Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 18:13-37; 19:1-36; 20; 2 Chronicles 32:1-16,18-19,21-23,25-33; Isaiah 38:9-20

Ever heard the modern equivalent to the Assyrian commanders’ taunt “On what are you basing this confidence of yours?” It sounds like this: “How can you believe the Bible?” One university history textbook states it well: “The Bible contains some historical narratives… but it was not meant to be read simply as objective history. Scholars have developed many strategies for extracting historical data from it, but their findings are tentative.” (1)

While they’re correct that the Bible is more than simply history, they are wrong about its lack of historical accuracy.

Much archeological evidence for the life and times of Hezekiah have been found in Assyrian artifacts. Take the following 2 examples from the British Museum with photos below:

1. The Taylor Prism—gives a written account of Sennacherib’s campaign in Judah, Hezekiah’s tribute given, and the number of deportees from the cities of Judah.

2. The stone panels from the palace of Sennacherib—a pictorial account of the siege of Lachish we read about today! (For more information on these stone reliefs, visit the British Museum at Great Russell Street, London, England, WC1B 3DG, or visit their webpage here.)

So, to answer Rabshakeh’s question (2 Kings 18:19), on what do we base our confidence? The fact that the Bible is God’s word to mankind. That His word is true, accurate, and adequate for us to live by! Let us not put confidence in man’s opinions or in what is logical, but let us trust in Yahweh our God and His word of truth, the Bible.

(1) Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner. The Western Heritage. Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005, p. 21.