ISAIAH 36-37: “When Judea Turns To The Lord He Finally
Dispatches
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked
in chapter 34 at the judgment that the Lord is one day going to bring against
all nations, particularly the nation of Edom, then in chapter 35 we will look
at the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ which God’s people will
enjoy
1.1.1.
We saw that we were with
this study finishing this section of the book of Isaiah that was demarked by
the six ‘woes’, and we are going next into the second major section of the book
1.1.2.
We saw in chapter 24 with
the judgment that is coming against all of the nations, and Edom in particular,
that the events described are depicting the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of
Revelation, and the battle of Armageddon, which will end with the Second Coming
of Christ to set up His Millennial Reign
1.1.3.
Isaiah told us in chapter 35
that in Christ’s kingdom that there will be joy continually, with nothing to
fear, no illness to bring down our spirits, and no sorrow
1.1.3.1.We saw that we Christians need to fix our hope on heaven
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at how Judea and king Hezekiah finally came to the place where
they placed their trust in the Lord, and He alone, and how that the Lord then
conquered their enemy Assyria and delivered them
1.2.1.
King Hezekiah and the people
of Judea had exhausted every other hope by the time the events of chapter 36
and 37 transpired, and now finally when they have run out of false hopes they
place their faith completely in the Lord, and He cannot but reward them for it
1.2.1.1.Going against Isaiah’s exhortation to place their trust in the Lord
alone for their help, they had already entered into an agreement with
1.2.1.2.Just before the events of this chapter, as the Assyrian army surrounded
the city Jerusalem had paid a huge tribute to Assyria in exchange for being
left alone, however now Assyria had gone against her word and was staying there
and demanding complete surrender of the city
1.2.2.
The major theme of Isaiah up
to this point in time was that the people must place their faith in the Lord
and He alone as their help and strength, otherwise they would be conquered and
judged along with all of the other nations.
Now, in this chapter and the next one we see how Isaiah’s words were
vindicated and events played out for the nation of
1.2.2.1.We see that they eventually come to the place of placing all of their
trust and hope in the Lord, and then when they finally do the Lord rescues them
from the Assryian army and king
1.2.2.2.The Lord brings Hezekiah and the people of Judea and Jerusalem finally
to the end of themselves and their own schemes and resources, and He does so
not that He might condemn and beat them down, having found out the depth of
their sin and weaknesses, but rather so that He might mightily deliver them and
teach them to trust and depend upon Him
1.2.3.
We see a second theme of
Isaiah’s being played out in real life in chapter 37, namely that the Lord only
disciplines his people in order that He might restore the faithful remnant
1.2.4.
The events of chapter 36 and
37 of Isaiah follow the events recorded in 2 Kings 18-19 as wells as 2 Chron.
32
1.2.4.1.Either Isaiah wrote all of the accounts or there was a common source
from which all of the writers drew upon
1.2.4.2.Isaiah mentions some things that are not mentioned in those accounts,
and they mention some things that he does not mention
2.
VS 36:1 - “1 Now it came about in the fourteenth
year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the
fortified cities of
2.1.
This dating however provides a problem
because the year that these events occurred is 701BC, however from the date
reference of 2 Kings 18:1,9, and the date we know that Hoshea of the northern
kingdom ruled, we realize that Hezekiah must have taken the throne in 729 or
728BC, not 715BC, as we know that it must be for fourteen years to have passed
before the events of 701BC. There have
been a few theories for the date discrepancy, however the most acceptable one
that some Bible commentators settle on seems to be that the date ascertained
from 2 Kings 18:1,9, and the rule of Hoshea of the northern kingdom, 729/8 BC
was actually the date where Hezekiah began to share the throne with his father,
King Ahaz. Therefore, he apparently took
the throne to himself in 715BC.
3.
VS 36:2-3 - “2 And the king of Assyria sent
Rabshakeh from
3.1.
As we read the account of these events from 2 Kings 18:17 we see that Sennacherib actually sent three
of His lieutenants to Hezekiah to get him to surrender the city to the huge
assembled Assyrian army, “17 Then the king of
Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah
with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to
3.1.1.
These were not the names of the men who were
sent, but rather their offices or titles.
According to Warren Wiersbe
the titles were the following, “Tartan (“Supreme
Commander”), Rabsaris (“Chief Officer”), and Rabshakeh (“Field Commander”).”
3.2.
As we read the speech of the Rabshakeh, we
understand why he did all of the talking.
His speech is one of the most incredible displays of psychological
warfare you may find anywhere.
3.3.
We see here that Hezekiah sent out to
Sennacherib’s men some of his most trusted officers.
3.4.
The events of this chapter begin just after
Hezekiah has tried to cut a deal with the king of
3.4.1.
In 2 Kings
18:13-16 we read of the arrangement of the payment of this tribute
agreement, “13 Now in the fourteenth
year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the
fortified cities of Judah and seized them.14 Then Hezekiah king 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.” So the king of Assyria required of
Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of
gold.15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the
Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house.16 At that time Hezekiah cut
off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts
which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”
4.
VS 36:4-10 - “4 Then Rabshakeh said to them,
“Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of
4.1.
As we study this speech, we see that not only
is it an incredible example of deft psychological warfare, it is also an
incredible example of how the Devil tries to undermine the faith and trust of
God’s people in the Lord.
4.1.1.
This speech came straight from the pit of
hell itself, and could only have been demonically inspired due to it’s insight
and force.
4.1.2.
The speech was intended to undermine the
confidence not only of Hezekiah but also of all of those along the wall of the
city.
4.1.3.
The Rabshakeh spoke to them in the Hebrew
dialect to make sure that the common people also would hear his words and be
persuaded by them.
4.1.4.
The Devil comes often to us, God’s people,
and through the thoughts of our mind tries to convince us that the Lord has
abandoned us and that He is not going to come through for us.
4.2.
Let’s look at the points of psychological
warfare which the Rabshakeh arrogantly and boldy employs in this first speech
to them:
4.2.1.
He calls the king of
4.2.1.1.This
of course would undermine Hezekiah’s greatness.
4.2.2.
He immediately attacks the confidence that
they had in their king and in the Lord to protect them and fight for them,
saying that their counsel and strength are empty words.
4.2.3.
He spurns the notion of relying upon
4.2.3.1.It
is evident that
4.2.3.2.Hezekiah
now knew that it was and it had been futile to place their trust in
4.2.4.
He tells them that if they trusted in the
Lord to deliver them then this also would be futile because the Lord was angry
with Hezekiah for taking away the high places where the Lord had been being
worshipped by the people.
4.2.4.1.Being
a righteous king, Hezekiah had instituted a reform when he first took office,
and part of that reform involved getting rid of the high places where sacrifice
was being made that was contrary to that which the Lord commanded and allowed
for His people.
4.2.4.2.The
Rabshakeh either didn’t know that the Lord had commanded that sacrifice only be
made in one place, or he was playing upon the people’s sympathies for their
idolatrous worship which Hezekiah had taken away from them, or both.
4.2.4.3.The
common people might at this point have been wondering whether or not Hezekiah
really knew what he was doing when he got rid of those high places.
4.2.5.
He chides the military strength of
4.2.6.
He tells the people that it was the Lord who
told him to come up against
5.
VS 36:11-20 - “11 Then Eliakim and Shebna and
Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we
understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean, in the hearing of the people
who are on the wall.”12 But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your
master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall,
doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?” 13 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud
voice in Judean, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of
Assyria.14 “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will
not be able to deliver you;15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord,
saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us, this city shall not be given into the
hand of the king of Assyria.”16 ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the
king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of
his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own
cistern,17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land
of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.18 ‘Beware lest Hezekiah
misleads you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of
the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of
5.1.
Hezekiah’s advisors try to get the Rabshakeh
to speak only to them in Aramaic so that the words that he was speaking which
were designed to undermine their faith and confidence in the Lord and in their
king would not affect the common people along the wall. However, the Rabshakeh was chosen to speak to
them partially just because he spoke Hebrew, for his intent was to try to
influence as many of the common people as he could not to place their trust in
the Lord and their king.
5.2.
Let’s look at the points of psychological
warfare which the Rabshakeh arrogantly and boldy employs in this second speech,
which is now addressed to the common people:
5.2.1.
He tells them that they are destined to eat
their own dung and drink their own urine if they are so foolish as to place
their trust in the Lord and their king.
5.2.2.
He tells them directly that they are foolish
to place their trust in the Lord, as king Hezekiah has now instructed them to
do, for the Lord will not be able to deliver them.
5.2.3.
He tells them that if they will come out to
him that he will see that they are transported out to a land equal to theirs in
it’s produce and prosperity.
5.2.3.1.The
Assyrians were infamous for deporting the peoples whom they conquered, and
everyone knew this. Therefore, the
Rabshakeh was trying to paint a much prettier picture of what deportation would
be like for them.
5.2.4.
He asks them where were the gods of the other
nations, including
5.2.4.1.In
saying this the Rabshakeh and his king and nation have now blasphemied the
Lord, and as we will see it is the fact that they have gone directly against
the Lord that will be their downfall, for the Lord is now going to destroy the
Assyrian army and see that the life of king Sennacherib is taken at the hands
of his sons.
5.2.4.2.One
man has written that blasphemy occurs when man places himself in the place of
God. This is what the Rabshakeh and his
king Sennacherib had done. Sennacherib
was just an instrument in the Lord’s hands to accomplish what God had
determined for him to accomplish, however now because he forgot that point and
as a result of exalting himself, God would now mightily bring him down also.
5.2.4.3.The
northern kingdom had fallen because of their idolatry and looking to other gods
instead of the Lord their God.
6.
VS 36:22 - “22 Then Eliakim the son of
Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of
Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the
words of Rabshakeh.” - Isaiah tells us that when the Rabshakeh had
finished his speech that Hezekiah’s officials came to him and told him of his words
6.1.
Hezekiah’s officials were gravely concerned
with the threats of Rabshakeh as well as his blasphemy of the Lord, and they
tore their clothes because of this and came to Hezekiah with Rabshakeh’s words.
6.2.
Hezekiah had told everyone along the wall, as
well as his officials, that they were not to answer a word to the
representatives of the king of
6.3.
The Rabshakeh had come against and
blasphemied the Lord Himself, and therefore it was best that these men just be
silent and not answer such a word.
6.3.1.
It is best to just walk away from evil than
to answer it in kind.
6.3.2.
What was needed was to bring this matter
before the Lord in prayer.
7.
VS 37:1-4 - “1 And when King Hezekiah heard
it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house
of the Lord.2 Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the
scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz.3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day
is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth,
and there is no strength to deliver.4 ‘Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the
words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach
the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard.
Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”” - Isaiah tells us that Hezekiah
enetered the house of the Lord to pray and sent a message to the prophet Isaiah
asking for prayer about the matter
7.1.
King Hezekiah is profoundly dejected by the
word of the Rabshakeh, as well as having seen all of the props that he had
leaned upon one at a time be pulled out from underneath him.
7.1.1.
Hezekiah had been foolish to not listen to
the prophet Isaiah in the first place when he warned him over and over that it
was futile to place his trust in anything but the Lord as his help and
hope. Against the prophet’s word he had
entered into an agreement with
7.1.2.
Then, when Assyria first came and besieged
7.2.
It is sad, but man tends to turn to the Lord
only when there is no other way out. If
men would only seek the Lord early in matters they would find His blessing and
avoid so many rocky paths which they would travel.
7.3.
In the word that Hezekiah sends to Isaiah
about the situation, he paints a dire picture of the events. However, when he says, ‘for children have
come to birth’, I believe that he is saying something equivalent to, “the
chickens have come home to roost”, or, “my sins have now found me out.”
7.3.1.
Had Hezekiah just been willing to trust the
Lord with the situation in the first place he would have avoided huge payments
of tribute to Egypt and Assyria, the loss of the prosperity of the land, the
loss of several cities of Judah and the deportation of some of their people, as
well as the loss of the respect of those in Judea who truly feared the Lord.
7.4.
God has used this situation in the life of
king Hezekiah to transform his character and to bring him to the place where he
hates sin in his life. Now he is going
to be sure to listen to the Lord the next time that he receives a word from
God, for Hezekiah has now come to the place to realize the importance of
obedience.
7.5.
Barry Webb
writes about how that the Lord uses the circumstances of Hezekiah’s life to
discipline him not to destroy him, as we have seen is one of the themes from
the book of Isaiah, “Once again we are in
touch with a major theme of the book:
God comes to chastise His people, not to destroy them. And for those who trust, blessing comes
through discipline, prosperity through suffering, life through death.”
7.6.
God has begun a transformation of this man
Hezekiah already however. For he tells
Isaiah that his concern is not a personal one, nor even one primarily for his nation,
but it is primarily that this man Rabshakeh has come against and blasphemied
the Lord Himself.
8.
VS 37:5-7 - “5 So the servants of King
Hezekiah came to Isaiah.6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your
master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you
have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.7
“Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he shall hear a rumor and return to
his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”” - Isaiah tells us that when
Hezekiah’s servants came to seek the prayer of Isaiah that Isaiah gives them
reassurance that the Lord will make Sennacherib return to his own land and fall
by the sword there
8.1.
When informed of Sennacherib’s threats and
asked to pray, Isaiah doesn’t pray but as if He had heard every word before it
was spoken, he rather is prepared with a word from the Lord to be
returned. Isaiah tells Hezekiah not to
be afraid for the Lord is going to deal with the situation. The Lord had been blasphemied, and He will
now deal with Sennacherib and his army Himself.
8.2.
The Lord had already spoken to Isaiah that
Assyria would not conquer
8.3.
We know from the scriptures that after
returning to
9.
VS 37:8-13 - “8 Then Rabshakeh returned and
found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the
king had left Lachish.9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of
Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent
messengers to Hezekiah, saying,10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of
Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem
shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”11 ‘Behold, you have
heard what the kings of
9.1.
The New Bible
Dictionary tells us the following about the city of Libnah
which was located not too far from Lachish, saying it was, “an important town in
the Shephelah, taken by Joshua and assigned to the priests (Jos. 10:29f.,
15:42, 21:13), revolted from Jehoram (2 Ki. 8:22); besieged by Sennacherib (2
Ki. 19:8, 35).”
9.2.
The New Bible
Dictionary tells us about the city of
9.3.
9.4.
According to Assyrian records
9.5.
By defeating
9.6.
The Rabshakeh wrote a letter of threatening
to Hezekiah before going to help out Sennacherib in the defeat of Lachish, and
in that letter he arrogantly blasphemied the Lord telling Hezekiah that he
would not be able to withstand Assyria when they returned to attack him, and
that none of the gods of the other cities and nations had been able to protect
their people from the Assyrians, so it would be futile for Hezekiah and Judea
to depend upon the Lord for their help and protection.
10.
VS 37:14 - “14 Then Hezekiah took the letter
from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the
Lord and spread it out before the Lord.” - Isaiah tells us that Hezekiah took this
letter from the Rabshakeh and went into the house of the Lord to pray and laid
the letter out before the Lord
10.1.
Hezekiah has finally come to the end of
himself, and he realizes finally that his only hope is in the Lord. He should have been praying to the Lord as
his only hope and help all along, but at least he has finally come to that
point.
10.1.1.Whenever
God’s people have been going their own way and looking for life, hope, and help
everywhere but the Lord, and then they turn about (repent) and begin to live by
faith and look to the Lord and He alone, it is at that point that the Lord does
not hold their past sins against them but rather begins to show Himself strong
on their behalf. Because of His grace
alone, at that point He begins to help and heal and use their life as part of
His plan in reaching the world.
10.2.
However, in the same moment Hezekiah realizes
that it is God who is going to fulfill His plans in their lives, they are not
going to pursuade the Lord to fulfill their plans. Therefore, Hezekiah lays this blasphemous
letter before the Lord in order to beseech the Lord to act on the Lord’s own
behalf.
11.
VS 37:15-16 - “15 And Hezekiah prayed to the
Lord saying,16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of
11.1.
Hezekiah’s prayer is a powerful and beautiful
example of what prayer should consist of.
11.1.1.Hezekiah’s
entire prayer is really an act of worship.
11.1.2.Hezekiah
does not begin his prayer interceding on behalf of anyone. He begins his prayer approaching God for who
He is.
11.1.2.1.The
Lord is the One ‘enthroned above the cherubim’.
11.1.2.2.The
Lord, and He alone, is the God ‘of all the kingdoms of the earth’.
11.1.2.3.The
Lord is the one who created heaven and earth.
12.
VS 37:17-19 - “17 “Incline Thine ear, O Lord,
and hear; open Thine eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of
Sennacherib,who sent them to reproach the living God.18 “Truly, O Lord, the
kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands,19 and have
cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s
hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.” - Isaiah records for us
Hezekiah beginning to intercede in his prayer for the nation of
12.1.
Hezekiah is first of all in beginning to
intercede for the people, asking the Lord to glorify Himself. Hezekiah first brings to God’s attention that
the king Sennacherib had sent his officials to him to ‘reproach the living
God’.
12.1.1.One
of the things that hinders the prayers that people pray is that they are often
selfish and self-serving in nature. In James 4:3, we read that one of the reasons that our
prayers are not answered is because they are prayed from selfish motives, “3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
12.2.
Hezekiah reminds the Lord that the Assyrians
had been going around and defeating nations and cities and then burning up their
gods, and their gods were just the works of men’s hands, not the true and
living God.
12.2.1.Hezekiah
is by saying this implying that the Lord should answer his prayer in order to
protect the Lord’s reputation, so that
this blasphemous pagan king could not brag that he had conquered a people who
claimed that their god was the creator and God over all.
13.
VS 37:20 - “20 “And now, O Lord our God,
deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou
alone, Lord, art God.”” - Isaiah records for us that Hezekiah asks the
Lord to answer his prayer of intercession for the nation so that all of the
kingdoms of the earth might know that the Lord alone is God
13.1.
Again we see how that Hezekiah’s prayer is an
example of how men ought to pray. He
prays that the Lord might answer his prayer so that all people might give God
glory and come to know and worship Him as being the true and living God.
13.1.1.The
Lord will always answer the prayer of His people when prayed with this motive.
14.
VS 37:21-29 - “21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz
sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because
you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,22 this is the word
that the Lord has spoken against him:
”She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The
daughter of Jerusalem! 23 “Whom have you
reproached and blasphemed? And against
whom have you raised your voice, And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of
14.1.
Those who would try to get you to believe
that their were multiple Isaiah’s who wrote the book of Isaiah ought to take
note that this is the same Isaiah son of Amoz as was introduced to us in Isaiah
1:1.
14.2.
The Lord tells Hezekiah in verses 23-26 in
essence that the Lord is answering this prayer because Sennacherib had
forgotten that he was just an instrument that the Lord had chosen for judging
the nations. He was only great because
the Lord purposed to use him in this way.
However, Sennacherib’s greatness had caused him to be puffed up in pride
and think that it was by his own might, intelligence, and power that he had
been successful in overthrowing the nations.
14.2.1.Now
the Lord was planning to overthrow Sennacherib.
14.3.
There is a principle here in
these verses: when we pray to the Lord
we find ourselves fulfilling God’s eternal plans.
14.3.1.Isaiah
tells us in verse 26 that in answering this prayer of Hezekiah’s, the Lord was
fulfilling His plans from ancient times.
14.4.
The Lord tells Sennacherib that because of
his arrogance and raging against the Lord that just as was the practice of the
Assyrians to lead their prisoners by a hook which they would place through
their noses, so the Lord was going to place His hook in Sennacherib’s nose,
bridle or close his lips from speaking out his arrogance, and cause him to
return back to his own land.
15.
VS 37:30-32 - “30 “Then this shall be the sign
for you: you shall eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what
springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and
eat their fruit.31 “And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again
take root downward and bear fruit upward.32 “For out of Jerusalem shall go
forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
shall perform this.”’” - Isaiah tells us of a sign that the Lord gave
to Hezekiah that He would do these things that He has promised to do in
removing their enemy
15.1.
The fields had been ravished by the attacking
Assyrians who had set fire to them, and yet the Lord promises that they would
have supernatural assistance in the growing of produce from their land:
15.1.1.This
year they would eat what grows of itself.
15.1.2.Next
year what springs forth from this year’s crop.
15.1.3.In
the third year they would sow, reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
15.1.4.A
surviving remnant faithful to the Lord would again take root in the land and
bear fruit. This remnant would come out
of
15.2.
Isaiah tells us that the ‘zeal of the Lord of
hosts’ would provide for them this sign that would confirm Isaiah’s words from
the Lord concerning
16.
VS 37:33-35 - “33 “Therefore, thus says the
Lord concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He shall not come to this city, or shoot
an arrow there; neither shall he come before it with a shield, nor throw up a
mound against it.34 ‘By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and
he shall not come to this city,‘ declares the Lord.35 ‘For I will defend this
city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”” - Isaiah assures Hezekiah from
the Lord that the Assyrians shall not come up again against the city of
16.1.
Isaiah promises from the Lord that not a
single little offensive even shall be mounted against the city of
16.2.
Repeating what the Lord had said previously,
the Lord would see that the Assyrians would return just the way that they
initially came to the city.
16.3.
In verse 35 the Lord says something that is
very interesting, and which we need to learn from. He says that the city would be defended for
the Lord’s own sake, and for the sake of David.
In other words, though Hezekiah may have gotten his heart right before
the Lord and even been the one who had prayed for the people and the city, the
Lord was answering prayer because of His own reputation and sake, and
purposes.
16.3.1.The principle to be learned here is that God’s plans do not revolve
around any of us in reality, and though we are blessed to be a part of what God
is doing and He does in fact use our lives, the Lord’s plans revolve around
Himself and His purposes for this world.
17.
VS 37:36-38 - “36 Then the angel of the Lord
went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose
early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.37 So Sennacherib, king of
Assyria, departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.38 And it came about
as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and
Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of
Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.” - Isaiah records for us the
Lord’s judgment finally poured out against the Assyrians, their army, and their
king
17.1.
The ‘angel of the Lord’, should be, ‘the
Angel of the Lord’, because the language here reflects that usage of angel
found in the Old Testament describing the Lord Himself.
17.2.
All of the firstborn in
17.3.
This devastation of the Assyrian army marked
the end of their dominance of the nations and set the stage for
17.4.
It is believed that it was about 20 years
after his return back to