(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) We're there in Isaiah chapter 36, and we're continuing our study through the book of Isaiah. And Isaiah chapter 36, now we're getting into a specific story. So if you know, we've been pretty much just going through different burdens or different prophecies. Some are general, some are just more to specific countries, stuff like that. But right here, we're getting into the story of Hezekiah, and we're really picking up with Hezekiah in his 14th year. And so if you look at the story of Hezekiah, you can see stuff as far as what he did before that. But notice in verse 1 here, it says, Now it came to pass, in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, that Zanakarib king of Assyria came up against all the defense cities of Judah and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rapshaki from Lakish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. So we see here that it's the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, and this is when Zanakarib is coming and he's taking the defense cities of Judah. So basically, if you can imagine, Judah is the southern kingdom and Israel is above that. Israel was already taken, and they're coming down from the north and a lot of Judah is being taken. The defense cities are being taken, and they're coming after Jerusalem. So that's kind of where the story is heading, is that they want to take Jerusalem, and they haven't taken it yet. Now just to show you what's going on in the north at that point, go to 2 Kings chapter 18, because it's about eight years since Samaria was taken. As far as when Assyria took out the northern kingdom and took out Samaria, so Samaria was the capital of that northern kingdom, Jerusalem is the capital of Judah. And so I just wanted to show you that and preview that, because we saw that when in Hezekiah's reign did Zanakarib come after him, in the fourteenth year of his reign. And in 2 Kings chapter 18 verse 9, it says, And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of three years, they took it, even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. So you can see that there's three years, but it's going fourth to sixth. But at the same time, it depends on when you started that year. When it says it's in its fourth year, it's not necessarily like on the day, like the day his fourth year started, it could have been halfway through, right, his fourth year, or it could have been three and a half years in and just rounded up the four years. It's about his fourth year reign, so that's why you get those differences in numbers. So it's around eight years, right? So in the sixth year of his reign is when Samaria was taken, and in the fourteenth year of his reign is when, you know, if they're coming after Jerusalem, then that's what you're dealing with there, okay? So about eight years later, they're trying to take out Jerusalem. Now and you see that in verse 13, so I read to you, you know, Samaria was taken, verse 13 of that same chapter, so 2 Kings chapter 18, verse 13, it says, now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, this is an accurate kingdom of Assyria, come up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them, okay? So it's the same thing that's going on there. Go back to Isaiah chapter 36, Isaiah chapter 36, and we're going to see this man named Rabshiqui, Rabshiqui, and so this is a famous story dealing with Hezekiah where Rabshiqui is speaking to Hezekiah, or Eliakim, I'm sorry, the son of Hezekiah, and Shebna the scribe, and this whole conversation going back and forth, well, not really going back and forth, so I, but the only thing that they really say is like, you know, speak to us in the Syrian language. We don't want everybody to hear what you had to say, you know, so they're basically trying to keep everybody from hearing what Rabshiqui has to say, okay? So let's look at verse 2 there, I'm sorry, not verse 2, verse 3. So Isaiah chapter 36 verse 3, it says, then came forth unto him, yeah, well actually verse 2 is basically saying that Rabshiqui came from Lachish, and then it says in verse 3, it says, then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hezekiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, and Asaph's son, the recorder. And Rabshiqui said unto them, say ye now to Hezekiah, thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, what confidence is this wherein thou trustest? I say, sayest thou, but they are but vain words, I have counsel and strength for war, now on whom dost thou trust that thou were bellest against me? Okay, so he's basically saying, you're saying this, but they're vain words, you know, and they're basically saying, who are you trusting in? That's what Rabshiqui's saying, who are you putting your trust in that you think that we can't take you out? It's pretty much what he's saying. Now in 2 Kings chapter 18, and I should have told you to keep your finger there, there's actually three men that came unto Hezekiah, but Rabshiqui's the one that's speaking, okay? So you have these three men that are coming, you know, or the king of Assyria sends them. So in verse 17 of 2 Kings 18, it says, the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rapsurus and Rabshiqui from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem, and they went up and came to Jerusalem, and when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. So just to give you a little more context, you have these other three men that are, or these other two men that are there, but you have this whole host of the army that's behind them as he's saying this, okay? And so that's what we're getting into here. Now let's see what Rabshiqui has to say, and that's really what we're getting into here, is what does Rabshiqui have to say? The next chapter's going to be getting into how they answer it, okay? But in verse 6 here, first he's going to bring up Egypt, because what was his question? He says, who are you trusting in? They're vain words that you think you can go to war with us, but who is it that you're trusting? He's basically just spitballing, like, oh, are you going to trust in Egypt? So in verse 6 here, so in Isaiah chapter 36, verse 6 says, lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed on Egypt, wherein if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it, so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. Now what's interesting about this is that God warned them not to trust in Egypt, okay? So when you read this, the stuff he's saying, it's like, they're not doing that, you know? It's like, oh, you're going to trust in Egypt? It's like, no, we're not trusting in Egypt. Actually, God said, don't trust in Egypt, and if you do trust in Egypt, I'm going to destroy you, okay? We already read that earlier in Isaiah, and that's something that comes up later on, even with Babylon, where he's saying, don't flee into Egypt, and if you flee into Egypt, you're going to die, but so he's basically bringing up these false claims, you know? Are you going to trust in Egypt, that broken reed? Now when you look in 2 Kings, it says pretty much the same thing, but it says, now behold, I'll trust this upon the staff of this bruised reed. Now the reason I say it like that is because Scorby really accentuates that, you know? And it sticks out of my mind, you're going to trust in that bruised reed on Egypt, right? Now what is really showing you here is that a broken reed or bruised reed is basically something that's already been compromised, right? It's not sound. It's something that's just ready to break, okay? And this doesn't really have to do with the sermon, but this is the only other place that talks about like a bruised reed or a bruised reed is dealing with Jesus, and it says in Matthew chapter 12, and I just want to bring this up because there is a little bit of a parallel here, because rapture is like who you put your trust on, you're going to put it on Egypt, this broken reed, this bruised reed, and in Matthew 12 19, it says, he shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he's sent for judgment unto victory, and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. And so there's definitely a parallel there dealing with obviously trusting in Jesus, he is not a broken reed, but, you know, with his ministry he's not striving, he's not crying aloud, and what you see with this story really is that Hezekiah in the end tells them don't say anything to them, you know, don't like cry out from the wall to them, don't talk to them, don't respond, okay, and, you know, Matthew 12 is pretty much just saying don't be a street preacher, you know, like Jesus wasn't a street preacher, he wasn't out there just like crying in the streets, no, multitudes came to him and then he preached to them, okay, he, and even Paul when he'd go out to the marketplaces, it says that Paul, you know, would speak with those or preach to those that met with him in the markets, right, so there was a reciprocation, they wanted to hear what he had to say, it's not this, you know, get a megaphone, get out on a street corner, just start just, you know, being a blowhard, it's pretty much what that's going into, but I do see a correlation there, I don't want to get into that or dig deep into the allegory there, but whenever you see phrases in the Bible or key words, a lot of times there is a significance there as far as linking those, so when you're dealing with Egypt's a bruised reed or a broken reed and, you know, don't trust in Egypt, but then you're dealing with Jesus not, you know, a bruised reed shall he not break, but the Gentiles are going to trust in him, you can definitely see a correlation there and obviously God's the one that delivers, spoiler, God delivers Jerusalem out of the Assyrians hands, okay, so you should already know that because we've already gone through the kings, we've gone through Hezekiah and done that, but God ends up delivering the Assyria, delivering Jerusalem out of the Assyrians hand and so, so yeah, so he's basically saying are you going to trust in Egypt, you know, that broken reed that if a man leaning on it, it'll pierce him through the hand, right, then, then this, I just love this because, you know, when this, this is just something that you deal with all the time as a Christian where people are bringing up false accusations or they say, well, don't you believe this, it's like, no, I don't, it's like when you believe in the reprobate doctrine, so you're telling me that they can't get saved because they did that, no, that's not what I'm saying, so you're telling me that, that God is going to pour out his wrath on his people, you know, you're telling me that God is a wife beater, no, that's not what I'm saying, so you're telling me that it's half what, you know, you're mid-trip, no, you're not paying attention and people just like come up with these things, it's like you believe something and they just like, well, you believe this, you believe that, it's like, no, I don't, and, and they're trying to, you know, basically put up these false arguments, straw man arguments and all that. Notice what it says in verse 7 here, notice what he says to, now he's talking to these men, right, to, to, like him, to Shebna and Asaph and all that, right, so he's talking to them and he's saying, you know, you're going to trust in Egypt, notice what it says in verse 7, but if thou say to me, we trust in the Lord our God, is it not he whose high, high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away and said to Judah and Jerusalem, and to Jerusalem, ye shall worship before this altar? Notice what he's saying there, he's like, you're saying you're trusting the Lord, but you took down all his altars, all those high places and groves, you took down all his idols, see the stupidity, like ignorance, they're just completely ignorant, that God hated that, and that Hezekiah was actually getting right with God and cleansing that, and that's what God wanted him to do, but see, Ravishki doesn't understand that, he's just completely ignorant about that, and we run into this all the time, where people are like, well doesn't the Bible say this, you know, you're doing this, but the Bible says this, you know, like all sin is equal, or love the, hate the sin, love the sinner, it's like, doesn't the Bible say that? No, it doesn't. Doesn't the Bible say you should love everybody no matter what? No, it doesn't. It doesn't say that. And so they keep making up, you know, this is what they think is right, okay, but there's a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. To Ravishki, his logic is like, you took down the altars, you know, like how's God going to help you? You just like desecrated his altars and all this stuff, and Hezekiah is saying you need to do it over here in Jerusalem. It's like, yeah, that's the way God wanted it. That's why he's written in the law, that you're supposed to worship in the city which he chooses, and guess what, Jerusalem is the city that he chose. Now, go to 2 Peter chapter 3, because it's interesting that there's people that are just ignorant about this, but then there's people that are just willingly ignorant, like they just want to be ignorant, and those are the worst, right? People that are ignorant, you can help those people, right, because you can show them the truth and give them a chance to say, oh, okay, the Bible actually does say, you know, this is what should be done, and it's not the other way around. Actually, the Bible does not say this, you know, that's being parroted on movies and by popular preachers, and so just all these phrases that people say is like, doesn't the Bible say this? No, it doesn't, so maybe you should read it and not be ignorant, but there's people that are willingly ignorant, like they are just willingly ignorant about that. They just don't want to know, and they're choosing to just be ignorant about it, and that's what 2 Peter chapter 3 is talking about, and notice it says, knowing this first in verse 3, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking out there to own lust and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. And this is today, they just want to be willingly ignorant about that, even though you can look at the Grand Canyon, you can look at all the tectonic plates and look at everything that's going on, see the fault lines going down, the Atlantic, and see that the fountains of the deep broke open, and everything fits perfectly with what the Bible says about the flood. There's a flood story in every civilization, but they just want to be like, no, that can't, no, it can't be that. We don't want to give validity to the Bible, and they're just going to be willingly ignorant about it. But also about his coming, they're like, well, you know, he said he was coming soon, didn't he? No, that's not what he said. He said he was going to come quickly. There's a difference between quickly and soon. And they say, well, didn't it say it was going to be the last days? You know, they were in the last days, so therefore it hadn't have been, you know, like then it just didn't happen. You know, where's the promise of his coming, you know? And they're just going to be willingly ignorant about it. And that's where the Bible says, keep reading there, and it says in verse 7, but the heavens and the earth were of old, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perditioned upon godly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is what the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. So when he says the last days, guess what? He's telling, he's giving you a clue right there that this is going to be thousands of years, and we're almost 2,000 years since the resurrection. We're already past 2,000 years since his birth, and we're right in that cusp, right? We're, you know, we're like 2,000 years within Jesus walking on this earth, okay? And if so, if you were to look at that as days, well guess what? We're not even at two days yet. We're not even at days yet, okay? So put that in your pipe and smoke it. When the Bible says that he's not slack concerning his promises, some men count slackness, but his longsuffering to us were not willing to any should perish, but all should come to repentance, then you may understand why is he waiting so long? Why is it taking so long? Because God loves the world, loved the world so much, right? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Maybe he wants people to get saved. Maybe it's, maybe it's his determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God knowing the perfect time in which he's to come so that he can get the most people saved as possible, because, you know, who have all men to be saved come to the knowledge of the truth. Now also, how about this? But the natural man receiveth not things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Now they can't even know them because they are spiritually discerned. So Rapski is spiritually discerned, right? I mean, it shouldn't just surprise you that Rapski doesn't know what the God of the Bible wants and what, you know, what he has laid out. So obviously he just doesn't know, right? And, but he's just, he just, you know, what he thinks would be right, he's saying that, okay? Let's go back to Rapski in verse 8, so Isaiah chapter 36 and verse 8. I love the story of Rapski because it just shows you that, hey, there's nothing new under the sun. People have been falsely making false arguments, false claims about what, you know, we should be believing and what God really wants, right? That's been going on at least since Rapski right there, right? But obviously it's been since the beginning of time that that's been the case. When you think of the devil, yea hath God said? You know, you know, the devil's always been questioning God's Word and unsafe people, unbelievers, natural men, you know, they, they don't, they don't receive the things of the Spirit of God, right? They don't receive spiritual things. Even though it's very simple, they just don't grasp it. So in Isaiah chapter 36 and verse 8 it says, Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee to my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses if they be able on thy part to set riders upon them. So this is pretty much Rapski just like gloating about the fact that we have way more than you, right? I mean, do you see what he's saying there? He is, he is really condescendingly talking to them right now, right? Because what is he saying? It says, Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master. So he's basically, you know, he's talking about bring your present and all that stuff, you know, give pledges to the king of Assyria, you know, you know, give a pledge of loyalty to the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, and he's saying, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. Basically, if you can even find two thousand people to even ride these horses, right? So you think about the army of Judah, right? And he's basically saying, you know, even if you could even find two thousand people, I'm just gonna give you like two thousand, we just have some, we have two thousand extra horses over here, we'll give that to you if you can even find riders to ride upon them. Yeah, that's basically what he's saying to them, right? Verse 9 it says, How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? So he's going back to Egypt again, right? Again, did they ever say they were trusting in Egypt? Was that ever like an inkling, like, hey, we're gonna trust in Egypt? No, he's just assuming that. He's assuming they're trusting in Egypt, and he's assuming that God, one of those high places and groves in place, and that, you know, if they're gonna trust in God, then he's probably not gonna hear him, right? And he's trying to put all this doubt in their mind, right? And obviously he's saying, you know, how then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, right? He's basically like, just the lowest grade captain I can find, you won't be able to turn him away, okay? You don't have enough people to even put riders on horses if I gave them to you. That's what he's saying to them. Now, notice what it says in verse 10 here. Now, this is where it really gets blasphemous, but you know what? People do this all the time. It says in verse 10, it says, and am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said unto me, go up against this land and destroy it. Now, that's a bold-faced lie. Now, people do this all the time, and listen to it, Christian. You need to be careful of this. You do not do this. I remember coming back from my in-laws and I passed this church and it says, come as you are, and it had in quotations God. I'm like, no, that was Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and he killed himself. That's your prophet, okay? That's not what, I mean, the principle as far as like, come and take it to the water of life freely, you know, that's there, but come as you are is not a quote from God, okay? The Bible says believe on the Lord of Jesus Christ, but you know what he wants you to do? He wants you to sanctify yourself and be holy, okay? Now, but you don't ever put like in quotations God, you know, and this is, they do this all the time on signs and stuff like that, and it'll be like something to do with like something going on in the world or whatever, and it'll say God. Like, no, you need to stop doing that, okay? You need to have reverence for God's Word. If it's not, listen, now obviously when as a preacher you're giving the sense of the word, when you quote a verse and you're saying, this is what this means, okay, that's not what I'm talking about. Like you're saying a verse and it'd be like, God is saying here, you need to do this, right? And you're kind of giving the sense, but if you say, thus saith the Lord, and then you say this word, right, you say this phrase here and be like, God said that. Like, no. And you get this in Baptist churches, you know, or Pentecostal churches where it's like, God told me to buy this. No, he didn't, okay? Now you can use biblical principles and you can say, well, I, you know, I was reading the Bible and there's some principles in there and I applied that to what I was buying over here. That's fine, but to say that God literally said to you, you know, God told me to go do this, you know, and it's like something that's not in the Bible specifically. Now if you say, God told me to go soul winning, that's in the Bible, okay? Because it says, you know, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, okay? So that's not lying, but if you're, if you say, well, God told me to buy this car, God told me to take this job. No, he didn't, okay? Stop saying that. And that's what we're actually saying. He's like, the Lord said, you know, come and destroy this city. No, he didn't. You're lying. Now go to Ezekiel chapter 22, Ezekiel chapter 22, because false prophets do this all the time. They'll say that God said something when he didn't really say it, and I want you to think about this because obviously God doesn't like it. Shouldn't be surprised about that. That isn't like when someone's misquoting him, but imagine if someone misquotes you. Doesn't that make you angry? If someone misquotes you and says, you know, it'd be like if I said, Anthony said this, and it's like something very like degrading to somebody, and he didn't say it. Now, now Anthony's got to like try to figure out how I'm going to tell these people that that was a lie, and I didn't really say that, and you know what? Sometimes the damage is already done, and when false prophets do that, a lot of times the damage is done. You think about the Pharisees that come past sea and land to make one proselyte. When he is made, they made him twofold more a child of hell than themselves. You know, sometimes the damage is done by their lies, and there's just no way back, and that makes God angry. Okay, now in Ezekiel chapter 22 and verse 28 here, it says in dealing with Jerusalem, it says, and her prophets have dobbed them with untempered border, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. And that's exactly what they're going to like. Well, thus saith the Lord, and you see this in Jeremiah all the time, right? Where you have these false prophets. They're like, the Lord said it's only going to be, you know, this many years, right? And then we're going to be out of captivity. And Jeremiah's like, no, it's 70 years. You need to bunker down and get used to it. But they're saying, thus saith the Lord. And he's rebuking that in Ezekiel. It says, you know, her prophets, you know, was saying all this, that I said this, and I didn't say it. Go to Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 36. Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 36. And I'm just giving you a little snippets here for sake of time because, you know, you could look at this whole story that's dealing with all this and, you know, see the context of everything that's going on there. But you're basically dealing with people that perverts God's Word. They're saying something that God didn't say. And in Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 36, it says, in the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more. Now the reason it says that, okay, is because they'd be like, this is the burden of the Lord. This is the burden of the Lord. And then they'd say something that's completely off. And he's like, you're not going to say that anymore. You're not allowed to say the burden of the Lord anymore. You say, was it wrong to say the burden of the Lord? That's how Nahum starts, by the way, you know. Or, you know, just other places it'll be like, the burden of the Lord here, the burden of the Lord here. And, but it's the burden of Nineveh, right, in Nahum. But it's basically talking about the burden of the Lord for certain places, right. And he's basically saying, you're not allowed to say that anymore. You know, it's like, don't, you're not going to say the burden of the Lord anymore. It says, in the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more, for every man's word shall be his burden. For ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God. Right. And so why, he's basically saying, you've lost the right to be a prophet because you have perverted God's word. And obviously Jeremiah and Ezekiel are dealing with the same thing, right. You're dealing with these prophets that prophesy lies, that are not prophesying what God actually says, and perverting what he says. Okay. And think about this. This is how God has, it says he's manifested his word through preaching, right. And how you say, through his word. You know, everything that's done here on earth is his word. You know, this is the foundation. And when people tamper with that, God does not take that lightly. Okay. And I want you to see, you know, how he regards his word. Good. Psalm 138. Psalm 138. And I don't have the verses on top of my head here, but when it talks about prophets, you know, if they prophesy something, it doesn't come to pass that it'll be put to death. You know, like if there's like someone preaching a false, you know, prophecies and all that stuff. And that's how you know whether a prophet is true or not. Nowadays it's a little different because back then it says that, you know, God who had sundry times and in diverse manners, spake and time passed unto the Father by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. You know, back then, that's where you got the word of God from a lot of times. You know, they didn't have a printing press. Not everybody just had a Bible laying around. And so, you know, people probably had, I'm sure, the word of God here and there. I'm not saying like no one had it or anything like that. But at the same time, you know, the prophet, they had to go to the prophet and hear what the prophet had to say. And they had to somehow distinguish, okay, is this a good prophet or not? You know, is this really the word of God or not? And God's putting in these checks and balances. And they're like, well, if it comes to pass, then he's a good prophet. And if it doesn't come to pass, then he's a bad prophet. Okay. Now today it doesn't really apply to me to be like, well, is your pastor a good prophet? You know, a good preacher? It's like, well, I'm not exactly like foretelling things to come to pass, right? If I am, then that's bad. Okay. So it's just a different, you know, the Old Testament, the New Testament, there is a different administration, you know, that's going on there. And so you're in Psalm 138 in verse 2 there. It says, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth, for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. So let me ask you, do you think that God is regarding his word highly? It's above his name. By the way, Jesus has given the name which is above every name, right? He's exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth. And at every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But I don't know if you know this, but Jesus is the Word. Okay. So that being said, obviously he highly regards his word. You know, he's elevating it above his name. So when you take his name in vain, right, that's the third commandment, right? Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. How about if you take his word in vain, right? What if you speak it in vain? What if you pervert it or say something that's not saying? And that's why the Bible puts really harsh punishments. And as far as revelation, if you add unto these things, he's going to add unto these plagues. If you take away from his word, he's going to take away your part out of the book of life, the book of life. How about Proverbs 30? Proverbs 30 in verse five, it says this, every word of God is pure. He's a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words lest he reprove thee and thou be found a liar. So you need to not add or take away. Don't add, don't diminish ought from it. You know, it is what it is. It doesn't mean that you can't explain it, give the sense of it, but there's a difference between adding words there and saying this is what the Bible says. You know, it's like the living new living translation where it says repent ye and believe the gospel. It says repent of your sins and turn to God and believe the gospel. You know, it just literally just adds all that stuff in there, like of sins and turn to God. So you want to know where people are getting repent of your sins from? The new living translation, which is one, like I think it's still probably the, it's in the top five. It may even be in the top three as far as sellers, which is kind of crazy to me because when you think of like a Bible version, you're like NIV, EESV, no, new living translation. And guess what it says? Repent of your sins all over the place. So when people are like, no, the Bible says you got to repent of your sins. Well, they're probably telling you the truth because they probably saw it, you know, in a lot of cases, but it's not the Bible. So, you know, it's a false version. Let's go back to Isaiah chapter 36. Isaiah chapter 36. There's a lot of lessons that we can learn from this, right? That people are bringing up false arguments all the time, you know, when it comes to unbelievers. They're saying that we believe this when we don't really believe that. They have misconceptions about what you're supposed to, because it's like, you know, how many people have come and be like, well, you're saying you need to be this pure and, you know, straight-laced Christian to go to heaven. It's like, no, actually quite the opposite, right? Because you look at an independent fundamental Baptist church on the surface. This is what, this is on the surface of what an unbeliever would see. Well, you must have to be baptized. You know, they must think that you have to be baptized. They're called Baptists. I mean, that means that in the name, I mean, that's part of what, I mean, that's what they're about, you know. So you got to be baptized. And they're really straight-laced. They don't drink. They don't do all this stuff. You know, they dress like their dress standards are really high. See, it must mean that you got to live this really holy life. Be baptized and live a holy life. Boom. That's how, that's what Baptists believe. Is that anything close to what we believe, right? But on the surface, that's what people see. That's what they assume. And just, ignorantly, that's what they think, right? And you say, well, you know, back in the day, back in the day, people knew a little more, I guess. But, but you know how many times people have said, well, you, you think you have to be baptized, don't you? Why? Well, you're Baptists. Just no idea. It's just because the name, right, it just says Baptist. So that must mean that baptism is a part of it, right? Methodist is like your methods, you know, and just like different names. You're like, well, you got to do this, right? Because it's in the name. And then obviously, don't add to God's word. Don't be tampering with God's word. Don't say God said something when he didn't say it, okay? Don't put in quotations God, you know, and if it's not a quotation from the Bible, okay? Now, in verse, where did I have you turn? Verse 11. So in chapter 36 and verse 11, it says, it says, then said Eliakim and Shibna and Joah unto Ratcheke, speak I pray thee unto thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it. Speak not to us in the Jews language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. So they're basically saying, they're not wanting to get people afraid, okay? So they're basically saying, just speak to us in your language. We can understand it. But, you know, I want it to be that way so they can understand what you're saying, okay? Because if you imagine, they're getting a commandment from, you know, I mean, basically, they're the leadership. And so they're like, we can take this. We can do this. But a lot of times, what you're afraid of is that the weaker link, you know, like the ones that aren't as strong will basically falter, faint, get afraid, and then the multitude will basically come against the leadership. Even though leadership's strong for the Lord, you know, that's what you're worried about. And so that's what he's basically doing there. They're basically trying to stop that from happening. And Ratcheke doesn't oblige, right? Because notice what Ratcheke says in verse 12. But Ratcheke said, hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? So it's a rhetorical question, okay? He didn't come to speak to Hezekiah and to his servants. He came to speak to the people, right? He's trying to get the people to doubt what's going on. Because ultimately, the people have the power. I don't care if it's a monarchy, if it's a republic. The people have the power because if the multitude, if the majority decides this is what's going to happen, that's what's going to happen, okay? That's how monarchies, you know, like dictatorships get overthrown. The people decide you're not our king anymore. They're not your king anymore, right? And I remember there was a police officer that was talking about this COVID thing and the lockdowns and all that stuff. And he basically got in trouble and fired for even saying this. But he's like, he was warning his police brethren, if you will, you know, like his colleagues. He says, listen, you need to be careful on how much you push people and try to take away their rights because the moment they don't regard your authority, you don't have authority. And it's true because there's more people than them, especially in our society because everybody has guns. So if you're in like Nazi Germany or, you know, a place where they're taking away all the guns and only the people that were enforcing laws had guns, it may be a little easier to try to do that. But even then, the multitude a lot of times, you know, is going to be able to overturn. So that's what Rapsky is doing. He's like, I didn't come to talk to you. I came to talk to them because I want the multitude to basically change their minds because they could overthrow Hezekiah and all the leadership and basically do what they want, okay? Now, let's keep reading there. But Rapsky said, hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you? Then Rapsky stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews language. So did he oblige? No. In the Jews language and said, hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. So he's like, you know, that's why I came is to speak to them. So no, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to speak to them in the Jews language. Now, the thing that I want you to see here, because again, I'm looking at lessons here that I see, is that the Bible has some crass language, okay? I mean, look what's said there. You know, that he's basically saying that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you. That's some crass language. Now, what I want you to realize here is that the Bible has some of that language, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong or it's corrupt or it's filthy or it's a cuss word, right? Like piss, dung, bastard. Those are words that are in the Bible, okay? Now, the word will say, well, that's a bad word. No, it's not. Can't be. And I'll prove that to you. But you say, well, but that's Rapsky saying that, right? Rapsky's saying that. It's not God who's saying that. Well, first of all, it's written in the Bible, okay? So, if it was filthy language, the Bible wouldn't have had it written there. It would be censored, okay? Meaning that I guarantee there's a lot of places in the Bible where someone was speaking some foul language and the Bible just did not record it or gave a synopsis and be like, they basically did this, you know, they took counsel together to do this, but they didn't get into the details about what was said, okay? So, if it's written, that means it's wholesome. That means it's pure. That means that that language is wholesome. Now, but I want to prove this to you because notice that God uses that, both those terms, dung and piss, okay? So, if you want to use that and be like, well, that's Rapsky and he was, you know, using that language and he shouldn't have. The Bible records it, but you probably, you shouldn't use that language. Well, go to Malachi chapter 2. Malachi chapter 2. Malachi chapter 2. Malachi chapter 2 and verse 3. Malachi chapter 2 and verse 3. By the way, this is God speaking to them, okay? He's rebuking them. In verse 3 here, so Malachi 2 verse 3, it says, Behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feast, and one shall take you away with it. You know what? Basically, if you know Malachi, right, it's basically talking about like, they're bringing all these sick animals to be sacrificed. It's like, would you take that to your governor? Would you offer that, you know, to your governor or to someone else? Then why would you? I'm a great king. That's what God says in Malachi. I'm a great king and you're bringing all this lame sick stuff to me. And you know what? It makes them sick that they're doing that. He says, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna spread dung on your faces. That's what I think of your solemn feasts. And that's God saying that, okay? Go to 2 Kings chapter 9. 2 Kings chapter 9. 2 Kings chapter 9. So the Bible uses crass language, okay? Damnation. You know, people are damned, the Bible says. He that believeth not shall be damned. That word is not a bad word. It's not a cuss word. It's a crass word. It's a harsh word. It's a very sharp word, right? When you think crass, it's something that's harsh. You know, it's hard, you know, like it's something that's gonna, that hits hard. Cuts, right? It's not comfortable, I guess is the way you would look at it, okay? But a lot of times the Bible's not gonna be comfortable when you're dealing with, you know, wicked people, okay? And so in 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 8 it says, For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel. Now who's cutting them off? God. Now what does it mean by that? It's very clear. It's all the men, okay? Who pisses against the wall. Guys, right? So, but that's God saying that, okay? So, you know, get off your high horse. That term's there. Now go to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6. These are wholesome words. They're not always the lightest words, right? They're not always the most flowery words. They're not always the most comfortable words to hear, but they are wholesome and pure. Every word of God is pure. And notice what it says here in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 3. It says, If any man teach otherwise consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, into the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strife of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmising, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness from such withdrawal by self. So when someone says that, you know, they're not consenting unto wholesome words, or they're going to say that these aren't wholesome words, they're proud, knowing nothing. And the Bible is pure. So there's nothing in here to where I can't read it. You notice that I didn't skip over that word. I didn't say, Brother Anthony, hey, when you get to that verse right there, I need you to speak really soft. I need you to add, I need you to put in like P or something like that. I don't know. Like something that's, you know, like something like words to use for children or something like that. You know what I mean? No. We're going to read that because the children are going to know that's what the Bible says because the Bible will say some crass things, but they're wholesome words, meaning that they're not crude, they're not filthy, they're not corrupt. Okay. And just, I'll read this off to you. Go to Ephesians chapter four, Ephesians chapter four, because there's a difference between being crass or being abrasive and being crude, filthy, or corrupt in your communication. Okay. Because there are words that you should not be using. Okay. Or things that you shouldn't be talking about. I mean, it's a shame to even speak of those things to them that are done in secret. So there's obviously things that you should not be talking about and saying openly. Okay. But the things that are in the Bible, that's all. You know, what I tell you in the year, that preachy upon the housetops. What you hear in darkness, that preachy in light or speaky in light. So it's not like anything in here I should be holding back and putting under a bushel. No, it should all be there. But in Proverbs 15, verse four, it says, a wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. And the reason I read that verse to you is that, what's the opposite of wholesome? Perverseness. Okay. So to say that what we read in Isaiah 36 there with what Raphshaki was saying or what God said, if you're saying that's not wholesome, then you're saying it's perverse. And obviously God's word is not perverse. It's pure. It's holy. It's very pure. It's righteous all together. Okay. Now in Ephesians chapter four, just to show you that, yeah, there is corrupt communication. There is filthy communication, right? In Ephesians 4 29 it says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Colossians 3 8 says this, it says, but now ye also put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. So there's a difference between filthy communication if you're talking about the bedroom, you're talking about things that you shouldn't be talking about, you know, things like that, then that's not, you know, if the Bible's not discussing that, then you shouldn't be talking about that. Okay. And so there's a difference between that. But I'll say this. Those words are in the Bible, but when it comes to any word, you can lose emphasis if you use it all the time. Okay. Now cuss words, you know, just for sake of argument, cuss words, there's people that use it for adjectives, nouns, verbs, everything, right? You know the big four letter word, people just use it for everything. And it comes a point where it's just like, it's lost its emphasis. They'll say it and you'll just be like, yeah, they're just talking over there. But if someone, they never used that word, and then they said it, you'd be like, whoa, what happened? Right? And I'm not suggesting you use that word. I'm just saying like, but if you hurt somebody and you never heard them say that word before in their life, and they say that word, they'll be like, the world has just ended. Like what happened? You know, did your dog die? Like did someone die? Did you hit something? Did you like, what happened? You know, why in the world would you use that word? The same thing when it comes to crass language. Okay, I don't want to say the same thing because obviously crass language is not bad or filthy or corrupt, but you don't just use crass language all the time, okay? You use crass language to make a point. You notice that the Bible's not using the word piss all the time, right? It's not just every other line, just saying that. It's not using dung all the time in there, but it's using that because when you read that, they're like, whoa, right? When you read that, when brother Anthony read that passage, why don't you be like, whoa, you know, what in the world? You know, and same thing when you read Malachi, aren't you like, whoa? Because if you use it all the time, it loses emphasis. So when you don't use it and then you use it in a certain place, you're like, okay, he's making a point. Okay, this is a big deal because God's, you know, using some crass language here, okay? You know, think about Jesus when he says, you know, if your right eye offended, pluck it out. That's not comfortable, okay? And what is he doing? He's giving you severity of hell. It's better for you to pluck out your eye, cut off your arm, and cut off your leg than to go to hell, okay? It's better to walk around with no arms, no legs, no eyes, but go to heaven, okay? Than to have all of that and then go to hell, okay? But that's crass and it's something that's, you know, obviously not comfortable to hear. No one reads that passage and be like, man, that's an awe, I just, you know, I go to sleep thinking about that passage like, you know, pluck your eye out, cut off your arm, like you're just, like that's not something comfortable to think about. I don't know about you, but I don't like losing limbs. I never lost a limb. I don't want to lose a limb, okay? So, but, you know, you can learn a lesson here when it comes to the Bible and its language, okay? Those words are pure. They're wholesome, but they are crass, okay? They are sharp and the Bible uses them and strategically, okay? And so we need to do the same, okay? When I'm up here preaching, I'm not just using crass language all the time because it would start losing its emphasis, but every once a while I'll throw in some crass words, and why am I doing that? To get your attention. So we're like, oh, he's angry about that. Yeah, or, oh, man, he really wants to drive that point home right there, okay? But God does that with his word all the time. Isaiah chapter 36. Isaiah chapter 36 and verse 14. Isaiah 36 and verse 14. And I want to read these verses here, and I just want you to think about how good of a king Hezekiah really was, okay? Because notice how hardcore Raphshaki is trying to convince these people not to trust in God. And who's he attributing them trusting in the God for? Or, like, who's the one that's causing them to trust in God? And would the God, this could be said about you, to where someone's just like, don't listen to Jason over there. Don't listen to him. Don't trust in God. I know he's trying to convince you to do that, but don't do it. You know, would the God that we'd have that kind of influence over people, and that we'd be known for getting people to trust in God, okay? Notice what it says in verse 14. He's like, you know, don't let him make you trust in the Lord. Notice that language. Don't let him make you trust in the Lord. It's like, so that means Hezekiah is, you know, like, known for getting these people to trust in the Lord. And if you know the backstory of Hezekiah and what he did, and how he cleansed the temple, and how he had the Passover, and had this great revival where they're just tearing down all these altars, they went out from there and went into their own towns, and started taking out the idols, and all that stuff. Yeah, Hezekiah's known for making them trust in the Lord. To the point where Raphshakee and, you know, all these men that are coming from Assyria know that. They know that the influence that they have, that Hezekiah has on them putting their trust in the Lord. I'll keep reading there in verse 16. It says, it says, Harken not to Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria. Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land. A land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. So what is he doing? He's bribing them. He's like, God, you don't listen to him. You know, come with me. I've got this promised land for you. You know, you're gonna have your own cistern, your own water, right? Notice though, it's like the fine print when you read after something, because notice it's the way it says this, okay? It says, bring a present, okay? Slip that in there. You gotta give me a present first, okay? In verse 16, and it says, and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one of the waters of his own cistern. That sounds good. That's actually what the Bible says that he wants us to do, okay? It's got a libertarian lifestyle right there. You know, liberty. We have our own, we have private property, you know? Now, there's a little word there, right there in verse 17, until. Notice that? He's like, you know, you can have your own vine, you can have your own fig tree, and you have your own cistern. Until I come. But he doesn't say, until I come, meaning that there's gonna be one point where you're not gonna have that anymore, because I'm gonna take you to a different land that's like your land, okay? Now, notice in verse 18, beware. Beware of this Hezekiah guy. This guy is telling you to trust in the Lord. Beware of that guy. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying the Lord will deliver us. Now he's gonna say, Have any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Siphar-vam? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? Now, I'd love to tell you what the reply is, but that's for another sermon, okay? Because it's one of my favorite passages in the world is what God's reply is to this, okay? Because imagine what's going on here. He's like, you know, who is your god? You know, have any of these other gods done this? Yeah, because they're all false gods. And by the way, your god's a false god, too, out there in Assyria. And so he's basically boasting, you know, none of their gods delivered. Yeah, I'm not surprised, because they're not really gods. They're devils. Now, notice in verse 36 there, but I just want to show you, you know, like Hezekiah was a great king. Now, he had his faults, okay? But Hezekiah was a great king who trusted in the Lord and made others trust in the Lord, okay? Verse 21, Isaiah 36 verse 21 says, but they held their peace and answered him not a word, for the king's commandment was saying, answer him not. Notice the wisdom of Hezekiah. He says, don't answer them, right? It says, then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shavna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah, with their close rent, and told him the words, Arapshiki. So it hurt, right? I mean, they were, they were distraught, you know, when they heard these words. They were upset. What was going on? It's not like they just came and be like, hey, here's what he said. They came in with their close rent, okay? And that being said, it's not like this didn't, you know, cut them or, you know, like bother them, but you know what Hezekiah says, don't answer him. Now there's a lot of wisdom in what he said there. Imagine that Arapshiki's like, you know, we have all this, we're gonna give you this, you know, don't trust in that, that's not gonna save you, and you're just like, you just don't say anything. You know, sometimes silence is a huge defense, because you know what that shows? Confidence. You're not like, wow, you know, but we're gonna, you know, but we have this, and you know, sometimes when you speak and you try to defend yourself, you look weak, you know. You know, sometimes, you know, and this is where it really gets into Ecclesiastes chapter 3. It says in Ecclesiastes 3, 1, it says, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun. And it says in verse 7, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. There's a time where you just don't answer them. And that's why Proverbs 26 says this in verse 4, answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. See, there's two different cases. There's a time to speak and there's a time to keep silence. And even with a fool, there's a time to speak, and I've preached a sermon on this before, on the, when do you speak? When do you answer a fool? When you, you know, rebuke this corner and the simple shall beware, okay? So if you're out, you know, we've done this before, you know, where someone's like preaching something false or they're saying something false, and there's people listening to them, that's the time to rebuke them. Not for them, not for that false prophet, but for those that hear. That's time to put them in their place and tell them what's up. But if it's just you and them, a man after, an heretic after the first and second admonition rejects. You know, why waste your time with somebody that you're not going to convince, right? But if there's people around, then that's a different case. And, you know, also the Bible says, you know, Michael, yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, dares not bring against him a railing accusation, but said the Lord rebuke thee. Meaning this, is that Assyria is obviously a mighty powerful nation, right? It is the world power at that time, okay? And what they're really doing here by not speaking is letting the Lord do it, because the Lord does the talking. You know, that's what they answer back is what the Lord says. So there's a time to speak and there's a time to keep silence. There's a time to answer a fool and there's a time not to answer a fool. And it has to do with the situation, but I love how Hezekiah is like, don't answer him anything. That's just a boss move right there, you know? It's just like, yeah, he's gonna say all this stuff, don't say a word to him. Now obviously, you know, they were distraught, and even Hezekiah, he can't, he's gonna come before the Lord and he's gonna be, you know, pleading with the Lord and all that. But there's a difference between being fearful and trembling before your God and being fearful and trembling before them, okay? You can be bold toward them and just be, you know, you know, fearing and trembling toward your God and submission toward your God and all that, okay? And this is a great passage because Rapsakhi obviously is a big dumb animal, okay? He's a fool. He's an unsafe person that doesn't know what he's talking about, but you can learn a lot of lessons here. And one thing to see here is that, hey, there's nothing new under the sun. People have been making false arguments and all that type of stuff. They've been speaking on God's behalf, you know. They've been doing this since the beginning of time, and so when you see that type of stuff, you'd be like, yeah, Rapsakhi did the same thing, didn't? And, you know, just seeing some wisdom from Hezekiah on how to deal with a situation like that. We just have a blowhard out there. We're like, oh, you know, we did this, we did that, you can't even put enough riders on our horses, you can't do this, and just not answering them. And so, great passage there. And so the next three, yeah, the next three chapters are gonna be dealing with Hezekiah, and then we'll be getting to chapter 40, which is really where Isaiah kind of switches gears. And if you know how the book of Isaiah is set up, it's kind of like a mini Bible, right? The first 39 chapters are like the first 39 books of the Bible, which is the Old Testament, and in chapter 40 there's this clear distinction where it's just like the New Testament. Obviously, things are more revealed, there's gonna be a lot of cool stuff in chapter 40 on the 66, okay? And so I'm excited about that, but I don't want you to think I'm not excited to go through Hezekiah, you know? Like, let's just plow through Hezekiah's story, and we got three more weeks of this, guys, and then we're gonna get to the fun stuff. No, obviously there's good stuff in here with Hezekiah. I love Hezekiah, it's a great character, and so I don't want you to be like, I'm not coming back on Wednesday until we get into chapter 40. But let's end it with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for today, and thank you for your word. We thank you for the book of Isaiah. Just all the lessons that we can learn, just from, in a lot of cases, not good people, but we can learn from their mistakes and at least be reminded that it's not like we're living in a time where things are going on that never happened to anybody else. And Lord, we just pray that you be with us, be with those that aren't feeling well, and Lord, just keep us healthy and help us to do your will, to bring glory to your name, and see souls saved. Lord, we love you. We're all in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.