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Teaching Notes
ISAIAH
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 36, as we continue out study through the Word of God. In Isaiah chapters 36-39 we are going to see a historical account with the main focus being the destruction of the Assyrian army. Why does God lay it out like this? I believe one of the reasons is this, He has been speaking on how the Assyrian army won't destroy Jerusalem, to trust in Him on this and not for them to trust in the world for help. Here in chapters 36 & 37 we see God's promise become a reality, as He destroys the Assyrians without even one arrow being shot into the city of Jerusalem. God will fulfill His promises and thus it encourages us to walk by faith, believing and trusting in His promises. As we move into chapters 38 & 39 we will be dealing with the sickness of Hezekiah, his healing, and then his foolish actions. With that in mind, lets dig into Isaiah chapter 36.
ISAIAH 36
VERSE 1
1. Hezekiah began his reign in 715 BC, and thus, would place the fourteenth year of his reign at 701 BC. It was during this time that the Assyrians were moving southward towards Jerusalem, having already conquered some 46 cities in the northern parts of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. If you remember, Hezekiah tried to cut a deal with the Assyrians not to invade. And the Assyrians were more than happy to take the money, and attack anyway. What an important lesson for us to learn. You never make a deal with the devil, the flesh or the world. If you do, you won't find peace, only devastation. God wants us to trust more and more upon Him, to lean upon Him, no matter how hopeless the situation may look. That is the lesson the Southern Kingdom will learn through all of this.
VERSE 2
1. The king of Assyria sends the Rabshakeh, which is his title not his name, and it means chief of staff, along with half of the Assyrian army from Lachish, which is a 20 mile hike, northeast to Jerusalem. And what he was to do was use psychological warfare to break the spirits of the enemy, so instead of fighting, they would just surrender. And, as you will see, this guy was very good at messing with a persons mind, causing you to despair, and just want to give up.
VERSE 3
1. Here we see Hezekiah send out his representatives, who stood upon the walls of the city, to speak to the Assyrian representatives who were down below. Now also understand that there were many soldiers and civilians on the wall, and the Rabshakeh had the Assyrian army around him.
VERSES 4-5
1. As a representative of the king of Assyria, the Rabshakeh was mocking these people for trusting in empty words. And the challenge was really against the God they served when he said "...Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?" They were coming against the true and living God, and that is never a good thing as they shall see.
VERSE 6
1. Besides trying to make a deal with Assyria, paying them off not to attack them, Hezekiah also tried to make an alliance with Egypt to help in their battle against the Assyrians. But help never came, as the Egyptians were coming up, the other half of the Assyrian army was on its way down, and they destroyed the Egyptians.
It is as Isaiah 30:1-5 said, "'Woe to the rebellious children,' says the LORD, 'Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. For his princes were at Zoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.'"
VERSE 7
1. This is the way the world responds, speaking of things they know nothing about. What the Rabshakeh was saying to Judah is their own king destroyed the worship places of God, how can they then look to this God for help? What he didn't understand was that Hezekiah destroyed the pagan worship places, and even the worship of God on the altars that they erected. In other words, they were worshipping God in a pagan way. In fact, Hezekiah's father turned the temple into a pagan worship center, and now Hezekiah was rededicating the temple to the Lord, opening the temple up so that the people could come and worship the Lord. Hezekiah was not destroying the altars of Jehovah, not at all, but the world does not understand us or the things of God. It always amazes me how those that have never read the Scriptures can speak so boldly about them, even though they know nothing of them. And understand what is going on here. He is trying to destroy their faith, just as the world tries to do to us.
VERSES 8-9
1. When you think you have the upper hand in a situation it is easy to put others down. He is telling them to give them some money, they in turn will give Judah 2,000 horses, but they will not be of any help, because they won't be able to find any riders for them. The Jews were not known for their horse riding skills, and thus, this was a put down, that Assyria was going to defeat them.
VERSE 10
1. Interesting strategy. He is telling them that Jehovah has sent him to destroy Jerusalem, you better give up, God is no longer on your side. That was nothing more than a big lie! But that is exactly how Satan works. He gets us to doubt God's love for us and we thus give up. Psychological warfare is tough, that is why you need the truth of God to dispel the lies of Satan. As Paul said in Romans 8:37-39, may we never forget. He said "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
VERSE 11
1. Hezekiah's men recognize what the Rabshakeh is doing, and they call for him to speak in Aramaic, so the people won't hear or understand what is being said. That didn't stop him but only encouraged him, for we read in verse 12...
VERSE 12
1. Many times when you attacked a city you would not break down the walls, but surround the city and starve them out. Thus, the Rabshakeh is saying that this information is also for the common people, for they will be affected by this battle, they will be hungry and thirsty and reach a point of eating and drinking their own waste!
VERSES 13-17
1. He is now speaking to the common people, trying to get them to turn against their king, to surrender, with the promise of a better life. That was not true. After you surrendered they would split you up and re-locate you into another land with other people so you could no longer rebel. But that is how the enemy works. He wants us to give up, give in, with the promise that things will be better, will be easier if we do. THEY NEVER ARE!
VERSES 18-20
1. The people had already heard of what the Assyrians did to these other lands, they could not save themselves nor could their gods help them. Even their own people in Samaria, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell in 722 BC, they could not stand and neither will Jerusalem!
VERSE 21
1. People want to fight against the devil, have a conversation with the devil, dialogue with him! That is foolish. This is how we are to respond - keep silent and let the Word of God defeat him and comfort our hearts and lives. The enemy wants to put you down, saying that we are not good enough, what are you going to do? Keep silent and go to the Scriptures, Romans 8:1 is a great place to start. We read "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." What a comfort to us and it defeats the enemy.
VERSE 22
1. Now they return from the wall and come before Hezekiah to tell him the news, and it was bad!
ISAIAH 37
VERSE 1
1. This is something that we continue to learn. When you are under attack, not only from Satan, but it may be from our brothers and sisters in the Lord coming against you, you don't retaliate but get on your knees and bring it before the Lord. That is what Hezekiah did, went into the house of God. It is as Asaph did in Psalm 73:17, "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end." When he communed with God he developed a proper perspective of the situation and so will we.
VERSES 2-5
1. As Hezekiah is praying he sends his men to Isaiah with the news so he too can be in prayer over this situation. And what they told Isaiah was that the day of trouble has arrived and there is no one who can deliver them, they had no strength to do it themselves. And they ask him to pray and ask God to deliver them based on the fact that the Assyrians were mocking God, His glory is being dragged through the mud.
VERSES 6-7
1. Isaiah speaks to them words of comfort, that the Assyrians will not be victorious and their king will die by the sword of his own land. And we are going to see how that all did come to pass.
VERSES 8-9a
1. Sennacherib, king of Assyria leaves Lachish with the rest of his forces and heads about 5 miles northwest to Libnah. At Libnah they get word that Tirhakah was coming up to assist Judah. Tirhakah became the king of Egypt, a Cushite, in 690 BC, but at this time, around 701 BC, he was the commander and chief of the army. And so the Rabshakeh brings his troops in to assist his king and they defeat the Egyptians and will now return with their king to Jerusalem to take this city.
VERSES 9b-13
1. Before the Rabshakeh and his forces leave to help their king, he wants the people of Jerusalem not to get their hopes up. This thing is not over. He basically is telling them "I'LL BE BACK!" While he is gone he wants them to think about what the Assyrians have done to the other nations and their gods, how they were defeated. "And, don't forget, Jerusalem is next!"
VERSE 14
1. What do you do with a threatening letter? Bring it before the Lord!
VERSES 15-20
1. Hezekiah makes some very interesting points in his prayer. First he establishes their relationship with God and then recognizes the power of God, the creator of heaven and earth. That is a great place to start and it leads to his petition, his concern that this pagan king was mocking the living God. Yes they defeated many nations and destroyed their gods, but they truly were not gods, only images made by the hands of man. Thus, they can't destroy the true and living God, but they call for God to destroy the Assyrians, which will be an object lesson for the other nations, showing them that He alone is God! In other words, "Do if for your glory!" And that is exactly what did happen as God defeated the Assyrians, and fear came upon the people, not only in the other kingdoms but in Zion also. We read in Isaiah 33:14, "The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: 'Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?'"
VERSES 21-22
1. God is going to answer their prayer. Jerusalem, still young, still a virgin, has not and will not be violated by the Assyrians, and they will laugh at them. A completely different picture than what the Rabshakeh was trying to paint!
VERSES 23-26
1. They were ultimately fighting against God. Yes, God used them to bring judgment upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel and other nations, but pride puffed them up and they saw themselves as god, doing as they pleased and not as God allowed them. They went to far. You see, you can't fight against God and win!
VERSES 27-28
1. The Assyrians saw themselves as big and powerful and when compared with man, they were. But when God sees them, they are nothing. They have defeated nations that were weak in God's eye's. And now, judgment is coming, He knows their hearts, and there is no place for them to hide.
VERSE 29
1. When you were taken captive by the Assyrians they many times would place hooks in your nose and lead you back to Nineveh that way. Now God is saying He is going to bridle them and bring them back to Assyria that way - turning the tables on them.
VERSES 30-32
1. Things will be tough for 2 years, you won't be able to plant, only eat what comes from the ground. But then you will be able to plant again and eat the fruit of the land. Also, as dark as it may seem, God always has His faithful remnant, and they will bear fruit.
VERSES 33-35
1. The enemy is not going to enter the city, not even an arrow will come up over the walls, for God is going to defeat them.
VERSE 36
1. As the Jews woke up that morning, and as they looked out over the walls of the city, all they could see were the bodies of the Assyrians laying dead on the ground, 185,000 of them killed by the angel of the Lord in one night. The king of Assyria and a handful of remaining troops high tailed it back to Nineveh, their capitol city.
VERSES 37-38
1. God has an interesting way of dealing with things. This Assyrian king, so pompous in his attitude and actions, thinking no one could stand against him, not even the gods, was killed by his own children as he came into his temple to worship his god. His own god could not save him from the true and living God, nor from his own children. It is as Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
2. As we get into chapters 38 & 39 we are going to see that these events also took place around 701 BC, but prior to the Assyrians coming against them. The reason it is not in order, I believe, is what transpires here in Hezekiah's life, for it opens the door for the Babylonians to come against them, beginning in 606 BC, leading to their captivity, and then chapter 40 will open with the promise of a deliverer!
ISAIAH 38
VERSES 1-3
1. Here's the deal. Hezekiah is very sick, and Isaiah comes in with words of encouragement, and tells him, "Fill out your organ donor card, were going to be using it!" That is a paraphrase, of course, but the idea is, he was going to die soon! And Hezekiah is not ready to die, even though God has told him it is time. So he begins to weep bitterly, and as Isaiah leaves, not even making out of the kings court...
VERSES 4-5
1. God heard Hezekiah's prayer, and gives him another 15 years to live. Praise the Lord, right? Wrong! Now this is getting into a controversial area, but I will share with you what I believe God is saying. There is God's perfect will and God's permissive will for our lives. You see, I believe prayer is not to change the heart of God, but to change our hearts to conform to His will. His ways are perfect and why would we want second or third best? During those 15 extra years Hezekiah had another son, 3 years into this period of time, and his name was Manasseh. And he was a wicked king. It says of him in II Chronicles 33:9, "So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel." Yes, at the end of his life Manasseh turned to the Lord, but it was too little too late. The nation was in a dive that it would never be able to completely recover from and would lead to their captivity. Also, in chapter 39 we are going to see another foolish thing Hezekiah did that encouraged the Babylonians to come and plunder the city. Yes, God allowed Hezekiah to live another 15 years, but I don't believe it was His perfect will, but He permitted it.
VERSE 6
1. The Assyrians had not yet surrounded the city, they were only hearing rumors, but God says that He will defend Jerusalem and the Assyrians will not be victorious.
VERSES 7-8
1. Now many laugh at the foolishness of this. The earth is spinning around 1,000 miles per hour at the surface and to stop it and reverse it would cause us to fly off, besides the devastating effects on the land masses. I don't know how God did it, but God did cause the sun to go back 10 degrees on the sun dial, or about forty minutes. And I don't have a problem with it. You see, how big is your God?
VERSE 9
1. Verse 20 tells us this was kind of a song of praise to God for healing him.
VERSE 10
1. None of us are guaranteed how long we will live, but I truly believe it will be just the right length of time, for God has our days numbered. But Hezekiah felt he was being cut down in the prime of his life.
VERSE 11
1. He won't be able to walk with the brethren to the temple nor worship God any longer if he is dead.
VERSE 12
1. Almost as if God is cutting him down, snuffing out his life, and he feels it isn't fair.
VERSES 13-14
1. He is just crying out to God over this terminal illness he has.
VERSE 15
1. God heard his prayer and healed him. Because of that he was going to walk uprightly, honoring God, the rest of his life. But as we shall see, as we get into chapter 39, he makes some foolish mistakes.
VERSES 16-19
1. They did believe in resurrection life, for Job said "For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God." Job 19:25-26. But their concept of death was a little shaky. They thought of it as nothingness till the time of the resurrection and because of that many cults have jumped on this and speak of soul sleep, and-so-on. And they will point to Job to defend what they believe, the only problem is that God rebukes Job for not knowing what happens in death. And by the time we get to the New Testament, Jesus makes it very clear that we are aware of our surroundings, and depending on where you are at, you will either find joy or pain, but no soul sleep or annihilation.
VERSE 20
1. Just praising God for healing him.
VERSE 21
1. Hezekiah had some kind of boil that had gotten so bad it was killing him. Now I find this interesting for those who believe we are not to go to doctors or use medicine. Here God instructs Hezekiah to place some medicine on this boil, and it would heal over time. Now God could have just healed him instantaneously, but He didn't. You see, God uses many ways, many things to heal us, even doctors and medicine. The thing we must remember is to bring it before the Lord first.
VERSE 22
1. The sign was the sun dial going back 10 degrees.
ISAIAH 39
VERSE 1
1. At this point the Assyrians were still in power but the Babylonians are beginning to rise up. And they send ambassadors to Jerusalem as a good will gesture in the king of Judah's recovery from this terminal illness.
VERSE 2
1. Hezekiah was so overwhelmed that these guys traveled such a long distance to see him, that he opens up his kingdom and shows them everything.
VERSE 3
1. We see a little pride here, "These guys came all that way just to see me!"
VERSES 4-6
1. A very bad move on Hezekiah's part. Remember what Hezekiah did when he received a threatening letter? He spread it out before the Lord, (Isaiah 37:14). But when he received this flattering letter, he kept if for himself. Be careful, for if the enemy can't cause you to crumble from fear, from threats, he will bring you down with flattery!
2. In 606 BC the Babylonians made their first invasion into Jerusalem and by 586 BC they finally destroyed the city.
VERSE 7
1. Daniel and his friends were taken during that first invasion in 606 BC.
VERSE 8
1. You can look at his words two ways. First, that Hezekiah learned his lesson, he trusted in God's Word. I don't see it like that. I see it more of a selfish attitude. At least things are going to be good during his life, with no concern for future generations. You see, even though we read of Hezekiah in II Kings 18:5, "He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.", we must remember that the best of men are men at best! He was a good king, the best since the time after David and Solomon. But he was still a man.
2. As Christians may we not develop that kind of an attitude, only caring about ourselves. The mentality that says "At least I'm saved and whatever happens to the next generation, happens!" May we care enough to bring it all before the Lord!