Overcoming fear

Thus says the king

Sometimes we forget that the scripture readings we read are part of a story. Granted, they aren’t just any story, they are part of the story of God and God’s people. The readings are part of a holy story, one that is like no other story ever told.

And yet, the readings are also like other stories. There are villains and heroes. There is structure to the stories. There are all of the parts of what you’d find if you examined another story for the general parts of the construction of a story.

“Thus says the king” is part of one of those pieces.

For what we normally hear from a prophet is “Thus says the Lord”, not “Thus says the king” … even though the words are not Isaiah’s own words, he kept them in for effect.

Isaiah 36:14–15 NRSV

Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

On the surface, this seems to be a simple comment from one king against another. Of course the king of Assyria is going to believe in his power over the king of Israel. He’s had victory after victory in the lands around Israel. There is no stopping his army.

Appealing to the people makes sense. If he can throw the people of Israel into a moment of disbelief about Hezekiah’s power, then maybe he weakens their defenses and captures their land even more easily.

However, it isn’t just a comment from the king of one nation about the king of another nation. By employing “Thus says ...” Isaiah is hoping his listeners, his readers, make the connection that the king of Assyria is really talking as an equal to their god.

Isaiah 36:18–20 NRSV

Do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, The Lord will save us. Has any of the gods of the nations saved their land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these countries have saved their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should save Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”

The king of Assyria makes it quite clear that not only is he more powerful than Hezekiah, he is more powerful than the God of Israel.

That’s quite a bold claim. One that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Thus says the Lord ...

What does God have to say to that? Through the words of the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 37:5–7 NRSV

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 servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. I myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ ”

God addresses the very basic emotion that is now troubling the people of Israel — fear. They know that the king of Assyria is powerful. They believe that all true power comes from God. So if there’s a powerful king ready to invade, it might be some form of divine punishment, and almost destined to happen.

However, that is not the response of God. This is not the time for divine punishment. This is the time for divine protection. Protection that comes not from the might of the army of Israel, but protection that comes from the word of God.

Isaiah 37:7 NRSV

I myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ ”

The Word of God

Words are powerful. They can cause hurt and division. They can bring joy and heal. They can precipitate change, and fear, and hope, and love, and ...

We often talk about Jesus as being the Word of God. We’ll read this on Christmas Eve:

John 1:1 NRSV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The phrase, “Thus says the Lord” isn’t in the Gospels, and it need not be. For if we hear the words of Jesus, we have heard the words of our god.

Nineteen times in the Gospels, Jesus spoke about “peace”. To me, the most memorable time was in John 20.

John 20:19–23 NRSV

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

At this moment, his disciples had been gripped by fear — just as the people of Israel had been gripped by fear when the king of Assyria had been standing on their doorstep, ready to invade. For the disciples though, it wasn’t an invasion that they feared — it was the unknown. How could this Jesus be their Messiah — their king — particularly if he had just been crucified?

It all comes down to this:

Isaiah 2:3–4 NRSV

Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

In God, in Jesus — the Word of God — we hear that a time will come when swords will become plowshares, and spears, pruning hooks. The time for war, animosity, hatred and particularly fear, is over. Through Jesus, we know peace. Through Jesus, we have the strength to overcome our fears. Through Jesus the words of kings have no power — because our faith helps us rely on the one that is all-powerful — the word of our God. Thanks be to God.