《列王紀下第16章》和《編年紀下第28章》中也記載了阿蘭和以色列與猶大之間的戰爭。

這對猶大王國而言是極度危險的時刻。

在這樣的動盪時期，先知勸告國王要信靠上主，不要求助於其他任何方法。

顯然，這是一個完全不合邏輯的建議。然而，其中也有一些原因：

首先，當時的軍事行動通常不會超過三個月，也就是播種到收割之間的時間。

其次，耶路撒冷的城牆夠堅固，可以抵禦短暫的圍攻。

我們需要思考的是最後一句話：「如果你不相信，你就站立不住。」

希臘翻譯的措辭更為強烈：「如果你不相信，你就不明白。」

信仰是我們精神生活和靈性生活的必要基礎。

人不能不信。問題不在於一個人是否相信，因為出於必然，所有人都相信。問題在於信仰的對象，而不是信仰行動本身。

The war of Aram and Israel against Judah is reported also in the Second Book of Kings and in the Second Book of Chronicles. It was a moment of extreme danger for the kingdom of Judah.

In such a turmoil, the prophet asks the king to just trust in God, without recourse to other means.

Apparently, such was an absolutely illogic proposal. However, there were some reasons for it: first, the fact that in those times the military campaigns needed to last not more than three months, the time between sowing and reaping the harvest. Then, the walls of Jerusalem were strong enough to resist a short siege.

What we need to meditate is the last sentence: “If you do not believe, you will not stand.” The Greek translation has an even stronger wording: “If you do not believe, you will not understand.”

Faith is the necessary foundation of our mental life and of our spiritual life.

It is impossible not to believe. The problem is not whether somebody believes or not, because all believe, by necessity. The problem is the object of faith, not the act of faith itself.