SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 1-4
1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.
3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.
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?
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 1-4
The king of Assyria is satan, and he sends messengers to us with much the same words, “what confidence is this wherein thou trustest?” In other words, “Why is this Jesus so great that you trust in Him? You are a fool! He won’t help you.”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 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?
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 5
He goes on taunting, saying, in effect, “You say you have the counsel and strength, but I know better, now, where really is your strength?”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 6
“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.”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 6
He goes on, saying, in effect, “You can’t even trust your neighbor, or even your fellow Christian, because they’ll double-cross you, what do you think Jesus can do about that?”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 7
But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 7
Satan’s messenger goes on in his conversation with the Christian: “and if you think God can be trusted, look, even those in the past who were one with Him in spirit aren’t anymore. The peoples’ real trust is gone, the real altars are taken down and people aren’t powerful anymore. He has betrayed His people. You have no power against me.”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 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.”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 8
“so, you might as well give up trying to fight him. God’s not going to help you. He’ll give you what you need in life. All God does is make you sacrifice. You’ll be comfortable if you’ll just give up struggling to trust in God, and enjoy life.”, says satan’s messenger.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 9
“How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 9
So continues the messenger of satan: “You are arguing with me, pretending to trust in your God, but in truth, you trust in this world system for all your material things, do you not? You are a hypocrite! God knows that, and He won’t stand by you when you double-cross Him and lie to Him!
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 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.”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 10
After a pause to let that sink in, the messenger of satan continues: You are sinful, and your God knows it. He not only won’t answer your prayer, he has, in fact, given you into the hands of my master for destruction. Does it not say in 1 Corinthians 5:5
“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Ha ha. You see, I am only doing the work of YOUR GOD!!! HA HA
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 11
Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 11
Now the Christian (the representatives of King Hezekiah) reaches for his faith. He says, “Your fight is with Jesus, My Lord, and my New Creation nature, not with the weakness of my old nature.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 12
But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 12
But satan’s messenger says, “No, I am speaking to you, for you are not a new creation, your God has forsaken you in your sins. Ha ha”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 36, VS 13-20
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
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.
16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, the Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
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?”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 13-20
13-20 So satan’s messenger goes into a long argument, speaking, not to our knowledge of and faith in, Our Lord Jesus Christ, but to the trampled down, weak humanity that he has dragged us into again.(the people on the wall). He keeps saying that Jesus Christ has forsaken us, and with good cause, because of our sin and weakness.
SCRIPTURE; CHAPTER 36, VS 21-22
21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 36, VS 21-22
The Christian in this conversation is so low that he can’t think or speak. He keeps silent, and in His spirit, confides in the Lord Jesus Christ in desperation. He “rents his clothes”, which is a symbol of desperation and humility. This is where the Lord wants us to be—-knowing we cannot get strength from the world, from ourselves, or from others, but only from Him. We don’t need to argue with satan or his messengers. Only God’s True Word will be a weapon against Him, and we need to get that from the Source!
END OF CHAPTER 36