1
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
2
The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah, with a great army. He took his stand by the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the Fuller’s Field.
3
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the steward of the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.
4
The Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this that you have?
5
You think that mere words are counsel and strength for war! Now, in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?
6
Behold, you trust in the broken reed of that staff, in Egypt, which will pierce and wound the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
7
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Before this altar you shall worship’?
8
Now therefore, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them.
9
How then can you repulse one captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
10
Moreover, have I now come up without the LORD’s will against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’”
11
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
12
But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Has he not also sent me to the men sitting on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13
Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14
Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you!”
15
Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
16
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me, and each of you will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and drink from his own cistern,
17
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.
18
Do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will deliver us!’ Have the gods of the nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of the land of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
20
Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD should be able to deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’
21
But the people kept silent and answered him not a word, for the king had commanded, ‘Do not answer him.’
22
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they reported to the king the words of the chief cupbearer.
🛡️📣🏰 Summary of Isaiah 36 – Assyria’s Challenge and Hezekiah’s Crisis of Faith
Isaiah 36 begins the historical section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 36–39), parallel to 2 Kings 18–20. In this chapter, Rabshakeh, the spokesman of King Sennacherib of Assyria, comes to Jerusalem and delivers an intimidating speech to the leaders of Judah. He attacks Hezekiah’s trust in the LORD, belittles Judah’s strength, and compares the God of Israel with the gods of other nations that have been defeated. This is a test of faith in the face of great threat.
📌 1. Background of the Assyrian Attack (verses 1–2)
“In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah… Sennacherib invaded all the fortified cities of Judah…”
- Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had defeated many cities in Judah, leaving only Jerusalem
- Rabshakeh was sent with a large force to Jerusalem, meeting the leaders of Judah at the upper pool of the city
🎯 When crisis comes, faith is tested at a strategic point — will they rely on human strength or on God?
📌 2. Rabshakeh’s Propaganda (verses 3–10)
“On what basis do you trust like that?”
- He mocked Hezekiah’s trust in Egypt and in the Lord
- Calling Hezekiah’s worship an insult because he had destroyed the high places of worship
- Claiming that the Lord himself had sent Assyria to attack Judah
🎯 True faith will be mocked by the world — and the enemy will twist the truth to sow doubt.
📌 3. The Cry in Hebrew (verses 11–20)
“Speak to your servants in Aramaic…”
- The leaders of Judah asked the Rabshakeh not to speak in Hebrew
- But he shouted even louder so that all the people could hear — spreading fear
- He offered false peace: “Eat each one from his own vine…”, then threatened destruction
- He compared the God of Israel with other gods who had failed to save their nations
🎯 The enemy seeks to shake faith through the voice of fear and human reasoning.
📌 4. The Response in Silence (verses 21–22)
“But they remained silent and answered him not a word…”
- Hezekiah had commanded them not to answer
- The envoys returned with their clothes torn, a sign of deep grief
🎯 Silence is a weapon of faith — not every attack must be answered with words, but with surrender to God.
📖 Main Teaching
- Faith in the Lord will be tested by the great powers of the world
- The enemy will attack identity, faith, and trust in spiritual leaders
- Fear is often spread through propaganda and manipulation
- Relying on human help or political power (Egypt) cannot save
- Sometimes silence and surrender are stronger than answering an attack
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Our weapons are not worldly weapons, but weapons equipped by the power of God…”
➡️ Like Hezekiah, we do not fight with physical strength, but with divine power to tear down the enemy’s strongholds.
“Always be ready at all times to give an answer…”
➡️ But also: with gentleness and respect, like a people who remain silent in their time.
“Do not fear those who can kill the body…”
➡️ Rabshakeh represents the frightening voice of the world — but the Lord is far greater.
📖 Jesus before Pilate (Mark 15:5)
“But Jesus answered no more at all, so that Pilate marveled.”
➡️ Silence under pressure is proof of strength and surrender to God’s will.
🎯 Isaiah 36 shows how crisis can become a stage for faith — not by striking back at the enemy, but by entrusting the battle to the Lord.
🕊️ “What is the basis for your trust like that?” – Isaiah 36:4
🕊️ “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you by saying: The LORD will deliver us.” – Isaiah 36:18
🕊️ “But they remained silent and answered not a single word.” – Isaiah 36:21
