Shaken but Not Forsaken (Isa. 36:21–37:20)
How did the clever oratory of the rabshakeh affect Hezekiah and his officials? (2 Kings 18:37–19:4, Isa. 36:21–37:4.)
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Shaken to the core and mourning in distress, Hezekiah turned to
God, humbly seeking the intercession of Isaiah, the very prophet whose counsel his father had ignored.
How did God encourage Hezekiah? (Isa. 37:5–7.)
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The message was brief, but it was enough. God was on the side of His
people. Isaiah predicted that Sennacherib would hear a rumor that would distract him from his attack on Judah. This was immediately fulfilled.
Temporarily frustrated, but by no means giving up for long, Sennacherib sent Hezekiah a threatening message: “ ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. . . . Have the gods of the nations delivered them?’ ” (Isa. 37:10, 12, NRSV; see also 2 Chron. 32:17).
This time Hezekiah went straight to the temple and spread the message
out before the Lord of hosts, “ ‘enthroned above the cherubim’ ”
(Isa. 37:14–16, NRSV).
How did Hezekiah’s prayer identify what was at stake in Jerusalem’s crisis? (Isa. 37:15–20.)
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Sennacherib had pointedly attacked Hezekiah’s strongest defense:
faith in his God. Rather than buckling under, Hezekiah appealed to God to demonstrate who He is, “ ‘so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord’ ” (Isa. 37:20, NRSV).
Read prayerfully Hezekiah’s prayer (Isa. 37:15–20). What aspects
about God does he focus on? What principle do we see in this
prayer that can give us encouragement and strength to stay faithful
in our own personal crises?