2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8
Isn't the voice of Sennacherib's field commander similar
to the voice of the devil in the Garden of Eden? "Do not let Hezekiah
deceive you...Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord" (2 Ki. 18:29, 30) = causing Eve to doubt God's commands (see Gen. 3:4).
"Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you
will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own
cistern" (2 Ki. 18:31) = "Your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5). "Until I come
and take you to a land..." (2 Ki. 18:32) = banishment from
the Garden (see Gen. 3:22-24).
Initially, the field commander seeks to instill doubt and
mistrust in the hearts and minds of Hezekiah's subject, much the same as the
snake does with Eve. "Surely," they both say, "your king
is lying to you. He is trying to strengthen his own position at your
expense." Then the commander paints a brightly-colored picture of what life
under Sennacherib would look like, full of good things. Like Eve, who
"saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,
and also desirable for gaining wisdom" (Gen. 3:6), the people of Judah
were offered great enticement: security, prosperity, contentment - if they
submitted to the invader. In both cases, though, there's a
bait-and-switch. The offer doesn't come without strings; by accepting the
proposal, one must be willing to pay the price. The devil doesn't tell
Eve what the cost will be; it is only after she succumbs that she experiences
banishment, alienation, and death. In the field commander's favor, he is
upfront about the price of Sennacerib's promise. The security and
prosperity are only temporary; the people of Judah, if they capitulate, will be
deported.
The people of Judah, unlike Eve, choose not to respond
(2 Ki. 18:36). They place their trust in their king. It is lovely to
read this story of a failed seduction, especially after the complete implosion
of the kingdom of Israel yesterday. What an encouragement to us!
For, you see, the enemy's tactics haven't changed much.
Does he not still whisper that our leader, God, is untrustworthy? "Surely,"
he lies, "God does not have your best interest in mind." Are we
not still tempted by the rosy prospects he paints, full of all the shiny, happy
outcomes of choosing sin? He knows our human weakness and seeks to show how we
can have our cake and eat it too. Who among us doesn't want a little more
power, a little more money, a little more security, a little more pleasure, a
little more self-love? All these, he promises. But is there not
still - is there not always - a hidden death and banishment that awaits?
My favorite moment, though, is the parting shot leveled by
Sennacherib. The Lord has told Hezekiah that the Assyrian king will
return home to his death (2 Ki. 19:7). His end is ensured. In the
meantime, however, he seeks to undermine Judah's position, sending a message of
fear that promises destruction (vs. 9-13). This man has already
been marked for death, but it hasn't yet occurred. Again, like our enemy!
God has already triumphed over Sennacherib in this passage, just as he
triumphed over Satan at the cross. We, like the people of Judah, exist in
that in-between-time. How do we then live?
This whole story stands as a model. When Hezekiah
hears the news, "he [tears] his clothes and [puts] on sackcloth and [goes]
into the temple of the Lord" (2 Ki. 19:1). He immediately turns
toward God, seeking word from him through his voice-on-earth, the prophet
Isaiah. We can do the same. We have unlimited access to God's
voice-on-earth now, the Bible, and we have the Holy Spirit within us. We too can choose to declare, "You alone, O Lord, are God" (vs. 19).
- Sarah Marsh
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