37 And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. 2 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. 3 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 [a]deliver. 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.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 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. 7 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.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that [b]the king had left Lachish. 9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [c]Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of [d]Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be [e]spared? 12 Did the gods of [f]those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Okay, now we might make a little fun of Rabshakeh… His king sends him to bully the Israelites, but when he gets back to the camp at Lachish, his king has left for another battle! So, as he is leaving to follow his king, he sends a parting taunt back to Hezekiah in vv. 10-13. In short, he says, “Hey, I gotta go… but don’t think I won’t be back to pummel you! And your puny God won’t stop me either, even though He won this time…”
In contrast to Rabshakeh and his fickle king, God speaks through Isaiah and assures Hezekiah that He is faithful and will protect them. God even tells them exactly what will happen to the king of Assyria when he does inevitably come back to make a second attempt at conquest.
This passage is a clear reminder that we should not put our hope and faith in human hands. Sure, people can do some amazing things, though it is from God that their abilities come. And He did create us to desire and need relationships. Yet there is no firm foundation on this earth, the only one that fits that description is God himself.
So be like Hezekiah, except you probably don’t have to tear your clothes… When you are in distress or feel despair creeping up, when the words you hear make you want to crawl into a ball and hide, hold on! Take your needs, your problems, all the despair and distress, and bring them to God’s feet. He is not just the God of Isaiah, He is our God, and there is no one like Him!