Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern,
2 Kings 18:31 (ESV)
Who am I listening to and to whom do I give my attention and respect? This is precisely what the emissary of the king of Assyria is putting before the people of Judah. The king was intent on conquering the land but would much rather have the people come over willing to serve him, so he lays out these grand promises of safety, security, and plenty. It sounds a whole lot like the promises coming from a politician in an election year. There is really very little difference between the modern culture and the ancient culture in this regards. The specifics of what we desire may change, but the essence of what we desire is still there. As apostle tells us in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” So it should not surprise us to learn that the king of Assyria went after the heart of the people using this same pathway. We should also not be surprised when the enemy of Christ uses these same pathways to gain entry into our very hearts. It’s not simply a matter of accepting a one-time gift from an enemy, it’s a matter of making peace with the enemy. The king of Assyria requires them to make peace and come out to him. How much more does the enemy of Christ and the tempter of the saints require of those he brings this same offer? The enemy requires us to “make peace” as well. The enemy requires us to turn from Christ and return to the land of bondage. All for the promise of a satisfied stomach and mind at ease.
It concerns me how readily I am wanting to hear this message of peace from the enemy. The deceiver does not often use fancy well-designed ploys to pull me away from the straight and narrow path of obedience and faithfulness to God. The promises of temptation are often so very simple, if not subtle. The promise that appeals to my flesh speaks of living in plenty and comfort. The thought that I will “own” my own vine, fig tree, and cistern speaks to my sense of comfort. I will not have to labor and worry about sustenance. I will have plenty of food to satisfy my hunger. The promises of temptation always speak to a fulfillment of my need for daily bread.
The deceiver then adds more to the temptation as he makes the offer beautiful to my eyes. The fulfillment of my daily desire to satisfy my every hunger also comes with the prospect of this object being lovely and attractive. It will not only appeal to my desire for satisfaction, it will arouse within me the desire to seek the satisfaction of fulfillment. The king of Assyria was cunning in that he knew that if he presented the possibility of these things being freely given (vine, fig tree, cistern), then the people would naturally begin to think on them and then desire them. It’s sort of like watching an advertisement for a new phone. It’s basically the same as the phone you currently have, but look how much happier you will be when you attain this new feature that you didn’t know you needed.
This ultimately stirs up my pride. The deceiver speaks to my sense of desire to be known, appreciated, and respected. He knows that my heart can be swayed by something as simple as the prospect of ownership. The offer is to have something that everyone desires so that you won’t be left out. You don’t want to be the only person in your circle of friends who doesn’t have a new cistern. Or maybe I just want a better, newer, shinier cistern. One that I can look at and tell myself how well I am doing in this life and that I don’t need anything other than a vine, a fig tree, and a cistern.
“Make your peace with me and come out to me.” What I miss in the deception of the enemy is the cost. It’s not just strings that are attached to this offer, it’s a chain. To make my peace with the enemy means that I am to turn my back on Christ and the freedom that he has purchased for me. I am to turn my back on my Savior. There is no making of peace without compromise with the enemy. The compromise is always one-sided and always requires me to willingly go back to the chains of slavery. The cost is to turn away from Jesus.
I am too easily deceived by the enemy because I am too easily satisfied with the simple and mundane things of this world. I want what I want when I want it. This is often contrary to the desire of God for my life. I let the desires of my flesh, the desires of my eyes, and the pride of my life lead me. I have all things in Christ. The Creator and Sustainer of everything loves me and provides for me. It is he who will give me His desires. And it is His desires that I need in abundance. His promise is comfort, peace, and rest. Not the counterfeit version offered by the enemy based on the things of this world. Jesus gives me perfect comfort, peace, and rest because it is found in Him alone. The promise of Jesus is Himself. I find that I don’t need all these things of the world, simply because I have the eternal before me and within me. My comfort, peace, and rest will never ever leave me and will always have His arms wrapped around me in true and perfect love.