Isaiah 36:11
“Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.”

One of the most valuable lessons believers can learn is that Satan is after them. Yes, he is after your pastor and those who are leaders in the church, but he is sly in that he tries to get the average churchgoing believer after they are away from their pastor and church. Satan knows that there is strength for the believer when they are around their pastor and fellow believers; therefore, he goes after the believer when they are either alone or away from the spiritual leader’s influence.

Hezekiah had to fight this battle when the king of Assyria sent his servants to tell them to either surrender immediately, or he would come and invade the land. When Hezekiah would not surrender, these messengers went directly to the people of the land to try to scare them into surrender. To their credit, they didn’t answer these messengers when they tried to scare them into retreat. These messengers preached three different messages in order to get the people to surrender. These three messages against faith are still being preached today to get you to surrender to Satan’s desire for your life. Let me point out these three messages.

First, Satan is after your trust. These messengers said in verse 14, “Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.” Satan will always try to get you to trust in the temporal instead of trusting in your omnipotent God. If Satan can get you to take your eyes off God, he knows he can defeat you through fear. Fear is the normal response of any person who takes their eyes off God. Fear is the result of trusting anyone or anything else other than God. If you don’t want to live a life in fear, you must keep your trust in God by looking to Him for your guidance through His Word and prayer.

Second, Satan is after your worship. If Satan can’t get you to live in fear, the next thing he does is to try and get you to change the way you worship God. The king of Assyria was attempting to get Hezekiah’s people to worship his god. He was trying to tell them that the way they worship God didn’t work anymore. My friend, the message is still the same today by Satan’s messengers who say the old paths don’t work in today’s environment, but they are wrong. God’s way always works, even when it seems like it won’t work. Never put God’s way of the old paths on trial. They have already proven themselves to work; you just need to work those paths.

Third, Satan is after your associations. If he can’t get you to change the way you worship, serve, and trust God, he will then try to get you to change your associations. The king of Assyria said in verse 16, “Make an agreement with me…” The world still tries to get God’s people to make an agreement with them, but an agreement with the world is an agreement with death. You have no business making an agreement with the world for the sake of influence; influence is not what you are to be concerned with, but obeying God should be your concern.

My friend, at the end of the day, Satan is after God. He is going after God by trying to get you to accept one of these messages against your faith. Don’t listen to his message, but let your response be to trust God and His ways, and time will prove your trust to be right.

Author: Allen Domelle