The Struggle with Evil (2 Kings 18:17 – 19:7)
The Struggle with Evil
2 Kings 18:17 – 19:7 (17-18)
As you know we are now on a long section in the book of 2 Kings
That deals with one of the best kings that Judah ever knew.
His name was Hezekiah (strengthened by the LORD)
And to put it plainly, he is the “The King who Trusted God”
2 Kings 18:5 “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.”
As far as faith is concerned,
There was never another king in Israel like Hezekiah.
And a couple of weeks ago we saw some of the highlights of his life
To see that he truly was a king full of faith.
Last week, however, we saw one of his poor moments.
• Everyone has to learn faith…
• Everyone has to have their faith grown…
And the incident last week was used to do just that in Hezekiah’s life.
When he became king he started off hot.
1) He reopened the temple and held the Passover
2) He removed the high places, idols, and Nehushtan
3) He rebelled against Assyria and refused to pay tribute
BUT THEN ASSYRIA CALLED HIS BLUFF
Hezekiah had only been king for 6 years when he witnessed
The fall of the northern kingdom at the hands of Assyria.
This event would prove to cast some uncertainty into his mind.
And then in his tenth year Assyria would attack Judah
And Hezekiah’s faith was challenged.
He ended up paying the king of Assyria a large sum of money
To pull back and leave Judah alone.
THAT WAS A MISTAKE
For as we see today, and even as we talked about last week,
Assyria reneged on the deal and came to attack anyway.
And so now Hezekiah has made up his mind to trust God.
But you and I know that the enemy doesn’t give up that easily.
He forces us to prove our trust in God.
And so this morning we see how Hezekiah handled his struggle with evil.
This is a long text this morning, and we will break it down into 5 points.
#1 THE SCENE
2 Kings 18:17-18
According to verse 16 Hezekiah had just paid the king of Assyria
A large amount of money to retreat from his land.
But it is quite obvious here that the plan did not work.
Sennacherib took the money and came to attack anyway.
(17) “Then the king of Assyria sent Tartan (Commander) and Rab-saris (Chief Eunich) and Rabshakeh (Chief Cup-bearer) from Lachis to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem, so they went up and came to Jerusalem.”
Assyria is now knocking on the door of Jerusalem
Ready to move in and conquer the land.
But you are about to see that Hezekiah has done a complete 180.
In fact in verse 19 Rabshakeh will ask Hezekiah
“What is the confidence that you have?”
Hezekiah has gone from a man of fear who would offer money to Assyria to a man of faith who would again rebel against him.
The writer of Kings omits the defiance that Hezekiah showed.
So let me fill in the gaps for you.
2 Chronicles 32:1-8 “After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself. Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” And he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great number. He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
And that gives us much more insight.
Hezekiah tried to pay off Assyria and it didn’t work. They came anyway.
So instead of giving in again,
Hezekiah determined to lead his people to trust in God.
And there is your scene.
Fortified Jerusalem on one side and the army of Assyria on the other.
The Scene
#2 THE SCOUNDREL
2 Kings 18:19-35
I know this is a long section so let’s break it down a little further as well.
What we see here is a four-fold strategy by the king of Assyria.
It is a strategy meant to intimidate and to deceive.
It is a strategy meant to persuade Hezekiah’s people to turn against him.
1) HE MOCKS THEIR STRENGTH (19-25) (read it all)
(VERSE 19)
Rabshakeh wants them to know how foolish their confidence is.
It is a mocking of their feeble attempt to try and withstand us.
(VERSE 20)
He calls the plans of Hezekiah useless words.
It likens it to useless boasting.
(VERSE 21)
Rabshakeh assumes that Hezekiah’s help was Pharaoh (as indeed at one time it was) and so Rabshakeh mocks Pharaoh as an impotent source of help.
VERSE (22)
He mocks any strength that Judah would take in God.
(VERSE 23)
There he questions the overall strength of Judah to even have two thousand men capable of fighting.
And even if they did, Rabshakeh is letting Hezekiah know
That 2,000 horse soldiers would be no match for the armies of Assyria.
(VERSE 24)
Wants to know what Judah is basing their rebellion on?
He then tries to reveal that part of what Judah is relying on
For strength isn’t even on their side.
(VERSE 25)
There is says that they can’t even trust in God because God is on his side.
It is a complete and total mocking of strength.
The point is that you are so weak, And all your allies are so weak,
And all your plans are so dumb.
It reminiscent of Goliath mocking David “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?”
The enemy here is mocking the strength of Hezekiah and Judah.
And by the way that is one of the things
That the enemy does to you and I as well.
Satan has always been the accuser of the brethren.
Revelation 12:10 “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
In the book of Zechariah this scene is truly unfolded.
Zechariah 3:1-5 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.”
Here we have Satan accusing Joshua
In other words, he is pointing out all of Joshua’s flaws.
AT LEAST PART OF SATAN’S ASSESSMENTS ARE CORRECT
For Zechariah says “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments”
See also that part of Rabshekah’s assessments were also correct.
He told them that Pharaoh and Egypt could not help – and that is true
He told them that Judah was outnumbered – and that was true
He told them that God has sent them – and to a degree that was true
And so we know that when Satan mocks our strength,
At least to a degree he is right in what he says.
But there is one thing Satan always omits
THE GOD FACTOR
We don’t stand in our own strength…
We don’t win the battle in our own power…
We don’t proclaim our own righteousness…
Joshua was indeed clothed in filthy garments
Until the Lord said, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And said, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Satan accused Joshua and certainly as Satan spoke,
Joshua’s heart must have sunk,
Because much of what Satan said was true.
However it was the fact that Jesus made the difference
That Satan failed to reveal.
And this is what we see here.
The enemy is mocking Hezekiah’s strength
And much of what he says is true,
But he fails to reveal the difference that God will make.
When the enemy mocks your strength,
Understand that for the most part he is correct.
However don’t forget that we have strength from God
That Satan never reminds you of.
Zechariah 4:6 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
God makes the difference.
But here the scoundrel Mocks their strength
(He does that to us as well)
2) HE CONFIRMS THEIR FEARS (26-30) (read it all)
While it is true that Hezekiah and Jerusalem had made a decision to stand against Assyria, we know they must have still been afraid.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the decision to press on anyway.
There must have still been an element of fear in their hearts.
And Rabshekah wants to do everything he can
To get the people to remember their fears, to focus on them,
And ultimately to obey them.
(VERSES 26-27)
Of course there we see the decision to speak in the Hebrew language.
Rabshakeh doesn’t want terms of peace, he wants to make sure
Everyone in Jerusalem is as scared as possible.
He wants everyone afraid.
(VERSES 28-30)
You can actually here him trying to undergird their confidence
HE IS MAKING THEIR FEARS SEEM LIKE REALITY
SATAN DOES THE SAME
He loves to counteract the call of faith with the confirmation of fear.
Remember Peter?
Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;”
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT TACTIC SATAN USED TO SIFT PETER?
FEAR
Fear of arrest…Fear of torture…Fear of shame…Fear of death
Satan worked Peter over with his fears
Until Peter became a captive audience.
All night long and for most of the next day Satan ran Peter
Wherever he desired and he did it by a constant influx of fear.
God calls you to step out in faith, God calls you to trust Him,
And Satan counter attacks by reminding you of your fears.
That’s what the scoundrel did to Judah and that is what he still does to us.
He Mocks our Strength He Confirms our Fears
3) HE APPEALS TO THEIR LUSTS (31-32) (read it all)
If this doesn’t sound like Satan, nothing does.
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Satan is a liar and that is certainly what Rabshakeh is doing here.
Keep your vineyard
Keep your fig trees
Keep your water supply
Then he actually tells them that their life of captivity
Will be just as good if not better than their present life.
After filling the people with fears and doubts about God
He know promises to be their deliverer.
He is trying to step in and be the good guy on their behalf.
Trust me, I won’t let you down.
Don’t trust God, He won’t help.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
And please notice that when he offered deliverance,
It was a deliverance that appealed to the sensual lusts of man.
He wasn’t promising a righteous lifestyle
He wasn’t promising peace with God
He was promising better vines, bigger figs, and more bread
(sensual things)
That is also how Satan operates.
James 1:13-14 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
The best way to open yourself up to the deception of Satan
Is to crave sensual lusts.
Satan loves to trade your eternity for a passing pleasure of sin.
And just as he was trying to do it with Judah,
So the scoundrel tries to do it with us.
He Mocks our Strength He Confirms our Fears He Appeals to our Lusts
4) HE ENCOURAGES OUR DOUBTS (33-35) (read it all)
He takes one last shot at any remaining confidence
That they might have for a supernatural delivery.
And especially notice that in verse 34
He reminds that God didn’t help out Israel.
“Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?”
If you remember it was that fear that once motivated Hezekiah
To pay Assyria all the gold.
And now the leader of Assyria returns to that doubt.
God didn’t do it for them, what makes you think He will do it for you.
He encourages doubt.
And this is also Satan.
We don’t have time to turn and study the entire text
But you are familiar with the temptation of Jesus.
Remember the questions Satan posed to Jesus?
Matthew 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and
‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”
Of course then Satan appealed to His sensual lust
By offering Him the kingdoms of the world.
But the point is that Satan tried to cause doubt in the mind of Jesus.
Doesn’t God provide for You?
Doesn’t God protect You?
He encourages on doubt.
That is what Rabshakeh did to Judah
And it is what Satan routinely does to us.
He is the Scoundrel who desires to turn us away from faith
And to get us operating on the basis of doubts, fears, and lusts.
But we don’t make decisions based upon doubt, fear, and lust.
We make decisions based upon truth, and faith.
So we have The Scene, The Scoundrel
#3 THE SILENCE
2 Kings 18:36-37
I love the response given to Rabshekah here.
They determined not to answer him at all.
He won’t listen to you, and don’t bother listening to him.
It is not beneficial to converse with the devil.
It is not beneficial to cast your pearls before swine.
I know there are many today who seem to get some kick
Out of rebuking Satan, or preaching to him,
Or some even try to reason with him.
But that is not Scriptural.
Zechariah 3:2 “The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Jude 8-9 “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
In those two passages, neither Jesus nor Michael rebuked Satan.
They left that to the Lord.
Peter calls them false prophets
2 Peter 2:10-11 “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”
There is no benefit in conversing with Satan.
Take even the temptation of Jesus.
One could say, that Jesus argued with Satan
Throughout the first two temptations for bread and protection.
But nowhere in those temptations
Does it mention that Jesus knew it was Satan yet.
These were subtle attempts by Satan
To appeal to his flesh and lust
And Jesus convinced Himself not to do those things
By quoting Scripture to Himself, not to Satan.
However on the third temptation when Satan asked for worship,
It became clear to Jesus who he was dealing with
And his only response was “Go Satan”.
The Bible is clear on how to deal with him.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
We don’t rebuke him, we don’t mock him,
We don’t argue with him, or reason with him.
We resist his temptation.
And that is what the people did here.
They ignored him.
Psalms 38:13-15 “But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth. Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments. For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.”
That is the way to deal with the attacks of the enemy.
The Scene, The Scoundrel, The Silence
#4 THE SUPPLICATION
2 Kings 19:1-4
First he “tore his clothes” – this was an act done when God was blasphemed.
Then he “covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD.”
This was humility as he sought out the deliverance of God.
Then he sends his three messengers to Isaiah
To inquire of the LORD for him.
(3) “This is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver.”
This is not a minor situation.
Hezekiah compares it to a woman who can’t go on in delivering her child.
She is powerless, and it can’t be done.
So is their situation.
We are powerless and in our own strength we cannot defeat Assyria.
And then Hezekiah asks God to stand up and defend Himself.
(4) “Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.'”
Hezekiah didn’t have the power to silence the mocking of Rabshakeh,
So he asked God to rise up and do it for him.
Psalms 74:22-23 “Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long. Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.”
The point is that Hezekiah took the trial to God.
He had come under attack and he was not strong enough to win.
He knew it and Assyria knew it.
All he could do know was appeal to Holy God.
And by the way this is an essential part of the battle.
But directly after Paul mentions the final piece of armor, he then says:
Ephesians 6:18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”
And that is what Hezekiah does.
The Scene, The Scoundrel, The Silence, The Supplication
#5 THE SAVIOR
2 Kings 19:5-7
And we will see this point developed much more in the coming verses,
But to see the promise here is enough.
God loves to save the day, God desires to be a Savior
And that is precisely what He promises to do here for Hezekiah.
He promises that this deceiver will first be deceived.
(7) “Behold I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land.”
Proverbs 17:4 “An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”
And then God will have this destroyer to be destroyed
(7) “And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”
And that is precisely what will happen.
2 Kings 19:32-37 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. “By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”‘ declares the LORD. ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.'” Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh. It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.”
Satan attacked but the people trusted God, called upon God
And God promised to deliver.
And again we learn the lesson that it is a blessing to trust God.
We profit nothing by turning from Him.
YET TRUSTING GOD IS THE MAIN THING
THAT SATAN DESIRES TO DISCOURAGE YOU FROM.
If he can separate you from God,
You prove to be an easy prey,
For you and know and he knows that you are nothing without him.
The lesson is to trust God
And refuse to let the enemy scare you out of it
With his doubt, fear, and temptations.
Trusting God is the only path to deliverance.
James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
