JULY 24 ISAIAH 36-39

Isaiah 36-39

We shift gears in these four chapters from prophecy to history. Isaiah lived long enough to serve under several kings in Judah, and the best one—by far—was Hezekiah. Though much of what we learn in these chapters was recounted in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32, it was important for these events to appear here as well, because of the prophet Isaiah’s personal involvement in these remarkable happenings. You could scroll back to Kings and Chronicles to see what I wrote about Hezekiah, so here, I’ll highlight Hezekiah’s prophet:

Isaiah 36 sets the stage. Judah is in big trouble. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and his army are descending upon God’s people. He sends a messenger many miles ahead of his fighting force to begin the psychological warfare. One by one, the messenger anticipates the hopes of God’s people, and shatters them:

Don’t hope for help from Egypt, it is a bruised reed.

Don’t trust the Lord, for we’ve sought His help, too.

Don’t trust your God, for no other country’s god has been able to withstand us.


In Isaiah 37, Hezekiah humbles himself and seeks out Isaiah, who tells his king not to worry about the messenger. God has shown him that he’ll hear a rumor and return to Sennacherib. And he does. But soon a threatening letter arrives from Sennacherib. Hezekiah lays it out before the Lord and prays. Isaiah, meanwhile, sends a word from the Lord to Hezekiah saying that Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem! The angel of the Lord lays waste to 180,000 of the Assyrian army, and those left follow Sennacherib home.

Isaiah 38 tells of Hezekiah’s sickness. Isaiah, prompted by the Lord, sends word that he will die, and Hezekiah weeps bitterly. Isaiah receives another word from God saying: “I have seen your tears and will add another 15 years to your life,” (v. 5) and to prove it, makes the sun’s shadow back up 10 steps!

Isaiah 39 reveals one of the few mistakes that Hezekiah ever made. Envoys from Babylon come to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, and Hezekiah shows them around the city. When they leave, Isaiah asks what he had showed them. Hezekiah said, “Everything.” Then, Isaiah prophesies that they (the Babylonians) would one day return and carry God’s people into exile, but not until Hezekiah was long dead.

Tomorrow, we begin what some call Second Isaiah, but what I call: the second half of Isaiah.

Your fellow traveler through the Word,

Pastor Gary