INTRODUCTION

We want help making a decision, guidance for marriage and child-rearing, instructions about how to overcome sin. In response, God gives us a book full of genealogies, architectural blueprints and procedures for offering sacrifice, narratives of ancient history. The Bible doesn’t merely teach us lessons. God gave it to forge our memories, open our eyes, and stretch our imaginations.

THE TEXT

“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. Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army . . . .” (Isaiah 36:1-37:7).

BIRD IN A CAGE

The Assyrian threat has overshadowed Isaiah’s prophecy from the beginning (cf. 7:10-8:8; 10:1-23). Assyria has already taken Samaria, the capital of the Northern kingdom (2 Kings 17). Hezekiah himself is a vassal of Assyria for a time, sending tribute (Isaiah 36:5b; cf. 2 Kings 18:1-16). According to Assyrian accounts, Sennacherib captures 46 cities in Judah and enslaved over 200,000 people, leaving Hezekiah shut up in the capital city “like a bird in a cage.” Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty are on the edge of the grave.

ASSYRIAN PROPHET

After taking the coastal city of Lachish, Sennacherib sends his chief cupbearer (the Rabshakeh) to meet a delegation from Judah’s king (Isaiah 36:2). The Rabshakeh stands at the “conduit of the upper pool” (36:2), exactly the place where Isaiah stood to confront Hezekiah’s father Ahaz (cf. Isaiah 7:3). The Rabshakeh even sounds like Isaiah. He repeats Isaiah’s warnings about trusting in Egypt for deliverance from Assyria (36:4-6; cf. 30:1-5; 31:1-9) and like Isaiah he says that Yahweh sent the Assyrians (36:10; cf. 7:17-29; 8:7; 10:5-6). He says that the king of Assyria will give Judah horses (36:8) and will bring them to a promised land (36:16-17). Even Yahweh cannot be trusted: According to the Rabshakeh, Hezekiah’s destruction of high places is an attack on Yahweh’s altars (36:7). We shouldn’t underestimate the temptation he presents. Judah had worshiped Yahweh at high places for centuries. For the common soldiers on the walls of Jerusalem, the offer of peace and prosperity is attractive and plausible.

BLASPHEMY

Plausible as they may sound, the Rabshakeh’s words are blasphemous. Hezekiah’s war on the idols has Yahweh’s approval (2 Kings 18:1-7). When the Rabshakeh says that Yahweh is just another god like the gods of the nations, he seals Sennacherib’s doom (36:18-20). Hezekiah’s officials tear their clothes at the blasphemy (36:21-22), as does Hezekiah himself (37:1). Unlike his father, Hezekiah turns to Yahweh’s prophet, looking for assurance that Yahweh has heard the words of the Rabshakeh and will rebuke him (37:4). Isaiah’s response is confident: “Do not be afraid. I will make Sennacherib fall by a sword in his own land” (37:6-7). Recapitulating the Passover, Yahweh’s angel destroys 185,000 Assyrians and delivers the city (37:36-38).

CONCLUSION

When sins besiege, when enemies slander and blaspheme, when troubles press in and leave you helpless, you are Hezekiah in his birdcage. Your life has become a site for Yahweh’s war against the gods. The Lord sees and hears, and you can be sure the God of Israel will be victorious.