Eight Tactics of the Enemy
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Isaiah
33. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 36
The
Assyrian Empire
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| The prism of Sennacherib |
I have been looking forward to this chapter and the
three that follow, in which Isaiah relates some current events of his time. He
has been prophesying of the Assyrian invasion into various countries in the
Middle East and has shown that cities in Judah itself would not be spared, He
has said that the citizens of Jerusalem would be greatly shaken and ambassadors
would fail in their negotiations with the Assyrian authorities.
Assyrian inscriptions, which are found in museums
around the world, tell of Sennacherib and his conquests, stating that he lived
some 20 years after this invasion. Many inscriptions have been translated and
published in various books during the latter part of the 20th
Century. Assyria is an ancient nation, but the Assyrian Empire, so entwined
with Israel’s history, rose and expanded somewhere near 900 B.C. and fell near
600 B.C. The siege of Jerusalem, of which we now read, occurred very close to
700 B.C.
Under the reign of good King Hezekiah there are signs
of repentance and spiritual revival in Jerusalem. In 33:2 we see the people
looking to their God and waiting upon Him for deliverance. As we approach the
end of Old Testament history and observe the national decay, first of Israel
and then of Judah, we have before us a reprieve, a time for encouragement.
However, it is also a time of crisis and great trouble, through which the
people turn to the Lord. This has been the case in church history and proves
that the people of God have been at their best when under attack.
The fierce army of Assyria has turned its country into
a world empire, the most powerful in its day and renowned in world history. It
sweeps into one land after another and governments have fallen before it. Now,
it storms into Judah and defeats fortified cities (v.1). From one of those
cities, Lachish, south of Jerusalem and on the border of Judah, three important
officials are sent by the king, because his eyes are concentrated on the
capital city of Jerusalem. He has every reason to expect to defeat them and
then to see the whole land of Israel become an Assyrian province. We will see his
confidence and pride as this chapter unfolds.
Rabshakeh is a title, meaning chief cup-bearer, and with him are two others, Tartan and Rab-saris
(2 Kgs.18:17). They position themselves on the place, where Isaiah met with
King Ahaz a good number of years earlier (v.2). Eliakim, Shebna and Joah come
out from Jerusalem to meet them (v.3). The Rabshakeh delivers a message from his
king to theirs.
The
message from Sennacherib
Hezekiah had provoked Sennacherib by refusing to pay
the tribute, which his father Ahaz had initiated in a compromise with a former
king, Tilgath-pileser (2 Kgs.18:7). Ahaz was impressed by the success and
riches of Assyria and attributed its power to its religion. He commanded the
priest in Jerusalem to make an altar similar to the one he observed in Damascus
(2 Kgs.16:8-15).
This, of course, was an idolatrous insult to Jehovah
of Israel, but I wonder if the church has done better, when it has borrowed
from the world’s blueprints in an attempt to market itself. Is that not a
tribute to the god of this world’s system? Hezekiah also relented once from his
resistance, when the Assyrians began to invade Judah (2 Kgs.18:13). However,
this was not an act of idolatry, but of fear, a breach from his full confidence
in God. Consequently, his effort was totally ineffective. It was not
commendable, but, at least, it lacked the brazen rebellion that was in the
heart of his father.
The Rabshakeh opened the meeting: “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On
what do you rest this trust of yours?’” (v.4). It is a pertinent question from a heathen dignitary. Words of negotiation are not enough, he
continues… What do you have to back them up? (v.5). He presents the two options,
which God has already laid before his people - Egypt or God.
We have studied the options in earlier chapters, as
well as the people’s ungodly plans to resort to Egypt. Egypt had refused to
help them, so Sennacherib’s opinion of Egypt was not too different from the
words of Isaiah. Always expect some truth to cushion the devil’s lies: “That broken reed of a staff, which will
pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to
all who trust in him” (v.6). Let it be clear to all His people that God is
not depriving us of anything, when He commands us not to lean on the arm of
flesh. He is only protecting us from certain ruin.
“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the
Lord our God’, is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,
saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar?’” (v.7) No, Sennacherib, it is not and you
will find out Who is the true God before long. He is certainly referring to
Hezekiah’s removal of the altar that Ahaz had copied from Damascus and his
restoration of the altar that Solomon had made and consecrated to the God of
Israel.
The enemy's tactics
As in chapter 7, Isaiah will teach us the devil’s
tactics by relating this story. Believe me, it is a valuable lesson for every
reader and for the writer of these lines, showing us not to negotiate with the
forces of darkness. For that reason, we will mark and number each one of his
devices. 1) He will appeal to the superstition of your flesh (your former
religious convictions) and chide you for every idol that you lay down (Learn
the lesson!), and then… 2) he will mock you for your weakness. The Rabshakeh taunts
Jerusalem’s representatives in the form of a wager, a bet. He is saying, “I’ll
bet, if we give you 2,000 horses, you won’t have enough jockeys to ride them,
even if you borrow them, along with chariots, from Egypt! So you can’t expect
to turn back a single captain of Assyria with his cavalry” (v.8,9). The enemy
will assure you that you will be defeated. Learn the lesson!
3) He will plant doubts in your mind, as to whether it
is the true God, after all, who is against you and wants to destroy you (v.10).
He’ll lay down plenty of evidence to prove his point. This is a tactic that he often
sets in motion through a religious heretic, who claims that it is God, who has
spoken to him and revealed a particular plan. It is a fear tactic, intended to
make you submit to him and, if you do not, he will tell you that you are guilty
of resisting God. Learn the lesson!
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah plead for the innocent
bystander, who has little or no experience with this kind of confrontation
(v.11). Time and experience will show him that not everything is simple in his
walk with God, but that there are indeed complications that can cause confusion
and shake his soul. 4) The enemy has no respect or concern for the innocent or
the novice in faith. His argument is that, in event of a siege, they will
suffer the same fate as the mature leadership (v.12). He neglects to tell them
that he is the source of the problem, the captain of the siege, and the cause
of their suffering. He tries to shift the blame on them and their leadership
for not submitting to his lordship. Learn the lesson!
Then to confirm his blatant disregard for their
welfare, he shouts directly to them in their own language. 5) The enemy speaks
your mother tongue, knows your tendencies, and your entire cultural
characteristics. He knows your fears and your weaknesses. He knows how to get
under your skin, make your blood run cold, and make your hairs stand on end. He
shouts his intentions at you, so that it is impossible to miss them. And what
are his intentions? He wants to divert your attention and keep you from
trusting the Lord. He will turn you away from the teaching that will point you
towards your salvation. “Your situation is too difficult and your problems are
too great. There is no deliverance for you!” That was the tactic of the demon-influenced
Rabshakeh and that will be how Satan will attack you, by men or by evil spirits
(v.13-15). Remember, this man is his king’s cup-bearer, his top representative,
and is fully dedicated to him. Learn the lesson!
6) He is the master of manipulation, the patron saint
of psychology. He knows how to lower his voice, soften his tone and approach
you as a counsellor, who only has your best interests in mind. He makes
appealing offers. "Only shut out Christ and His gospel, make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will
eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will
drink the water of his own cistern” (v.16). It sounds good, doesn’t it? It
has to sound good, if the world’s billions have succumbed to his offers and
turned their back on God. Learn the lesson!
He points his arrows straight at the ego; the ego is
his best friend and ally. Study the verse carefully… his own vine, his own fig
tree… he who rejects the Water of Life will drink from his own cistern. But you
know how this story ends, don’t you? He continues, “You will not follow me very
long, 7) “until I come and take you away
to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and
vineyards” (v.17). The devil has nothing genuine to offer; the land is like your own land, but it is not your land. It is
false, a cheap substitute.
The prodigal listened to his siren song, rejected his
home and country, and went to work with the swine. Adam and Eve took the
serpent’s advice and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. They became enslaved
to the ground from which they were taken and the world has been in chaos ever
since. The devil talks about bread and wine, but he doesn’t mention that all
his products end in addiction and slavery. Sodom knew “fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness” (Ez.16:49); they
also knew homosexuality and “were
wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Ge.13:13). Take what the enemy
offers and you will end up being his slave. Learn the lesson!
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| Little Judah alone remains independent of Assyria. (click to enlarge) |
8) The enemy reminds you of his multiple victories
over many of your neighbors. “Beware lest Hezekiah
mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the
nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” (v.18).The
great problem with this deception is that it is all too true! Look at an atlas
that depicts the Assyrian Empire and you will see Judah, as a tiny area on the
map, surrounded by defeated neighbors. The worst example for the Judean mind
was its brother nation, Israel, and the Rabshakeh is careful to mention its
capital, Samaria, last. He wanted this final fact to remain in the people’s
thoughts, to spoil their sleep and wound their will (v.19-20).
The northern division, called Israel, had seen the great
plagues upon Egypt that delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh. They had been
companions through the desert and miraculously entered the land of Canaan with
them. Israel had fought faithfully by their side, as they conquered the land
together. And their brother Israel had been carried away captive by the same
army that surrounded Jerusalem. Now that was a mighty weight on Judah’s
shoulders! If you follow him, the enemy will take you on a tour of the
battlefield of fallen brothers. You will go to the house of Brother Jake in
disrepair, because he fell back into addiction and died in that condition.
Sister Sally divorced her husband and left her children for another man. Cousin
Willy was a preacher, who embezzled money, and was sentenced to 10 years in
prison. (You may not have to invent your examples, as I did here.) Learn the lesson!
Let me try to lift the heavy weight of this tough
argument by sharing a little secret that I have found helpful. Don’t bring up
Judas, when warning the other disciples of the dangers that lie in their way.
Judas was an exception; he was the only one that Jesus was not obligated to
keep safely, because the Scriptures condemned him prophetically (Jn.17:12).
Jesus called him a thief, long before he betrayed Him (Jn.6:70; Jn.12:6). Don’t
compare the house of Saul with the house of David (2 S.7:14-16), and remember
that the faithful remnant that Isaiah is teaching, do not share the fate of the
idolatrous majority (Jer., ch.31).
The correct way to deal with these lies
What is the wise answer on how to deal with these
eight deceptions? We find it in verse 21 and it is as good for the sincere and
honest Christian today, as it was for the citizens of Jerusalem under the
Assyrian attack. “They were silent and
answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, ‘Do not answer him’” (Is.36:21).
Please understand for your own good that you are no match in a contest with the
enemy. In chapter 14, we joined Isaiah’s account with Ezekiel’s, who told us of
Lucifer’s creation and his superior intellect (Ez.28:11). He is a prosecuting
attorney, “the accuser of our brothers…
who accuses them day and night before our God” (Rev.12:10). Towards this
end, God has sent us a Paraclete, the Greek term for a defense attorney, and
that is precisely what He will be for us in a court that is too high for human
standards. Christ taught us that when we are brought before authorities we are
not to worry ourselves beforehand in finding an adequate testimony, “but say whatever is given you in that
hour, for it is not you who speak, but
the Holy Spirit” (Mk.13:11).
Obviously, as we end this chapter, we have not come to
the end of this story. Jerusalem’s three representatives “came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told Him the words of
the Rabshakeh” (v.22). We will have to go on to the next chapter to see how
the king joined with the prophet and together they went before the God of Judah
to find His answer for the Rabshakeh and the king of Assyria. Because the Judeans
trusted in their God to deal with this overwhelming dilemma, He worked on their
behalf.
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