“EXPECT OPPOSITION” 2 Kings 18:13
FBCF – 4/14/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Isaac Watts – pastor, theologian in 1700’s. Also hymnwriter – wrote 750 hymns including “Joy to the World”, “O God Our Help in Ages Past, our hope for years to come,” & “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
Ian Bennett shared this Isaac Watts devotional w/ me as we were discussing my sermon for today:
“The Christian life requires holy courage. As we become soldiers of Christ & resolve to live in earnest, we must reckon upon opposition & prepare to endure hardness in the practice of our duties. Not only do we meet with difficulties from a degenerate & sinful world, many other trials attend the Christian life…Earth is a stage of conflict…where each of us must act our parts under the eye & notice of God, our supreme governor & final rewarder. He expects that we should put on a sacred hardiness of soul, armed with power & courage, that we may endure to the end.” (Isaac Watts, Works, 1:325-338)
Hezekiah found out, up close & personal, the reality of opposition in the life of someone who is striving to live for the Lord, obeying Him, working for Him, & making changes for the good of His people & for His glory. He found out, as Watts said, that he would need “holy courage…sacred hardiness of soul” … & would need to be “armed w/ power & courage.”
And if you & I desire to live for the Lord – if we desire to obey & serve Him – we, too, can expect to experience opposition & will need that same “holy courage.”
EXPLANATION – 2 Kings 18:13
Sermon series – “A Faithful Life” – Hezekiah, one of the 7 good kings of Judah (remember there were 13 evil ones). Established last week that, in spite of having a wicked father in King Ahaz, there was no one like Hezekiah – 2 Kings 18:5 – “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.” He was a man of faith, a man of action, & a man of courage.
Timeline of events from our Scripture passage today which covers 2 Kings 18:13 all the way through the end of chapter 19:
- About 14 yrs into Hez’s reign, Sennacherib invaded Judah – Captured about 46 major cities & other towns & villages – serious threat – serious opposition.
- Hez tried to appease Senn by paying a tribute to him – equal to about $4.6 million – Didn’t work.
- Senn then sent his heavy-hitters & a massive army to intimidate Hez – v. 17 – NLT – “Commander in Chief, field commander, chief of staff”
- Hez sent out his officials to meet Senn’s henchmen – v. 18
- Senn’s men ridiculed Hez’s faith in God - v. 19-25
- Then they attempted to turn the people against Hez by questioning his faith in God & his leadership among the people, but the people stood firm w/ Hez – v. 28-37
- Hez’s men reported back to him which led to Hez going into a state of mourning & grief over the distressing situation they were in. He then reached out to the prophet Isaiah for counsel, comfort, & prayer. Isaiah gave them this word from God: “Don’t be afraid. I’m going to take care of this.” – 19:1-7
- Senn pulled out of Jerusalem, but sent a final threatening letter to Hez. Hez took the letter, brought it before the Lord in fervent prayer – v. 8-19
- God answered in a powerful way which culminated in Senn’s defeat & death – v. 20-37
That’s a lot to unpack, but it ultimately shows:
APPLICATION – When you are living for the Lord, expect opposition & take it to the Lord.
4 points to consider regarding opposition we face:
FORMS OF OPPOSITION – Senn’s interactions w/ Hez give us insights into some forms that opposition takes:
Attempts to Intimidate – Senn rolled in w/ his posse, his heavy-hitters, & his army attempting to intimidate Hez & force him to surrender. And when Hez gave him the silver & gold, it initially looked like Senn had succeeded.
- It’s hard to stay strong when someone tries to intimidate you w/ their show of strength or influence.
- Had a hard situation in a previous church that I had to deal w/ that involved a longtime church member. I was a young, inexperienced pastor at that time. Had an older man, active in church, taught a men’s SS class, come to my office – “My friends & I have been talking & don’t think you need to do this.” And yet, b/c I had consulted wise counsel from several different people & knew we were going in the right direction, I was able to stand strong & press on in spite of my age & his age, my tenure in the church & his tenure in the church.
- Remember that Hez “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 3). And when you KNOW that is true of you as well, then the “eyes” of those who attempt to intimidate you won’t matter.
Attempts to discredit – Senn’s Rabshakeh – his chief of staff – began to try to discredit & ridicule Hez’s faith in the Lord – “What are you trusting in?” – “Who are you counting on?” – “Are you still trusting in the Lord your God?” You can feel the smugness, the sarcasm, the scorn in his questions. It’s as if he’s saying, “Do you really believe this stuff? When you look at this mighty army arrayed against you, are you really going to stand there & say, ‘God is going to take care of us’?” He even boasted as he lied & said, “The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land & destroy it.’” (v. 25).
- Hez had 13-14 yrs of trusting in the Lord, living for the Lord, & letting the Lord guide him as the king. Those years of integrity spoke volumes to his people & spoke loudly against this pagan king’s slanderous words.
- Been reading in Proverbs in Big DOGS – Proverbs 28:18 – “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered…” – A life of integrity makes those discrediting voices get mighty quiet.
Attempts to turn others against you – Senn’s man continued & said to the people – “Don’t listen to Hez…don’t let him deceive you…don’t let him make you trust in the Lord…he’s misleading you…he’s lying to you…he’s not really on the up & up…you can’t trust him…” – Maybe he could find some folks who could be duped & deceived – folks who would turn against Hez & begin working against him. That’s a favorite tactic of those who oppose us. Satan loves to attack w/ lies & innuendo, gossip & slander, untruths & half-truths, dissension & disunity.
- Crazy thing is: IT DIDN’T WORK THEN & IT WON’T WORK NOW! “But the people were silent & answered him not a word, for [Hez’s] command was, ‘Do not answer him.’” (v. 36)
FEAR THAT COMES FROM OPPOSITION – Let’s be honest. Sometimes it’s a scary thing to have opposition. Might be someone w/ lots of influence – someone w/ the ability to make your life miserable or even destroy your life. That’s what happened to Hez. – grief & fear gripped him – 19:1 – “…he tore his clothes & covered himself w/ sackcloth..;”
- But face those fears w/ FAITH! V. 6-7 – “Don’t be afraid! I’ve got this! I’ve got a plan.”
- Proverbs 29:25 – “The fear of MAN is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” – which leads to next point…
FAITH TO FACE OPPOSITION – Hez gave us a great example of what to do when facing opposition. 2 things:
- Seek wise counsel – Hez reached out to Isaiah for his counsel & guidance. SO important to have these people in your life – people who have walked w/ the Lord for a long time – have an extended track record of deep faith in God – people who are prayer warriors – people who will shoot straight w/ you, point out your blind spots – people who’ve been down this road before & got the scars to prove it. That’s who you want in your corner.
- Seek the face of God – Hez knew what he needed to do – 19:14 – He took the letter, “went to the house of the Lord, & spread it out before the Lord.” And he PRAYED – a fervent, passionate, desperate, gut-level prayer!
- V. 15 – Hez knew that God is sovereign.
- V. 16a – Hez knew that God would listen to him.
- V. 16b – Hez knew that God saw how He was being mocked & that He wouldn’t stand for that.
- V. 18 – Hez knew how weak his enemies were compared to Almighty God.
- V. 19a – Hez knew that God would deliver him.
- V. 19b – Hez’s knew that the world would see that there is no one like our God.
You don’t pray like this & believe like this if you haven’t been spending a lot of time w/ the Lord before the opposition ever shows up. THIS IS WHY WE PRAY! Our enemies cannot stand against our God & our enemies will not be victorious when we are standing w/ Him!
FINAL RESULTS OF OPPOSITION – God is going to win – PERIOD! So you better make sure you are on His winning team!
- 19:35-36
- Tony Evans – “You will know God is showing up when He shows up in a way that you can’t explain.”
CONCLUSION - Are YOU on the winning team? If not, come to Christ & be saved, & join His winning team. If you are but have not been living like you're on the winning team, come to the altar today in repentance & let Him restore your walk w/ Him.
