| Isaiah 33:10-36:22; Galatians 5:13-26; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 23:23
“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! The king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you. Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ Don’t listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me; then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.'” (Isaiah 35:13-18)
“But they were all silent and did not answer him at all, for the king’s command was, ‘Don’t answer him.'” (35:21)
The devil is such a barking dog. He’s constantly wanting to knock the wind out of your sails and God forbid that you ever do anything remotely wrong, He will condemn you and tell you that your God won’t deliver you, that He’s had enough. What a liar!
The king of Assyria had been taking down nations and gaining ground. King Hezekiah made an error in judgment. Instead of depending on God to deliver Him he was seeking help from Egypt. Egypt was historically an unreliable ally. (35:6) Even if they weren’t, God wasn’t having it. He alone is the Savior of His people. The Assyrian king threw in Hezekiah’s face the folly of trusting in Egypt and then went on to say that he couldn’t even trust in his God to deliver him because God was mad at him.
The enemy of our souls will always come storming in, boisterous and loud, making his claims of victory over us, needling us over our mistakes and trying to divide us from our Lord. The devil will try to make God appear weak by taunting us with the victories he has gained in the lives of others. Then Satan will move into negotiations. “Aw, come on, you can still do what you want. Just make peace with me, serve me. You’ll never even know the difference. You can stay right here and when I do move you, it’ll be just like home. No difference, I promise. I mean I don’t want to use force; I want to bless you.”
LIAR. He’s such a liar. If you give the devil a ride, he’s gonna want to drive. He’ll slap you in bondage so quick it’ll make your head spin. Don’t ever trust what the enemy says. He threatens and then cajoles. Always know that your God is able and willing to forgive you and to move on your behalf. He wants to be sought for help. God is the ultimate hero! When Satan brings condemning thoughts to your mind or your circumstances are not the best, bring it to the Lord in prayer. Don’t sit there arguing with the enemy. Don’t let your mind drift to foolishness. Don’t give him one inch of satisfaction. Keep your mouth shut and don’t even address him, take it to your Daddy and let Him handle that small business for you.
“They will see the glory of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees! Say to the faint-hearted: ‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.’…A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way…The redeemed will walk on it and the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.” (Isaiah 35:2b-4, 8a, 10)
PRAYER:
I choose to allow the joy of the Lord to be my strength. I refuse to submit to the ranting of an unseen foe. God, I believe You are all powerful, all knowing, ever present and always forgiving. I yield myself to You, I trust You and know that You are well able to provide and protect me. Forgive me Lord, place a guard on my mouth and put my feet on the road to holiness. In Jesus’ name of I pray, amen. |
