Bible 101 Notes for Dec. 11, 2006—Isaiah 36-39
Review: As we noted last week, much of the prophecy in the first half of Isaiah is of judgment and warning. In sum, God’s message was: “You’ve sinned; repent and change your ways, or punishment will follow.” And we saw that the covenant’s blessings depended on the people’s obedience and faithfulness to God. They’d been unfaithful and rejected God, instead obeying their own sinful inclinations and copying the pagan ways of their neighbors. God was not pleased, but as we read over and over in the Torah, the people were not without warnings. Deuteronomy 28 specifically spelled out all the blessings that came with obedience and all the curses that would fall on the disobedient. It’s clear that from the time of the Judges, the people had been through periods of apostacy—that is, they’d denied God’s kingship and providential care, not only ignoring him and the law, but worshiping other gods. Baal and Ashtoreth, and their various counterparts, were primary gods among those they either added to their worship or rejected God to worship, turning their backs on the one who’d brought them out of Egypt.
Historic context: God sent judges, leaders to rescue the nation and bring them back to repentance until at the end of Samuel’s life, the nation demanded a human king. God thus gave them Saul, and he reigned from 1050 to 1010 B.C. Saul was not a spiritual leader and he wasn’t much of a military leader, either. God fired him for disobedience and anointed a “man after [God’s] own heart,” in David. At Saul’s death, David became king in 1010 B.C and united the 12 tribes, setting up the center of government and worship in Jerusalem. And his victories over the Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites and other neighboring nations gave Israel more land and wealth than they’d ever had. When Solomon succeeded his father in 970 B.C., he inherited a peaceful, prosperous country. Solomon built the temple, but he also built many palaces for his many wives, and by the end of his reign in 930 B.C., he’d even become a worshiper of Molech and Baal, his heart having been turned by all his foreign wives. So in 930 B.C. when his son Rehoboam came to the throne, he was asked by the people to reduce taxes; he refused, and so the 10 northern tribes rebelled and formed their own nation under Jeroboam, a former official in Solomon’s court. Jeroboam then set up two worship centers in Dan and Bethel and in them placed golden calves telling the people not to return to Jersualem (in Judah) for worship, but to go to the local centers in Israel. He was the first of 19 kings, all idolatrous and evil. Many prophets, including Elijah and Elisha, warned the nation to turn back to God, but they did not. So in 722 B.C., God allowed the Assyrians to defeat them.
Judah’s history: Rehoboam was succeeded by 19 other kings in Judah, and the one we’re going to examine tonight is Hezekiah (13th king of Judah; co-regent with Ahaz 729-715, reigned alone 715-686 B.C. for a total of 43 years, 29 alone). Hezekiah was one of a handful of “good” kings, meaning that he obeyed God and instituted reforms to lead the nation back to God. Hezekiah’s father was Ahaz, a wicked king; Ahaz reigned from 735-715 B.C., worshiping many pagan gods and even closing the Temple to the proper worship of God. He had an altar constructed in the Temple court, modeled after one he’d seen in a temple in Damascus (Aram, modern Syria), thinking that the king of Aram had been successful against his enemies by worshiping this god, so shouldn’t Ahaz also? The wonder of this is that his son was faithful to God. In II Kings 18, Hezekiah is described: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.” A comparison to the ideal king, David, means Hezekiah measured up in God’s eyes. Hezekiah got rid of the sites where people offered incense to other gods and tore down Asherah poles and heathen altars. He forbade the people to worship any god except God, and to worship anywhere except the Temple. Further, we’re told “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.” (II Kings 18:5-7a). Hezekiah decided not to send tribute to the king of Assyria which his father Ahaz had done, and in this, made an enemy of Assyria. Just seven years before Hezekiah became king on his own, Assyria had defeated Israel; they were now at Judah’s borders threatening to come across if not paid tribute. Hezekiah trusted in God’s protection. Nevertheless, Sennacharib, the king of Assyria, began to nibble away at Judah, attacking and capturing one city after another; it was only a matter of time until he attacked Jerusalem.
Isaiah: In several prophecies prior to and including Isaiah 29, we read “woe to Ariel, the city where David settled,” and understood that Jerusalem would be punished for its decadent ways. In Isaiah 36-39, we see the threat, but God spares the city for another 100 years. It’s 701 B.C.
Isaiah 36: In the 14th year of Hezekiah’s reign, or 701 B.C., Sennacharib of Assyria is having great success in Judah, and now sends his representative to threaten Jerusalem with a siege unless the city surrenders. A siege created terrible conditions inside a city: many starved for lack of food and water; many surrendered, figuring they were going to die anyway. The Assyrians used psychological intimidation as well as violent warfare to subdue cities. Their first shot against Jerusalem was to take the fortified cities around Judah; building on this success, the news of which was well known in Jerusalem, Rabshakeh (title not name), began to wear the people down. He came and shouted at King Hezekiah’s negotiators (with hundreds of people looking on from the walls of Jerusalem): “Don’t believe in God, and don’t believe in Hezekiah who’s told you God will rescue you; Assyria is too strong. None of the gods of the nations Assyria has attacked has saved them; what makes you think God will save you?” The Rabshakeh speaks in Hebrew rather than Aramaic (the language of trade), so the people overhear. He wants them to hear and to be so frightened, they’ll convince the king to surrender. Rabshakeh and Sennacharib underestimate both Hezekiah and God.
Isaiah 36:21: the people of Jersualem obey Hekekiah’s command to be quiet, and no one says a word to the Assyrian; the king’s ambassadors return to him and together they grieve the situation. But Hezekiah doesn’t just cry; he prays and he sends the palace administrator and secretary to Isaiah to ask him to pray, too.
Isaiah 37: We have to admire Hezekiah. Though he puts on sackcloth and mourns, he is not immobilized by grief and fear. His faith in God is active and strong. He knews God is much bigger than any Assyrian army. Hezekiah also understands that Rabshakeh has not just mocked him and his city, but he has mocked God, and that’s a much graver error. Isaiah sends back a brief message: “Don’t worry; God is in charge.” Imagine being Hezekiah. He didn’t need a lot of poetry or a long speech; he just needed to know that God had heard Isaiah’s prayer and his own prayers and God’s answer was “I’m with you.” Not only that, God promises that Sennacharib and his army will leave Jerusalem without delay and that the king will be killed in his home country. And as God had said, Sennacharib got a message that his nation was under threat by the Cushites (Ethiopians) and so he left to defend his own turf. But before leaving, he send Hezekiah a message that in effect says “this isn’t the end of my threat; I’ll be back.” And he did return.
Isaiah 37:14: Hezekiah took the letter from Sennacharib and went to the Temple with it. He spread the scroll out before God and said “Lord, are you going to put up with such insults?” And God said “no.” Hezekiah’s prayer is a model for us: He acknowledges who God is, praises God’s strength and faithfulness, and then says “Listen, Lord; see me praying and hear my request.” Hezekiah knows what he wants: deliverance. And he lets God know this, too. God knew the situation; he had already said he’d deliver Jerusalem. But he wanted to hear Hezekiah’s statement of faith; he wanted to hear Hezekiah’s request. God needs to hear us say what we want him to do, too. He may say “no,” he may say “whoa,” he may say “go” as Greg Laurie puts it. Hezekiah wants God to deliver Jerusalem so that all other nations will know that he alone is God. Sennacharib had mocked God; he’d said “no god can deliver you from me.” God can and will.
Isaiah 37:21: Isaiah sends God’s reply to Hezekiah, but it is directed to Sennacharib. It tells this arrogant king that he, God, is bigger than any army a human king can assemble, and that he will protect his people. And then God gives Hezekiah a sign: “This year, you will eat what grows by itself and the second year what springs from that, but in the third year sow and reap” (v. 30). From this, it’s apparent that the Assyrians had been destroying all the orchards and fields around Jerusalem, so that even if the Assyrian threat was turned back, there would still be a shortage of food. But God said that food would be available; not to worry. And God assures Hezekiah that he will take care of the faithful remnant in Jerusalem. “I will defend this city and save it,” God says, and specifically, “he will not enter this city,” God tells Hezekiah of the king of Assyria. No siege works would be built, no arrows or any other ammuniton would be fired; the king would leave with Jerusalem untouched.
Isaiah 37:36: How did it happen? God’s angel came and struck down 185,000 in the army of Sennacharib in one night. Sennacharib, who’d taunted God, was defeated. He went home to Ninevah, and his own sons assassinated him in a pagan temple.
Isaiah 38: There’s some debate about whether the events of this chapter occurred prior to or after the 701 B.C. threats of Sennacharib. In Isa. 38, Hezekiah’s illness is described along with his prayer for God’s sentence of death to be removed. We can assume that the Assyrian threat came after God answered his prayer and gave him 15 more years, but it’s just as logical to assume that his illness followed the threat. Both his illness and the Assyrian threat do occur in 701 B.C. because he dies in 686 B.C., 15 years later. Hezekiah is ill; Isaiah visits and says “put your house in order; you’re going to die.” Hezekiah doesn’t want to die; he believes he has more work to do. He prays and asks God for more time; God says “OK, you have 15 more years.” Hezekiah is given a sign: the sundial moves backwards rather than forwards to confirm his healing. Hezekiah then writes a hymn first describing his anguish and then his thanksgiving (Is. 38:10-20). In it, he acknowledges that God had a reason for allowing his illness. He expresses gratitude and promises to faithfully serve God in the additional years.
Isaiah 39: But Hezekiah does a dumb thing; perhaps the illness was a brain fever?! In any event, when he’s fully recovered, the news of his “near death” experience (today’s writers of such books aren’t the first to do so) has traveled near and far. Envoys from Babylon come to visit, and Hezekiah shows him all the treasures of his kingdom. Hezekiah was happy; we can’t blame him for feeling that somehow, he had to enjoy each day that he had been given. So in his celebration, he expansively showed the foreign visitors the great wealth he and Judah possessed. Isaiah came to him and said “who were those men? Where did they come from?” and Hezekiah told him. Then Isaiah said “What did they see?” And Hezekiah told him. To that Isaiah replied: “The time will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon.” And of course, this happens over three separate invasions: 605 B.C., 597 B.C. and the final defeat of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Groups of people are exiled each time to Babylon, along with the wealth of the palace and Temple. Hezekiah is philosophical and somewhat too casual when he says “Good; it won’t happen in my lifetime.”
Hezekiah’s legacy: Unfortunately, Hezekiah fathered a son during the final 15 years of hs life, and that son, Manassah was the worst king Judah ever had. It was his sin that finally resulted in God’s decision to allow the destruction of Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a good king on balance, but he failed to teach his son the commandments and the importance of following them.
Next week: our potluck. And when we return in January, we’ll have two sessions: one on judgments in Isaiah against other nations besides Judah, and then Messianic prophecies. And then we’ll begin the gospel of John.
Homework for those who want to go deeper:
1. Read Hezekiah’s prayers: first in Isaiah 37, and the second in Isaiah 38. Contrast the two situations, and then consider what we can learn about prayer from them.
2. What current news stories and/or rulers insult God as Sennacharib did? What do you think God’s response to them is?
3. Read Isaiah 35 for the joy of good poetry and a wonderful description of life under the Messiah.