The
Truth in Print Vol. 27 Issue 12, Jan. 2022
A
Publication of the Valley church of Christ,
2375
W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)
Website
Address ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
MODERN
DAY RABSHAKEHS
For us
Jesus is no “what-do-you-call-it” (defined as a “n., a thing or person that the
speaker cannot (as from not knowing or from forgetting) name.” When working on
a truck my son has a habit of saying hand me one of those what-do-you-call-its.
If used of a person, you’ll often hear “what-do-you-call-him.”
RABSHAKEH,
THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE KING OF ASSYRIA
(He’s
all over the place when it comes to who God is and what God is doing on the
earth!)
King
Hezekiah foolishly apologized to the king of Assyria and paid his demanded
ransom --- upon knowing his weakness Sennacherib king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh
and others with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah (2 Kings
18).
NOTE RABSHAKEH’S CONTRADICTORY CHARGES AGAINST GOD
Rabshakeh
the king’s spokesman first accuses God of being an idolatrous god whose high
places Hezekiah had removed:
2Ki 18:22 But if you say to me, 'We trust in the
LORD our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has
taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this
altar in Jerusalem'?" '
2Ki 18:23 Now therefore, I urge you, give a
pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand
horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
2Ki 18:24 How then will you repel one captain
of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots
and horsemen?
Next
Rabshakeh claims God is on his side:
2Ki 18:25 Have I now come up without the LORD
against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, 'Go up against this
land, and destroy it.' "
Then
Rabshakeh warns not to let Hezekiah convince them to trust in God, the Lord to
deliver them:
2Ki 18:28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called
out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, "Hear the word of the
great king, the king of Assyria!
2Ki 18:29 Thus says the king: 'Do not let
Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his
hand;
2Ki 18:30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in
the LORD, saying, "The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be
given into the hand of the king of Assyria." '
2Ki 18:31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says
the king of Assyria: 'Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and
every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and
every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;
2Ki 18:32 until I come and take you away to a land
like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and
vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But
do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, "The LORD will
deliver us."
…
2Ki 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands have
delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem
from my hand?' "
2Ki 18:36 But the people held their peace and
answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, "Do not answer
him."
Rabshakeh’s
words are distressing and a reproach against the living God:
2Ki 19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over
the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered
with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
2Ki 19:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith
Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the
children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
2Ki 19:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all
the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to
reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath
heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.
2Ki 19:5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came
to Isaiah.
2Ki 19:6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall
ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which
thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed
me.
2Ki 19:7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and
he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him
to fall by the sword in his own land.
We see
how that ends for Sennacherib in 2 Kings 19:
2Ki 19:32 "Therefore thus says the LORD
concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an
arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against
it.
2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came, By the same
shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the LORD.
2Ki 19:34 'For I will defend this city, to save
it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' "
2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass on a certain
night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the
Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in
the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
2Ki 19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria
departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.
2Ki 19:37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping
in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck
him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
THE
LYING CLAIMS MADE BY THE UNGODLY TODAY
It
distresses me to hear and see groups such as BLM, CRT, Trans and Gender I.D.
advocates, and the Democratic Party pushing lasciviousness and murder of the
unborn --- then some claim Jesus is on their side. Like Rabshakeh they are all
over the place when it comes to who God is and what God is doing on the earth
today!
JESUS DID NO SIN AND LEFT AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW
1Pe
2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for
us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
1Pe
2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
1Pe
2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he
threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
1Pe
2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed.
1Pe
2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
“Example”
[G5261 hupogrammos, n.m.] Thayer Definition:
1) a writing
copy, including all the letters of the alphabet, given to beginners as an aid
in learning to draw them
2) an example
set before one (Cf. Heb. 4:14-16)
“Follow”
[G1872 epakoloutheō, vb.] Thayer Definition: 2) to tread in one’s footsteps, i.e. to imitate his example (Cf. I Cor.
11:1)
WHAT
KIND OF INSIGHT IS THIS?
Mat 11:15 He who has ears to
hear, let him hear!
Mat 11:16 "But to what
shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces
and calling to their companions,
Mat 11:17 and saying: 'We
played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did
not lament.'
Mat 11:18 For John came
neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'
Mat 11:19 The Son of Man came
eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend
of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her
children."
John didn’t have a demon:
Mat 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they say, 'He has a demon.’
Jesus was not a glutton and winebibber:
Mat 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and
they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and
sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
Jesus had just explained that John the Baptist was
His forerunner as prophesied he would be (Matt. 11:7-10; Mal. 3:1). That evil
generation was like children at play – determined not to be pleased – the
issues of the day were between Jews who wanted their own agenda, traditions and control and not God’s plan, and those
carrying out God’s wisdom and plan in preaching Christ as the Son of God. God’s
wisdom is justified in those who live it!
HE WAS
CASTING OUT DEMONS AND YET ACCUSED OF HAVING A DEMON
Luk 11:15 But some of them said, "He casts out
demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
Jesus answered:
Luk 11:18 If Satan also is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
Joh 8:49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a
demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Joh 10:20 And many of them said, "He has a
demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"
Joh 10:21 Others said, "These are not the
words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
HE WAS
ACCUSED OF MAKING HIMSELF GOD AND BECAUSE OF THAT THEY WANTED TO STONE HIM
--- AND HE WAS GOD WITH US! (Jo. 1:1-3, 14;
Phil. 2:6-11)
Joh 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good
work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man,
makest thyself God.
…
Joh 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not.
Joh 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not
me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me,
and I in him.
Joh 10:39 Therefore they sought again to take
him: but he escaped out of their hand,
PEOPLE
ASK WHAT IS WOKE?
Here is a definition given to answer that:
“Aside from being the past participle of wake, for
decades, it meant conscious and aware – but the slang word has come to
represent an embrace of progressive activism, as well. Merriam-Webster added
the word to its dictionary in 2017, defining it as, "aware of and actively
attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social
justice)." The Oxford dictionary adopted it the same year, defining it as
"originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or
social discrimination and injustice."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/what-does-woke-mean
JESUS
SAID HIS WORD WILL JUDGE MAN IN THE LAST DAY:
Joh 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not
receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge
him in the last day.
WHAT
WAS JESUS’ INSIGHT CONCERNING SIN?
Since to be
woke meant to be aware, have insight -- answer the so called “woke social
justice movement” with the works of the flesh that Jesus condemned. Jesus is
God and God is on to their woke! When you put their “woke social justice” on
the board and look at their walk i.e. their lifestyle
you see its great immoral failure!
What did Jesus say about?
• Evil thoughts?
• Respect of persons over character? *CRT
• Lies?
• Fornications and unnatural lusts? *LGBTQ
• Effeminacy and Trans-Identification?
• Thefts in Riots, Lootings, Destroying another’s
business?
• Murders? *Abortions.
• Coveting, Wickedness, Deceit, Slander, Pride, Foolishness?
Note the wickedness in such passages as Mk. 7:21-22;
I Cor. 6:9-10,18; Gal. 5:19-21; Jam. 2:4; Col. 3:25; Rom. 2:11; Rev. 21:8.
Peter’s
answer to how they could be saved:
Act
2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath
made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Act
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do?
Act
2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act
2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act
2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save
yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act
2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day
there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
We see
how it ends for the modern day Rabshakehs:
Jesus’ answer:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh
shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
In the vernacular (without lying twisted definitions for justice by
calling it “social justice”) people can get this right – for example they can
understand God is not with young women on campuses tearing up right to life
displays and yelling “It’s my body!” to promote murdering the unborn who belong
to God (Ps. 24:1; Ezk. 18:4; Zech. 12:1). In addition, there is the right of
freedom of speech in our first amendment and self-defense in our second to be
considered.
Valley Church of Christ
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ
85364
(928) 782-5058 ~
http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
Sunday Services – Classes ~10:00;
Assembly 10:50 am; Evening: 6:00 pm.
Wednesday evening – 7:00 pm
To
learn more call, visit or visit our website at: