이사야 Chapter 36

Translation: ESV

1

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

Key Message

The theme of this chapter is how God's work manifests in the midst of historical crisis.

▸Isaiah 36-39 is historical narrative, nearly identical to 2 Kings 18-20.

Isaiah 36-39 is historical narrative, nearly identical to 2 Kings 18-20. The background is Sennacherib's Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701 BC. The fourteenth year of Hezekiah corresponds to 701 BC.

Related Verses

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 Rabshakeh 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.

Key Message

At the same place where Ahaz responded with unbelief, Hezekiah will now respond with faith.

▸The Rabshakeh is a high Assyrian official.

4

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?'

Key Message

'On what do you trust?' is the core question every believer must answer in a crisis.

▸The Rabshakeh's challenge: 'On what do you rest this trust of yours?' This is the central question of the entire spiritual struggle.

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.'

Key Message

Trusting in human power is like leaning on a broken staff—it ultimately harms the one who leans on it.

▸The Rabshakeh's mockery: Egypt is a broken reed.

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"?'

Key Message

The wicked distort truth in order to make good deeds appear as evil.

▸The Rabshakeh distorts Hezekiah's religious reform (removal of high places) as something that angered God.

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.'

Key Message

Even the wicked can partially recognize God's plan, but this does not justify their actions.

▸The Rabshakeh's theological claim: that Assyria's invasion is commanded by God.

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!'

Key Message

Psychological warfare from ancient times attempted to bypass leaders and directly shake the hearts of the people.

▸The Rabshakeh speaks directly to the people on the wall in Hebrew (the language of Judah).

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.'

Key Message

The world's most powerful attack on faith is 'trusting in God is useless.'

▸The Rabshakeh's core attack: do not trust in God.

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?'

Key Message

The LORD is essentially different from gods made by humans; he alone can truly save.

▸The Rabshakeh's comparative theology: if the gods of other nations could not stop Assyria, can Israel's God? But this comparison is wrong because the LORD is different from the gods of other nations.

21

But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, 'Do not answer him.'

Key Message

Those who trust in God sometimes have the wisdom to respond to an enemy's challenge with silence.

▸Hezekiah's wise command: do not answer.

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.

Key Message

In a crisis, the right response is to not hide grief and fear but to go before the king—and before God.

▸Hezekiah's officials come to the king with their clothes torn, reporting the situation.