2 Truths and a Lie

Isaiah 36-37

Has anyone ever played the game 2 Truths and a Lie? The premise of the game is for someone to stand up and tell 3 statements about themselves, 2 of which are True, and 1 of which is not. The other people’s objective is to determine which of the statements is false.

Personal Example

Both of My Parents are the exact same age, they were born on the same day, same year, same city, etc.

I once got out of a speeding ticket by pretending to be deaf

I once found $700 cash in a book I found at Goodwill

Here in our text we are going to see a man who is just called Rabshakeh (which is not actually his name, but is actually a title that means “Field Commander”) come to King Hezekiah and threaten him that the Assyrian Army is coming and will defeat the Kingdom of Judah. He essentially tells Hezekiah that there is no hope of victory and that everything he trusts in will fail him if he tries to resist the Assyrians. Rabshakeh was unknowingly playing the worlds first game of 2 truths and a lie

Hezekiah was one of the few godly kings of Judah. He spent time tearing down the high places and the altars that were not supposed to be there and stirred a nationwide revival and restoration back to the Lord. It had seemed that Judah had finally gotten back on track with their relationship with God and things were going well… and then, just like he always does, Satan came in to discourage and destroy all God was doing in Hezekiah’s life and in the nation of Judah.

I. The Ridicule from Hell (Isaiah 36:4-10; 13-21; Isaiah 37:10-13)

Rabshakeh, who was the Field Commander for Sennacherib, King of Assyria, came into Judah to deliver a threatening message to Hezekiah and the people of Judah: “The Assyrian Army is coming to overtake you, and theres nothing you can do to stop us”.

He says “in what is your confidence? You can have NO confidence, for everything you trust in will fail you”

You cant trust in your military strategy (36:5)

Hezekiah had fortified the city, but they had neither the soldiers, nor the resources to be able to defeat the mighty Assyrian Army

You cant trust in your allies (36:6,13-20)

Judah had asked Egypt for military assistance in the past (despite Isaiah warning them against it) but not even Egypt would be able to defeat the Assyrian Army

Rabshakeh said they couldnt even trust in their King! Hezekiah was deceiving them if he tried to assure his people that the Assyrians would not defeat them

You cant even trust in God (36:7)

Judah had no help on earth OR in heaven, they were already defeated

Rabshakeh tries to claim that it was God’s Will that the Assyrians destroy Judah (36:10)

How could they fight against the Will of God?

All the other gods of the surrounding nations couldnt protect them from Assyria, why should Judah expect their God to do the same?

To the people in Judah, these arguments may have seemed logical and reasonable, and his evidence compelling, thus causing great fear and a sense of hopelessness. But God had promised deliverance, and His Word would stand

This is what Satan does to you and I all the time! He gets in our heads and he tells us all these things to discourage and defeat us. He wants us to live in a state of discouragement and depression. He comes and he taunts us, and tries to convince us that no one can help you and that trusting the Lord is useless too, He cant help you either! The Devil tells us these things because if he can convince us that these things are true, then what? We become totally helpless and defeated! Satan thrives off that! If Satan cant have your soul, the next best thing for him is to have your joy. Why? because he knows the Joy of the Lord is our strength.

II. The Response of Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:1-5; 14-20)

Hezekiah sent no response back to Rabshakeh, he didnt try to scheme and figure out a plan to retaliate… he simply called his people to pray

When Hezekiah received a letter from Rabshakeh further threatening him, again, he sent no response back. He simply went to the Lord in earnest prayer.

Hezekiah knew and agreed with Rabshakeh about 2 things

My Military Strategy is not going to win us this battle against Assyria

My Allies wont win us this battle against Assyria

But Hezekiah strongly disagreed with the final statement of Rabshakeh! He knew that he COULD trust the Lord, because God had proven Himself to Hezekiah and to the people of Judah many times before! Yes, Sennacherib had defeated all the gods of the nations around them, but he knew they were not true gods, and that Sennacherib had never encountered a god like the God of Israel!

Hezekiah knew that God would keep His promise to protect them and that He would not allow this constant blaspheming of God’s name, but that doesnt mean he wasnt afraid. You can feel the desperation in his prayer as he cries out unto the Lord.

Often when Satan is attacking us and he keeps telling us all these lies we start to feel defeated and discouraged. Satan tries to stir up doubt and confusion in our minds just like he did in this story… why? because thats how he defeats us. If Satan can convince you that not even God can help you, then you will truly be helpless, and thats exactly how he wants you to be!

Satan may be right that you cant help yourself, and he may be right that other people and other things cant help you, but rest assured, he is DEAD WRONG about God not being able to help you! Dont let him convince you that there is no hope in God! Dont let him convince you that reading your Bible, praying, worshipping, praising the Lord wont help your situation, because if you do, you’ve already lost the battle against him.

That begs the question then, why does God allow Satan to do this to us? Why does God let him taunt us and make us feel helpless?

Remember that Satan cant do anything without God’s permission, he is simply a tool in the hands of God

So why does God allow this? TO GET YOU AND I TO STOP TRUSTING IN EVERYTHING ELSE FOR VICTORY AND SIMPLY TRUST HIM!!! He wants our first response to be to go to the Lord, not to try and face it ourselves.

I have this problem, i always try to deal with problems on my own because i dont like asking for help… but if i want true victory, ive got to swallow my pride and go to the Lord!

III. The Retaliation from Heaven (Isaiah 37:6-7; 33-36)

The first time Hezekiah called for his servants and for Isaiah to pray for this situation, God gave Hezekiah a comforting response (“6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”)

The Lord responded to Hezekiah telling him not to fear and that God had it all under control. He knew what Sennacherib was up to and he knew what Rabshakeh was saying, and He wasnt going to allow them to defeat Judah.

God fulfilled that promise of making the King “hear a rumor and returning to his own land” for in the following verse it says that Sennacherib “heard” that Tirhakah was going to declare war on Assyria as well.

But what happened when Hezekiah got a comforting assurance from the Lord? Rabshakeh came right back with a response saying Isaiah 37:10-13 “10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?”

This is the same way the devil schemes and works against us… we doubt and we pray for victory, God gives us an assurance, and then the devil comes swooping back in to try and make us doubt again. This time he makes us doubt the reliability of God and His Word, just like he did in the Garden of Eden.

always be prepared for Satan to attack again after God gives you Victory… he never stops scheming and attacking

This 2nd attack once again made Hezekiah doubt and fear. He just got an assurance from God that Sennacherib would be defeated but with this 2nd threat, Hezekiah just needed some assurance again, so he goes to the Lord in prayer again

Sometimes, we’re stubborn, and we need to be assured again and again. And God is willing to give us that assurance as many times as we need it.

God responds to Hezekiah’s 2nd prayer by condemning Assyria and saying that they will be defeated and that they will not overcome Judah. God also gives Hezekiah this assurance, which was a further assurance of the first one

Isaiah 37:33-35 “33 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shields, Nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, And shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. 35 For I will defend this city to save it For mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”

Not only will Sennacherib not defeat Judah, he wont even step foot in the city! He wont even shoot one arrow against it! God would disarm the enemy!

And then lets look at what God does to the Assyrians (Isaiah 37:36 “36 Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”)

God fought the battle FOR Hezekiah! He didnt have to take up arms, he didnt have to fight one battle, didnt have to shed one drop of blood! God overcame the enemy FOR Hezekiah and FOR Judah!

God can and will do the same for you and I. When the enemy is constantly attacking us and telling us lies, trying to keep us defeated and discouraged, the best thing we can do is what Hezekiah did… PRAY and trust God to fight the battle FOR YOU!

The Enemy is greater than you, but he is not greater than our GOD!

Whatever you do, dont ever let the enemy convince you that your situation is so bad that not even God can help you, cause it is a STRAIGHT UP LIE! If he can convince you of this, he can keep you defeated!