Hezekiah's Response to International Intimidation. 2 Kings 19

 

Intimidation has always been a tool that armies and others have used in order to gain the upper hand in any kind of a conflict or physical confrontation. This was especially true of the Assyrian empire which was perhaps one of the cruelest of all nations in history. Their attempt was to so fill their enemies with fear and dread that they would win a large part of the battle before anything physical had ever occurred. They realized that mental attitude is more than fifty per cent of the battle.

 

We need to keep our focus on where our strength actually lies and not get our focus on the problems, on our weaknesses, on ways in which we could lose and on past failures. We have to develop in life a tough mental attitude spiritually. This is exhibited by Hezekiah and it is exhibited again and again in Scripture. When we see the men of God, the prophets of the Old Testament, up against impossible odds, realizing that ultimately the battle is the Lord’s, they clearly understood the importance of mental attitude. It is understood by terrorists. The goal of terrorists is to strike fear into their enemies so that they begin to win the battle. When they so induce fear into their enemies their enemies begin to change the way they live, the way they act, the way they talk so that they will modify terms and phrases so that they are not offensive and might not create a reaction from the terrorists. By this they have already won a large part of the battle because their threats are reaching their targets. This is just the modus operandi of any bully. Once he knows he has the upper hand then he can get his victim to do whatever he wants him to do. Hezekiah is facing a bully in terms of the Assyrian empire.

 

We in the western world face the bullying tactics of the Islamic terrorists and they have won a lot of battles. They have gotten us to change a lot of terminology. There is a challenge, for example, to the way some things are stated in school, textbooks and how Islam is described. Soft, non-offensive words are used to describe the advances and expansion of Islam during the 7th and 8th centuries, that it was just the expansion of empire. There is no mention of how violent they were and the way they would torture and kill Jews and Christians if they would not submit to Allah. There is so much fear that something may be said that offends them and create a reaction. On the other hand, when there are descriptions of things that Israel has done or that Christians have done historically—for example, the Crusades because most people are totally ignorant of the Crusades, and they talk about how horrible and violent the Christians were. Christians hardly ever respond to anything like this. The reason the first Crusade was called was because of the Islamic aggression and violence against the eastern part of the Roman empire, the Byzantine empire, and as they were advancing towards Constantinople the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church called upon the Pope in the west to raise an army to come to their aid so that they could be protected from the Islamic hordes. This Muslim aggression began back in the early part of the 700s and the Crusades were not an initiative action among Christians against Islam, it was an act of defense by Western Europe against two previous centuries where Islam had been killing and torturing destroying various countries that had been dominated by Christians. But we never hear that because it is safe to bash Christians but we are scared to death of what some Muslim terrorist might do.

 

When we lose our spiritual moral and moral compass in relation to eternal absolutes then we can’t identify correctly what the problem is and we can’t stand with the right solution; we become weak and inferior.

 

What is our authority that we are going to that gives us a value system to make a decision that something is right or something is wrong? That brings us to the most basic level which is the level of what is called metaphysics or discussion about God, the nature of ultimate reality: is there a God or not? Is there a Creator who has spoken or is there just empty silence out there in the universe? It is the pressures of life that force us to think about ultimate reality, our relationship to God, and about how that informs our day-to-day actions and decisions. It is out of that framework, then, that we come up with applications.

 

Islam is a pagan worldview, a religion and legal system known as Shariah law—it can’t be separated from Islam—and Muslims seek to impose this law and to dominate the West. And they are making inroads every single year. They have made tremendous inroads in Europe and in England. Just watch what goes on there because that is a preview of coming attractions for the United States. Intellectually we have abdicated. We have eviscerated our intellectual way of thinking so that we no longer have absolutes by which we can stand against this incursion. When we adopt multiculturalism and the idea that all cultures are equally valid, all views of God and religion are equally valid, we have already abdicated a position of strength in this kind of a war because philosophically we can’t think in terms of the reality of the enemy. So again and again and again we keep making the same mistakes.

 

The Bible again and again presents the struggle in the Christian life in the framework of a war. It is in the angelic conflict that human history began as a way of bringing resolution to that conflict because it was in and through human history that God would demonstrate His justice and His righteousness, and that His justice and righteousness were not incompatible with His grace, His compassion and His mercy. One of the most significant books for understanding this is the Old Testament book of Job. God’s question to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job?” Satan replies: “The only reason Job worships you is because you have given him everything.” So it was put to the test. The conflict is resolved through the evidence given through those who are loyal to God and who trust Him in the midst of that conflict. Then in the New Testament in Ephesians 6:10 we are told that we are in an invisible warfare. Our war is not against flesh and blood, it is against the principalities and powers, etc.; it is a spiritual conflict. In 2 Corinthians 10 we are told to take every thought captive for Christ. That is the battle, a battle that rages between our ears, not a physical battle. But the issues are the same, there are so many parallels that we can’t let the enemy, the world system or Satan, intimidate us and put us in a position where we are on the defensive in the sense that we are running or in retreat. We are to stand firm on the basis of God’s Word and rely upon God to be the one to protect us and to defend us. When we understand that we understand that we are in just as much of a position of siege as Hezekiah was in 2 Kings 19.

 

We live in a time in the history of this nation when we are in a decline. We have demonstrated in our response to situations such as terrorism a moral cowardice and a spiritual cowardice. We have demonstrated that we are basically led by wimps, those who do not have the moral/spiritual courage to take the stands they ought to take. Why? Because they are afraid they might lose their comfort, their sense of security in the nation, and so we allow our security to truly erode. This was pointed out in the late seventies by Francis Schaeffer in the series that he did on “How Should We Then Live?” Speaking in Dallas, Texas, he said “in the next fifty years the West is going to abdicate its position of leadership and the real basis for the prosperity that we have because as our security is threatened and our sense of meaning and purpose and our wealth is threatened we are going to gradually give away our freedoms and give up our liberties in order to maintain the façade of still having strength and power and prosperity.” His words have been very true.

 

There is another famous response to this question on the decline of civilizations that has been mentioned many times in different circumstances. It has been attributed to at least three different people but none of those people have been able to prove they are the actual source of this quote. It is a true historical observation and it has been called the cycles of civilization: “Man begins his existence in bondage and rise from bondage to spiritual faith. From spiritual faith he derives courage, and from courage the ability to gain his liberty. From liberty he is able to have abundance, but once abundance and the comforts of abundance begin to set in there is a shift to self-absorption—from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, and from dependency back into bondage. We are somewhere in those last three in terms of western civilization. We have become complacent and apathetic with regard to the eternal values of life and as a result we no longer have anything on which to base our living, so we are willing to give up—a little this year and a little next year, and a little more next year. Over a period of fifteen, twenty or thirty years we will look back and see how much we have given up just to maintain the façade of security and prosperity. By then it will be too late because we will either be in dependency or in bondage.

 

Israel broke that cycle. The only way to break it is to go from bondage to spiritual faith and this happened through this crisis. Hezekiah had led the nation to a return to God earlier in his reign and now at this time he is going to refocus them on God. 2 Chronicles 31:20, 21 and 2 Kings 18:5 tells us that he was the greatest king spiritually that the southern kingdom had. In all of Israel he is second only to David and it is really seen in this episode.

 

As he is faced with the intimidation techniques of the Rabshakeh he goes to God in prayer in 2 Kings 19:1. The principle is that the source of our strength is God. The key principle is humility, submission to the authority of God. Then he sends several messengers to seek divine guidance, God’s answer. 2 Kings 19:2 NASB “Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.” They are going to call upon Isaiah to p[ray. The prayer isn’t given here. It is assumed because what Isaiah gives them is an answer. The basic message is given in verse 3: “They said to him [Isaiah], “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection [NKJV: blasphemy]; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to {deliver.}” The word “blasphemy” here is an important word because that shows us that the focus isn’t on the single dimension of the physical reality of battle. Blasphemy brings in the religious dimension, if you will; it brings God into the picture. He is not just looking at this battle from the physical dimension but he recognizes that the ultimate issue in this battle is a spiritual issue and the glory of God. Here is the important principle: every conflict we face in life, every challenge we face in life, every time we are tempted to give up, to compromise, to cave in to anger or worry or frustration and defeatism, it is a spiritual issue. The battle has to be won at the spiritual level in terms of our relationship to God, not at the physical level. The issue is our mental attitude focus on God. He recognizes here that the issues are ultimately related to the integrity of God and His honor.

 

This is the same thing we saw with David and Goliath. Day after day Goliath is saying, “Trust in your God.” But nobody goes out. Then one day David is there bringing supplies to his brothers and Goliath utters his challenge. David turns to his brothers and says, “Who is this guy to blaspheme the living God? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?” When he uses the word “uncircumcised,” remember circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, the promise God gave him that this land was their land, that God would give this land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not to the Philistines. David immediately interprets the battle within the broader and correct spiritual framework that this guy had no ground to stand on. God gave them the land. He interprets the issues spiritually within a correct spiritual or divine viewpoint framework, not in terms of just a simple physical reality.  

 

2 Kings 19:4 “Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.” Again there is that focus that it is God’s honor and integrity that is the real issue here. The word for “reproach” here is the Hebrew word which means to reproach, to blaspheme, to defy, and ultimately to taunt, to mock of insult. So he is viewing this in the sense that this person is coming out here to insult God. The issue is: is God going to defend His honor when He is being mocked or insulted like this? He also recognizes the character of God in the issue: this is the living God, it is not some idol of stone or metal or wood but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The word for “rebuke” means to decide or judge, to demonstrate something; it has a legal sense to it. The Rabshakeh has come out and presented this legal argument t against the ability of the God of the universe to protect and defend Jerusalem, the city upon which He has set His heart.

Isaiah responds. 2 Kings 19:6 NASB “Isaiah said to them, ‘Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.” This is important to recognize because when we put our faith and hope in the living God who reigns over the affairs of men then there is no basis for fear. Fear is replaced by confidence. Rather than be intimidated by Islam we should have confidence because we know that the ultimate reality is that there god is not real, their belief system is fake and phony, and our belief system is true and right because it is grounded upon the living God. But we don’t have a civilization anymore that believes in the living God; it doesn’t believe in anything. And when we are going to prop ourselves up with nothing we will fall a long way before we hit bottom, because we can’t lean on thin air and that is all that we have left. We have eroded the basis of our culture by the consistent attacks against God and against the entire Judeo-Christian worldview. But the Scripture says that we are not to be afraid, we are to have confidence in God.

We have various passages in Scripture that we can be reminded of. Genesis 15:1 NASB “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’”

Deuteronomy 3:22 NASB “Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.” There is an application there for us and that is, in the battles we face it is the Lord who fights for us. How does He do that? He does that in a sovereign sense through His providence but He does it in a personal sense through the Word that He gives us, the promises that he gives us that we rely upon, that we trust in when we are in the battle. Deuteronomy 31:8 NASB “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Joshua 8:1 NASB “Now the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.’” Ultimately we trust God for the victory but that is not at the expense of the secondary means. So we trust God to protect us as a nation but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a strong military, a strong law enforcement against criminal elements, there has to be both; but we can’t forget God and just trust in politics, military, law enforcement, because that is no protection if God is not the ultimate source of our confidence.

Joshua 10:25 NASB “Joshua then said to them, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.’” If we go against the enemy we have courage because it comes from something greater than us, not just from some psychological self-help mumbo-jumbo; it is because there is a reality in the existence of God.

Judges 6:10 NASB “Judges 6:10 NASB “and I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.’”

Psalm 27:3 NASB “Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In {spite of} this I shall be confident.”

Psalm 112:7 NASB “He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” I am not going to yield to propaganda, to the threats of Islamists who threaten to blow things up and to kill people by sending assassination squads. You can’t have the kind of moral courage to defend yourself against an enemy like that if there is not spiritual strength and courage at the core. When that is gone then all that is left is implosion.

Psalm 118:6 NASB “The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?”

Isaiah 41:10 NASB “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

How should Christians respond to Muslim assaults? First of all we have to always think in terms of a Biblical worldview, that is the way things actually truly are. There is a God in heaven, He created angels, there was a rebellion among the angels, that is the introduction of evil into the universe, and Satan is trying to secure ultimate authority and domain over the earth. He already has a temporary dominion over the earth, he is called the prince of the power of the air and the ruler of this age, but he has to defeat God to gain that ultimate victory. So we are in this warfare, and Paul writes Ephesians 6:11, 12 NASB “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes [strategies and tactics] of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}” We stand against him. Not on the basis ultimately of technology or finances or any other things because we have the spiritual strength from the armor of God.

Ultimately the battle is not against Islam, the battle is against what inspires Islam, which is Satan. All false systems of thought get their inspiration out of satanic thought. We have to recognize that conflicts on the earth reflect Satan’s strategy of world domination through false religion and false philosophies.

All of the other nations—the Assyrians, Babylonians, Edomites, Samarians, etc.—are all gone; they have been assimilated into other ethnic groups and nations, but the Jews march on. Israel is back in existence today. The ultimate reality in life is the plan of God and that ultimately centers on Israel and on Jerusalem. It is no accident that the basic issue that turns up all these world conflicts today has to do with the Israel-Palestinian conflict. They are thinking about it in a wrong way but the reality is that God has a plan for Israel and Satan wants to prevent that plan, so he is the author of persecution of the Jews and the horrible attacks of anti-Semitism that have occurred over several thousand years. He wants to destroy the people that God has chosen for Himself and if he can destroy them before God fulfils His promises then he wins. So conflicts on this earth have to be thought of in terms of this ultimate spiritual reality.

As Christians our prime directive is to present the gospel, not to destroy Islam or to kill all the Muslims. Tension, though, for us comes when the spiritual warfare irrupts as international tension, war or criminality; when Christians are called into the army to fight against Islamic terrorism they have two missions as an individual. One is to kill the enemy. That is their mission as soldiers. Their second mission is to give the gospel.

When it comes to our response to Islam we have a tendency, motivated by the sin nature, to react in terms of personal animosity—like burning a Koran. That is wrong, and two wrongs don’t make a right. On the other side there is placation of the enemy as a result of intimidation, and that is wrong. One example of placating came from the Massachusetts Bible Society. They said: “As people of the Book we are joined to Islam and Judaism in a special way, and as an organization that has sought to put that Book into people’s hands for 201 years we cannot stand idly by while the sacred text of a sister religion…” Islam is not a “sister religion”; Allah is not another version of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Allah wants to kill all the Jews and all the Christians; it is not the same God at all. So they are compromising themselves at this point. It is not a sacred text, it is not a sister religion, and they are operating on a wrong response. “… in response to the Reverend Jones’ despicable act (burning a Koran) we are prepared to give away two Korans for every one that the Reverend Jones burns.” That is placating the enemy. Islamists will take anything or nothing as a pretext for violence. Whether we are going to burn Korans or whether we are not going to burn Korans is not the issue, they will take anything as an excuse.

God rules in human affairs. He may not always solve problems through some sort of direct interference, as He did with the Assyrians through some sort of supernatural intervention, but God is the one who always protects us. And if we have removed Him from being the foundation and support of our thinking then we have nothing to rely on but ourselves, and that is nothing to rely on.

Illustrations