By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH - CHAPTER 36

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE RELATIVE TO HEZEKIAH'S
REIGN
(Isa. 36:1-39:8)

THE ASSYRIAN AT THE GATES OF JERUSALEM, Ch. 36-38

    In the following four chapters one finds a brief historical addendum related to Hezekiah's reign over Judah. Chapters 36-37 form a sort of conclusion to what the prophet has written, in chapters 1-35, relative to Judah's relationship to Assyria. Chapters 38-39 form an introduction to Judah's coming dealings with Babylon, as set forth in chapters 40-66.

   Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish 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. Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.

    1. Some time before the events recorded in this lesson, the northern kingdom of Israel had already been over-run by Assyria and her people led away into captivity.
    2. Judah, along with a number of other small nations, had rebelled against Assyria - refusing to continue paying her tribute; thus, Sennacherib invaded Judah and quickly overran all her defenced cities, (vs. 1).
    3. From Lachish he then sent Rabshakeh (a title designating one of his leading generals) to Jerusalem, with a great army, to demand the surrender of Hezekiah, (vs. 2).
    4. The Assyrian officer stood at the head of his army, "by the conduit of the upper pool"; when he called for the king, he was met by a three-man delegation who represented king Hezekiah, (vs. 2b-3; comp. 7:3; II Kings 18:17-18).

   And Rabshakeh 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 rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon 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. But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 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? 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.

    1. With rudeness the Assyrian emissary refuses to address the Judean monarch as "king"; it is simply, "Say ye now to Hezekiah", vs. 4a).
    2. He expresses amazement that the king of Judah is so naive as to rebel against the great king of Assyria - seeing that his confidence is rooted only in empty words, (vs. 4b-5).
    3. There is no help to be found in Egypt - a mere "broken reed" that can only pierce the hand that leans upon it; this is a truth on which Isaiah, the prophet, has long insisted, (vs. 6; 31:1-3).
    4. But Rabshakeh was quite mistaken in thinking that Jehovah was displeased with Hezekiah's destruction of the "high places"; he knew far too little of Judah's religion to speak of it intelligently - speaking of Jehovah as if he were a mere man-made god like the idols of other nations, (vs. 7; II Chron. 32:19; comp. Deut. 12:2-5; 2 Kings 18:1-6).
    5. In mockery, he suggests that if Judah can guarantee 2,000 riders he will furnish as many horses - that they may stand a better chance of defending themselves against the host of Assyrian cavalrymen, (vs. 8; but see Deut. 17:16; Psa. 20:7; 33:17; II Chron. 32:7-8); if they cannot do that, how can they expect to turn away one of the least of Assyria's officers with his mighty horsemen? (vs. 9)
    6.Beside this, the Assyrian claims that JEHOVAH HAS SENT HIM against Judah to destroy it! (vs. 10; I Kings 13:18).

   Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. But Rabshakeh 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?

    1. In essence, the representatives of king Hezekiah asked the Assyrian to speak to them in his own language (which they understood well enough) - conducting their discussions as diplomats, rather than attempting to drive the common people in insurrection, (vs. 11).
    2. His haughty response was that Sennacherib had sent him to warn the citizens of Jerusalem lest they soon be forced to eat their own dung and drink their own urine along with the leaders of Judah, (vs. 12).

   Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 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 eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one 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. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath 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 Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? 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?

    1. The Assyrian warns the Jews against permitting king Hezekiah to deceive them into thinking he is able to protect them, (vs. 14).
    2. Nor must they accept his word that Jehovah will deliver them, (vs. 15; 37:10-11).
    3. He urges them to ignore Hezekiah and make peace with him - promising that they will be permitted to enjoy the fruit of their own land until he has opportunity, at a later date, to return and take them to a land fully as delightful as their own, (vs. 16-17; comp. Gen. 47:21; II Kings 17:6).
    4. Again, he warns against letting Hezekiah persuade them to trust in Jehovah for deliverance; no god has yet been able to deliver his people out of the hands of the great king of Assyria, (vs. 18-19; 10:8-11; 37:11-13).
    5. He concludes that, since the gods of the captured nations (including Samaria) have made no significant resistance to Assyria's onslaught, Jehovah will be just as helpless to defend Jerusalem, (vs. 20; comp. I Kings 20:23, 28).

But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

    1. In obedience to the king's command, the people "held their peace" - making no response to the haughty Assyrian, (vs. 21; Ex. 14:13-14; Jude 9).
    2.In deep grief and horror, at the blasphemy of the Assyrian, Eliakim, Shebna and Joab make their report to the king of Judah, (vs. 22).