Community Bible Study -- Isaiah

Text of Presentation, Lesson 10, Isa 36:1-37:38

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The Assyrian Threat
"The Source of Confidence"

This week we discuss chapters 36-37 . . . and after the holidays, chapters 38-39. This will complete the second major subdivision in Isaiah, which has focused on the question: Should we trust God . . . or the nations?

1. In chapters 7-12, Ahaz trusts Assyria instead of God, and Isaiah discusses the near term and long term implications of that . . . including the coming Messianic kingdom.

2. Chapters 13-35 explain why trusting the nations is foolish. All humans are under the judgment of "The Holy One of Israel" (chs 13-23), who will bring history to a close with the redemption of the faithful of all nations (chs 24-27). As events in Judah lead up to an Assyrian attack in 701 BC (chs 28-35), Isaiah applies this lesson by speaking forcefully against trusting Egypt instead of God.

3. Now in chapters 36-39, God administers a second test as to whether to trust God or the nations . . . this time to King Hezekiah, son of Ahaz. Hence these chapters represent the climax of Isaiah's entire argument up to this point.
   
   

Isaiah reverses the chronological order of chapters 36-37 and 38-39. The siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Assyrian army - which we discuss tonight - occurred in 701 BC. Yet Hezekiah's illness in chapter 38 seems to have occurred earlier than 701 BC (cf 38:6); and the visit from the Babylonian envoys in chapter 39 probably happened around 705-703 BC.

Why did Isaiah reverse the chronological order? Perhaps to make a theological point . . . and it may be this: Isaiah has asserted over and over that God will save and protect those who trust Him. But do these words have historical significance? . . . or do they merely imply heavenly reward for people who suffer because they trust God. Hence chapters 36-37 seem to make the point that trusting God can bring good things here and now - not just in the afterlife. Hezekiah trusts God, and God demonstrates His sovereign power and unique trustworthiness. God is the absolute ruler of the world, with unlimited ability to care for those who trust Him!

Yet if this lesson in trust tempts Isaiah's readers to believe Hezekiah is the promised Messiah . . . they learn in chapters 38-39 that Hezekiah really doesn't measure up. We'll discuss this in the next session. But the bottom line is the Messianic promises cannot be fulfilled by Hezekiah or any mere human.

Tonight's focal passage in chapters 36-37 splits into two sections: 36:1-37:8 and 37:9-38. In the first section, the main Assyrian army, led by King Sennacherib, is besieging Lachish (36:2), about thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem and the last Judean walled city (other than Jerusalem) which has not fallen (36:1). The web site shows related photos: today's Lachish tel and Assyrian reliefs of the siege displayed in the British Museum.

"The field commander," third highest-ranking officer in the army, is sent against Jerusalem. His troops surround the city, and the commander addresses the Jewish defenders . . . standing in the same spot where Isaiah confronted Ahaz about 35 years earlier (36:2; cf 7:3). Isaiah had said the Assyrians would flood the land right up to its neck (8:7-8) if Judah trusted Assyria instead of God . . . and the flood tide is now swirling around them!

The field commander wants to persuade Jerusalem's leaders their situation is hopeless and they should surrender . . . saving Sennacherib the expense and effort of another siege. He tries to appeal directly to the people by speaking loudly in Hebrew (36:11-13) . . . hoping the people will demand capitulation. He details the horrors which await if they resist. Trust is what this conflict is about, and his arguments are calculated to undermine their trust. "On what are you basing this confidence of yours?" (36:4), he begins. He then attempts to belittle every possible basis of their trust. Egypt? The Assyrian army defeated Egypt handily in a recent battle; he calls Egypt a "splintered reed" that will break easily if they look there for support (36:5-6). Do they rely on their military power? He says Assyria is so strong they can give 2,000 horses to Judah and still defeat them; he doubts Judah can even muster 2,000 trained riders! He says Assyria will overwhelm Judah, even with help from Egypt (36:9). Do they trust the LORD? The commander points out Hezekiah destroyed "the high places" outside Jerusalem, which local people set up for worship (36:7). He suggests this has angered the LORD; he doesn't realize God is the one who specifies worship only in Jerusalem. He even claims "the LORD" has directed him to "destroy" the "land" (36:10). Where did he get this idea? Probably the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, which Assyria conquered 20 years earlier, told the Assyrians this is what God's prophets had said. Finally, the field commander claims Sennacherib can defeat Judah's God just as he has the god of every other nation (36:18-20).

This is the real issue (36:14-20): a contest between the LORD and the king of Assyria . . . not a contest between the LORD and the gods of Assyria, but between the most glorious man of the age and the One True God. This is the height of the human arrogance, which Isaiah has so strongly attacked. This brings the teaching of the book to a climax. Will we trust human glory that dares to call itself "king"? Or will we trust the One who is King?

The field commander asks the Judeans to trust Sennacherib instead of God. If they do, he promises to lift the siege and allow them to go back out to their farms (36:16) . . . until they are transported to a place as good as this (because everyone knows deportation follows surrender!). But if they follow Hezekiah and trust God, he claims the same terrible things will happen to them as happened to other cities up and down the Mediterranean coast . . . cities whose gods were helpless before the king of Assyria. Of course, the argument has a fatal flaw: it assumes the LORD is just one more god. But as Isaiah has been saying all along, the LORD is the One True God of all mankind.

The commander's arguments are no more than psychological warfare, aimed at breaking the Jews' morale. King Hezekiah's representatives give no answer . . . but they go back to the king in a state of shock and grief, having "torn" their clothing because of the Assyrian's threats or his blasphemy . . . or both.

Hezekiah also tears his clothes (37:1) and puts on sackcloth in the traditional sign of mourning. But rather than closet himself with advisors to "spin" these events, he goes into the temple. To be sure, this is Hezekiah's last resort . . . because according to 2 Kings, he had earlier tried to buy himself out of the situation. Nevertheless, he now turns to God openly and directly; and he sends an impressive delegation to consult Isaiah (37:2). Hezekiah is concerned about the disgrace this situation brings to God. He has publicly declared God will not let Jerusalem fall . . . but it will fall unless God intervenes in a miraculous way. There is no way the Judeans can effect their own deliverance; like a woman in labor to the point of exhaustion, they have no strength left (37:3; cf 26:16-18; 54:1; 66:9). And the Assyrian commander has not only ridiculed the Judeans, he has ridiculed "the living God" himself. Hezekiah wonders if God will let that go by (37:4)?!

God's response - through Isaiah - is short and to the point. The Assyrian "underlings" (37:6) have blasphemed. Therefore, He will send the Assyrians packing with nothing more than a "spirit" . . . and in the supposed safety of his own fortress, Sennacherib will die by the "sword." God will not be mocked!

In the second section of these chapters - 37:9-38 - the challenge moves to God's ability to deliver. Probably encouraged by Isaiah's words in 37:6-7, Hezekiah's commitment seems more forthright; his prayer now indicates total reliance on God. And God's response is more forceful yet.

The field commander withdraws from Jerusalem, and Sennacherib pulls his main army out of Lachish; either the city has fallen, or he moves to repel an attack by Egypt. Yet Sennacherib does not relax the pressure on Hezekiah; he sends messengers with a personal letter. Like the field commander (36:19-20), he challenges God directly: "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you" (37:10). The "gloves are off" in this contest between a man and Judah's God. If Hezekiah continues to trust God, he should know his fate when God fails. The Assyrians treated rebellious kings with special brutality . . . some were skinned alive. But Sennacherib's fatal mistake is that he does not realize Judah's God is not a man-made god like the rest; He is the One True God.

This time Hezekiah does not ask Isaiah to pray (37:4); he goes directly to God. He begins with a marvelous compendium of the attributes and character of God. He is the "LORD Almighty," that is, "YHWH of heaven's armies." All the hosts of heaven are at his beck and call. He is the "God of Israel," the One who has stepped into time and space to graciously create a people through whom he can save the world. He is "enthroned between the cherubim" with unapproachable holiness and covenant faithfulness. Judah may be surrounded with polytheistic cultures, but He is "God over all the kingdoms of the earth" because God "made heaven and earth"; he alone is the Creator and God of the entire cosmos.

Hezekiah's petition (37:17) stresses that God is not an idol but the "living God." Idols have ears, but cannot hear; they have eyes, but cannot see. God's "eyes" are always on his creatures; His "ears" are always open to his people's cries. Hezekiah prays with the confidence that his God not only hears, but wants to hear.

Hezekiah focuses on God's vindication rather than deliverance of the people; he calls on God to see how Sennacherib has insulted Him. The crucial issue is not whether Jerusalem will fall, but whether the claim will stand that YHWH is just one more god, which humans can destroy. Hezekiah acknowledges what the Assyrian has said about the gods of other nations (37:18-19), but insists they are human creations . . . not gods at all. Hezekiah does not claim Jerusalem deserves deliverance because of its righteousness or a special place in God's plan; he asks for deliverance "so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God" (37:20).

This appeal is the climax of all the teaching found in chapters 7-35. Ahaz trusted the nations . . . and lost. Hezekiah stakes everything, even his own life, on trust of the living God. This is trust on the highest level, worthy of a descendant of David, the king who was not willing to let a giant "defy the armies of the living God" (1 Sam. 17:26). If Israel is to be the vehicle through which all nations come to know the one true God (2:1-5), trust like this is an imperative. Hezekiah comes through this crisis by putting himself in a place where he is lost unless God saves him.

God's Responds to Hezekiah's Prayer in three parts: first to Sennacherib (37:22-29), second to Hezekiah (37:30- 32), and third about Sennacherib (37:33-35). The Assyrian attack on Jerusalem is like a powerful man seeking to rape a young girl (37:22). How can he be stopped? But Assyria has not accounted for "the Holy One of Israel" (37:23) . . . and worse, he has blasphemed God, putting himself on the level of God, lifting his "eyes in pride." This shows again the folly of man's self-exaltation (cf 2:6-22; 14:4-22). Only One is "high and lifted up"; a man who exalts himself invites destruction. The "Daughter of Jerusalem" will toss "her head" in mockery as the mighty man flees in disgrace.

37:24-25 extol Sennacherib; he is the master of the world, from north to south and from heights to depths. But he does not know that all this has been "long ago . . . planned" by God, as Isaiah has mentioned at least twice before (10:6,15; 14:24-27). This is not a contest between the One True God and Assyria; Assyria is a puppet being moved on the stage by God! God "brought it to pass" that Assyria conquered the "fortified cities" and reduced their inhabitants to "scorched" "plants" (37:27). Sennacherib cannot hide from God. God brought him on stage and will lead him off . . . with a hook in his nose and a bit in his mouth (37:28-29), as he has tortured his own captives.

God gives Hezekiah a sign that this is indeed a word from God. Like other signs in the book (7:14; 8:3; 16: 14), it does not create faith, but promotes it: God goes on record about what he will do, so the truth of what he has said can be verified. The Assyrians planned to devastate the land and take all the crops for themselves, but God will not allow this; when the Assyrians have retreated, food will be left . . . and later a bountiful harvest. Furthermore, through God's great a passion ("zeal") for his people, He will preserve a harvest for himself: a faithful "remnant" from among his people (37:32).

All God's promises are summed up in 37:33-35: The Assyrian will not mount an attack against the city - not even "shoot an arrow" there; they will leave the area completely. This sets the stage for the grand finale of this confrontation between man and God. Sennacherib says he will destroy the city; God says he will save it. Who is right?

The reporting of 37:36-38 is so terse it almost seems anticlimactic. This is a no contest; God simply sends the angel of death, and 185,000 Assyrians lie dead. But the angel is not finished. When Sennacherib returns home and enters what should have been the safest place on earth for him ("the temple of his god"), his own sons "cut him down" (37:38). Despite his boasts, Sennacherib cannot stand against "the living God" (37:17). Hezekiah has proved it is better to trust the living God, "the Holy One of Israel" (37:23), than trust the nations. God's word is true (37:7), and his rule effective.

As we seek a modern application of these verses, we ask: Where is our source of strength when all the forces of the world seem ranged against us, intent on breaking our resistance and hammering us into the ground? The bible depicts Hezekiah as a man who tried to do what he believed God wanted from the outset. He tore down idols and reinstituted true worship of God; he tried to clean up the priesthood. As he testifies in 38:3, he lived for God with "wholehearted devotion." We are the sum of our choices, so when he came to this crisis moment, he was already committed.

We can learn from Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God." If we trust God with the small things of our lives, it is easy to continue trusting him when the crisis comes. We need to allow God to demonstrate his love and care for us on a daily basis.

This narrative also shows we can give our opponents ammunition against us if we claim to trust God but trust the world instead. God prohibited Judah from trusting Egypt, and the Assyrian commander mocked them for doing that very thing. We need to inventory the things we trust and see if they deny our supposed faith in God. We must get rid of practices or relationships in our lives that give others a chance to say we "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk" . . . including things that only give the impression we don't trust God. Such decisions are only between us and the Lord, but the real issue is: "Do I show I trust the Lord to supply my needs, or does my behavior say I lie?"

Humility is a virtue in both the Old and New Testaments. Yet the "winners" in this world are often masters at self-promotion and intimidation . . . people like Sennacherib who believe their lives and futures are in their own hands; their success depends completely on themselves. So the adage runs, "If you don't blow your own horn, nobody else will." How do we reconcile this in the way we live?

Hezekiah's response is a good lesson in biblical humility. He does not debate or play the game of one-upmanship. He instructs his representatives to keep silent (37:21); he takes his concerns to the Lord, and puts himself in God's hands. This is the key. A person who has surrendered to God knows his worth: he is worth the life of God's Son. He does not need to brag or pose . . . or worry about "image"; he is freed from debilitating self-concern . . . God's reputation is all that matters. Paul defines such an attitude as "maturity": secure in who you are and are becoming. And that's the picture conveyed in Hezekiah's prayer: a man whose personal success and survival are no longer paramount. This is a free man.

And there's a flip side to this. An insidious practice undercutting true Christian humility is a false modesty, which focuses attention on oneself as a means to manipulate God, rather than trusting God. This is a form of "paganism" . . . even if practiced by "Christians" who go to church, read the Bible, tithe, pray, and reject sin - if they do this to manipulate God. Because as physical acts become spiritual reality, such behavior slowly takes on the shape of idolatry. Isaiah and the other Hebrew prophets consistently emphasized that biblical rites have no efficacy in and of themselves (cf chapter 58), and Jesus makes this point when he says we are not to pray like pagans who believe they will be heard because of many words repeating a rote formula (Matt 6:7). The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector - in which one man's prayer was heard and the other's was not because of the attitude of each person's heart (Luke 18:14-19) - makes clear that Biblical rites are only symbols of interpersonal relationships between God and the worshiper.

Hezekiah's prayer shows an absence of any attempt manipulate God, either. He does not suggest God owes him or his people anything. He does not promise to do anything if God delivers. He focuses on God's character and nature; his concern is that God be known properly in the world in the context of the oppressor's boast. Hezekiah places himself and his people in the position of simple trust. He cannot make God bless them and does not try; he commits himself to God without qualification or caveat.

We can pray and live in this way if we can give ourselves to God absolutely and without limit. As we continue in the Christian life, we discover ever deeper levels where that earlier surrender is actualized, but that does not diminish the reality or the completeness of that first moment of total, unreserved trust. In such a relationship, we can surrender our needs to God. He invites us to tell him what we think our needs are . . . but we leave it to Him to supply our supposed needs as He sees best. Such a prayer is not an exercise in manipulation, but a conversation between a trusting child and loving Father.

The Bible says human historical experience is the arena in which God is revealed. God was revealing himself from the beginning, and Jesus was only the culmination of what God was doing all along. If we truly believe God acts in history based on an overarching plan and purpose, we should make sure we are in sync with God's plan by trusting Him with our lives totally . . . as Jesus did. And that's the main thing we learn here.

In the next lesson - chapters 38-39 - we turn back the clock about 3 years and see that Hezekiah, like all humans, is imperfect. No doubt the errors we will discuss helped develop the near-perfect faith he shows in chapter 37.