Isaiah Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear Isaiah 36 Former U. S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger once told the New York Times, There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. Crises come, whether schedules permit them or not, and sometimes crises seem to pile up. How do we handle them? What life does to us depends on what life finds in us. A crisis does not make a person; it shows what a person is made of. Hezekiah faced three crises in a short time: an international crisis (the invasion of the Assyrian army), a personal crisis (sickness and near death), and a national crisis (the visit of the Babylonian envoys). He came through the first two victoriously, but the third one tripped him up. Hezekiah was a great and godly man, but he was still a man, and that meant he had all the frailties of human flesh. However, before we find fault with him, we had better examine our own lives to see how successfully we have handled our own tests. 1 As we examine the section of history over the next three weeks we will see a number of opportunities of examining our own way of doing life. i.e. what have been some of the crises you have experienced and how have you handled them? So now let s go with Isaiah and return to Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. I Introduction II The King is Coming Verses 1-3 III The King s Message Verses 4-20 A. The Initial Statement Verses 4-10 B. The Initial Response Verses 11-12 C. The Second Statement Verses 13-20 IV Silence and Sorrow Verses 21-22 V Conclusion This morning we enter a section of narrative. This is an account of historical events, taking place after the prophecies we have been examining. If you want to consider them in greater detail you can go to 2 Kings 18-19 and 2 Chronicles 32. A.E. Cundall (Proverbs Isaiah 1-39 [London: Scripture Union, 1968], p. 91) writing about the record of events given here, says, This is history at its best, no dull recital of statistics and dates but an account which enables us to sense the haughty arrogance of the Assyrian and the chilling clutch of despair at the hearts of the Israelites. Whether in the use of many a vivid illustration or in the graphic account of events in which he had participated, Isaiah s God-given facility with words is put to good use. 2 1 Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, Old Testament The Prophets, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971, p. 43. 2 Grogan, Geoffrey W., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Isaiah, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990
Buksbazen gives a summary of chapters 36 through 39 which complete the first part of the Book of Isaiah. Chapters 36-39 are a historical supplement to the prophecies of chapters 1-35, and record some of the important events which took place during the reign of king Hezekiah and in which Isaiah himself played a prominent role. The same events, with minor modifications and the omission of Hezekiah s prayer, are also recorded in 2 Kings 18:13-20:19. The supplement completes the first part of Isaiah and serves as a background and a bridge to the prophecies of the second part of his book (40-66). Chapters 36-37 describe Sennacherib s unsuccessful attempt to capture Jerusalem, and his assassination. Chapter 38 records Hezekiah s sickness, his prayer and recovery. Chapter 39 tells about the embassy which Merodach-Baladan, the prince of Babylon, sent to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah s folly in boastful flaunting his wealth before the foreign visitors. The chapter closes with the ominous prediction that the descendants of Hezekiah will be carried off into the Babylonian captivity. 3 This week we will look at chapter 36 and then over the following two weeks we will look at chapter 37. Verses 1-3: These events occurred approximately 701 B.C. Lachish, the Assyrian king had been very successful in his invasion of Judah and so has reached the point where he intends to capture Jerusalem. Apparently here though he wants to soften up resistance with a little psychological warfare. To accomplish this he sends his highest ranking officer, Rabshakeh to demand Hezekiah s surrender of the city. But instead of being able to meet with the king, Rabshaeh was met by a delegation of three officials of the court. Verses 4-7: Rabshaeh presents a number of arguments to justify the surrendering of Jerusalem to Lachish. These are broken down into a number of points, the thrust of which was What is your confidence in? 1. The claim of military strength was just so many words. In other words, Talk is cheap. 2. The dependency on Egypt was futile. This was no news bulletin. Isaiah had been warning Judah of the futility of looking to Egypt rather than God, which of course was the crux of Judah s problem. 3. The next statement demonstrates the ignorance of the Assyrian leadership. Rabshaeh points out that Hezekiah had pulled down the alters and high places, which according to Rabshaeh belonged to God. Consequently, Judah couldn t depend on Him. The problem of course was these were torn down because they were centers of idolatry. And idolatry was one of the reasons Judah was in trouble. 3 Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p. 281. ) 266(
When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property (2 Chronicles 31:1). So, Judah couldn t rely on God to save them when it was His will to judge them. But not for the reasons articulated by Rabshaeh. But if God intended to keep Jerusalem safe then there was nothing Lachish could do. Verses 8-10: Rabshaeh now uses a bit of sarcasm. 4. If Hezekiah would make arranges with Assyria he d receive 2,000 horses, but of course he wouldn t be able to come up with men trained to ride them. 5. Judah had no chance to defend herself against Assyria because God was the one who sent her to the walls of Jerusalem. There was of course some merit in this argument. God had allowed Assyria to proceed this far. The problem was Assyria was arrogant. Lachish was wrong in believing God was sending them to destroy Judah. And soon Assyria would pay the price of her arrogance. The NIV notes point out: The LORD... told me. The Lord had used Assyria to punish Israel, but now it was Assyria s turn to be judged. Pharaoh Neco claimed God s approval on his mission according to 2Ch 35:21. 4 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you. Verses 11-12: The delegation from Jerusalem had a concern and a request of the envoy from Lachish. Could he speak in Aramaic? Grogan notes: Aramaic, ultimately to become the common language of Palestine, was at this time the lingua franca of the Fertile Crescent, used normally in diplomatic ex changes, but unintelligible to the mass of the people. 5 But why the request? It may well be they were becoming afraid and where concerned that the people would become so disheartened they would be unwilling to stand up to the army of Assyria. Rabshaeh certainly understood the request because he made sure those up on the walls heard his answer, after all, as he put it crudely, the people would soon be starving. There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels (2 Kings 6:25). 4 NIV Study Bible Notes, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999 5 Grogan. ) 267(
Verses 13-15: After all if the people were going to suffer the depravations coming because of the stubbornness of Hezekiah they should know what was going on. He spoke intentionally in Hebrew saying that Hezekiah was misleading them. Neither Hezekiah nor God would be of any assistance to the people. Verses 16-17: Now comes the sales pitch. Just open the gates. Don t follow Hezekiah. Surrender to Assyria and then you ll be transported to a land similar to Judah and have your own water, vineyards, and bread. Promises, promises. Even then the political ads were based on the assumption that people were only focused on their own self-interest. Verses 18-20: Here we see the arrogance of Assyria at it s worst. This is the pagan view of the world. God is only one of many gods. And just as they were not able to help their followers neither will the God of Judah be able to help His children. This has been the view of Assyria all along. Are not my commanders all kings? he says. Has not Calno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus? As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols? (Isaiah 10:8-11). But even though God may choose to use Assyria for His own purposes, she will be judged for her idolatry. Verses 21-22: But people can be underestimated. For once they knew to keep their mouths shut. It is not made clear whether they were close mouthed because of fear, or because of trust in God through remembering Isaiah s prophecy that Assyria was going to fall. But whatever the case, they gave no response to Rabshaeh. And so, the committee from Judah went into Hezekiah in a fearful state. They reported faithfully to the king the words of the messenger from Assyria. The sky was falling. But, we ll have to see if it lands on Hezekiah s head next week. Conclusion: Well, a crisis has arisen, as frequently happens in the lives of people. And over the coming weeks we ll see a few more. Oswalt summarizes the section this way: Chapters 36-39 conclude the section relating to Assyria and the question of trust which that nation s presence on Judah s borders posed. The section appears to be divided into three segments: chs. 36-37; 38; 39. IN the first, Hezekiah, reduced to helplessness before Assyria, turns to God and finds relief. In the second, Hezekiah is again helpless, this time before illness. He again turns to God and is restored. In the third segment, Hezekiah has the opportunity to give glory to God in the presence of Babylon, but instead falls prey to the temptation to parade his own glory, with the result that the coming captivity to Babylon is announced. 6 The problem isn t whether or not we experience crises in our lives, it is what we do with them. Trials and tribulations are a common part of life. Can you identify any crises you have 6 Oswalt, John N.., The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1986, p. 629. ) 268(
experienced? The question is, are they sources of growth. Christ does speak to the issue of the struggles of life. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:25-34). There are a number of reasons why we experience troubles. Can you identify them? 1. First, God brings trials for our benefit, either as learning or disciplinary tools. 2. Second, living in a fallen world, troubles will occur as a natural, but sad part of life. 3. Finally, we can bring these things on ourselves because of foolishness and/or sin. Judah s situation was a combination of three and one. Their rebellion and self-dependency/ delusion let them to where they found themselves. They refused to depend on God. They could do it themselves. And, as a consequence God was using Assyria as His tool of discipline. It is in this way the can serve as an example to us. We are called God dependency rather than self dependency. Would you care to share an example of were you experienced the consequences of self-dependency rather than God-dependency? The need for humility and God-dependency is probably one of the most important lesson we can learn because while we will still face trials, we will experience a lot less stress in our lives. When we walk with the Lord In the light of his Word What a glory he sheds on our way! Let us do his good will; He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. Not a shadow can rise, Not a cloud in the skies, But His smile quickly drives it away; Not a doubt or a fear, Not a sigh nor a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey. To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. ) 269(
Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share, But our toil he doth richly repay; Not a grief or a loss, Not a frown or a cross, But is blest if we trust and obey. To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. But we never can prove The delights of his love Until all on the altar we lay; For the favor he shows And the joy he bestows Are for them who will trust and obey. To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. Then in fellowship sweet We will sit at his feet Or we ll walk by his side in the way; What he says we will do, Where he sends we will go; Never fear, only trust and obey. To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey. 7 7 Sammis, John H., A Collection of Hymns, Trust and Obey, Public Domain, Compiled by Lisa Lang, Copyright 1997 by OakTree Software, Inc. ) 270(
Isaiah Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear Isaiah 36 I Introduction II The King is Coming Verses 1-3 III The King s Message Verses 4-20 A. The Initial Statement Verses 4-10 B. The Initial Response Verses 11-12 C. The Second Statement Verses 13-20 IV Silence and Sorrow Verses 21-22 V Conclusion I Introduction: (see 2 Kings 18-19 and 2 Chronicles 32) II The King is Coming: III The King s Message: A. The Initial Statement: (2 Chronicles 31:1, 35:21 ) 1. Talk is cheap. 2. Dependency on Egypt was futile. 3. Hezekiah destroyed God s alters. 4. An inadequate military 5. God sent Assyria.
B. The Initial Response (2 Kings 6:25) C. The Second Statement (Isaiah 10:8-11) IV Silence and Sorrow: V Conclusion: (Matthew 6:25-34) 1. First, 2. Second, 3. Finally, Personal Application: If there is a crisis in your life right now consider how your are handling it, and should you do anything different. If you are not experiencing a crisis yourself, is there anyone who is, whom you can encourage? Prayer for the Week: Lord, let the way we handle life be a testimony to our trust in and dependency on You. In Christ s name, Amen.