In about 700BC, with the Northern Kingdom of Israel having been destroyed by Assyria, the Assyrians next attacked the southern kingdom of Judah. The powerful Assyrian King sent this message to the terrified people in Jerusalem:
"Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” (2 Kings 18:31-33)
The Assyrian King is making promises to the people of a land, prosperity, milk and honey, that remind us of the promises the Lord made to his people in Deuteronomy 8. The Assyrian King is effectively setting himself up as a rival god – saying he can deliver what the LORD can’t. More than that, he claims that the LORD is powerless to save his people from the might of Assyria.
God responds by giving a message through Isaiah that prophesies the fall of Assyria and its king, which ends with these words:
“I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant."
God’s people will be delivered, not primarily for their sake, but for the sake of the honour of God’s name. For this reason they can be confident – God will not let his name be dishonoured!
For us as Christians, we are not faced with Assyrian armies, but there are still spiritual powers, rulers and authorities (Eph 6) who would seek to destroy our faith, and snatch us from God’s hand. Like the beseiged people of Jerusalem, our confidence is not in ourselves, but rather in God, and his determination to be glorified. None of God’s people will be lost – no matter what enemies we face. Jesus said:
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:37-39)
We see the same reasons for confidence here as we did in 2 Kings:
“for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
None of God’s people shall be lost – for the sake of God the Father, but also for the sake of Jesus – our greater King David.
God the Father has promised God the Son a people “to be his very own”, to dwell with him in glory for ever. Our hope and confidence rest not on ourselves, but on the Father’s promise to Jesus. We have been promised to Jesus for eternity – and nothing in heaven or earth will be able to make God break that promise to his beloved Son!
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