"A Letter from the Devil" (2 Kings 19:10-11; 14-16)

"A Letter from the Devil" (2 Kings 19:10-11; 14-16)

If you ever leave Satan's camp, by way of repentance, you can rest assured that he will invite you back. I know that Christian after Christian has said that they would never go back to the things of Satan. But they forget that Satan still has some things and some people in his camp that we are quite fond of.

Satan knows three things:

1. Who you love that is in his camp.
2. What you desire most that is in his camp.
3. What you fear most that is in his camp.

Satan will use each of these things to lure you back to seeing things his way.

Just ask Hezekiah, King of Judah (the Southern Kingdom of Israel). In the passage under our consideration, he received a letter from Sennacherib, the King of Assyria (2 Kings 19:14). The letter contained both an invitation and a threat.

It was an invitation for Judah to come back and serve Assyria as they once had. The letter also contained a threat, as to what would happen if they didn’t. Consider the following four points:

1. Every Christian will at some point receive a letter from the Devil.

• Sennacherib sent a letter to King Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:14).
• i. The name "Sennacherib" is Mesopotamian in origin, and it means "sin has multiplied the brothers."
• ii. Sennacherib (King of Assyria) told King Hezekiah that Jehovah was deceiving him (2 Kings 19:10).
• King Hezekiah was godly (2 Kings 18:5-6).

2. Many Christians are caught up in compromise.

• The nation of Assyria had already conquered most of the region (2 Kings 19:11-13).
• i. Its conquest included Israel's northern ten tribes (2 Kings 17:5-6; 1 Chronicles 5:26).
• ii. Though Judah and Benjamin were not conquered, they paid tribute to avoid it (2 Kings 18:13-16).
• Many Christians still desire worldly shine (Matthew 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-7).
• Compromise with the world makes us enemies of God (James 4:4).

3. Hezekiah took the situation (the threat) to the Lord.

• Somewhere in Hezekiah's relationship with God, he rebelled against Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:7).
• Hezekiah spread the letter before God at the altar (2 Kings 19:14).
• Isaiah encouraged him not to fear (Isaiah 37:6).

4. God will answer on His own behalf.

• Some threats go away through continued obedience.
• i. Nehemiah refused to stop working for God despite letters from enemies (Nehemiah 6:3).
• ii. God will answer in His timing (1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Chronicles 13:5).
• The Lord sent His own letter to Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:22-28):
• i. "I am the One you are defying and raising your voice against."
• ii. "I allowed you to conquer nations, but I will turn you back the way you came."
• God sent the Angel of Death to destroy 185,000 Assyrians in one night (2 Kings 19:35-37).

"Christ First, Christ Only, Christ Always"