When Rabshakeh threatened Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah, he was using a particular Hebrew language. He did not use Aramaic, which was a common language that was less understood by the Judean. Speaking in Hebrew would mean that more Judean would understand what was going on and become intimidated by the conversation. So Eliakim interrupted and requested that they speak in Aramaic instead. He was trying to lessen the impact Rabshakeh’s words would make on the people of Judah. Obnoxiously, the Assyrian envoy denied the request. His intention was for more of the people of Judah to know about Assyria’s demands. He wanted them to know how they would be affected if Hezekiah refused to surrender unconditionally. Right from the onset, he was not there to negotiate but to make demands. Sennacherib’s intention was to discourage the people till there was no motivation left to oppose him.
Instead of acceding to the request, Rabshakeh
intensified his words in Hebrew. He spoke even more vehemently with a raised
voice so that all around could hear what he was saying. Firstly, he accused
Hezekiah of deceiving his people and told the people not to be deceived by
their king. He intimidated them, saying that their king did not have the
capacity to save Judah from the Assyrians. Secondly, he insisted that
Hezekiah’s trust in Yahweh would be an act of futility and urged them not to
believe in him. Rabshakeh himself was deluded into thinking that trusting God
was useless. How could a pagan know? Yet in real life, there are believers who
are foolish enough to listen to advice from pagans. Thirdly, urging them not
to listen to Hezekiah, he made promises of immediate peace under Assyria. He
suggested that they would be allowed to return to their farming and carry on
with their usual life. Fourthly, he even advocated that being deported might
not be as bad as they thought. He tried to entice them, saying that where they
would be deported to was as much a land of abundance as Judah. Finally, he
boastfully claimed that no other gods had been able to protect their lands from
the mighty king of Assyria, not even Samaria, the capital of Israel, Judah’s
northern relative. But we know that although Samaria claimed to worship the LORD, they had perverted their worship with syncretism.
Boastfully and offensively, Rabshakeh intimated that not even the LORD could save Jerusalem from the king of Assyria.
Under the instruction of King Hezekiah, the people did not respond to the Assyrian’s intimidation. The three representatives of Judah return to the king with their clothes torn and told all that Rabshakeh had said. Like the people of Judah when we capitulate to intimidation, we will feel defeated. That was what Rabshakeh was trying to do to the people of Judah. And that’s what the devil would do to us in our trials. But the devil cannot make us do anything except drop scary suggestions into our minds. It behooves us therefore to learn to discern what is the voice of God and what is the intimidating suggestions of the enemy. Remember Jesus, our Lord tells us that we, His sheep can recognize His voice. Can we recognize the voice of our Shepherd? If we are not able to, could it be that we have well overly entertained negative thoughts input by the adversary? Learn to apply Philippians 4:8 daily to counter the adversary's subtle insinuation. We must actively engage our minds and think about “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” As we cultivate this habitually, the God of peace will rule our hearts and keep us steady in Christ. Be assured that we are forever safe in our Shepherd’s arm.
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