“Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assryria have blasphemed Me.” 2 Kings 19:6
When Satan confronted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, prior to the beginning of His ministry, he attacked Him by words, deceiving words, the meaning and motive of which were not for the good of Jesus, but for His destruction. From the Garden of Eden to this very day, words have been “arrows” at times in the hands of Satan, used in such a manner as to take down the believer through deception, or simply, by opposing him. This enemy who confronted Adam and Eve is that one who would attack Job, seeking to deceive and pressure him into unbelieving compromise with God. He is also that one who confronted Hezekiah, the king of Judah. And he would do this through the king of Assyria, specifically Rabshakeh, his messenger.
In 2 Kings, chapter 18, we find where the Assyrian army has surrounded Jerusalem, and Rabshakeh is addressing the king of Judah in such a way that he, with the people, will be pressured to surrender to his demands. The first point of the enemy’s attack on Hezekiah is intended to get him to question his faith in God. Rabshakeh asks the king: “What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words), I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?” (v. 19,20) Rabshakeh, certainly under the control of the enemy of God, is seeking a breach in the attitude of faith of the King and the people. In his discourse, this emmisary of Sennacherib goes even so far as to lie to the king: “The Lord said to me, ‘God up against this land, and destroy it.” (v.25) Not only is there an attack on faith, but a declaration that God told him destroy the city. We grasp something of the intensity of this moment, and the seriousness of the issues at hand, because death and destruction are very real, present issues.
However, it will be when Hezekiah seeks the intercession by Isaiah, after going into the house of the Lord to humble himself before God, that the Lord gives a word to Isaiah for the king: “Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.” In His words, the Lord tells Hezekiah that He will cause this enemy to return to his own land, and there fall by the sword. However, this will not be the end of this narrative, for though the Lord delivered Jerusalem, to the relief of all, the army of Sennacherib returns, defying God, seeking with a letter to create fear in the heart of the king and people. Again, words are used as arrows, poision darts, intended to destroy faith. Hezekiah again returns to the house of the Lord to pray, seeking earnestly God’s intervention and deliverance. However, it must be noted this time that there is an element in his prayer which is of supreme importance. It is the motive of the prayer. Hezekiah prayed: “Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech Thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only.” (19:19) The war of words had been raging, the enemy chosing every means verbally to destroy faith, and bring the believing king and the people into subjection. Through this spiritual wall of resistance, this maze of “diabolical logic,” and lies, by deceptive arguments, it would be prayer, intercession, and the final word of the Lord, which would carry the day.
Hezekiah prayed, and many with him. The Lord through Isaiah told Hezekiah that He heard his prayer. The Lord would then declare: “For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant’s David sake.” (19:34) This He did, decimating the Assyrian army.
Dear Father, ByThy word strengthen us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.