“Behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “I will burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard,” (2:13).

It almost sounds as though a warning was given so that Nineveh could prepare for what is coming.

The one who scatters has come up against you.
Man the fortress, watch the road;
Strengthen your back, summon all your strength.

Until His next Breath, when the Voice of God reveals His purpose for His people. Although they had been devastated, although they may appear beyond help or hope, the Lord will restore their splendor; and in so doing He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy.

For the Lord had called forth another mighty army, arrayed for battle and positioned for victory against the capital of Assyria, that would strike like lightening and race through the city like a rushing river, carrying away its captives; and none could stop the deluge of disaster. Their wealth and treasures would be pillaged and plundered, and their strength would melt away. And this ferocious predator who had so ravenously devoured its prey would become the devoured one, and the pride they had so delighted in, would be Silenced.

But God’s people had been constantly exposed to the mixed messages of the false prophets and the surrounding pagan nations; and because they often chose to reject God’s Truth, their ears were untrained in in deciphering what was True and what was not, and unacquainted with distinguishing the Voice of God from the Voice of the Enemy. And as the people of Judah heard what was coming upon Assyria, I wondered if they really believed it would happen as Nahum had declared. Assyria seemed unstoppable and had already savagely decimated their sister kingdom to the north, Israel.

Less than ten years after the northern kingdom had been taken captive by the Assyrians, the godly Hezekiah became king over the southern kingdom of Judah.

 [Hezekiah] trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. ⁶ For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁷ And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him, (2 Kings 18:5-7).

And under this king who trusted the Lord, the people of Judah found themselves subjected to the taunting messages sent from of the king of Assyria, challenging the people’s confidence in the Lord. And the Voice of the Enemy fiercely defied the Voice of Truth.

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand; ³⁰ nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, 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 trees and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” ³³ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” (2 Kings 18:28-35).

And what Hezekiah and his people needed most in this situation, and what we all need most in every situation, is what the Lord assured us He will do; He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy.

We know the day is coming when the deceiving Voice of the Enemy will be Silenced forever.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, (Revelation 20:10).

But until that day, the deceiver still bellows out his lies, ever striving to capture our attention and catapult us into doubt and fear. Those lies that Rabshakeh brought on behalf of the king of Judah’s enemies are the same lies we hear today. The enemy hasn’t changed his tactics, and the Voice of the Enemy continues its attempts to kill God’s Truth, unable to do anything but spew out murderous lies.

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies,” (John 8:44).

As we consider Him Who Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy, we will also consider the enemy’s tactics against Hezekiah’s kingdom, trusting that He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy in our own hearts as we turn our ears to listen to His Voice of Truth.

Consider Him Who Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy

• He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy that alleges God’s Word is not Truth.
  • Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand,’ (2 Kings 18:28-29).

• • • The sum of Your word is truth,
      And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting, (Psalm 119:160).
    •  “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth,” (John 17:17).

• He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy that proclaims God cannot to deliver.
  • ‘nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria,” (2 Kings 18:30).

• • • Yet God is my king from of old,
      Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth, (Psalm 74:12).
    • The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen, (2 Timothy 4:18).

• He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy that tempts us with temporary and quick solutions.
  • ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern,” (2 Kings 18:31).

• • • The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
      To the person who seeks Him.
      ²⁶ It is good that he waits silently
      For the salvation of the Lord, (Lamentations 3:25-26).
    • Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷ casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you, (1 Peter 5:6-7).

• He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy that distracts us with misleading promises of prosperity.
  • “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 trees and honey, that you may live and not die…” (2 Kings 18:32).

• • • “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,” (Jeremiah 29:11).
    • And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 4:19).

• He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy that fixates our focus on impossibilities.
  • “…But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” ³³ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” (2 Kings 18:32-35).

• • • “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,” (Jeremiah 32:17).
    • “For nothing will be impossible with God,” (Luke 1:37).

How do we respond to Him Who Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy?

He Silences the Voice of the Enemy with His Voice of Truth. Our response must be to listen to Him!

He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy as we pay attention to His Voice of Truth that will keep us anchored to Him.

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it, (Hebrews 2:1).

He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy as we make it our determined priority to hear His Voice of Truth.

I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved, (Habakkuk 2:1).

He Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy as we listen to and obey His Voice of Truth.

I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly, (Psalm 85:8).

Oh, that we would build our lives on His Voice of Truth, so that when the storms of life come, and they will, we would stand strong in our confident assurance in Him Who Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy when it slams against our faith.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock, (Matthew 7:24-25).

Today, as we tune our hearts to listen to and obey His Voice of Truth, let us choose to trust His unfailing love that Will Silence the Voice of the Enemy; for we belong to Him.

In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes
for I am your servant, (Psalm 143:12 NIV 1984).

Let’s Grow Together!