Rev. Don Campbell
Isaiah 35-36
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, July 24, 2019
“IN GOD WE TRUST”
The motto “In God We Trust” has appeared on our coins since 1864. On July 30, 1956, a Joint Resolution of Congress declared that the motto would appear on all U.S. currency. The motto has been challenged in court, but just this year the Supreme Court ruled that its inclusion does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. I have wondered over the years whether it should read “The God in Whom We Trust.” Whether it is a vain and erroneous motto depends, I suppose, on the heart of the person through whose hands the currency passes.
The connection of this to today’s reading is that the king of Assyria who was plundering nation after nation confronted Judah and king Hezekiah was right in warning them not to trust in Egypt to deliver them from his hand, but he then crossed the line:
“This is what the great king of Assyria says: ‘What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable! But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?” (Isaiah 36:4-7, NLT).
Sennacherib’s mistake was that he thought the God of Israel was like the powerless gods of the lands he conquered: “Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, ‘Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! This is what the king says: “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you. Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’” (Isaiah 36:13-15, NLT)
King Hezekiah commanded, “Do not answer him” (Isaiah 36:21). Tomorrow we will see Hezekiah showing that his trust in God was not just a motto.
CONNECTIONS
1. Does it really make any difference what motto is on our money if that motto does not reflect our hearts and is but a congressional resolution?
2. If our hearts were visible to others, would they see an inscription which read, “He/She trusts in God” or would they see “He/She trusts [The God of Money and Power, or The God of Human Wisdom, or The God of Politics (the voice of the 51%), The God of Nature (do not kill, eat, cut, use)]
