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by Charlie Wolcott

This is part 2 of my series on the boasting of the enemy (read part 1 here). This one is by a little-known name, but in a somewhat well-known story. King Hezekiah was besieged by the Assyrian army as their empire was growing. The Kingdom of Judah had been reduced almost to just Jerusalem and the siege was made. Because sieges in those days were often lengthy, the Assyrians offered a treaty of surrender, but this offer wasn’t to Hezekiah but to the whole people. This is a unique tactic because the purpose was to get the people to distrust their God-fearing king. Hezekiah was one of four kings who got full kudos from God for his faithfulness. But the boasting and tactics of the Assyrian diplomat, Rabshakeh, caught my attention and this is the one that sparked this series.

Rabshakeh boasted loud enough for the people of Jerusalem to hear. There were 185,000 soldiers surrounding the city. Everyone was on edge. Rabshakeh proclaimed that Assyria had defeated the nations and all the gods they served, thus how would Jerusalem fare any different? But here is a statement that caught my attention. Rabshakeh knew about King Hezekiah’s reforms to return to true worship of the true God. He knew that Hezekiah had destroyed the high places which were used for the worship of the True God, which at the same time were also used for the worship of the other gods, a key point to consider. Hezekiah was one of only four kings who destroyed the high places, which God had commanded. He even went as far as destroying the bronze serpent which Moses had made because the people had turned it into an idol. Now take a look at the comment Rabshakeh makes in the Isaiah account:
“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”

Rabshakeh made the declaration that the God of Israel would not support them because Hezekiah had taken away the high places and altars from the pagan sites and told the people to worship at the Temple, God’s chosen place for worship. This is a very clever tactic. He accused Hezekiah of insulting his God when in actuality Hezekiah obeyed God. Most people, when they hear these kinds of boasts, immediately begin to examine themselves and question if they did something right or wrong.

This is precisely the same general tactic Sanballat (he’s the third one I’ll address next week, but it’s not about this incident) used against Nehemiah. Sanballat sent Nehemiah an “open-letter,” which meant anyone who had access to it could have read it. The letter stated that rumors were going about that Nehemiah was preparing to start a revolt against the king of Persia (remember that Nehemiah served as said king’s cupbearer) and that he was building the walls of Jerusalem for his own glory. Most people would have lost weeks to months of trying to figure out what exactly they did wrong when nothing was wrong. Everything was wrong with Sanballat who invented this lie to get Nehemiah off his guard. Nehemiah, however, was not impressed. He simply replied, “You are making things up out of your own heart. Nothing of what you said is happening.”

Back to Rabshakeh. The people did not heed this boast because Hezekiah warned them that such boasting would be made and not to heed it. Hezekiah did indeed turn to the Lord for deliverance and God revealed to him through Isaiah that this army would be routed. Not only did Sennacherib, the Assyrian general, have need to return home because of a coup taking place there (where he was shortly assassinated) but the Angel of the Lord came and wiped out all 185,000 soldiers in a single night.

What can we learn about this boast? The threat was real. Let’s not mince words here. Assyria had 185,000 soldiers and Hezekiah stood no chance against this army in his own strength. They were determined to destroy Judah as numerous armies had been for 300 years since David took the throne. Yet while the threat was real, Rabshakeh must have learned that there truly was something about the God of Judah because every army from before, no matter how large, kept being defeated. Just examine what happened in Jehoshaphat’s reign when three armies went against him only to end up defeating each other. So instead of making a direct assault, he sought to get the people to abandon Hezekiah and the Temple of God. Rabshakeh intended to take Jerusalem anyway no matter what the people did, but he wanted to showcase that both Hezekiah and the people had abandoned God… by obeying Him.

How often have we been accused of dishonoring God and causing division for standing up for sound doctrine? For me, very often. I stand for Biblical creation and when I seek to destroy “high places,” where people try to worship both God and “science” at the same time, I am attacked for “causing division.” God gave Israel specific commands to destroy places of worship to other gods, and instead of destroying them Israel instead inserted worship of the True God alongside all the others. I alluded above that Israel had turned the bronze serpent Moses made into an idol. Hezekiah destroyed these high places and then was accused of insulting God in doing so. I have seen so many people doing this from the atheists to the Old Earth Creationists alike.

But it’s not just an origins issue. There are a few good voices out there that are calling for a return back to true Biblical Christianity, because so much of what passes for American Christianity is absolutely nothing like what Christ envisioned. When they speak against the “high places,” we see the boasts of the enemy, some of whom try to wear sheep’s clothing, proclaiming that WE are the problem for rocking the boat. The boat many are on is heading towards destruction and will sink; if necessary, we may need stop rocking the boat and simply jump off it.

Pastors, Sunday School teachers, small group leaders, and parents: be like Hezekiah. Take down the high places that demand to share God with other gods. Teach those under you to not listen to the boasts of the enemy and proclaim that God will not help us for obeying Him. Show that God will always reward obedience. It won’t always come with comfort, but it will always come with victory. He will never abandon those who obey Him to completion. And no matter the boast of the enemy, God will come through in the end. Next week, I’ll look at one more boast.

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