Israel could possess warriors, weapons, leaders, and great strength—these are commendable, yet they are not sufficient on their own. His enemies may well have been more numerous, skilled, clever, and bold; such factors are trivial in comparison. It is crucial that he listens to God and follows the ways of the Lord. Trust in the Lord, pray to Him; attend to His words; live according to His commandments, upholding justice, morality, and humanity; if you have sinned, repent and amend your ways without delay; place your trust not in your own strength, but in God: and He is prepared to "humble your enemies," granting you an easy and assured victory over them.
What profound and striking lessons Israel learned regarding the divine purpose in warfare! There was an instance when the pivotal battle, which determined their fate, was fought with mere words, and the unjust aggressor was "humbled" without any weapons or conflict from the attacked. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, besieged Judah, seized fortifications, and encountered no obstacles as his army advanced even to Jerusalem. The king of Judah, Hezekiah, recognized his inability and sought to appease the conqueror with tributes. Yet Sennacherib desired the complete oppression of the Jewish people, and to instill despair, he attempted to undermine their faith in God, sending messages of blasphemy to Jerusalem both verbally and in writing: "Let not your God, in whom you trust, uplift you" (4 Kings 19:10).
Hezekiah understood that the battle had shifted from the physical realm to the heavenly, and he laid the blasphemous letter before God in the temple, imploring, "Open Thy eyes, O Lord, and see" (4 Kings 19:16). God responded through the prophet Isaiah, assuring that He would defend Jerusalem: "And it came to pass in the night, and the angel of the Lord came down, and killed from the Assyrian army one hundred and fifty-five thousand" (4 Kings 19:35).
Some may argue that these events transpired during the era of Theocracy, when God directly governed, suggesting that times have changed. While it is evident that circumstances evolve, does this imply a change in God? Has God relinquished His sovereign rule over the world and humanity, especially over the kingdoms and nations where His spiritual kingdom, the true faith, and the holy Church thrive? If one believes that God's governance was confined to the Old Testament period and concluded with the advent of Christianity, we can argue that what ended was merely the earlier, more concrete, and physical form of divine governance, while a new, broader, and spiritually-focused authority commenced at that same time. This perspective is not mere speculation, but reflects the insights of the prophet. God the Father said to His incarnate Son, "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. 2:8). Furthermore, in John's Revelation, Jesus Christ is described as "the Prince of the kings of the earth" (Rev. 1:5)—not merely by title, but in true power and authority.
THEOSIS