Ungodly boasts.

Psalm 20:6-9 Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. LORD, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!


Those of us that trust in the name of the Lord often get amazed at the sheer insolence of those that make mockery of God, openly insulting and bringing His Holy name into disrepute. It saddens our hearts when men boast of what they can do, and rely on themselves defying God's existence, and even sometimes blaspheming that God cannot do anything to them, or that there is no God, and they are gods unto themselves.


The King of Assyria made such ungodly boasts against God when he threatened to defeat Judah. He sent his field commander to King Hezekiah of Judah saying to him and all of Judah -Isaiah 36:13-15,18-20 “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

“Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”


Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." The Bible describes those that blaspheme God's name , existence and might as fools. When such ones talk, they mock the very existence and power of God. Just like Goliath , they defile God's name. The book of Proverbs guides us as to how to answer fools - Proverbs 26:4-5 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.


What the above scripture basically means is that there are times we ought to keep quiet and not answer people that blaspheme the name of our God. King Hezekiah instructed his subjects not to answer the King of Assyria. Isaiah 36:21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” He rather turned to God who assured him through Prophet Isaiah that He was going to punish the King of Assyria for his ungodly boasts.


God punished Assyria by sending an angel who killed a large number of their army, and in the end their King who fled back to Assyria was killed by a sword - Isaiah 37:36-38 Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.


On the other hand, when David faced the ungodly boasts of Goliath, he answered him - 1 Samuel 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”


Whether we decide to answer a fool who says in his heart that there is no God, or we choose to be silent , if we rely on God, He will show Himself strong. For some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.










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