ISAIAH, CHAPTERS 36-39, constitute the historical portion of this book. In chapter 10 and in the "Book of Woes" (chaps. 28-35), especially chapters 28-32, Isaiah had foretold the Assyrian invasion of both Israel and Judah. The oracle contained in chapter 10, as we have already learned, was uttered in the days of King Ahaz, but the oracles of the "Book of Woes" were spoken in the first years of the reign of King Hezekiah. These predictions were fulfilled in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign as we learn in 36:1: "Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them."

God sees the end from the beginning and has told His servants the things that must come to pass, especially the important matters--those things upon which history hinges.

There is quite a discussion among students of history as to what year was the fourteenth of Hezekiah. Some scholars date this fatal year as 711 B.C. of the Ussher chronology. Others designate it as 705 B.C. of the same chronology. Still others place it in 701 B.C. of the same system. The discrepancies among these students are traceable to the faulty system of the Ussher chronology and the incorrect identification of certain events. But the correct date in Bible chronology is the year 3414 A.H. (Anno Hominis--in the year of man; the chronology which starts its reckoning with the creation of Adam and traces it through the centuries to the crucifixion).

In order for one to appreciate fully the situation reflected in these chapters, one must read the account found in II Kings 18:13-18. (This historical section of II Kings appears as chapters 18:13--20:21. The prayer of Hezekiah recorded in Isaiah, chapter 38, however, is missing from the Kings account. One would do well to read this history in both the Book of Isaiah and in II Kings.) From II Kings, chapter 18, we see that after Sennacherib had overrun the land of Judah and had reduced its fortified cities to ruins, Hezekiah robbed the Temple of its gold and the king's treasury in order to raise tribute money to pay to Sennacherib as an indemnity of war and as a guaranty that he would leave the country and establish peace. While he was still warring against Lachish, which is southwest of Jerusalem, he received the tribute money. Notwithstanding that fact he flagrantly violated his pledged word and sent an army under the Rabshakeh up to Jerusalem to demand the abject surrender of Hezekiah and the capital city.

At the time of the Rabshakeh's arrival he stood at the conduit of the upper pool which was in the highway of the fuller's field. There has been some discussion as to what is referred to by the "upper pool." Some think that it is on the western outskirts of Jerusalem, but the preponderance of events supports the conclusion that it was the Virgin Fountain which is in the Valley of Kidron east of the Temple area or a little south of east. This pool is called the Virgin Fountain, the waters of which flow through the tunnel chiseled by Hezekiah in anticipation of this siege. This tunnel runs through Ophel, the hill just south of the Temple area. It is 1,752 feet long and conveys the water from the Virgin Fountain to the Pool of Siloam. From there it flows down through the Valley of Hinnom on its way to the Dead Sea.

The Interview Between the Rabshakeh and His Company
and the Jewish committee

Hezekiah sent a committee of the leading Jews out to talk with the Rabshakeh (Isa. 36:3). This they did in order to report to Hezekiah the message from Sennacherib.

The Assyrian commander-in-chief instructed the Jewish committee to take a message to Hezekiah which began with these words: "Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria." The kings of Assyria were very much conceited and put themselves upon a high pedestal. This king had been victorious over the smaller states in the west and his egotism had become so very much inflated that he considered himself above, not only the kings of the smaller nations, but also above their gods. He therefore asked of Hezekiah this question: "What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?" Then he asserted that the counsel and the strength for the war upon which Hezekiah was depending was simply vain words. Following this remark he asked the further question: "Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?" Evidently Sennacherib had heard that the pro-Egyptian party in Jerusalem had appealed to the Egyptians for help and were expecting assistance from that quarter. Thus the Assyrian king belittled the strength and power of Egypt, saying that it was but a bruised reed upon which Hezekiah was attempting to lean for support. This statement by the Rabshakeh was correct because the arm of flesh is indeed vain, for anyone.

He declared that, if they were trusting in Jehovah their God, they could not depend upon Him because Hezekiah had taken away His altars throughout Judea and had demanded that the people come to Jerusalem to worship. This is a reference to the great reforms which Hezekiah instituted when he came to the throne. The king of Assyria, with his commander-in-chief, thought that there were many different gods which were worshiped in various places in Judah and that, when Hezekiah destroyed all the altars except the one in Jerusalem, he had incurred the displeasure of all these gods. Of course in this supposition he was absolutely wrong.

By these cunningly worded statements Sennacherib hoped to destroy the morale of Hezekiah and his supporters. The last argument which was advanced was that Hezekiah did not have sufficient soldiers to ride upon two thousand horses. He offered to give them two thousand horses if they could produce that many cavalrymen. Of course the horse and his rider was a very formidable method and means of warfare in those ancient times. Sennacherib's conclusion was that, if Hezekiah did not have the two thousand cavalrymen, he was very foolish in not submitting to him but in trusting in Egypt.

Moreover, he asserted that he, the great king of Assyria, had come against Hezekiah by order of Jehovah who had told him to go up against Jerusalem. We know from comparing other scriptures with this one that God was overruling and that He was bringing Sennacherib against His people in order to chasten them. Nevertheless, Sennacherib did not receive a revelation from God to the effect that he was to go against Jerusalem.

The Jewish committee stood quietly and listened to the speech which was made by the Rabshakeh. Then they requested him to speak to them in the Syrian language (that is, the Aramaic) because they understood it. They did not want him to speak in the Hebrew language lest it would intimidate the people who were upon the walls of Jerusalem and who were observing what was going on and listening to what was being said. In reply to the committee the Rabshakeh said that he had come to bring a message, not to Hezekiah and the officials of the kingdom of Judah, but rather to the people of the city, upon whom the terrible weight of the struggle would fall (vs. 12).

Then Rabshakeh cried with a loud voice and called upon the people upon the city walls to listen to what the great king of Assyria had to say. His first argument was that they should not let Hezekiah deceive them, for he would be unable to deliver them in the time of battle. Moreover, he warned them not to put their trust in Jehovah, for, he declared, the Lord will not deliver the city out of the hand of the great king of Assyria. Then he called upon the people to make peace with him and to come out and surrender to him. The inducement which he offered them was that they would have plenty of food to eat and water to drink until he would come and take them away to a land which was like their own, "a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards." Of course this promise was the same old political bait, which conquerors and dictators always hold out to the great masses of the people, in order that they might get into power. Many of the old Roman emperors gained the imperial purple because they catered to the masses and promised a modern Utopia to them if they would support them in their efforts to gain the throne. It is needless to say that such politicians are never able to fulfill their promises. Campaign speeches, in so very many instances, are not worth the paper upon which they are written. We do praise God, however, that there are some real statesmen who analyze the situation which confronts a people and who honestly and conscientiously do endeavor to fulfill the pledges which they make to the people. For such we praise the Lord.

Finally, the Rabshakeh concluded his speech by urging the people not to trust in Jehovah. In this connection he asserted that none of the gods of the various nations which had been conquered by Sennacherib had been able to deliver those lands out of the hands of the great Assyrian king.

Notwithstanding the defiant speech designed to intimidate the Jewish committee and the many falsehoods which were incorporated in the statements of the Rabshakeh, the Jewish committee held its peace and would not reply to even one word. The reason for their silence was that they had been instructed beforehand by Hezekiah saying, "Answer him not." Thereupon the committee returned to the city and reported to Hezekiah what they had heard. They appeared before the king, having rent their clothes, which was an indication of their great, overwhelming sorrow and grief at the message which they had heard.

When the committee reported to Hezekiah the words of the Rabshakeh, he likewise rent his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. The king realized the situation which was confronting him and recognized the fact that only in God was there any hope. His going to the house of God to lay the matter before the Almighty reminds one of the way in which Jehoshaphat acted when his territory was invaded by an enormous army. The account of this crisis in Judah's history is found in II Chronicles, chapter 20, and will well repay a careful study.

No situation confronting a nation at any time is so very serious that it cannot be dealt with by Jehovah the God of hosts, who can be approached at any time and under all conditions by those who know and who trust Him. For instance, when David was driven out of his kingdom by the revolt of Absalom and the government was completely overthrown, his friends advised him to flee like a bird to the mountains. They could see nothing but wreck, ruin, and disaster for everyone, especially for the king. David's faith rose to the occasion, and he declared in answer to their urgings, "Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." Civil governments may be overthrown, countries may be overrun, dictators may be hurling out challenges against God and blaspheming Him, but the Almighty still sits enthroned in power and majesty. Before Him all the nations are as a drop in a bucket, as the small dust of the balances. He is in His holy Temple and may be approached by His faithful children. He allows such crises to come into the lives of His people and of nations in order to try them and to purge out the wicked. This is the theme of Psalm 11 and it should be studied in connection with the action of Hezekiah on the occasion referred to in the passage which we are now studying.

As Hezekiah waited before the Lord in earnest prayer, he realized that the only thing for him to do was to report the threat to Isaiah, the great statesman-prophet. This committee sent by Hezekiah to Isaiah said that the situation was grave and that there was no strength to bring forth (37:3). Then they declared: "It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard."

Upon the arrival of the committee from Hezekiah, Isaiah had already received a message from the Lord and consequently instructed them to return to Hezekiah and say, "Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return unto his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land" (37:6,7).

After the Rabshakeh had delivered his threatening message of defiance and blasphemy, he returned to his master, the king of Assyria, to Libnah because Sennacherib had in the meantime raised the siege of Lachish and had gone to Libnah. The reason for his sudden change of plans was that he had heard that Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, was coming against him. But he continued bluffing and sent a delegation of messengers to Hezekiah a second time with the following message:

"10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?" (37:10-13).

There was nothing new in the second speech of intimidation which was sent to Hezekiah. It seems, however, that this message was delivered by the second group of ambassadors in the form of a letter.

When Hezekiah received this communication from the hands of the messengers, he read it and then went immediately to the house of Jehovah and spread it before the Lord. Hezekiah was a godly man who was endeavoring to do the will of the Almighty. It is a great thing, especially in times of crises, to have as the national leader a man who knows God and who knows how to trust Him and look to Him for deliverance. God is the one who tips the scales in every crisis. We have been told that God is on the side of the biggest gun. That statement is Satan's lie. No king is delivered by a multitude of hosts. A horse is a vain thing for safety, declared the inspired writer in Psalm 33. The eyes of Jehovah are against the proud, insolent, haughty, godless ones, but, declared the sacred writer: "Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him, Upon them that hope in his lovingkindness."