The King of Assyria used spiritual psychological warfare against King Hezekiah to get Jerusalem to surrender. Psychological warfare can be defined as “using propaganda to demoralize the enemy, to break his will to fight or resist.”[1] Assyria’s propaganda included a spiritual element as it mocked God.
2 Kings 19: 10This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that the king of Assyria will not capture Jerusalem. 11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way!
Why should you be any different? 12 Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! 13 What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?” [2]
Doubting God
The letter continued a manipulative speech that the Assyrian commander had given earlier. Both instances pictured the God of Israel as weak and untrustworthy. They sent a message that it was better to give up and surrender to Assyria because that would be the way of life instead of death. The letter listed all the countries Assyria had already conquered and inferred that Jerusalem would be no different.
They designed these taunts to instill fear as Hezekiah and the people looked down at their circumstances. The evil one continues to use the same playbook today. He wants to distract us by getting us to look down on our circumstances. If satan can get us to doubt the power and goodness of God, we are more easily defeated.
Aware of the Enemy Schemes
Paul warns us about enemy schemes so we aren’t caught off guard. Ephesians 6: 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. [3]
We remain strong in God’s power as we look up and stay in relationship with Him. We do this through Scripture, prayer, and worship. When we are aware that satan uses spiritual, psychological warfare, we are prepared to fight against it. To find out more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/hezekiah-assyrians
[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/psychological-warfare
[2,3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.