Faith in the God Who Saves Us From Our Enemies (Isaiah 36-37) pt. 1

The following is part 1 of 3 of a sermon that I preached on Sunday. Enjoy.

Introduction: There was this one children’s Sunday school worker who was teaching the kindergarten class. The worker was teaching the children about who their enemy was. And she asked them, “Who is our enemy?” None of the kids answered. So, she said, “I’ll give you a hint: It starts with the letter “D.” Finally, one alert kid raised his hand and said, “I know! I know!” The teacher, relieved, said, “Wonderful, so who is our enemy?” The little boy replied: My dad says the democrats!

The Democrats, thankfully, are not our enemies. However, the Devil is, and He and His demons are always attacking us. Not only will be attacked in this life by the Evil one and his demons, but we will also be attacked by the world. 1 John says, “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

So, what are we to do when we, and our God, are attacked? How do we respond? How should we respond?

In this passage of Scripture in the book of Isaiah, we learn about how God rescued Israel and King Hezekiah from attack and imminent destruction by the enemy Assyrians.

Like in Isaiah’s day, we will be attacked by evil forces who claim that our God cannot help us and that our God is not powerful. However, God can deliver us from those who wish to destroy us, hurt us, and take us down.

What should we do when attacks arise? This passage of Scripture shows us three actions we can take when we are being spiritually attacked:

1) When attacks arise we can stand firm in the Lord (36:1-22) – When we are attacked spiritually from the Devil or from the world, the first thing we can and should do is stand firm. We are to stand firm on the rock of our salvation that is Jesus Christ Himself. We are to stand firm on the promise that Jesus has a plan not to harm us, but to bless us and to protect us. We are to stand firm on the fact that we have God Himself living in us and nothing that the world or Satan can throw at us is too much for us to bear. There are two times we need to stand firm:

a.) Stand firm when you are tested (v.1-10)

Look at verse 1: “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, (senak´urib) Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. And the king of Assyria sent (RAB-shuh-kuh) Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. (v. 1-2)”

The first thing that we notice is that Hezekiah has been ruling Judah for 14 years. And in those years, he, as well as the nation has prospered greatly. God has blessed this country primarily because Hezekiah was a righteous king who feared God. Hezekiah was a great man and had done great things for the Lord. But now, he is being attacked. Brothers and sisters, know that when things are going great in your life, you are a prime target for Satan and his demons to act through the world.

Look at verse 4: “Then Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, "What is this confidence that you have? "I say, 'Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.' Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? (v.4-5)

This man, Rabshakeh’s name is a political title that was given to the king of Assyria’s top man. He is probably the governor or vice president of this empire. He has been sent to tell Judah to surrender to the Assyrians’ advances. He asks the Jews, “Who do you rely on? Who do you trust? The Hebrew word for ‘rely’ carries a meaning of to lie down on one’s face – in a sense, he is asking, “Who do you worship? Who do you depend on?”

When you are attacked spiritually, this world will try to make you depend on other people or objects outside of Christ. When attacks arise, what are we depending on? Are we putting our trust in worldly things when we are attacked? One only has to look at the world events to know that the world is full of sin and evil. North Korea is shooting missiles into the sea, Israel and Hezbollah are bombing each other. Insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan are still trying to kill in the name of Allah. Should we put our trust in the world? Are we putting our trust in the government? Are we putting our trust in the UN? Are we putting our trust in our money? Our health? Our good looks? Our acceptance in the right social circles? Our education? Are we trusting in these empty things that we cannot take to the grave with us? All of these things can be blessings and can make life easier but they will not save us when we come under attack from the world.

The only thing that can save us is putting our trust in a God who rescues us from our sins and our circumstances and who is our Savior, Redeemer, and Sustainer – the Lord Jesus Christ! When Satan comes knocking at your door, you have to STAND FIRM IN THE LORD when you are tested.

b.) Stand firm when you are tempted (v.11-20)

The next few verses tell of the Assyrians shouting to the Jews in their own native language, Hebrew, so that all the people would hear the Rabshakeh blaspheme the Lord. He even makes the false claim that Hezekiah cannot save them by trusting in the Lord. When you are attacked, the devil and the world will try to convince you that your God will not do as he says. Stand firm during this time.

Look at verse 16: “Do not listen to Hezekiah,' for thus says the king of Assyria, 'Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Now, the Assyrians are trying to tempt the Jews and Hezekiah. The devil tempts us with things that we desire. This temptation sounds good to the Israelites. They do not want to starve. This reminds me of a scene in C.S. Lewis’ classic book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (ROLL CLIP) Instead, when Edmund takes the bait, he finds himself imprisoned. Falling into Evil temptation will imprison us. Instead, we need to stand firm in our faith in the Lord when we are attacked and tempted.

'Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, "^(U)The LORD will deliver us." Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? (v.18)

Rabshakeh then states that no other gods of other nations have saved them so why will the Lord be any different? (v.18-20) However the Lord is not just an idol – He is the Creator and will deliver you and do not let the world convince you otherwise.