Isaiah 36:1-3 – No insurmountable crisis with God

Isaiah 36-39 narrate the events that took place in the life of King Hezekiah. These chapters are essentially historical narratives that took place during Hezekiah’s reign. In 2 Kings 18:13 – 20:20, these events had already been recorded. However, Isaiah, even though recording the same events, did not present them in the same chronological order. He placed them in the reverse. The records in chapters 36-37 contained events that happened during and after Assyria’s invasion. Whereas chapters 38-39 described events that happened before the invasion by Assyria. Isaiah chose the order that suits his presentation of the materials better. Whatever the case, Isaiah recorded the political menace, as well as a health hazard, that threatened to take Hezekiah’s life. In both his political difficulty and the near-death experience, these chapters narrated how God came through for him as he turned to Him.

Remember Hezekiah was a good king, unlike his father Ahaz. He ruled at a time when Assyria was strengthening her control of Palestine and Syria. During his 25 years reign, Hezekiah had brought some measures of reform to Judah. He destroyed pagan altars, removed the idols, and had the temple of God, which his father Ahaz closed, cleansed, and re-opened. He even re-instated the Levitical priesthood. Isaiah 36 described the time of national crisis that Hezekiah and Judah encountered with the Assyrians under Sennacherib. Assyria’s ascendency to power had put Judah under great threat. Israel, Judah’s northern relatives had already fallen into the hands of Assyria and they were now threatening to invade Jerusalem. Although Hezekiah had paid tribute to them, Assyria insisted on total submission. Wisely, Hezekiah chose to turn to God in contrast to his father who chose to trust man.

Isaiah 36 began with Sennacherib coming against the forty-six fortified cities of Judah to seize them. Stationed some 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem, Sennacherib controlled the operation from Lachish. While he was dealing with Philistia, he sent Rabshakeh, his envoy, and a sizable army to terrorize Hezekiah. The envoy representing Sennacherib met Hezekiah’s representatives, namely, Eliakim, Shebna the scribe, and Joah, at the conduit of the upper pool on the road to fuller’s field.  Interestingly,  Isaiah 7:3-4, tell us that this was the same spot that Isaiah, sent by God, confronted Ahaz, who was facing the threat of the Israel-Syria alliance under Pekah and Rezin. But in that incident, Ahaz chose to trust men instead of God.

 

The truth is this: who we trust and turn to in times of our crisis will determine the outcome we will experience.  Ahaz’s response was different from that of Hezekiah. The former turned to man and experienced defeat while the latter turned to God and overcame his problem. Both their experiences leave us with a lesson on who we should turn to in times of our troubles. Our victory is assured when we understand the bigness of our God. He is there to help us through our circumstances when we trust Him. Are we ready to trust Him?