In 701 BC, the Kingdom of Judah was facing a crisis.  Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, was invading Judah.  He had conquered other kingdoms, most recently the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and he and his forces seemed to be invincible.  People were frightened.  Some were suggesting that Judah make an alliance with Egypt.

King Hezekiah took measures.  He stopped the water that flowed outside the city of Jerusalem to deny the Assyrians water for their troops and horses, repaired the city’s fortifications, and prepared weapons and shields.  Most importantly, he reminded the people that there was more to this than merely men and horses.  He told them not to be afraid of the king of Assyria, or of the horde that was with him.  “With him,” Hezekiah said, “is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles” (2Chr 32:8).

What Hezekiah said at that time is true today.  God is with us, and he is most certainly not an arm of flesh.  He is an eternal Spirit (WSC Q/A 4), one who is uncreated and rules over the entire creation.  He is the one by whom the creation exists and continues to exist (Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:3).  God rules over his creation by his providence – his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all his creatures and all their actions (WSC Q/A 11).

Today, we are facing a dangerous enemy.  The fact that this enemy is so small that we cannot even see it, and yet it can and does bring sickness and death, in its own way makes this enemy all the more terrifying.  Yet we must remember that this virus has an arm of flesh, while our God is there to help us and to fight our battles.

Let us remember, however, to take proper measures.  You saw what Hezekiah did.  In any case, we must not put God to the test (Deut. 6:16, Matt. 4:7).  Yet while we are taking proper measures, we must always go to God.  As we look to him for our daily food, we must also look to him for our health and wellbeing, and for the health and wellbeing of our loved ones.  As we do this, we will glorify God, for God is glorified when we go to him and acknowledge our total dependence upon the one who is the eternal Spirit, for “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).