Isa. 36:1–39:8 Historical Transition: “In Whom Do You Now Trust?” These chapters of history form a bridge between the mostly poetic chs. 1–35 and 40–66. Chapters 36–37 look back to chs. 28–35, proving through Hezekiah that faith in God is rewarded by blessing. Chapters 38–39 provide the context for chs. 40–55, as Hezekiah’s foolishness dooms his nation to Babylonian exile. Against the backdrop of divine faithfulness (chs. 36–37) and human faithlessness (chs. 38–39), God stands as his people’s only hope. Isaiah 36–39 is paralleled in 2 Kings 18:13–20:19 (see notes).
Isa. 36:1–37:38 When God’s people align themselves with his cause, trusting in his power alone, they find him faithful to keep his word.
Isa. 36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah. 701 b.c. Sennacherib king of Assyria reigned 705–681 b.c. See 8:5–8. all the fortified cities of Judah. Jerusalem is surrounded, with no hope of human rescue.
Isa. 36:2 Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer (see esv footnote).
Isa. 36:4 Thus says the great king. The Rabshakeh pronounces a royal decree, amplified in vv. 13–14, 16. It is answered by a higher royal decree in 37:6 and 21–22 and 33. On what do you rest this trust of yours? The word “trust” appears seven times in the Hebrew text of this paragraph (36:4, 5, 6, 7, 9). At the heart of Isaiah’s message is a call to God’s people to trust his promises during difficulties.
Isa. 36:7 Because the Rabshakeh does not understand that the God of Israel is different from the gods of the pagan high places and altars, he assumes that Hezekiah’s destruction of those altars was offensive to the Lord (see 2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chron. 31:1).
Isa. 36:14 he will not be able to deliver you. “Deliver” is the key word in vv. 13–20, occurring seven times (vv. 14, 15, 18, 19, 20).
Isa. 36:15 The Lord will surely deliver us. Hezekiah had taken a public stand of confidence in God’s promises.
Isa. 36:18–20 See 10:7–11. Who among all the gods . . . that the Lord should deliver? The Assyrian takes a fatal step, equating the Lord with the gods of this world.
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The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
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