Sennacherib

 March 12, 2021

What’s the little guy to do? There are always the bullies, the bigger guys who throw their weight around just because they can. But there’s always more to the story than meets the eye. In Isaiah 36 and 37, the Assyrian king Sennnacherib is the political and military powerhouse of the day; no one can stand before his insatiable lust for more power, with all the perks that accompany it. No one has been able to resist, and he now stands at the gates of Jerusalem, mocking, making threats and offering tantalizing promises of safety.

“Hezekiah, you brought this on yourself by disrespecting your God when you broke down all the altars except that in Jerusalem.” This was Sennacherib’s first attempt at breaking the will of the Hebrew king, as recorded in Isaiah 36:7. Things always look different from the outside, and you can’t expect an unbeliever to get it right when it comes to the things of God. The Enemy will twist the Truth, trying to get us to question our own faith and faithfulness. “You thought it was God’s will to do thus and so; look where it has gotten you.” The Enemy is a liar, and one of his most effective tricks is to make us doubt God.

Sennacherib next tried mockery. In 36:8, he says, “I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you can find enough men to ride them.” The Enemy says, “Look at you! You’re facing a problem that can wipe you out. How stupid do you have to be to resist?” When the obstacle seems insurmountable, we need to remember that God is not bothered by the odds. Sennacherib may have had 2,000 spare horses, but the mountains are still to this day filled with Elisha’s chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17).

Power drunk people imagine they have all the answers, but there are always factors of which thy are unaware. We had best not be unaware, also.

If those tactics fail, the Enemy moves on: “It was the LORD who told me to take over,” (36:10). “This impending disaster is god’s will, so you might as well give in or give up.” It may be that God is trying to get my attention, or to discipline me for correction’s sake but the Enemy wants to use God for his nefarious purposes—to destroy instead of discipline. God uses trouble to redeem; the Enemy uses it to ruin.

The Enemy has even more tricks up his sleeve. “Make peace with me; offer me a gift and come out to me, and I will make sure you are cared for...until I take you away. By the way, where I will take you is far better than what you have today.” (36: 16-17). “You are in a tough spot. I have only your own best interest in mind so why not come?” If one trick doesn’t work, the Enemy will find another, but once we’ve cast our vote for him, all those promises evaporate like the dew before the summer sun, and we face the reality of our slavery.

How do we answer such diabolical threats? How to respond to power that looms before us to destroy us? Hezekiah knew. “Don’t say a word,” he commanded. It is impossible to reason with oppressive power. And often, truth to be told, we are not in a position to fight back. Had Hezekiah come out to meet Sennacherib, either by capitulation or conflict, he would have been destroyed. Instead, he remained inside the fortress and prayed to God.

When the Enemy coms in like a flood, we retreat to our Fortress and high Tower, and to the inner sanctuary where we lay before the LORD all the Enemy’s threatens and lies, till we hear God telling us that he himself will deal with it. Too often, my weakness and fear have caused me to react to the Enemy’s taunts instead of turning my attention to my Savior. It is impossible to reason with the devil. The only way to deal with him is to refuse to respond. He hates our silence. Only in Christ’s presence can be found both peace, and promise of protection. 

God delivered Hezekiah. Decisively! he will deliver us, too, if we refuse to cede him the authority he craves. When we lay before the LORD our need, he hears, and rescues his people from the onslaught of the powers of this world. Fear not! Our God is still King of kings and Lord of lords, and he is mighty to save!