Isaiah 36:13-22
Alternative devotions for Wednesday 6th January
Review
This reading is the second half of a speech by the Commander in Chief of the Assyrian army, speaking outside Jerusalem with the authority of the king of Assyria. As we read his words (36:13-19) and the response of King Hezekiah’s servants (36:21,22), it is certainly dramatic. Jerusalem’s future hung in the balance; it was a small city state and had become isolated by an army that had conquered vast swathes of countryside for hundreds of miles to the North and East, beyond the Jordan River as far as the kingdom of Babylon. There is little that can be said, except that Jerusalem was a lost cause; she stood defenceless before a ferocious enemy with little help available from Egypt, the only ally who might have helped if it had reason to engage in politics beyond her boundaries. All hope had gone, except the hope of the people of Jerusalem in their Lord and God.
We must be careful, however, because this passage of scripture is not recorded here in Isaiah merely as a factual record. The same story is found in 2 Kings 18:28-37 where it is set out for this very purpose, but here, it has a different meaning. As we discovered yesterday, because this book is a book of prophecy, we must read the story in a quite different way. The Commander in Chief’s words to King Hezekiah’s servants had a wider purpose; they confirmed to people of later years that Isaiah was right in all his prophecies about the Assyrians. Because of this, Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming of the Messiah as a suffering servant (see ch.53) could also be regarded as a true representation of God‘s will.
How does this work in this reading? The story line follows on from the first half of the chapter, in which the Commander in Chief of the Assyrian army came to Jerusalem, took up a commanding position (controlling the water – see 36:2) and undermined any trust the people of Jerusalem might have in their King, Hezekiah, their God, their politics and their military ability (36:4-10). Despite King Hezekiah’s work to reform the worship of God in Judah (2 Chron 29-31), this challenge by the Commander in Chief fulfilled Isaiah’s haunting earlier prophecy ‘shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols what I have done to Samaria and her images?’ (10:11 – for the details of all this and its timing, see yesterday’s study).
In this, the second part of the Commander’s speech (36:13-20), he sought to spread further dissent amongst those in Jerusalem by refusing to negotiate directly and privately with King Hezekiah. He worked to place uncertainty in the hearts of the people of Israel; firstly suggesting that Hezekiah was deceiving them (36:14), then saying that if they surrendered now they would gain their freedom, adding they would later be moved off their lands to start again elsewhere with even better propsects (36:16)! How much better their life would be in Assyria (36:17)! Finally, he sowed the seeds of doubt about God’s ability to defend his people. He had begun this earlier (36:10) by claiming that he was doing the Lord’s will; but he now dismissed the Lord as no greater than the gods of other nations (36:18-20).
All this clearly bruised and insulted Hezekiah’s three representatives (36:21,22). However, Isaiah had said earlier (see 10:13-16) that Assyria, although used by the Lord to judge Judah and Jerusalem, would seek to vaunt itself higher than God, and for that, it would be punished; what was happening now was a fulfilment of this earlier prophecy. Those chosen by God to do His will should not raise themselves up, or they would themselves be defeated either then, or now. It would not be long before Assyria was indeed defeated by Babylon, and the prophet Nahum rejoices in this fulfilment of Isaiah’s words.
For all the suffering of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, people of later years were able to read Isaiah’s prophecies and confirm the truth of what he had said; they had their proof of the truth of Isaiah’s prophecies here in the Commander’s own words. So Isaiah’s prophecy that a remnant of God’s people would survive this terror (10:20f.) gave real hope to the people.
13 Then the Commander in Chief took his stand and shouted out in a loud voice in the Hebrew language: ‘Hear the words of the great king, the King of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be handed over to the King of Assyria.’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For this what the King of Assyria says: Make a peace treaty with me and surrender to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine and fig tree, and drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 So do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamish and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? When did they deliver Samaria from my hand? 20 Which of all the gods of these lands has rescued their lands from my hand? Will the Lord now deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”’
21 But they remained silent and did not answer him a word, for the king (Hezekiah) had commanded them not to answer him. 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah (the master of the palace), Shebna (the secretary), and Joah son of Asaph (the recorder), came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported the words of the Commander in Chief.
© All text and pictures on this page copyright Paul H Ashby 2010 - all rights reserved
Glorious Lord, You know the answers to our questions before they are ever asked. Help us when we struggle to come to you for help, when we search for the answers You have already given, and when we strive to accomplish what You have told us to do! Be merciful to us Lord, and as we go about our daily lives and live for You and for each other, lead us into all truth. We ask this in Jesus’ name: AMEN
Open our eyes, Lord Jesus Christ,
To the delight of putting right what once was wrong
To the joy of establishing justice where once was bias
To the encouragement of pleasure where once was grief
Open our hearts, Lord Jesus Christ,
To the provision of care where once was neglect
To the quest for knowledge where once was ignorance
To the launching of integrity where once was cruelty
Open our spirits, Lord Jesus Christ,
To the pursuit of godliness where once was malice
To the proving of faith where once was doubt
To the creation of devotion where once was rebellion
Open us up to Your love, O Lord.
Prayer ideas
Confess to God everything you have done for Him in recent days that has been less than your best
On-going prayers
- Pray for Christian families. Pray for parents of children who have physical or mental disabilities, and need special forms of care
- Give thanks to God for those who entertain us with fun and laughter
- Pray for those affected by severe cold on the Indian sub-continent
