Never Make A Deal With The Enemy
In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
. . . In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
. . . The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah . . . three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.
They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.
The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah . . . Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses . . ."
. . . "Do not listen to Hezekiah. . . . for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? . . . Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me?"
. . . But the people remained silent and and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." 2 Kings 18:1-36
. . . In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
. . . The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah . . . three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.
They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.
The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah . . . Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses . . ."
. . . "Do not listen to Hezekiah. . . . for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? . . . Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me?"
. . . But the people remained silent and and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." 2 Kings 18:1-36
I see in this passage the intimidating stance that the Enemy takes whenever he attacks the children of God. Like Goliath, he comes in a rather imposing fashion and screams at us until we are terrified. He tells us that we are weak and have no defense whatsoever against him. Sometimes, he even succeeds in stripping us of all our "silver and gold." He takes everything from us. Like Job, we can be left with absolutely nothing. All our material possessions could be gone. He would attack our finances until we are hard pressed and even destitute.
But that is the least of his demands. The Enemy's real goal when he attacks us is twofold:
First: To shake our faith in God by causing us to doubt God: "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'the LORD will deliver us.' " He will even point out other Christians who trusted God but did not seem to have received answers.
Second: The Enemy also strives to push us to compromise on our faith by striking a bargain with him: "Come now, make a bargain with my master…" The truth is, a compromise with the Enemy opens the door wide for him to enter that is why the Bible says we should not give the devil a foothold.
In your walk with God, you will experience many attacks from the Enemy. There will be times when your faith might even be in crisis because you may feel very helpless in light of the enormity of the situation you may be dealing with. But hold on. Never compromise with the Enemy. Our God will never abandon you. He will see you through. Be strong and press on!
But that is the least of his demands. The Enemy's real goal when he attacks us is twofold:
First: To shake our faith in God by causing us to doubt God: "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'the LORD will deliver us.' " He will even point out other Christians who trusted God but did not seem to have received answers.
Second: The Enemy also strives to push us to compromise on our faith by striking a bargain with him: "Come now, make a bargain with my master…" The truth is, a compromise with the Enemy opens the door wide for him to enter that is why the Bible says we should not give the devil a foothold.
In your walk with God, you will experience many attacks from the Enemy. There will be times when your faith might even be in crisis because you may feel very helpless in light of the enormity of the situation you may be dealing with. But hold on. Never compromise with the Enemy. Our God will never abandon you. He will see you through. Be strong and press on!
Prayer: Lord, I confess that there are times when I feel very overwhelmed by my circumstances. I feel rather helpless in light of all that I have to deal with. But I also know that you are bigger than my problems. So, help me to stand steadfast and never compromise in my faith in any shape, form or fashion. Help me to stand still and see your deliverance. Amen