In this passage, God through Isaiah gave a sign to Hezekiah like what He did years ago when He also gave a sign to his father, Ahaz (Isaiah 7). Though the sign God gave to each of them was different, the message was the same, i.e. God would deliver them from their oppressors if they would trust Him. While Ahaz scornfully rejected God’s sign given to him then, Hezekiah on the other hand embraced the sign responsively.
The sign to Hezekiah described in verses 30-32 was that on the third year the land of Judah, ravaged by the Assyrians would become fit for cultivation again. But for two years, though cultivation would be suspended, the yield from the land would still be able to sustain the people of Judah. From what Isaiah had said, Hezekiah would know how long the effect of the Assyrian invasion would last. However, the message concluded with the promise of a bright future for Judah. She would once again experience prosperity. A remnant would be raised from the survivors of Mount Zion. This would certainly come to pass because God would bring about its accomplishment.
Addressing the immediate crisis
that Hezekiah was experiencing then, Isaiah in verses 33-35, prophesied that the
king of Assyria would not set foot in Jerusalem to come against it. For by the
way he came so he would return home. God, Himself would defend it. He would make
it His business to defend Jerusalem for His own name’s sake and the sake of
David.
Miraculously, God delivered
Judah from the hand of Sennacherib. Dramatically, verse 36 said that the angels
of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 Assyrians in their camp. Those who were
not slain woke up in the morning to discover shockingly the massive numbers of dead
Assyrians. Though the reaction of Sennacherib was not described, he must be utterly
devastated and left for his home in Nineveh hastily. There two of his sons,
namely, Adrammelech and Sharezer, assassinated
him and then fled to the land of Ararat. He was succeeded by Esarhaddon, another of his sons. Interestingly,
verse 38 tells us that he was murdered in the house of Nisroch his god, the one
whom he believed had helped him to conquer many lands. It was truly pathetic to
know that his god could not even protect him in his own temple!
There are two ways we can live
our lives. We can emulate Ahaz, or we can follow the example of Hezekiah. We can
try to build our reputation and trust our own inventiveness, or allow God to
direct our lives and tell His story through us. But we need to know that living
for Him requires that we yield to His will and make needful changes to promote
His glory. It calls for a life of obedience, but it will be a worthwhile life. So
choose wisely and trust God.
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