King Hezekiah’s offering of gold and silver (18:14-16) was not enough to satisfy the king of Assyria. He was determined to conquer and wipe out Judah. He sent his officials with a large army, and the field commander (Rabshakeh) threatened Judah with a speech that mixed lies and truth so cunningly it could have been written by Satan himself.

The main goal of the commander’s speech was to plant doubt that the Lord could help Judah. He falsely claimed that Hezekiah had stopped them from worshiping the Lord when he tore down the idolatrous high places (22). He pointed out how the other nations’ gods had not helped them against the Assyrian armies (34). He even claimed that the death and destruction the Assyrians were bringing was the Lord’s will (25). On the other hand, the speech offered false promises of a comfortable life if Judah surrendered (31-32).

How could God’s people respond to such a threat? Of course, the king of Assyria did not understand what was different about people who trusted the Lord. But such a speech could still confuse many people. King Hezekiah wisely counseled the people to remain silent and not respond at this time (36). We need to become wise to how the devil speaks and not help him to spread lies.
Application: Father, give me wisdom to recognize the words of the evil one and not be deceived by them.
One Word: Discern the devil’s lies