“Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand.” (Jeremiah 42:11)
Babylon was the biggest and baddest dude in the neighborhood. But God told Israel, “Do not fear him.” How is that possible? The nation is under siege by Babylon! The next clause provides the answer: “for I am with you.” But, not just to “be with you” but “to save you and to deliver you.” The Lord has a purpose in His presence.
In a similar scenario, but a century earlier, when Assyria was the big boy, King Hezekiah said a similar thing to the great-grandparents of the people Jeremiah was talking to: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are 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 took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8) Once again, the Lord’s presence is purposeful: “to help us and to fight our battles.”
About 115 years apart, King Hezekiah had seen Assyria destroy the northern kingdom, and Jeremiah had witnessed the Babylonians destroy the southern kingdom. And both said, “The Lord is with you.”
Having witnessed what Hezekiah witnessed, Isaiah said the same thing: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) (And, once again, the Lord’s presence has purpose: to strengthen and to help.
If we look at the impossible circumstances of Hezekiah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, we can see that these were words of faith. To be clear, both Jeremiah and Isaiah were speaking the word of the Lord to their audiences. I wonder if Hezekiah hadn’t heard the same from Isaiah. Perhaps, he just knew the Lord so well that he rightly concluded that the Lord was with them.
To put a finer point on this thought, the reason that Judah should not be afraid was that the Lord was with them. Their courage should have come from the fact that the Lord was with them. And who is with me?
Father, please help me to remember that your Spirit dwells within me. Help me find courage in that truth and not fear what others may say or think if I’m completely obedient to you. Amen.
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