In the eighteenth chapter of the book of II Kings, we find the leaders of Assyria coming to Judah and attempting to make a deal with them. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: – II Kings 18:31
The enemy had come to offer the people of Judah all the things they wanted and all the things they desired. That is what the enemy always does. Satan sends people to us who will offer all the things we desire if we just make an agreement with him. He will offer to provide our needs if we will miss church to work on Sunday. He will offer fun and entertainment in place of soulwinning. He will offer wealth and pleasure if we will forsake God’s will and live for ourselves. He makes his plan sound so good. He will make us think, “Doesn’t God want me to be happy? Doesn’t God want me to provide for my family?”
Satan is an expert at twisting the Word of God to make it suit his purpose and plan. Just look at the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. He twisted God’s Word when he tempted Eve with the desires of her heart and the promises of earthly pleasures. Satan cast doubt upon God by making what He had forbidden to sound so good, as if God was holding out on her. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. – Genesis 3:5
Just like Eve, we usually fall for the subtilty of Satan, but what we fail to see is that there is an “until” coming. In II Kings 18:32, the very first word of the verse is until. Do not miss this word in the enemy’s speech. The promise of freedom and ease found in verse 31 (also see Genesis 3:5) is just temporary, then comes the “until”:
- Until the enemy comes and takes us away.
- Until we are so far from God that we cannot see the way back.
- Until our lives are ruined and there is nowhere to turn but to the Lord.
- Until we are too embarrassed and ashamed to turn back to God.
Do not fall for the enemy’s sweet words and tempting offers. He will convince us that the Lord is holding out on us, or he will twist God’s Word to make it seem like there’s nothing wrong with the temptation offered. He will often present it in such a way that it seems like it is the only choice. He wants us to think that waiting on the Lord and doing things His way is impossible. Just in searching through our Bibles, we see that every person who gave into the enemy’s conniving learned this lesson: the enemy’s promises are just temporary; there’s an “until” coming.
by Crystal Collingsworth
