Isaiah 36: Sennacherib’s Slander

Discover the dramatic clash between faith and fear as we dissect Isaiah 36, where King Sennacherib's menacing presence looms over the kingdom of Judah. Can a nation under siege find strength in divine promises, or is reliance on alliances their only salvation? Join us on the Bible Breakdown Podcast, where we unravel the intense tension embedded in this ancient narrative. You'll hear the chilling messages delivered by the Assyrian king's chief of staff, challenging the confidence and loyalty of the Israelites in their hour of need. This episode promises a journey through historical power plays and spiritual lessons that resonate even today.

Pastor Brandon leads us through the gripping storyline, spotlighting King Hezekiah as a stalwart leader amidst the chaos of Assyrian aggression. From political intrigue to religious fidelity, we explore the dynamics at play as the Israelites stand poised on the brink of conflict. With each verse, we glean insights into the reliance on divine intervention over worldly alliances, while reflecting on Hezekiah's revered legacy as one of Israel's greatest kings. Whether you're rediscovering these tales or encountering them for the first time, expect to find profound themes of trust and resilience that echo through the ages.

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The More You Dig. The More You Find.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

All right, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Here we are, Isaiah 36. We're calling today Sennacherib's Slander. You heard it the craziest name you ever heard Sennacherib. Sennacherib's Slander. Assyria has arrived. We'll get into all of that in just a moment. But before we do all that, make sure you like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure that you are leaving us a five-star review on the podcast and, for heaven's sake, go to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook and comment. Be a part of that.

Speaker 1: 0:57

There's an amazing group of people that are doing devotions every day. The more we dig, the more we find. Get your Bibles open to Isaiah, chapter 36. Now, if you've been with us throughout all of Isaiah, remember the overall theme is God is our salvation and what Isaiah has been telling the nation of Israel and Judah is man. Listen, you have got to fix yourself, because there's political, social, religious tension all around. All these nations know that Assyria is wanting to come. They're invading and taking over all these smaller kingdoms and everyone's trying to align with one another and figure out who's on each other's team, because Assyria is coming and God keeps telling the nation of Israel listen, you have to return to me. These nations can't save you. I'm the only one that can save you. Stop it, you. And we see throughout these chapters, God's given this one judgment and this one judgment and Israel, you're going to be okay. And this one judgment and this one judgment and Israel, you're going to be okay. It's just this, back and forth, over and over again. And this is the moment Isaiah 36, Assyria, arrives.

Speaker 1: 2:03

They are finally there and there's some crazy names, and the craziest name is the king of Assyria. His name is Sennacherib. Okay, I'm going to count to three and I want you to say that with me, and if you've actually got your Bible out, you can see this ridiculous name and this is how you say it. Here we go One, two, three, Sennacherib. Ladies, if you are pregnant and you're having a boy and you have not thought of a name, might I suggest Sennacherib? You could just call him Senna Kerib or just Sisi Sennacherib, Okay, but there he is. And so let's read this and let's see. And also, by the way, if you were with us when we were reading through the kings first and second kings there's also a king's name in here that you will recognize. His name is Hezekiah, and he's thought by many people to be one of the greatest kings of Israel. There's many who say that you've got David Solomon, and then, after Solomon, a lot of people put Hezekiah as maybe the third greatest king. So let's read this together. Let's see what God's word says. Okay, here we go. Isaiah, chapter 36, verse 1, says this let's see what God's word says. Okay, here we go. Isaiah, chapter 36, verse 1, says this In the 14th year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them.

Speaker 1: 3:22

Then the king of Assyria sent his chief of staff from Lachish, with a huge army, to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where the cloth is washed. These are the officials who went out to meet with them Helikim, son of Helikiah, the palace administrator, Shebna, the court secretary, and Joah, son of Asaph, the royal historian. Then the Assyrian king's chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah this is what the great king of Assyria says. What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength. Who are you counting on that? You have rebelled against me On Egypt. If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable. But perhaps you will say to me we are trusting in the Lord, our God, but isn't he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only the altar there in Jerusalem? Pause real quick. This shows that Sennacherib has no idea who God is, because Hezekiah had tore down all the pagan shrines and said they can only worship God in Jerusalem, which is what they're supposed to do. But it shows he has no idea what he's talking about.

Speaker 1: 4:51

All right, verse eight. I'll tell you what. Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2000 horses. If you can find that many men to ride on them With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and charioteers? What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord's direction? The Lord himself told us attack this land and destroy it.

Speaker 1: 5:24

Then Helekim, Shebna and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don't speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear. But Sennacherib's chief of staff replied Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, For when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. He said so. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine Verse 13. Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to all the people on the wall Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria.

Speaker 1: 6:09

This is what the king says Don't let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you. Don't let him fool you into trusting the Lord by saying the Lord will rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king. Don't listen to Hezekiah. These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering. Make peace with me, Open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own. Well, Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this, one land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards. Don't let Hezekiah mislead you by saying the Lord will rescue us.

Speaker 1: 6:52

Have the gods of any of the other nations saved their people from the king of Assyria? What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arphad? What about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me? But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them do not answer him. Then Elikim, the son of Hezekiah, the palace administrator, Shebna, the court secretary, and Joah, son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair and they went to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.

Speaker 1: 7:41

Wow, what an amazing moment where it's time to trust God, it's time to stop theorizing and it's time to stop just making plans, and it's time to either stand in your faith or give up. And you know what this reminds me of Is? It reminds me of a verse in the book of Proverbs that says if you fail in the day of trouble, your strength was too small. And what that means is is it's easy to talk about being courageous when there's no battle. It's easy to talk about being courageous when there's no battle. It's easy to talk about being holy when you're not under temptation. It's easy to talk about suffering well when everything's going great, and it's easy to trust in God when you're not grieving. But when all of those things happen, that's when you find out if you've been preparing well. It reminds me of when I was a kid.

Speaker 1: 8:40

I lived in South Alabama and we would have hurricanes on occasion, and this one particular year we had heard that a hurricane was coming. It was the first one we were going to go through and there were some hurricanes that they knew were just really, really small and weren't going to do anything. And then they were the ones that you had to prepare for, and what you had to do is you had to prepare beforehand to board up your windows and kind of get your doorways ready. So if the water rose, it's just different things you had to do and you could act like you knew what was going on, but you didn't really pay attention until the storm was coming, and that was when you needed to know how to do the things right and you could tell how well you did, because after the storm you either didn't have a lot of damage or you had a whole lot of damage because you didn't do it right. And the first time we went through one of those I remember. After the fact we learned a lot of lessons. We learned that we knew some things and we didn't know a whole lot about other things.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Right, and I've also seen that in people's lives. I've seen people talk a great game about trusting in God and holding on to God and all this kind of stuff, and then they lose their job and they have a hard time finding another one. Or they go through the terrible loss of a miscarriage, or they experience a medical situation and they just crumble because they had the theory, but when it came time to stand, they had no foundation. But then I've also seen people who, when it got horrible, they stood strong and they would just you'd just be in awe at their faith. I'm thinking of a, of a couple right now who went through a terrible situation, but they had so much faith in God that it just made you almost feel ashamed, Cause you were like I don't think I could stand under that. And you'd hear them talk and they'd say I'm not standing. It's God through me standing because I trust in him. And it makes you realize that verse in Proverbs that if you fail in times of adversity, your strength was too small. But then the opposite is true If you stand in times of adversity, your strength, your foundation, was strong. And that's what's happening in Isaiah 36, is all of this stuff Isaiah has been talking about hey, Assyria is coming, we better get our hearts right and Assyria is coming, we better put our trust in God. Well, now, Assyria is here and Assyria is talking a lot. They got a lot of words, but it's time to either fall or stand.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Can I tell you, maybe you're not in this place right now, but I guarantee there's at least some of us who are listening to this right now. You're in that place where there ain't no game anymore, Like it's real, Like the bills are coming in and you got more money in your life, or there's a health issue you're dealing with, or you're dealing with grief, or you're dealing with some health situation that's not yours, but it's someone you love and you're carrying it right there with them. Or maybe it's a relationship issue and someone you love is hurting and you can't take that hurt for them and you're trying to trust God. But it's hard and it's time. You're at a crossroads. Are you going to trust God or not? Can I tell you it's time to trust God. It's time not to give up, but put your trust in Him. And what you're going to see over the next couple of chapters that when we put our trust in God, God has a way of working out miracles in ways that we couldn't imagine. Our job is not to come up with the answers. Our job is to trust Him and to take the next step. He's the one that does the impossible.

Speaker 1: 12:17

Let's pray, God. I hope and pray that there are so many people listening to this that they're not going through a difficult season, and I pray for them that you'll encourage their heart and prepare their heart so that when difficult seasons come, they'll be ready. But, God, I pray for those who are right in the middle of it. They're right in the middle of that storm, that battle, that difficulty, that confusion, that misunderstanding, that fear, that concern. Holy Spirit, that you will show yourself strong in their life. You'll encourage them, You'll strengthen them. You help them to realize that you have not given us a spirit of fear and intimidation, but a power of love and of a sound mind. You'll be strong in us today, In the powerful name of Jesus. We pray it. Amen and amen. Let's read our verse together. Isaiah 12, verse 2 says this God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has given me victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 37.