Isaiah 36 - Anchored in History

The 14th year of Hezekiah's reign was 701 B.C. Twenty one years prior, Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom and had pressured Judah to pay an annual ransom - protection money like the US mafia is infamous for. Now, Judah has fallen; perhaps the annual tribute failed to satisfy Sennacherib, who became king of Assyria in 703.

Isaiah 36:2-3 (HCSB) Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller’s Field. Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.

Lachish was an important city in Judah, a garrison some 30 miles west of Jerusalem. This aid to the king was sent with a massive army and he stood at the same place Isaiah had stood when he confronted Ahaz (see chapter 7 and verse 3). 3 important officials from Judah were sent to meet him, including Shebna - who was responsible for the king's household (chapter 22:15). This display was to show Assyria Judah was taking this invasion seriously.

Isaiah 36:4-7 (HCSB) The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on? I say that your strategy and military preparedness are mere words. What are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me? Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God.’ Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?

Sennacherib's aid is not polite, replaying a sarcastic message from his king, who saw Israel's God as merely another god among countless others. By relying on Egypt to protect them (recall how Egypt was shown by YHWH as totally inadequate in chapter 30:3-7), Israel was demonstrating their lack of faith in YHWH. Sennacherib picked up on this and threw into their teeth. He also reminded them that Hezekiah had torn down some of the (pagan) places of worship that Israel had a habit of clinging to - this to try and drive a wedge between the king of Judah and his people.

The Assyrian continued: Isaiah 36:8-10 (HCSB) Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! How then can you drive back a single officer among the weakest of my master’s officers and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the LORD’s ⌊approval⌋? The LORD said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

Since Israel has shown she doesn't trust in YHWH, she is taunted to submit to Assyria, as Sennacherib's aid implies Israel doesn't have riders, much less horses, with which to wage war. The least of his officers would be able to withstand all the machinery of war Israel could bring. The might and success of Assyria convinced her king that Israel's God had sanctioned his conquest of both kingdoms.

There were men of Judah within the hearing of this discussion, leading to this. Isaiah 36:11-12 (HCSB) Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand ⌊it⌋. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew within earshot of the people who are on the wall.” But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, ⌊who are destined⌋ with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

The 3 representatives of Hezekiah feared for their personal safety and their reputation back home, asking the Assyrian to speak in a language the Jewish people did not know. But the Assyrian would have none of it, replying with what must have been the most rude, crude way imaginable to communicate how powerless Israel was.

He then addresses the men of Judah directly. Isaiah 36:13-20 (HCSB) Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you. Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will certainly deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’” Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. ⌊Beware⌋ that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my power? Who among all the gods of these lands ⌊ever⌋ delivered his land from my power? So will the LORD deliver Jerusalem.”

The men of Judah were told, repeatedly, that their own king, Hezekiah, was unable to save or protect them. Hezekiah's reliance upon YHWH is mocked and presented as ineffective, whereas the king of Assyria is presented as almighty and compassionate. The false ever tries to sell itself as the real thing, always failing to deliver what is promised. No other god was able to stand before Assyria - Arpad and Hamath were well known conquests in Syria. Why would the men of Judah persist in thinking YHWH would deliver them in the face of such great opposition?

Isaiah 36:21-22 (HCSB) But they kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

The 3 emissaries of Hezekiah had no authority to negotiate with Assyria. Their job was to listen and report back to the king of Judah. They did this in the common way that conveyed distress and mourning. Their report to Hezekiah was like that of the 10 spies sent across the Jordan - we cannot stand before these people!

Such was the dire state of Judah in 701 B.C. Who can relate to political defeat and the turmoil that brings? Who doesn't have a little bit of uncertainty in what the new regime will bring? In the next chapter of Isaiah we see Hezekiah's response. What is your response - and mine - in our day? Do we fear the Assyrians who have conquered our land, mocked our God, and ridiculed us for trusting in Him? Brothers and sisters, let not your heart be troubled! Believe in God and the One He sent! This place and time is not our home. The Lord Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and He has promised to come back and receive us to Himself so that where He is we will be also! (John 14:1-3). Trust in Him and live like you do! He is faithful! He has promised it and He will do it!