Isaiah 36 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 36

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh¹ from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me² 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, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Footnotes

[1] 36:2 Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer
[2] 36:16 Hebrew Make a blessing with me

Commentary

Chapters 36 to 39 provide a historical interlude, relating events of Hezekiah's life.

v1-2: There had been eight years since Israel's defeat. Sennacherib had successfully attacked other towns in Judah, but Jerusalem remained defiant. This was the heart of Jewish life and religion, the capital city. The king of Assyria was still at Lachish, while he sent his field commander (the Rabshakeh) to Jerusalem, see 37.8. The attack had been prophesied by Isaiah, see 8.7-8; 10.24-34.

For us, the enemy may bring us to defeat, but He cannot take away our Saviour; see also the promise in 37.35

v3: Eliakim, mentioned in 22.20-25; this faithful man was promised great blessings from God.

v4-5: "What are you basing this confidence of yours?"

In 1 Sam 4.3, Israel had trusted in the ark;
In Mic 6.6-7, they trusted in sacrifices and ritual;
In Josh 7.2-5, they trusted in past blessing.

Trusting in good things is not the same as trusting in God Himself.

v6: Sennacherib thought that Hezekiah was trusting in Egypt, "that splintered reed."

v7: Hezekiah had destroyed the numerous altars around the land, and re-introduced temple worship (see 2 Chr 29-31). It was "after these deeds" that Sennacherib had attacked. Here was a challenge to Hezekiah, 'Would he continue to trust the Lord in the difficult situation? Would he re-introduce idolatry?'

Sennacherib, through his field commander (Rabshakeh) could not understand Hezekiah's spiritual attitude, so he mocked his reforms. Hezekiah had not removed the Lord's high places and altars. There was a further inference of Hezekiah's pride, insisting on worship at "this altar," i.e: Hezekiah's altar. The Assyrians would have been familiar with a form of pagan worship where there were numerous altars and shrines; they mocked the comparative simplicity of Jewish worship of God.

v8-9: The offer of peace and surrender, although mixed with sarcasm, that Judah's army was weak and small.

v10: His further attack, that he had been given the Lord's approval to attack Jerusalem.

The whole speech contains inconsistent lines of argument, each of which was designed to discourage the people, and to shake their trust in God.

v11-15: The Jews' request, that the field commander address them in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew, so that only the more educated could understand. But the field commander's words were aimed at all the people, to stir up dissent in the camp.

v16-17 The false promises of the enemy; "Make peace." The further promise was that they would receive another land "like your own." The Assyrians wanted to remove the people of Judah, just as they had to Israel, 2 Kings 17.23. The promises here echo the earlier promises of God when the people were in Egypt, that they would inherit a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet no one can offer anything greater than God can give.

The enemy of our souls makes similar promises, to make peace with sin, to tolerate wrongdoing; but that always leads us into compromise or rebellion. The Lord's way may be costly, but is always the best way.

v18-20: The next argument, that resistance was futile, since no other "god" had been able to deliver its nation from the might of Assyria. Nation after nation is listed, indicating Assyria's succession of victories.

v21-22: Silence was the answer, and is indeed sometimes our best answer. Here the people's silence indicated their unity against the enemy. A quick response, even with wise words, is not always the best route to take; the Lord Jesus commanded that we do not cast our pearls of wisdom before swine.

Eliakim, Shebna, Joah did not revile in return, just as David did not react against Saul or Shimei.

Even so, we notice that the leaders were discouraged, and tore their clothes.