In today's first reading, 2 Kings 19: 9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36, the king of Judah is taunted by the king of Assyria. Assyria has destroyed many countries and next on their list is Judah! A threatening letter is sent to the king of Judah, who takes refuge in the Lord. He goes into the Temple and reads the letter to the Lord and then prays: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Hear [the threats of the king of Assyria, taunting] the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire; they destroyed them because they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone. Therefore, O Lord, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God." The Assyrians did not succeed in their plans to destroy Judah!
It seems as though the Assyrians in warring with other nations and destroying them and then threatening Judah may have been attempting to become THE nation, superior to all others. Is that what is happening in the world of today by dictatorial regimes? The King of Judah sought help from the Lord God! What do you and I do when leaders of world powers threaten one another? Do we go into the Temple of the Lord and share our concerns with God as did the king of Judah? And just as importantly, what do we do when evil from within and without threaten our security in the Lord?
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