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Section Introduction

This historical section is almost word for word the same as 2 Kg 18-20. It is debated whether Kings copied from Isaiah or Isaiah from Kings. This section forms a bridge between chapters 1-35 and 40-66, giving the transition from Assyrian to Babylonian power. The main message of these chapters is that God can be trusted, and this confidence is proved through the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army in 701 BC.

Chapters 36-37 describe the events of 701 BC, when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, and God struck down the Assyrian army. The Taylor Prism in the British Museum describes the events leading up to 701 BC from the Assyrian point of view. A similar prism is held in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Sennacherib describes the “terror-inspiring glamour” of his victories over Phoenicia, Philistia, Moab, the Egyptian chariot army and cavalry of Ethiopia. All these nations were probably part of an anti-Assyrian coalition. On the prism, he described what happened to Hezekiah of Judah:

"As for Hezekiah, king of Judah, who had not submitted to my yoke, 46 of his fortified cities and smaller cities without number, with my battering rams, engines, mines, breaches and axes, I besieged and captured 200,150 people small and great, male and female, and horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, sheep without number, I took as booty. Hezekiah himself I shut up like a caged bird in Jerusalem, his royal city. I built a line of forts against him and turned back everyone who came forth out of his city gate. His cities which I captured, I gave to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron and Sillibel, king of Gaza, I gave them. And I diminished his land. I added to the former tribute and laid upon him as their yearly payment, a tax as gifts for my majesty. As for Hezekiah, the terrifying splendour of my majesty overcame him, and the Urbi (Arabs) and his troops which he had brought in to strengthen Jerusalem, his royal city deserted him. In addition to 30 talents of gold (same as in 2 Kg 18:13) and 800 talents of silver, gems, antimony, jewels, ... as well as his daughters, his harem, his male and female musicians which he brought to Nineveh, my royal city. To pay tribute and to do servitude he despatched his messengers."

This is the account of the same event in the Book of Kings:
"King Hezekiah of Judah sent to the King of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” The King of Assyria demanded of King Hezekiah of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts that King Hezekiah of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. (2 Kg 18:14-16)

Section outline

1. Defeat of Assyria (36:1- 37:28)
2. Rise of Babylon (38:1 - 39:8)

1. Defeat of Assyria (36:1- 37:28)

These two chapters give the historical verification that Isaiah's word was fulfilled. They describe the actual attack of Sennacherib in 701 BC, during which Isaiah reversed his former counsel of submission to Assyria into a ringing declaration for resistance, and describes Hezekiah's deliverance from Assyria as he trusted in God for his salvation.

When Hezekiah ascended to the throne, he immediately began religious reforms, removing idolatrous images from Jerusalem (2 Kg 18:1-4). Since the reign of Ahaz, Judah had been a vassal of Assyria, and was forced to pay tribute. This began when Ahaz invited Tiglath-pileser to help him against the coalition of Ephraim and Syria (2 Kg 16:7ff, Is 7). Hezekiah rebelled against Assyrian rule, withholding tribute and destroying idols (2 Kg 18:5-8). Even though Hezekiah paid tribute to Assyria, Sennacherib still continued to put pressure on him by sending in the army to punish Judah, capturing all Judah’s fortified cities (v1), and besieging Jerusalem.

Outline

1. Sennacherib’s threat (36:1-22)
2. Hezekiah consults Isaiah (37:1-38)

1. Sennacherib’s threat (36:1-22)

This chapter describes the severe threat facing Jerusalem from Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. Most of the rest of Judah had already fallen to Assyria (v1), leaving Jerusalem as the only city still standing. Humanly, it seems impossible that Judah would survive. Sennacherib was currently besieging Lachish, to the south-west of Jerusalem, and sends his representative (the Rabshakeh) to bully the people of Jerusalem into surrendering. The gods of the captured nations had not been able to save them, so the Assyrians thought that Yahweh would also be ineffective. No one was safe when the Assyrian army came.

Outline

1a. King of Assyria with great army (36:1-3)
1b. Rabshakeh: On whom do you rely? (36:4-10)
1c. Speak in Aramaic (36:11-12)
1d. Rabshakeh: Make peace, do not rely on God (36:13-20)
1e. Words reported to Hezekiah (36:21-22)

1a. King of Assyria with great army (36:1-3)

It is significant that the challenge from the Rabsakeh came at the same place that Isaiah had challenged Ahaz to stand firm in faith (7:3) - “by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field”. At the same location where Ahaz failed to trust God, now Hezekiah is being given his chance to trust God. We should also notice that Eliakim is now in charge of the palace, as predicted by Isaiah (22:20), and Shebna is demoted to secretary. Eliakim has been given his job.

1b. Rabshakeh: On whom do you rely? (36:4-10)

The Rabsakeh brings a message from Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, who is currently besieging Lachish. There is a room full of Assyrian wall-carvings from the Palace of Sennacherib in the British Museum, which portray this siege of Lachish.

He is trying to undermine their confidence and security by asking who are they relying on to save them from the Assyrians. Mere words are not enough (v5), and as Isaiah has frequently said (19:14-16, 30:7, 31:3), trusting in Egypt will be of no help either (v6). He also claims that trusting in Yahweh is useless, because they have angered him by removing the high places (v7). He offers to give Hezekiah 2000 horses because he has to rely on Egyptian chariots and horses, and even then would still be able to defeat him (v8). He claims that it is without the Lord that he has come up against Jerusalem (v10), but according to Isaiah, the Lord whistled for Assyria (5:26). He even claims that God told him to go and destroy Judah (v10).

1c. Speak in Aramaic (36:11-12)

Hezekiah’s men ask that the talking be done in Aramaic, the diplomatic language of the whole fertile crescent, which the ordinary people would not understand, rather than in Hebrew. However, the Rabshakeh ignored their request and deliberately continued to speak in Hebrew to intimidate the people of Jerusalem.

1d. Rabshakeh: Make peace, do not rely on God (36:13-20)

Speaking in Hebrew, the Rabshakeh calls out in a loud voice, so all can hear, and challenges the people of Jerusalem to make peace, promising peace and prosperity if they surrender. He calls on them not to rely on Hezekiah, and not to rely on the Lord. Hezekiah’s rebellion is doomed to failure, and Yahweh did not have the power to prevent Jerusalem from falling, any more than the gods of the nations conquered by the Assyrians were able to protect their people.

The Rabshakeh’s words demonstrate the belief that gods of victorious empires were stronger than gods of defeated peoples. The nations had been defeated because their gods could not protect them against Assyria. He was confident that Yahweh would prove to be equally powerless. Events will prove otherwise.

1e. Words reported to Hezekiah (36:21-22)

Obeying their king, the people remained silent, and the words were sadly reported to king Hezekiah by Eliakim and Shebna, with his people tearing their clothes.

2. Hezekiah consults Isaiah (37:1-38)

The desperate situation changes when Hezekiah calls to the people to prayer and repentance. Isaiah encourages Hezekiah to trust God, and not to be afraid of the mocking words of the Assyrians. Hezekiah prays for God to save them from the Assyrians, as a demonstration of his power. God declares that he will turn back the Assyrians because he had planned it from long ago, so the section concludes with the dramatic victory over the Assyrians.

Outline

a. Hezekiah calls for prayer for the remnant (37:1-4)
b. Isaiah: King of Assyria will return to own land (37:5-7)
c. King of Assyria: shall you be delivered? (37:8-13)
d. Hezekiah: prayer - save us from his hand (37:14-20)
e. Isaiah: they mocked the Lord (37:21-29)
f. Sign: sow, reap, Judah take root and bear fruit (37:30-32)
g. King shall not come into city (37:33-35)
h. 185,000 soldiers slain, Sennacherib killed (37:36-38)

2a. Hezekiah calls for prayer for the remnant (37:1-4)

In response to the treats from Assyria, Hezekiah went into the temple, in mourning and repentance. He sent his men to Isaiah, calling Isaiah to pray for the remnant of Judah, because the Assyrians were mocking the living God.

2b. Isaiah: King of Assyria will return to own land (37:5-7)

Isaiah urges the king not to be afraid, and encourages him to trust in Yahweh. God promises that the Assyrian king will hear rumours (probably of rebellion) and return to his own land. He promises that God will cause him to be killed in his own land (v7), which was fulfilled in 37:38.

2c. King of Assyria: shall you be delivered? (37:8-13)

Sennacherib had now finished the siege of Lachish, and moved on to Libnah. He had heard that Tirhakah of Ethiopia was on the march, and wanted to capture Jerusalem before Tirhakah arrived, to avoid fighting a war on two fronts. He sends a threatening message to Hezekiah, hoping he will surrender. Again he tries to discourage the king from trusting God, claiming that no one can deliver him out of the hands of the Assyrians. Again he asks whether the gods of any of the conquered nations have been able to deliver them.

2d. Hezekiah: prayer - save us from his hand (37:14-20)

Greatly distressed, Hezekiah takes the letter to the Lord in the temple and prays, crying out to the Lord to save them from Assyria. We should note the characteristic way Hezekiah addresses the Lord as Lord of hosts (v16) He is the Lord of the armies of Israel, who can fight against Israel’s enemies, just as he did when David was fighting Goliath (1 Sam 15). He as enthroned above the cherubim, as seen in Isaiah’s call (ch 6). He is God of all the kingdoms, including Assyria, and Judah, and the Creator of heaven and earth. If he is powerful enough to create the earth, he can surely deliver his people from Assyria. He recognises that the Assyrians have laid waste many nations, and destroyed their idols, because the idols were powerless to save them. By contrast, Hezekiah can have confidence in the living God to save them, and this can be a testimony of God’s power to the nations.

2e. Isaiah: they mocked the Lord (37:21-29)

God replies to Hezekiah’s prayer through Isaiah. Because Hezekiah prayed, Sennacherib’s threat will certainly fail. He had mocked the living God, claiming that it was through their own efforts and strength they had conquered nations. Instead, Isaiah declares that God had planned this long ago (v26). He had called the Assyrian army because he was in control of the nations. It was his plan to use the Assyrians to bring judgement on Judah, and now, because of their arrogance, they will be led back to Assyria like prisoners with a hook in their nose, the same way the Assyrians took their prisoners into exile.

2f. Sign: sow, reap, Judah take root and bear fruit (37:30-32)

Now God will give Hezekiah a sign, just has he did for Ahaz before. The surviving remnant will live for two years on the natural growth from the farms without having to cultivate the land. It will be the zeal of the Lord that will do this, just as with the coming of the child that will be born (9:7).

2g. King shall not come into city (37:33-35)

God then gives a word about the king of Assyria: Sennacherib will not be able to take Jerusalem because it is defended by Yahweh himself, for the sake of David, and his promise to David.

2h. 185,000 soldiers slain, Sennacherib killed (37:36-38)

The angel of the Lord struck down 185000 Assyrian soldiers, so Sennacherib went home defeated. We can imagine the surprise and delight in Jerusalem when the people of Jerusalem looked over the walls of the city the next morning, expecting to see the besieging Assyrian army, but instead just saw dead bodies!

Later, in 681 BC, back in Nineveh, Sennacherib was killed by his own sons. The treacherous one was eventually killed by treachery, fulfilling Isaiah’s prediction of 33:1. The wall carvings of the city of Lachish in the British Museum show King Sennacherib outside the city on his throne, but his face has been obliterated with a blow from an axe, probably on the night he was assassinated - a testimony to the message of Isaiah.

2. Rise of Babylon (38:1 - 39:8)

This account begins the transition from Assyria to Babylon as major power. These chapters belong chronologically before chapters 36 - 37, and date to the time of plots against Assyria by Merodach-baladan of Babylon. This sets the scene for the next part of the book, 40 - 66: “Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away, they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (39:7). Apart from the Psalm of praise (38:9-20), this passage is parallel to 2 Kg 20.

Section outline

1. Hezekiah’s sickness and psalm of praise (38:1-22)
2. Wealth displayed to Babylon (39:1-8)

1. Hezekiah’s sickness and psalm (38:1-22)

The first account is of Hezekiah becoming sick and facing death, but because of his prayers, another fifteen years is added to his life. It was during those fifteen years that God miraculously delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians.

Outline

1a. Sickness leading to repentance (38:1-3)
1b. Lord adds 15 years, sun turn back ten steps (38:4-8)
1c. In noontide of days I must depart (38:9-20)
1d. Apply lump of figs to boil (38:21-22)

1a. Sickness leading to repentance (38:1-3)

Both the timing and the nature of Hezekiah’s sickness is vague. Isaiah is sent to the king to announce that he will soon die, so he needs to get his house in order. In response to this bad news, Hezekiah weeps bitterly and prays to God, reminding God of his faithfulness.

1b. Lord adds 15 years, sun turn back ten steps (38:4-8)

In response to his prayer, God gives Hezekiah a further fifteen years to his life. He also promises a similar reprieve for Jerusalem, that he will deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians and promises that Hezekiah will not be taken into exile. Hezekiah is the representative of God’s people. Because of his repentance and faith, both he and Jerusalem will be reprieved, at least temporarily.

This account shows the dynamic of predictive prophecy. Isaiah predicted that Hezekiah will not recover, but will soon die. What appears to be an absolute prediction with no conditions, actually has implied conditions, as God responded to his repentance and faith, and he did recover and live for another fifteen years. God also promises a sign to Hezekiah: that the shadow of the sun will move backwards ten steps. God even gave Hezekiah the choice whether the sun would go backwards or forwards (2 Kg 20:10).

1c. In noontide of days I must depart (38:9-20)

Hezekiah composed a very personal psalm, lamenting his distress about the prospect of an early death, followed with a plea to God to restore him to health, and confidence that God will save him, promising that he will worship and praise God for his faithfulness.

1d. Apply lump of figs to boil (38:21-22)

Isaiah told Hezekiah’s people to apply a lump of figs to the boil, and he recovered. His prediction of a reprieve was fulfilled.

2. Wealth displayed to Babylon (39:1-8)

This chapter begins to look forwards to the historical situation found in chapters 40 - 66, when Babylon had replaced Assyria as world power, and Judah was in exile. Merodach-baladan of Babylon led a revolt against Sargon in an attempt to gain independence soon after the Assyrians had destroyed Samaria and deported the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. With help from the Elamites, he took the title King of Babylon. He was expelled by Sargon, but came back to power during the reign of Sennacherib.

Outline

a2. Merodach-baladan shown treasures (39:1-2)
2b. Isaiah predicts treasures and sons will be carried to Babylon (39:3-8)

2a. Merodach-baladan shown treasures (39:1-2)

Probably around 712 BC, the king of Babylon sent envoys to Hezekiah, supposedly to congratulate him on his recovery from sickness, but his real reason was to get his support for his struggle against Assyria. Hezekiah welcomed this envoy, foolishly showing them the royal archives and treasury.

2b. Isaiah predicts treasures and sons will be carried to Babylon (39:3-8)

Isaiah asks Hezekiah who these people were, and what they have seen (v3-4). In response, Isaiah predicts doom on Judah (v5-8). Instead of Assyria, it will be Babylon that will come and plunder Jerusalem of the treasure, and take their young men into exile (like Daniel & Jehoiachin). This is what happened about a hundred years later when the Babylonians came in 598 BC (2 Kg 24). Hezekiah admits that God’s judgement is just, and is thankful that it will not happen in his lifetime, which shows a rather selfish attitude.

Hezekiah had shown the Babylonians all the wealth in his treasury. Even though Hezekiah had demonstrated great faith during the events of 701 BC, here he shows a lack of faith. Instead, like Ahaz, he is trusting in political alliances and physical wealth, and makes no mention of God.

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