You need to develop your title power
2 Kings (42) You must build strength
(2 Kings 18:9-25)
< Rabshakeh mocking Judah >
In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah, in the 7th year of Hosea, the 19th and last king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria laid siege to Samaria (verse 9). And two years (three years) later, when Samaria fell, Northern Israel was destroyed. That was 722 B.C., the 6th year of King Hezekiah of Judah in the south and the 9th year of King Hosea of Israel in the north (v. After the destruction of northern Israel, the king of Assyria took the Israelites captive and placed them in various places in Assyria. The reason they were in such a miserable situation was because they broke the covenant with God and disobeyed God's commands (verse 12).
Then, in the 14th year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked and occupied the cities of Judah (verse 13). In the end, Hezekiah was able to end the war by giving him the material he wanted (verses 14-16). But the king of Assyria also had Dardan, Rabsari, and Rabshakeh attack Jerusalem with a large army (verses 13-17). Dardan, Rabsari, and Rabsage are official names, not human names. In today's terms, Dardan is the chief of staff, Rabsari is the head of the bodyguard, and Rabsage is the chief of the secretary. The Assyrian king had his most trusted servants lead an army against Jerusalem.
When the Assyrian king's servants went up to Jerusalem and came to the main road by the upper pool of water, that is, in the laundry's field, they called for King Hezekiah. The head of the palace is today's prime minister, the secretary is the archives of public documents, and the officer is the archivist of history, which are key positions in ancient times. Instead of King Hezekiah, they went out and met the officials of the king of Assyria.
At that time, Rabshakeh, a servant of the king of Assyria, called his king ‘Assyria the great’, and King Hezekiah simply called his name or expressed it as ‘you’ (verse 19). Then he made a mockery of Judas (verses 20-23). The ridicule went too far, and Rabshakeh says that it was the Lord's will that he invaded Judah, and that the Lord had previously told him to attack the land of Judah (verses 24-25). It is as if he was a messenger sent by God and attacked according to God's will. How amazing must Hezekiah's servants be when they hear the unbelievers proclaim God's will?
<You need to build up your strength>
One of the most misunderstood by people with power is that they believe that their strength is God-given and that God is with them. At the same time, there are not only two powerful people who believed in power as justice and eventually perished. Power is not justice or truth or faith. Even with sincere beliefs, you can be powerless and unsuccessful. The important thing is that the final victory does not belong to the powerful, but to those who truly believe in God.
Of course, you need to build strength. It is not because strength is regarded as truth, justice, or faith, but it is necessary to develop strength in order to believe in strength and not undermine the value of faith like Rabshakeh, and not to be put to shame by unbelievers as a believer. In other words, strength is not truth or justice, but it is an important duty of the saints to cultivate strength in order not to become a being who is disgraced by the world because of lack of strength, and to share the power given to those who are powerless.
I see Japan hurting our nation's pride by showing its aggressiveness again due to the distortion of history textbooks and the Japanese Prime Minister's shrine visits. Why do such wounds react so sensitively? Because it still lacks power than Japan. If Japan had more power than Japan, even if Japan distorted history, they would have ignored it by saying, “Don’t be shy!”
Even things that we can go through with such a generous heart, if we don't have the strength, our self-esteem is greatly damaged. After all, easily hurting your self-esteem over trivial things means you lack strength and lack of confidence in yourself. In that sense, you must also develop strength. You should build up your strength to encourage yourself and use the power you have been given for others, not to show off yourselves by ignoring others. How do I get power? It takes effort, but it also takes time. But the most important thing is the grace of God.
The most shameful thing for the saints is that unbelievers, like Rabshakeh, say, “Why do you live a life of so much power and confusion when you say you believe in God? I am the messenger of God and the one who is loved.” In order not to receive such shame and ridicule, work hard to develop your strength and create a beautiful image of the church and members of the church to share that power with the powerless.