THE HOLY ONE GRANTOR OF VICTORY In the previous chapters, the prophet revealed what every human and every nation have ended up to. Now he proclaims that the fallen man, destroyed by sin and threatened by death, can live as a conqueror and victorious by the Holy God, overcoming enemies and death, if he gains an inner conquest in his depths. The prophet presents to us the dealings of God with King Hezekiah, as a living example of the enjoyment of the Holy God, Grantor of victory, together with an actual model of him who loses his conquest and victory over enemies when he disregards his fellowship with the Holy One. The events included here (Is. 36 to 39) were mentioned in 2 Kings 18: 13 - 20; 19; and in 2 Chronicles 32. Some scholars tried to research: who quoted the other, the prophet Isaiah (or his author), or the author of the second book of Kings and the second book of Chronicles? But, as some other exegetes say that they believe in the ability of the Holy Spirit to inspire the same thing to several persons, with no one having to depend on the writings of another. CHAPTER 36 SENNACHERIB AGITATES THE PEOPLE Sennacherib, king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh, to agitate the people against Hezekiah, king of Judah, persuading them not to lean upon Pharaoh, and not to be deceived by the words of their king, who leans upon his God, but to make peace with him, to avoid the devastation of their land; and, willingly, to accept to be taken into captivity. To apprehend that historical incident, we have to study 2 Chronicles 32, and 2 Kings 18: 13-20; 19. 1. Sennacherib captures the cities of Judah 1. 2. Sennacherib sends his delegation to Jerusalem 2-10. 3. Rabshakeh agitates the people 11-21. 4. Palace administrators report to Hezekiah 22. 1. SENNACHERIB CAPTURES THE CITIES OF JUDAH “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.” (Is. 36: 1) The invasion by Sennacherib of Judah was mentioned in Isaiah 36, as well as in 2 Kings 18: 13 – 20. Comparing the two texts we notice the following: a. In 2 Kings 18, we read that Hezekiah wrote to the king of Assyria, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” The king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah 300 talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, which he paid from the house of the Lord, and from the treasuries of the king’s house. Yet Sennacherib betrayed his word, and sent his army once more to invade Jerusalem. The recorded history of Assyria confirmed that, and Hezekiah, seen as a bird in a cage, unable to come out of Jerusalem, paid the tax imposed, and lost 200, 000 of his people to captivity. Isaiah did not mention that issue of the tax, for he was not interested in the biography of Hezekiah, but in demonstrating how God dealt with him, to confirm the possibility of God’s salvation, when everything seem impossible. b. Some scholars believe that Sennacherib invaded Judah twice: the first time in the year 701 B.C.; and a second time in 688 B.C., in the days of Tirhakah, the king of Cush and Egypt (Is. 37: 9). c. It came in 2 Kings 18: 17 that Sennacherib sent with Rabshakeh two other officers, Tartan and Rabsaris, though Rabshakeh was the spokesman of the delegation. Some believe that Rabshakeh was not a name of a person, but a rank equivalent to a chief Butler, whose duty is to taste the wine before giving to the king to drink, in order to protect him from probability of poisoning; that is beside other important responsibilities in the royal palace. God allowed that affliction to occur in the days of Hezekiah, who achieved many reforms among the people, although several of the civil and religious leaders have cared for superficial, more than for real reforms, for appearances than for holy life. God intended to support Hezekiah, and to turn the affliction to glorification. From another side, God intended to reveal Hezekiah’s weakness before himself; as he lost his composure, for his dependence on God was not perfect. Through experience he eventually admitted his weakness, and had his faith and trust in God increased. 2. SENNACHERIB SENDS HIS DELEGATION TO JERUSALEM Sennacherib sent Rabshakeh from Lachish, a fortified city in the valleys of Judah (Joshua 15: 33, 39). The city seems to have been abandoned about 400 B.C., and this circumstance has rendered the identification of the site difficult. It was formerly fixed at Umm Lakis, from the similarity of the name and because it was in the region that the Biblical references to Lachish seem to indicate, but the mound called Tell el-Hesy is now generally accepted as the site1, 16 miles to the northeast of Gaza, and 11 miles southwest of Gebrin. Sennacherib put it under siege, and from his camp he sent Rabshakeh to Jerusalem asking the king and men to surrender. Rabshakeh, and with him a great army, stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to Fuller’s Field (Is. 36: 2), just outside, and very close to Jerusalem, where those on the wall of the city could easily hear whoever speaks in the Fuller’s Field. Some believe it to be in the valley of Kidron, and that the aqueduct spoken of, was a tunnel that connected the Fountain of the Virgin with the pool of Siloam; while others yet believe that it was north of the city, as the north has been the natural side from which an invasion would take place. With him came out Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator (Is. 22: 15 - 20), some sort of a Prime Minister, and Shebna the scribe who was over the house, and was responsible for recording for the king the important incidents as memorabilia, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder. Rabshakeh ridiculed Hezekiah the king before his elite, calling Sennacherib, the great king of Assyria, while not giving any title to Hezekiah (Is. 36: 6). He ridiculed him because he leaned upon the Pharaoh of Egypt, saying, “You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it.” (Is. 36: 6) He was right in this, as depending upon human arm, is like leaning on a splintered reed of staff, unable to support him, and would pierce and wound his hand. He ridiculed him as well because he leaned upon God, his Lord, saying, “Is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar.’ Thus says the king: ‘Do not Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you,’ nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria... Has anyone of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” (Is. 36: 7, 15, 20) At the same location where Ahaz, previously ridiculed the Lord, rejected dealing with Him, and leaned upon human hand (Is. 7), Rabshakeh ridiculed the Lord; as though the children of Judah were destined to drink from the same cup, previously presented to them by their king! At the same location, where Isaiah came to Ahaz to persuade him to ask for a sign, to confirm the Lord’s ability for salvation, which he refused to do, Rabshakeh came to ridicule Judah, their king and their Lord! Hezekiah, likewise, depended upon human pacts with Pharaoh, for which the Lord rebuked him on the tongue of a heathen, who called these pacts, “only empty words” (Is. 36:5), with no strength or activity. And now he challenges him to give him 2000 horses, if he can put riders on them! As though he is saying to him, ‘Why do you have to lean upon Egyptian horses and horsemen? We can provide you with horses, if you provide riders for them! 1 International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. 3. RABSHAKEH AGITATES THE PEOPLE Rabshakeh, having used a psychological sort of war, in order to agitate the people against their king and his men, to lead them into despair, and to destroy their faith in the Lord their Savior. Hezekiah’s men, pleaded with Rabshakeh for speaking to them in Aramaic-Syrian the language spoken by the inhabitants of the north and east regions of Palestine, and known to the Assyrians, who speak a related language, and which was not understood by the common Jewish people. But Rabshakeh insisted on speaking in Hebrew, in order to agitate the people and to create a sort of dissension, which he hoped would lead to a civil war between the people and their leaders. That is the way the devil works. He uses the language that agitates our weakness, and that leads to dissension and division. Rabshakeh wanted to agitate the people by drawing their attention to the devastation they would face, instead of enjoying a good life in Assyria, to reveal that Hezekiah is deceiving them, and that their God would not deliver them. He used the same way used by the devil all along the ages; and used today by the followers of ‘The church of the devil,’ who claim that they worship him, because he responds to their requests, which are not responded to by God. The main work of the devil is to terrorize man, by letting him doubt the strength of faith, in order to isolate him from God, his King and Savior, so as to be able to control him. That is why the prophet David cries out: “Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.” (Psalm 3: 2) “All those who see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, ‘He trusted in the Lord, Let Him rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.” (Psalm 22: 7, 8) “For my enemies speak against me; those who lie in wait for My life take counsel together. Saying, ‘God has forsaken him, pursue him and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.’” (Psalm 71: 10, 11) That is how the devil works. He ridicules the believers, and insults them, destroying their souls, to let them lose their hope in the Lord their God, then pursues them and takes them with him down to the abyss. He even tried to follow the same procedure of war, with Jesus, the Representative and Savior of humanity, when he let it be said to him: “He saved others, Himself He cannot save! If He’s the King of Israel! Let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” (Matthew 27: 42) “But the people held their peace and answered him not a word, for the king’s commanded, ‘Do not answer him.’” (2 Kings 18: 36; Is 36:21). It was expected that they might rebel against their king, but they remained silent, a sign of obedience and trust, waiting for his orders and instruction. They obeyed the king who instructed them to refrain from responding to the offender, or to enter with him into a debate, for fear that they would fall into weakness, the way Eve did through her debate with the ancient serpent. And as said by St. John Chrysostom: [She (Eve) should have kept silent; she should have refrained from debating with the serpent; yet she foolishly revealed the instructions of the Lord, thus giving the devil a great chance... See, the extent of evil we do, when we deliver ourselves in the hands of our enemies and those conspiring against us2.] St. Augustine says, [The devil, incapable to offer anything practical, he offered promises in mere words. That is how deceivers are3.] St. Augustine also says, [The Lord is our leader, while the devil is our للمؤلف: هل للشیطان سلطان علیك؟ للقدیس یوحنا الذهبي الفم، مقال 2 .3 3 In 2 Tim. Hom. 8. destroyer; the leader provides his commandment, while the destroyer his deceit! Shall we listen to the commandment or to the deceit?4] 4. PALACE ADMINISTRATORS REPORT TO HEZEKIAH The men came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and sadly and bitterly told him what Rabshakeh had said (Is. 36: 22). When we feel bitterness let us not tear our clothes, but our hearts with repentance, resorting to the Lord Christ, the King, who is the only One capable of granting us the sound counsel, working in us with His Holy Spirit. 4 On Ps. 71.
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