Isaiah 36:20

Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? WHO (ARE THEY) ... ? (Compare ; .) Here he virtually contradicts his own assertion (), that he had 'come up against the land with the Lord.' Liars need good memories. He classes Yahweh with the idols of the other lands; nay, thinks Him inferior in proportion as Judah, under His tutelage, was less than the lands under the tutelage of the idols....

20._That Jehovah should rescue Jerusalem out of my hand? _(45) The particle כי (_ki_) is taken by commentators in both places interrogatively, “Did the gods of the nations deliver? And will your God deliver?” But in order to make the meaning flow more smoothly, I have preferred to render the second clause, “that your God should deliver;” for the repetition of the same word marks a resemblance. Yet the words appear also to contain irony; as if he had said in mockery, “Yes; as the gods of the nations delivered their worshippers, so will your God assist you.” This insolence of ungodly men arises from their not understanding that God punishes the sins of men when they suffer any adversity. And first they go wrong in this respect that they institute a wicked and absurd comparison, “I have conquered that nation, and therefore I am better or stronger.” They do not percei

PART II. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EVENTS IN THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH (CH. 36-39.). SECTION I. SENNACHERIB'S ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE JUDAEA, AND HIS OVERTHROW (Isaiah 36:1; Isaiah 37:1.). EXPOSITION IF the Book of Isaiah be regarded as the result of a gradual accretion (see the General Introduction), whether that accretion is to be ascribed to the action of the prophet himself or to that of later editors, we may equally consi

WHO ARE THEY AMONGST ALL THE GODS OF THESE LANDS, THAT HAVE DELIVERED THEIR LAND OUT OF MY HAND?.... Not one of them, it is suggested; wherefore then should it be thought practicable, THAT THE LORD SHOULD DELIVER JERUSALEM OUT OF MY HAND? thus blasphemously setting the Lord God of Israel upon a level with the fictitious gods of the Gentiles; though these could not, the Lord could, being the Lord God Almighty. If Rabshakeh was an apostate Jew, he must have known better; but the malice of such is usually the greatest....

THE HISTORICAL PARENTHESIS (36-39) The center of the book of Isaiah is a brief but deeply interesting historical account of events during the reign of King Hezekiah. His name is mentioned not less than thirty-one times in these Chapter s. His great works in reformation and otherwise are recorded in 2 Kings 18:4, 2 Chronicles 29:1; 2Ch 30:5-22, 2 Kings 20:20. From Proverbs 25:1 we learn that he was a great lover of the Word of God, for he had it copied, perhaps by many scribes. He was 25 years old when he ascended the throne and reigned 29 years, 727-699 B.C. No doubt he was one of the greatest kings of Judah. T

ISAIAH 36-39. This section has been extracted from 2 Kings 18:13 to 2 Kings 20:19, and the Song of Hezekiah has been added. For an exposition see the notes on 2 K.; here we have simply to deal with the Song of Hezekiah. ISAIAH 38:10. THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM IMMINENT DEATH. This is now generally regarded as a post-exilic psalm. Its absence in the parallel narratine in Kings is significant. Apparently it was inserted here by an editor who thought it suitable to Hezekiah's circumstances. If, as seems likely, it has been influenced by the Book of Job, it must be post-exilic. The title cannot, any more than the Psalm titles, weigh against internal evidence. Hezekiah's writing after his recov

The Rabshakeh's appeal to the people....

BEWARE, LEST HEZEKIAH PERSUADE— _Let not Hezekiah seduce you with words of this kind._ Vitringa. Agreeably to the opinion of all the Pagan nations, Rabshakeh considers and speaks of Jehovah as the tutelary deity of the Jews: Now, as their tutelary deities had not delivered the cities and nations here mentioned, the Assyrian with a blasphemous insolence infers, that the God of Israel could not deliver Jerusalem out of his hands. See chap. Isaiah 10:9, &c. and Hezekiah's fine answer to this reproach in the 18th and 19th verses of the next chapter....

2. PROPOSITION TEXT: Isaiah 36:13-20 13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews-' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you: 15 neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of 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 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you,

1. IN THE FOURTEENTH YEAR] The chronology is difficult. From Isaiah 38:1; Isaiah 39:1 we might conclude that Hezekiah's sickness and the Babylonian embassy followed Sennacherib's invasion, whereas Isaiah 38, 39 chronologically must precede Isaiah 36, 37. Samaria fell in 722, Hezekiah's 6th year (2 Kings 18:10); Sennacherib's invasion of Judah was in 701, which would therefore be Hezekiah's 27th year. The date 14th year here given must then be an error. Hezekiah reigned in all 29 years; 15 additional years were promised in his sickness (Isaiah 38:5), which accordingly must have befallen him in his 14th year. It looks as though the note of time in