The Proven Faith of Hezekiah
Isaiah 36:1-37:7
January 7, 2024
This morning we went through a character sketch of King Hezekiah.
Not a doubt in our mind that he was A GREAT MAN OF FAITH.
That does NOT MEAN that he was without fault or without hiccup.
He made a mistake with the Babylonian entourage that brought discipline.
But even after that,
• Hezekiah bounced back and put great faith on display again
• And really would be credited for leading the nation to trust God
• And find deliverance against Assyria.
Tonight we want to start looking at this narrative section
To see what his faith looked like.
OBVIOUSLY, Hezekiah had the kind of faith that God responds to.
In the first narrative God will respond to him twice.
Our question is:
• What kind of faith is that?
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith?
• What is it about what Hezekiah believed?
That is really what Isaiah is doing.
This book of Isaiah is about trusting God who alone is our salvation.
Here Isaiah gives you a living illustration of what that faith looks like.
So let’s begin working through this narrative together.
I want as simple of an outline as possible here.
#1 THE FIRST ATTACK
Isaiah 36:1-20
I do want you to understand that when we are talking about the attack
We are NOT TALKING ABOUT the physical attack
That Assyria is bringing to Jerusalem.
That attack is obvious in the fact that the army has shown up.
The attack we are talking about is the attack on Hezekiah’s faith.
The battle that is fought in these 20 verses
Is NOT a battle fought with swords and shields.
• This is a propaganda war.
• This is psychological warfare.
• This is the message of the enemy meant to crush your hope in God.
Satan knows that he is no match for God.
Satan also knows that without God Hezekiah is no match for him.
So the chief objective of Satan is
To sever the faith that Hezekiah has in God.
If Satan can get Hezekiah to let go of his spiritual Ally
Then Hezekiah will prove to be easy prey for the enemy.
SO THE WAR HERE IS A WAR AGAINST FAITH.
Isaiah wants you to see HOW HEZEKIAH OVERCOMES IT.
(1) “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.”
This again is
• The 14th year of his independent reign.
• He is 39 years old.
• Assyria started seizing the cities of Judah.
ISAIAH ACTUALLY OMITS A LITTLE HISTORY
I would remind you that WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING
• We also have Hezekiah getting sick,
• Seeking God,
• Getting promised healing
• And Babylon arriving to see what is going on.
If you need scriptural proof that the sickness happened first you only need to see:
Isaiah 38:4-5 “Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”
Very interesting that while Assyria is invading
There has already been a promise given
That God would spare Jerusalem from the coming threat.
Part of the mistake of Hezekiah there, beyond the boasting,
Hezekiah was obviously also looking for an ally in Merodach-baladan.
• We talked about this back in Isaiah 21
• Where Babylon was referred to as “the wilderness of the sea”
• Or better understood as “the mirage in the desert”
• Merodach-baladan had actually had some success revolting against Assyria
and what is happening is that they are feeling each other out in regard to
an alliance.
• Hezekiah is showing Babylon everything he can bring to the table and what
a good ally he would be.
That is still part of his blunder.
God just promised He would deliver
But Hezekiah is seeking out other options.
BUT ISAIAH DOESN’T MENTION THAT HERE
• Because Hezekiah’s blunder is not the focal point,
• But Isaiah wants you to see where his faith succeeded.
THE OTHER THING ISAIAH OMITS
• Is the mistake of Hezekiah to try and pay off Sennacherib when he does
approach Jerusalem.
The book of 1 Kings includes 3 verses
That fit between Isaiah 36:1 and 36:2
2 Kings 18:14-16 “Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”
That is when Hezekiah actually followed the example of his dad
And sought to pay off Assyria instead of trusting God to defeat them.
So it is clear that there were some blunders being made by Hezekiah,
• But again, the point here is what he did right, not what he did wrong
• So Isaiah does not include those instances in this narrative.
But now we fast-forward, at least several months.
We allow Assyria to finish their siege of Judah
When Sennacherib gets to Lachish he sends an army to Jerusalem.
(37 MILES AWAY)
(2-3) “And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh (Chief Cup-bearer) from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field. Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.”
According to 2 Kings he also sent “Tartan” who was his army commander
And “Rab-saris” who was his chief eunuch.
And “Rabshakeh” has a message.
• It is a taunt.
• It is psychological warfare.
• It is a message meant to destroy faith.
Let me break it down into 4 parts.
It drips of Satanic logic and tactic.
1) HE MOCKS THEIR STRENGTH (4-10)
Notice the questions we see.
• (4) “What is this confidence that you have?”
• (5) “Now on whom do you rely..?”
What you have is Assyria here telling Hezekiah 3 things.
FIRST, we both know you’re not strong enough to defeat me on your own.
If you don’t get help, you don’t stand a chance.
AND THAT IS TRUE.
Not everything Satan says is a lie.
If you go toe to toe with me without help I will clean your plow.
SECOND, there’s a pretty good chance you’re relying on Egypt to bail you out and that is a bad mistake.
It must be noted,
• That Egypt WAS a hope of Hezekiah.
• That is why Isaiah spent chapters 30 & 31 telling them not to trust Egypt.
Egypt, as they always do, represents a worldly hope of deliverance.
This was the human help Hezekiah was hoping for.
You might be wondering what about Babylon and Merodach-baladan?
Well, Sennacherib had recently wiped him out.
Egypt is the human help and Assyria says that is a bad idea.
(6) “Behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.”
If you try to rely on Egypt he will fail you.
(8-9) “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. “How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”
• Remember that whole, “we will ride on horses” argument?
• Well they were planning on getting them from Egypt and Assyria knew it.
Sennacherib said, there are no horses coming from Egypt.
But if it’s horses you want, I’ll give them to you,
But I doubt you even have 2,000 people who can ride them.
DO YOU HEAR THE MOCKERY?
• We both know how weak you are
• We both know there is no human help available.
But that isn’t even the main taunt.
The goal of Satan is not to get Hezekiah to quit trusting in himself
Or to quit trusting in Egypt.
The goal of Satan is to get them to quit trusting God.
And that is the third taunt.
THIRDLY, if you’re counting on God to deliver you I have some bad news. You have offended God and He is on my side.
(7) “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”
Now Assyria shows his ignorance there,
Not realizing that those high places had been offensive to God.
But, is it true that Hezekiah has recently offended God?
Yes.
And there has to be at least a part of Hezekiah
That has to be wondering if he has angered God
And doesn’t deserve His deliverance.
(10) “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
Was that true?
Had God sent Assyria?
• Yes!
• Remember, Assyria was called “the rod of My anger” (10:5)
But it is also true that God had promised to save Jerusalem.
But you can see how effective such a taunt might have been.
• It must have really gotten them thinking about the threat outside the gates.
In one taunt Sennacherib just told Hezekiah that
• You are not as strong as you think you are,
• And that help you are waiting for isn’t coming.
He mocks their strength.
2) HE CONFIRMS THEIR FEARS (11-15)
Here we have A DIPLOMATIC REQUEST
From those whom Hezekiah sent to receive the message.
(11b) “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
You understand why.
• They are concerned that the people on the wall will hear just how bad the odds are and be overcome with fear and turn on Hezekiah.
Do the people on the wall know that Egypt isn’t coming?
Do the people on the wall know that Hezekiah may have offended God?
“You just keep this message between us
And don’t try to intimidate everyone else.”
But Satan isn’t willing to play that game.
Rabshakeh basically answers to say,
• “If I was about to be starved and doomed to eat my own poop I think I’d want to know.”
• “If someone was offering me a way to not have to eat my own poop, I’d want to know that too.”
And then Rabshakeh directly addresses those soldiers.
(13-14) “Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;”
What a crafty tactic.
And since Hezekiah’s diplomats specifically asked them not to do this, it looks even worse now.
Rabshakeh tells all those soldiers,
• “Hey, Hezekiah is lying to you.
• He knows he can’t deliver you.
• He knows your destined to eat your own poop before you die.
• He knows it, but he’s trying to hide it from you.
• That’s why these guys don’t want us talking to you.”
What a tactic to fracture the entire army.
What a tactic to blow this thing up from the inside.
“If you are afraid then you have every right to be.
Your King is about to get you killed and he won’t even tell you.”
That is a Satanic taunt.
He loves to remind you of your weakness and then he strives to reinforce your fears.
• You have to know that those soldiers were aware of military tactics.
• You have to know that those soldiers knew what could happen in a siege.
• And now the enemy is telling them it will definitely happen.
This is the enemy promising you that the thing you fear the worst
Is an absolute certainty.
He loves to do that.
3) HE APPEALS TO THEIR LUSTS (16-17)
Now you have to understand the soldiers viewpoint here.
If I were to ask:
• Do you want to eat your own poop and then die?
What would your answer be? “No”
And then if I were to ask:
• What do you want to do?
Your answer would be: “I want to go home”
And listen to this crafty liar.
(16-17) “‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.”
If you’ll just trust me then I’ll let you go home.
• You can sleep in your bed.
• You can eat your snacks.
• You can watch your TV.
Now yes, I will be taking you to a new land,
• But trust me, it’s not that bad.
• In fact, it’s a lot like your land.
• I’ve got grain and wine and bread and vineyards.
• I think you’re going to love it.
Just come on out,
There’s no need for you to deal with discomfort or suffering.
Satan has changed his tactics much.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
He offers what your flesh wants.
• That’s why it is so dangerous to walk by the flesh.
• That’s why it is so dangerous to gratify the flesh.
THE FLESH does not set out to honor or seek or trust God.
THE FLESH only cares about itself.
Romans 8:6-8 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
If you just take the path of least resistance
And follow the impulses of the flesh you will not be trusting God.
And Satan is trying hard to get you to do just that.
One more tactic.
• It’s as though Satan thinks he has them on the ropes.
• He’s got them thinking surely enough.
Now I just need to nudge them over the edge.
4) HE ENCOURAGES THEIR DOUBTS (18-20)
What is the one thing you’re hanging on to in your rebellion?
Hezekiah told you that “The LORD will deliver us.”
DO YOU DOUBT THAT AT ALL?
Well allow Satan to encourage that.
(19) “‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?”
And I hope you caught that third question.
“when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?”
Do you know what “Samaria” was?
• It was the capitol city of the northern kingdom Israel.
Wasn’t God supposed to be their God too?
• But God didn’t deliver them.
• Assyria conquered them.
WHAT IF GOD CAN’T DELIVER?
WHAT IF GOD WON’T DELIVER?
And just like that Satan encourages your doubts.
NOW YOU HAVE SEEN THAT all in your life EVERY TIME you engage in spiritual warfare as well.
His tactics are not new.
• He will mock your strength.
• He will confirm your fear.
• He will appeal to your lust.
• He will encourage your doubt.
He loves to send people across your path that will do all of those things.
It is very dangerous who you listen to.
But his attacks are clearly laid out.
Satan is seeking to sever their faith in God.
That is the first attack.
#2 THE FIRST ANSWER
Isaiah 36:21-37:7
Now first you notice a pretty stoic group of soldiers,
• Who despite the taunt of the enemy manage to keep their wits and obey Hezekiah.
• He told them not to answer and they didn’t.
And might I add at this point that this is A GREAT WAY TO FIGHT SATAN.
Much is made today of rebuking Satan
Or binding Satan or telling Satan to leave.
BUT THAT IS NOT THE COMMAND OF SCRIPTURE.
We see in Jude that even Michael the archangel would not rebuke Satan.
Jude 9 “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
WHAT IS OUR COMMAND REGARDING SATAN?
James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
• Our command is not to rebuke him.
• Our command is to resist him.
• Don’t listen
You don’t want to get into a debate with him.
He is the craftiest of all.
He is shrewd as a serpent.
Resist him.
And to the soldier’s credit, that is what they did.
They took the message of the enemy and relayed it to Hezekiah.
NOW, I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT AT THIS MOMENT
That there was likely much more
Than just a simple relaying of a message here.
You know people and I know people.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah’s plan is not a good one.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah was lying to them.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah had offended God and was in trouble.
• These people were just told that Hezekiah would lead them to eat their own poop but the king of Assyria would give them peace.
Don’t think for one second that they didn’t have some questions for Hezekiah regarding the way he was handling this situation.
So what about it Hezekiah?
What do you plan to do Hezekiah?
Did you know about Egypt not coming Hezekiah?
Is he right what he says about us starving Hezekiah?
Have you offended God Hezekiah?
You can imagine how he was approached.
So how do you answer Hezekiah?
And if you’ll remember back when we studied Isaiah
We noted that Hezekiah at this point returned to his previous faith.
He had made a few recent blunders, but on this day HE GOT IT RIGHT.
(37:1-4) “And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver. ‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”
• There is no self-sufficiency there.
• There is no dependance on Egypt there.
• There is no dependance on Babylon there.
This is what you call DENYING SELF.
When Jesus tells us:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
It’s not just a command to put away sin or self desires, though that is certainly part of it.
Primarily that is a command to forsake yourself as any kind of a savior.
• You’ve got to abandon any of your plans for saving yourself.
• You’ve got to abandon any of your logic for saving yourself.
• You must embrace Christ’s plan for saving you which is the cross.
You see that kind of self-denial here in Hezekiah.
What are you going to do Hezekiah?
“I’m going to pass the burden on to God!”
He petitions for Isaiah to cry out to God on his behalf.
We actually talked about where we think that prayer is recorded in the prophecy of Isaiah.
Isaiah 33:2-4 “O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress. At the sound of the tumult peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse. Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.”
Isaiah cried out to God to be a savior because
When God enters the battle “peoples flee” and “nations disperse”.
That is the very thing Hezekiah has in mind.
He wants God to come and do what he can’t do on his own.
But THERE IS MORE here to Hezekiah’s faith that is important for us to see.
WE ASKED AT THE BEGINNING:
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith?
• What is it that caused God to rise up and answer him?
We might say:
• What is it about Hezekiah’s faith that worked?
It is bound up in that request he made to Isaiah.
Look closely again at his request in verses 3 and 4
(3-4) “They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver. ‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”
FIRST OFF, Hezekiah tells it straight regarding the degree of trouble they are in.
• He says that this day “children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver”
• He calls it a day of “distress, rebuke and rejection”
THE POINT IS THERE IS NO STRENGTH IN US FOR “DELIVERANCE”
So again, don’t miss the humility of his faith.
I hear a lot today that might be almost categorized as prideful faith.
It is people who almost seem proud of their faith.
It is people who almost boast about how well they believe.
That clearly misses the point.
Hezekiah had no such arrogance.
But notice the next part.
(4) “‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”
• We are not denying that the prayer is for the surviving remnant.
• We are not denying that Hezekiah wants to live and he wants his people to survive.
• We are not denying that Hezekiah does not want to eat his own poop.
“Therefore offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.”
But what is the motive through which Hezekiah appeals to God?
“the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God”
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING HEZEKIAH’S FAITH
Hezekiah does not appeal for God to intervene
To defend the comforts of His people.
Hezekiah appeals for God to intervene for the glory of His name.
• That king has insulted you.
• That king has blasphemed you.
• That king has mocked you.
• That king says you can’t save.
• That king says you won’t save.
And Hezekiah wants God to rise up and defend His own glory.
Psalms 74:22-23 “Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long. Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.”
That is Hezekiah.
• There is nothing in this prayer about “me” or “how bad I’ve been treated”
• There is nothing in this prayer about deserving a better lot
• There is nothing here about Hezekiah’s comforts and life goals
Hezekiah undoubtedly learned this from that hiccup and rebuke he received when he welcomed the Babylonians.
Hezekiah undoubtedly learned that
When God does deliver He does so for His own glory.
Whether He saves or Judges; He does so for His glory.
This is the secret to Hezekiah’s faith.
This is the important thing we must learn.
Our faith is a tool for the glory of God.
• When we pray, it is for God to be glorified.
• When we trust, it is that God will glorify Himself.
And this changes everything.
What is it that you face in life?
What is your prayer?
Is it that God will jump through a hoop and do what you request?
Is that what you are believing?
Or is it that God will in whatever way He sees fit bring glory to His name through your circumstance?
For I can promise you that this is a prayer He answers every time!
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Hezekiah understands that
• Ultimately the enemy is not mocking him.
• The enemy is mocking God
Hezekiah prays that God will rise up and defend the glory of His name.
SO HOW DOES GOD ANSWER?
(5-7) “So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
THIS IS QUITE IRONIC.
When Rabshakeh first arrived at Jerusalem with the message of Sennacherib, do you remember his taunt?
Isaiah 36:5 “I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?”
• Sennacherib said that your problem is that you believe “empty words”.
• You listen to reports and counsel that you shouldn’t.
• You’re naïve and stupid to follow bad advice.
Do you think God does not take note of such arrogance?
What is it that God used to put a halt to the Assyrian advance?
“a rumor”
Proverbs 17:4 “An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”
God simply made him paranoid and afraid
And caused him to withdraw based on a rumor he heard.
Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
God rose up to defend the glory of His own name.
Take a peak to the end
Isaiah 37:35 “‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
And thus we learn a little bit about this great faith of Hezekiah.
He was always a man who trusted God.
• But his hiccup in life, where he took credit for what God had done,
• Taught Hezekiah that God operates for the glory of His name.
And when we call upon Him.
And when we trust in Him.
Our faith must be focused on that glory as well.
God saves men by faith apart from works
For the very simple purpose that no man may boast before Him.
What is the aim of your faith?
• Is it comfort?
• Is it your glory?
• Or is it the glory of God?
That is the aim of Hezekiah’s faith
And that is the faith that God responds to.
Now the battle isn’t over.
• There are still more threats on the way, but you see the foundation of it now.
And the encouragement for us is to seek God and trust Him
To glorify Himself in our every circumstance and battle.
