Today's Reading:

2 Kings 18:9-37
2 Kings 19
Isaiah 36
Isaiah 37
Psalm 76

Knowing and understanding languages of other countries can be very beneficial. Rabshakeh refused to stop talking in Hebrew. He shouted of the grotesqueness of the coming siege, boasting that no god had yet to defeat Assyria. Hezekiah’s officials tried to shield the Israelites from the terrifying words spoken in their own language. When hearts are fragile, fear spreads rapidly. The enemy was being intentionally loud rather than diplomatic. The people on the wall were in complete silence. Sometimes the best response is exactly like Hezekiah ordered: zip it and trust God.

Instead of relying on “Egyptian horses,” Hezekiah went straight to God and laid it all out there, spread before Him. No hiding. God hears; we cannot always keep scary words, bad reports, taunts, or bullying from loved ones’ ears, but we can teach them to turn to the One who cares and delivers. Spread your “letters” out before Him; God’s rest is the angel in the night. War still comes in different forms, and the enemy, especially Satan, loves to shout in our native language. We have to remember to zip it and let God handle it, which is easier said than done when you are hurting.

When the enemy speaks loudly in your own language (using your deepest fears, painful circumstances, or discouraging voices), do you engage, defend, or explain yourself?

Or, like Hezekiah, do you choose holy silence, spread the “letters” (the bad report, the threat, the fear) fully before the Lord, and let God answer in His own way?

What does it really mean to “zip it and trust God” in the middle of the shout?

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, threatened to take over the city of Jerusalem in Judah. Sennacherib had already conquered 46 fortified cities in Judah (and prior to that the whole Northern Kingdom of Israel). He sent word to ask why Hezekiah, the king of Judah, had stopped paying tribute. There was a divine intervention, with an angel striking down the Assyrian army. The Assyrian records outside of the Bible recorded all of their victories, but they neglect to mention Jerusalem, most likely because they did not conquer that location. This history parallels closely in the book of 2 Kings, while 2 Chronicles is a faith summary.

The three-year siege on Samaria (N) ended when Assyria captured it in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign. The Israelites in the north were then deported to Assyria. This should have been a lesson to Judah that God was using Assyria in judgment. Paying the enemy never produces the right results. Hezekiah had held off a takeover until his 14th year as king by paying tribute of silver and gold. Rabshakeh, the commander of the Assyrian army, went to Hezekiah from Lachish, which had recently been conquered. Lachish was a fortified city in Judah, and after it was conquered by Assyria, it became their headquarters.

Sennacherib came to the upper pool in Jerusalem, and Hezekiah’s officials (Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah) went out to meet them. The pool was outside of the city walls. The people on the walls could see and hear the taunting (you are weak and cannot even put men on horses). Rabshakeh wanted the people to hear this as it was like psychological warfare. Surprised that the Assyrians could speak Hebrew, Hezekiah’s men did not want the locals to hear that hardships were coming.

The upper pool was an important part of the city’s water supply. It was also the exact spot Isaiah met King Ahaz decades earlier (Isaiah 7:3), when Ahaz was panicking, and Isaiah said, trust God. Now Hezekiah had the opportunity to make the same mistake of relying on human power, or to trust God. Rabshakeh taunted Hezekiah, saying, you would eat poo if the siege continued. This set up the reading for the Assyrian arrogance versus Hezekiah’s prayerful trust in God. Rabshakeh wanted Jerusalem to surrender in peace with Assyria, and then they would become prosperous. He said to look at all the cities Assyria has taken; no one could win against them. Human strongholds like Lachish would fall, but God defends Zion.

The officials returned to tell Hezekiah what happened. Hezekiah prepared. He stopped the spring, repaired the walls, made weapons, and encouraged his troops. God will help and fight our battles. The fortified walls do not give the Assyrian army a chance to use the water or poison it. Isaiah said to just have faith. Hezekiah sent his men to have Isaiah seek God. After the trash talk from Lachish and the threatening letters from Sennacherib mocking God, Hezekiah went straight to the Temple, spread out the letters, and prayed, “You alone are God.” He knows exactly where his strength and deliverance came from.

The remnant of Judah will take root and bear fruit. Jerusalem would have a remnant, not because Judah was perfect or that the walls were fortified, but because of God’s commitment to His people. God planned for Assyria to turn the cities into a pile of rubble. He encouraged Hezekiah through Isaiah’s prophecies. God gave Hezekiah a three-year sign as proof He would deliver them.

• Year 1- Eat whatever grows by itself that you did not plant, what springs up from spilled grain or left over roots.
• Year 2- Eat what grows from the prior year’s plants, sprouting on their own.
• Year 3- Return to normal farming of sowing seeds, harvesting, planting and enjoying the fruit.

This was a visible and practical way that God would save Jerusalem from Assyria. The invasion would mess up their normal life, but God promised the remnant would survive and eventually return to prosperity, thriving again. Proving that weeds are edible, and the remnant will take root.

God Himself would defeat Assyria; Judah would not have to use any weapons. The angel of the Lord came (Christophany), and 185,000 of the Assyrian army were killed overnight. Sennacherib retreated and left Lachish to go back to their capital of Nineveh. There, Sennacherib’s own sons killed him. Hezekiah was exalted, and this fulfilled the prophecy 37:7 that Sennacherib would fall by the sword.

Imagine praying in secret, and a friend calling up to say, “Hey, I just heard from God, and He told me to tell you…” That is exactly what it was like for Hezekiah with Isaiah.

Psalm 76- This was a celebration of God’s power and how He defends Jerusalem from enemy attacks. The psalmist said God is known in Judah and His name is great in Israel. When enemies rise against God’s city, God Himself will rise in judgment. The warriors fell into deep sleep (death) and He pronounced judgment.

The remnant will be restored and God reigns in Zion yet also in heaven as the ultimate Judge and Protector.

Today's Discussion question:

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