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Our story unfolds in the kingdom of Judah. The back story was that Assyria had become a world dominating power. With absolute cruelty and coldness of heart, they were destroying nation after nation, city after city.

The northern kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed by Assyria at this point. They had done to Israel what they had also done to many other nations, they carried them away to a distant place, caused them to lose their national identity, and simply disappear into the populations of the world.

They became what many have called the ten lost tribes of Israel. But God preserved a remnant for Himself of these tribes which we will see as we continue our study through the bible.

Assyria then moved exiles from other conquered nations into Samaria, another name for northern Israel. Those people intermarried with the remnant of Jews who remained, and they became known as Samaritans.

They were there during the time of Jesus’ ministry. In fact, the woman at the well Jesus led to the Lord in John chapter 4 was a Samaritan. When the Pharisees wanted to insult Jesus, they called him a Samaritan.
After Assyria destroyed and took captive the northern kingdom of Israel, they turned toward Judah where Hezekiah was King, intending to destroy and consume Judah as well.

To strike fear in the hearts of those in Judah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent officers to Jerusalem to weaken and intimidate them in a war of words.

This encounter between Hezekiah and Sennacherib, king of Assyria, became a monumental turning point in the history of the nation. If they were taken away to another place and a foreign people were given this land, then all of God's promises would come to nothing.

A great spiritual battle was unfolding in this story and there are many spiritual applications and life lessons that we should apply in how we respond when troubles come.

I. In a War of Words – Abide in the Truth

 The king of Assyria sent officials to Hezekiah to weaken and intimidate them in a war of words.

 His opening strategy was straightforward; cause their faith in God to be shaken so fear would overtake them, and they would surrender without a fight.

 Rabshakeh's challenge to their faith was in verse 22, “If you say to me, ‘We trust in Jehovah our God,’ well, didn’t Hezekiah take down His high places?”

 The Jewish leaders asked Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic rather than in Judean, but that only caused him to shout all the louder – in Judean.

 Verse 30, “Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us, and the city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’”

 This is the same strategy the enemy of your soul uses today. If he can shake your faith, if he can cause you to lose confidence in who God is in your life, then fear will defeat you. You’ll give up without a fight.

A. The enemy gives empty promises
 Notice the strategy, Rabshakeh tried to shake their confidence and faith in the Lord, he tried to strike fear in their hearts, and then tried to soothe those fears with promises of his own. But his promises were empty.
 He promised that there would be peace, that he would move them to a place where they could feel at home, where there would be an abundance of good things, and that they would live and not die.
 This is a strategy of the enemy today. He tries to convince people about how good life could be if they just surrendered to his plan for their lives.
Illus – “Life will be so much more exciting over here. You’re missing out on all the fun, man! The world is where you can live it up, don’t worry, there’s no death here!”
Illus - In the original sin of man, wasn't that the very strategy the serpent used with Eve?


Pastor Rich Jones
Pastor Matthew Dodd
Rich Jones Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel Worship Center
Calvary Chapel Hillsboro
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