The summer of sixth grade in 1976, right after the Bicentennial celebration, I went away to a two-week Girl Scout camp in Lapeer, Michigan. I would be gone during my younger sister’s 7th birthday. Preparing ahead, I wrote a letter and mailed it to her from camp. Inside was a treasure map. I had secretly buried a birthday present, properly wrapped to preserve it, in the backyard, down by the garden. After receiving the letter, my little sister opened it on her birthday. With her friends, they excitedly followed the map from location to location around our property until finally digging up the hidden treasure. Today, my sister still has that letter. She treasures it!
The Word of God states that in the heart or soul, there are two types of treasure.
Good treasure or evil treasure.
Lord Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. (Luke 6:45)
We know what is in a person’s heart, good or evil, by what comes out of his mouth. It is a type of identification as to whether he is a good man or an evil man. And, it is vitally important to know the difference.
During the time of King Hezekiah’s reign in ancient Judah, Assyria came against the nation and its capital, Jerusalem. The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent his spokesmen with a large army to speak to King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Hezekiah did not go outside the reinforced walls of the city, but instead sent out his own men.
Citizens of Jerusalem stood on the top of the city’s wall listening to the conversation which was in Judean, their native tongue. Assyria’s head negotiator, Rabshakeh spoke from his heart, evil, and used persuasive techniques to sway the people of Jerusalem against their king and his holdout against Assyria. His purpose was to cause terrifying fear by destroying their trust in God. Rabshakeh stated that God was displeased with Jerusalem and would let them be destroyed if they did not surrender. Neither would God help them, he added.
Rabshakeh stated that he himself is God’s man, Who supposedly said to him, “Go up against this land and destroy it.” (Isaiah 36:10)
Speaking directly to the Jews, Rabshakeh implored them not to listen to their king, but to give up. His speech glorified King Sennacherib of Assyria, as if he too was a god, insisting that the gods of other nations were the same as The Lord. This was intended to make God’s people doubt in God’s protection and build unbelief. (2Chronicles 32:9-10)
Surrender was made to seem attractive, but was really meant to be ethnic cleansing and resettlement, away from Jerusalem, making the Judeans powerless.
Rabshakeh spoke with pride, malice, lies and blasphemy of God. (2Kings 18:17-37)
This was Rabshakeh’s treasure. Deception.
The good man, however, brings out the fear of the Lord, which is the respect of the true and living God, and His Son, Lord Jesus. It is his treasure.
He will not blasphemy God, nor Lord Jesus.
This treasure gives a man salvation (life after death), wisdom (Job 28:18) and knowledge. It makes him stable, so that he is not blown back and forth with indecision and instability. (Isaiah 33:6)
While the evil man speaks curses and death, the good man speaks life. (Proverbs 18:21)
The good man guards his treasure and does not feed it to hogs. For it is life and it is valuable. (Matthew 7:6)
“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (2Timothy 1:14)
The evil man comes with deception, to hurt, kill and destroy, but he appears to be a friend, one who will show mercy, or give good gifts. But he twists the truth. He cares for no one but himself.
The good man protects, He does not brag nor boast. He does not bring up old wrongs, nor insist on his own way. He will not twist the truth, but speaks plainly and adheres to God’s ways—hope, faith, and love. (1Corinthians 13:4-8)
During such times as we are in, it is difficult to know truth from fiction, good man from evil man. We must remember that many evil men at first appeared to do good. Remember Hitler.
Are you listening carefully to what you hear come from another’s heart? Is it clean? Or is it full of blasphemy?
In the end, Rabshakeh’s blasphemy of God did him in. God will not be mocked. (Galatians 6:7)
(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon