A. There Was A Verbal Threat.
1. Hezekiah was told not to count on the strength of his allies.
Isa.36: 4 “And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.”
NOTE: [1] The word “Rabshakeh” is actually a title, not the messenger’s name. It is the “…title of a high court official (originally a royal cupbearer, since the name means ‘chief wine-pourer’)” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 634).
[2] It is interesting to note that twenty-three years earlier, Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, had to make a decision at this same aqueduct mentioned in verse two. Unfortunately, King Ahaz decided to trust the armies of Assyria to fight his battles, rather than God. Now, the ally of Ahaz had become the attacker of Hezekiah. Be careful what you rely on in times of trial. Trusting anything other than God will likely be your undoing. As the old song says, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand/All other ground is sinking sand” (“The Solid Rock,” by Edward Mote).
[3] The obvious intent of this Assyrian military official was to knock all the props out from under Hezekiah and his people. In reality, Judah could not trust Egypt for deliverance because Assyria had already captured and controlled the road to Egypt.
2. Hezekiah was told that his army lacked sufficient military ability.
Isa.36: 8 “Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”
NOTE: [1] In verse eight, the Assyrian messenger basically makes fun of the obvious military weakness of Judah. In essence, he said, “Look, I’ll make you a deal (“give pledges”). If you can find riders for them, my master will give you two thousand horses to help your war effort.”
[2] Our enemy, Satan, loves to get us focused on our weaknesses. For one thing, when he speaks about our weaknesses, he speaks the truth. However, when he speaks about God and His strength, and our position in Christ, he always lies. The Bible says, “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4: 4b). It also says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil.4: 13). Don’t argue with the devil about your weaknesses; agree with him. After all, he’s right. But the fact is, if you face trials and temptations relying on the Lord and His strength, your weaknesses have nothing to do with the outcome.
[3] Satan’s purpose in your trials is to get you to focus on you. God’s purpose in your trials is to get you to focus on Him.
3. Hezekiah was told that Judah’s destruction was by God’s authority.
Isa.36: 10 “And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? the Lord said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.”
NOTE: [1] The statement made here was essentially true. God was in fact using Sennacherib to judge Judah as a whole for their idolatry. But the situation at Jerusalem was a little different. Hezekiah, a godly king, had made reforms, ridding the city of idolatry. Because God had determined judgment upon Judah as a whole, did not mean that He had determined to destroy Hezekiah and Jerusalem as well.
[2] When God’s children are going through trials and troubles, Satan loves to lie to them and tell them that God is against them. “After all,” he will say, “look at how many times you’ve messed up in the past. God is angry with you. That’s why you’re having all these problems.” Unless you are rebellious against God, and have known sin in your life, don’t fall for that lie. Sure you’ve sinned and messed up in the past. All of us have. But the Word of God says, “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1: 7b).
[3] Jesse Pen-Lewis, a great saint of the past, once said, “The devil and his wicked spirits will speak, or use, ninety-nine parts of truth to float one lie…” (Jesse Pen-Lewis, War On The Saints: published by Thomas E. Lowe, Ltd., New York, New York; pg. 236).
4. The people of Jerusalem were told that Hezekiah was deceiving them with false assurance.
Isa.36: 14 “Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
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20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”
NOTE: [1] The king of Assyria had sent word by his messenger saying, “Don’t listen to Hezekiah’s nonsense about God delivering Jerusalem. He’s just avoiding the inevitable—he’s not living in reality.” That sounds just like what the devil tells a lot of folks every Sunday: “Don’t listen to that preacher. After all, he’s just preaching. He’s supposed to tell you to trust God. But you know the only one you can really trust in a tight is yourself.”
[2] In verse 20, the messenger basically said that none of the other gods of the land had delivered their people. Why should Jehovah be any different? He was trying to put Jehovah and idols on the same level. However, he would soon find out differently.
B. There Was A Visible Threat.
Isa.37: 9b “…And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trusteth, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.”
NOTE: [1] All the visible evidence indicated that Hezekiah and Jerusalem were done for. He had an official letter of intent from the king of Assyria; and the cities that the Assyrians had already destroyed were visible evidence that they were capable of doing what they threatened to do.
[2] Folks, the child of God is not supposed to live their life merely by what they see. Paul said, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor.5: 7). Rather than throw his hands up and surrender to the enemy, Hezekiah took the letter “…and spread it before the Lord” (v. 14). When it comes to your trials and troubles, the enemy doesn’t have the last word, God does. Paul, through the Holy Spirit, gave us these reassuring words: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom.8: 37).
II. THE FAITH EXERCISED BY THE KING’S TACTICS
A. Hezekiah Humbles Himself Before God After The Verbal Threat.
1. He asked Isaiah to intercede before God.
Isa.37: 1 “And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.”
NOTE: Hezekiah’s first response to the threat of the enemy was to humble himself before God. That’s quite unlike many people of our day, who permit themselves to become hardened by their trials rather than humbled by them.
2. Hezekiah’s humbleness before God receives an immediate response from God.
Isa.37: 6 “And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”
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