1 Kings 18:26 says, Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.” Eliakim was the gatekeeper of the temple and he asked those who were coming to attack Jerusalem to speak in Aramaic and not Hebrew so that those on the wall wouldn't understand what was being said and they Shebna, Joah, and he would. I don't believe that we should ever attempt to keep the truth of any situation away from Christians even if we are leaders in the church. Verse twenty-seven adds, But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?” The commander asked if what he had to say only affected these three and their master or if it would cause great suffering to all the people, including those sitting on the wall. Once more, I would say that every Christian needs to understand that sometimes following Christ is going to cause them great problems in the world, but they need to know and accept this if they are going to be faithful to God no matter what. Veres twenty-eight continues, Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! The commander then stood and cried out in Hebrew, so that they could all understand, that they needed to hear the word of the great king, who he said was the king of Assyria. What the people of Israel should have realized was that they served the only great King, which is God Himself. So must we today. We should never elevate any ruler or anyone desiring to be a ruler to a status equal to God. Verse twenty-nine states, This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. The commander then told them not to believe Hezekiah, because He, or God, could not deliver them from the hand of the king of Assyria. Those who do not believe that God is the all-powerful God will still tell us to not put our faith in Him because He cannot save us. Still, the people of Israel should have known that God was more powerful than any earthly ruler, and they should have responded by putting their faith in Him. Verse thirty adds, Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ The Assyrian commander went on to state even more emphatically that God could not save them as Hezekiah had said He could. He was basically saying that the king of Assyria was more powerful than God. This is a lie that is still proclaimed by people of the world today. Verse thirty-one continues, “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, The commander then made promise to the people that if they came out of the city and subjected themselves to the king of Assyria that the would have plenty to eat and drink. Still, they would have been better off repenting and putting their faith in God even if they suffered materially, and so will we as Christians today. We cannot allow the promise of more material wealth if we turn our back on God to cause us to do so. Verse thirty-two states, Until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The Lord will deliver us.’ The Assyria commander told them that they would be taken to a land of grain and new wine, of bread and vineyards, of olive trees and honey, and that should choose life there instead of death in Jerusalem. Of course, they were already in God's promised land, and it was a land flowing with milk and honey until they turned away from Him. What they really needed to do was repent and listen to Hezekiah, but the commander then told them that Hezekiah was lying to them. We have the same choice today. We can either believe God's word and put our faith in Him no matter what, or we can believe the promises of the world, which are based on the fact that God really isn't Who He says He is. Verse thirty-three adds, Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? He then expanded his claim by asking if the god of any nation had ever delivered them for the hand of the king of Assyria. Of course, this was equating the God of Isarel with all other gods. and this was a false premise to start with. What we have to realize is that we can never compare what God can do with what false gods can do. Verse thirty-four continues, Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? He then listed some cities in Samaria that had been defeated by the king of Assyria, which implied that God could not save them. Of course, they had not been putting their faith in God by being obedient to Him. The great Deceiver, Satan, would like to have us believe that God cannot save us today, and if we do not put our faith in Jesus Christ, He can but we will not benefit from it. The choice is always up to each individual. Verse thirty-five says, Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” He then continued by asking if God had not delivered these cities, how could He deliver Jerusalem. We can never base our faith on the fact that many people who refuse to acknowledge or put their faith in God even if they profess to do so are defeated by the world but must always look to God from faith given to us to put that faith in Jesus Christ alone. It doesn't matter what false gods may or may not have done. Verse thirty-six adds. But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” The people of Jerusalem remained silent, because the king had ordered them to and they were still being obedient to him. On the other hand, God our King has commanded us to go into all the world and share the gospel. Verse thirty-seven continues, Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes, which would have been a sign of repentance at least normally and went and told Hezekiah what the field commander had said. We should never attempt to hide the truth from people today, even if it may cause them further distress. We must come to God knowing the truth of our situation if we do accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. We may be persecuted if we do, but we should never allow the promise of an easier life to turn us away from the truth of God.
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