Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Reflections on Isaiah 36

    Isaiah 36 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Hezekiah had been king of Judah for fourteen years when King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the country and captured every walled city
  2. except Jerusalem. The Assyrian king ordered his army commander to leave the city of Lachish and to take a large army to Jerusalem. The commander went there and stood on the road near the cloth makers' shops along the canal from the upper pool.
  3. Three of the king's highest officials came out of Jerusalem to meet him. One of them was Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the prime minister. The other two were Shebna, assistant to the prime minister, and Joah son of Asaph, keeper of the government records.
  4. The Assyrian commander told them: I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself.
  5. Does he think he can plan and win a war with nothing but words? Who is going to help him, now that he has turned against the king of Assyria?
  6. Is he depending on Egypt and its king? That's the same as leaning on a broken stick, and it will go right through his hand.
  7. Is Hezekiah now depending on the LORD, your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the LORD's altars and places of worship? Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?
  8. The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people! He will give you two thousand horses, if you have enough troops to ride them.
  9. How could you even defeat our lowest ranking officer, when you have to depend on Egypt for chariots and cavalry?
  10. Don't forget that it was the LORD who sent me here with orders to destroy your nation!
  11. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said, "Sir, we don't want the people listening from the city wall to understand what you are saying. So please speak to us in Aramaic instead of Hebrew."
  12. The Assyrian army commander answered, "My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you!"
  13. Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he shouted out in Hebrew: Listen to what the great king of Assyria says!
  14. Don't be fooled by Hezekiah. He can't save you.
  15. Don't trust him when he tells you that the LORD will protect you from the king of Assyria.
  16. Stop listening to Hezekiah. Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns
  17. for a while. Then he will come and take you away to a country just like yours, where you can plant vineyards and raise your own grain.
  18. Hezekiah claims the LORD will save you. But don't be fooled by him. Were any other gods able to defend their land against the king of Assyria?
  19. What happened to the gods of Hamath, Arpad, and Sepharvaim? Were the gods of Samaria able to protect their land against the Assyrian forces?
  20. None of these gods kept their people safe from the king of Assyria. Do you think the LORD, your God, can do any better?
  21. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah had been warned by King Hezekiah not to answer the Assyrian commander. So they tore their clothes in sorrow and reported to Hezekiah everything the commander had said.
  22. (SEE 36:21)



Beginning with this chapter, events begin to unfold about which Isaiah has been prophesying in the previous chapters. The mighty Assryian army is now on Jerusalem's doorstep having already defeated 14 other cities of Judah on their march to the capital city. Isaiah prophesied that they would come. But he also prophesied that they would not be destroyed by the Assyrians. Neither the Assyrians nor the leaders in Jerusalem can see any possible way that Judah could defeat the Assyrian army. But, it is not against Judah that Assyria was fighting. Rather, it was God. And God will be the one to defeat them because of their arrogance.

The scene described in this chapter portrays the Assyrian army surrounding Jerusalem ready to attack. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his commander, the Rabshakeh, out to Jerusalem's water conduit for talks with Judean leaders. The commander's purpose was as much to mock the Judeans as it was to make any diplomatic offers, though he did offer them what sounded to be pleasant conditions should they surrender. If they were to surrender, he told them, they would be taken to a land of prosperity. It was like telling someone they were to be taken to prison, but it was a nice prison. He also pointed out to them that they really had no other alternative. After all, on what could they base any hope for defeating the Assyrians? Not on their plans or military preparedness. These were mere words, said the Assyrian commander. Neither could they place their trust in Egypt to deliver them, for Egypt was only a "splintered reed of a staff" which would harm them rather than protect them. This was a point with which Isaiah would agree. Were they trusting in the Lord God? The commander didn't think so since Hezekiah had ordered the high places and altars to be removed. On this point, the commander was confused. The high places and altars Hezekiah ordered removed was part of his partial reform to do away with worship of other gods. But neither could it be said that Judah was depending greatly on God.

The intent of the Assyrian commander to frighten these negotiators accomplished its purpose. The three men sent by king Hezekiah to negotiate with the Assyrian commander were so frightened they feared mass panic by the people if they heard any more of the commander's words. Thus, they requested that he talk to them in Aramaic rather than Hebrew so the soldiers on the wall would not understand what was said. But he refused, saying he was sent to deliver his message to all the people of Jerusalem and not just these men. After all, shouldn't the men on the wall who were destined to "eat their excrement and drink their urine" also know of their fate? After further boasting by the Assyrian commander of all the other gods who were unable to protect their people against the Assyrians, Hezekiah's envoys returned without any reply to the Assyrian and reported to the king with torn clothing denoting their distress.

Against overwhelming odds, our hearts melt and we tremble at what appears to be our fate. What good is it to trust in God, we ask ourselves? What can He do against these odds? Besides, why would He help me, we ask? These are all natural questions to which there are no obvious answers, but on the other hand, what reason do we have NOT to trust God? Do we have any other viable choices against such overwhelming odds? Will it do any harm should we place our trust in God? Why do we insist on going it alone as if our worry, rather than giving our worry to God, will provide us some defense? When suggesting a person simply trust in God with their overwhelming situation, I often hear such things as "but I still have to live with the situation." What does that mean? Certainly one has to live with a situation, but why worry yourself to death in the process as if that would somehow make it better? Why not give that worry to God and then see what He wants to do with the situation and with you in the process?

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