and power. Sometimes we must deal with discouragement, but we are not alone. He has assured us of His continual presence.
God gives us these great promises in the Bible that we might rest ourselves upon the Words of God. God wants us to trust in Him and not rely upon our own resources. Hezekiah said that the king of Assyria came in the “arm of flesh.” The arm of flesh will always fail. We are not to trust in the arm of our flesh, but in the power of God.