Graceful Truth

7 Questions your Enemy is Always Asking You to Take You Out Before the Battle Begins

August 02, 2017

We are often unaware and our ignorance is our downfall. Satan, our great and constant enemy who is ""prowling about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour,"" is a relentless question-asker, doubt-raiser, and accuser.

If we are clueless about the source of these questions, we will see them as natural or, merely our own thoughts. We will pay little attention to their source and naively let them lodge in our souls, debilitating and defeating us. We'll go down for the count before the bell is even rung.

SEVEN QUESTIONS

King Hezekiah was surrounded by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, who had come to besiege Jerusalem and destroy God’s people. Part of his strategy from the beginning was to send his servants to ask questions and raise doubts in the minds of the people (2 Chronicles 32). This was purely designed, of course, to create fear and win the battle of the mind. If he could intimidate the people, he would win the battle without lifting a spear.

 You will notice this tactic used throughout the Bible and human history ... including his attacks on Jesus in the wilderness. Satan is not very original with this approach, just effective.

Look at these questions carefully because Satan has not changed them much. He doesn't need to. The questions are modernized for each generation, but at the base they are the same fiery darts of the Wicked One. If you stop you will realize these have been posed to your thinking hundreds of times.

  1. IS GOD REALLY TRUSTWORTHY? HE’S NOT DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB WITH YOU SO FAR!  (vs. 10) “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege? 
  1. ISN'T GOD LYING TO YOU?  (vs. 11) 'Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 
  1. IS GOD'S PLAN/WILL RELIABLE? ISN'T IT FOOLISH? ILLOGICAL? UNREASONABLE?  (vs. 12) Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense”? 
  1. DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPOSSIBLE THIS PROBLEM IS? YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO AHEAD AND GIVE UP! (vs. 13) Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? 
  1. HASN'T GOD FAILED YOU IN THE PAST? REMEMBER THAT TIME YOU (OR OTHERS) TRUSTED HIM AND IT DIDN'T WORK?  (vs. 13) Were the gods of the nations of the lands able at all to deliver their land from my hand? 
  1. DO YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OTHERS WHO’VE FACED THIS? THIS ISSUE HAS TAKEN DOWN STRONGER PEOPLE THAN YOU.  (vs. 14) Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? 
  1. YOU KNOW THAT GOD CAN'T/WON’T DELIVER YOU, RIGHT?  (vs. 15) Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ” 

A GODLY DEFENSE 

Here was Hezekiah's response to these fiery darts of doubt. 

But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So, he returned in shame to his own land. (vs. 20-21) 

Hezekiah and his buddy, Isaiah, went to God in prayer and cried out for help from the One who is greater than all our enemies. Look at the results of their simple, Biblical response. God hates enemies who try to demoralize his people, and exalts His children who will turn to Him in humble, persevering faith. 

I guess God answered the questions ...



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