Silencing the Voice of Intimidation (Part 1)

“Silencing the Voice of Intimidation”
(part 1)

“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him, he was successful in whatever he undertook.”
2 Kings 18:5-7

What a testimony! How many of you would love to have words, like these, penned in the pages of history about your faith in God? Hezekiah was a man who trusted God, was persistent in his faith, and very successful. However, there was a time in his life where his confidence in God was undermined by the voice of his enemy!

In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign as King of Judah, the King of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

“So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.”
2 Kings 18:14

However, this did not stop the King of Assyria from advancing on Jerusalem. The King of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander with a large army from Lachish to address King Hezekiah. They stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool on the road to the Washerman’s field and called for King Hezekiah to come out. This was a strategic decision. Assyria now controlled the water that was flowing into the city, which meant they could easily lay siege to Jerusalem. So Hezekiah’s officials were forced to go out and meet the commanders of the Assyrian army. Their mission was one of “intimidation”. When Hezekiah’s officials came to the Upper Pool the Assyrian field commander stepped up:

“The field command said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have strategy and military strength- but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me: Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. And if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”- isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem?”

2 Kings 18:19-22

In a nutshell, the field commander was asking: “On what are you basing your confidence?” Are you depending on your own strength? Are you depending on the strength of others? Are you depending on the ‘Lord Your God’? The ultimate purpose of intimidation is to undermine our confidence in God! It’s goal is to move us away from God causing us to seek safety, provision, and protection from another source.


Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com