Isaiah 36:7

But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? BUT IF THOU SAY TO ME ... The Assyrian mistakes Hezekiah's religious reforms, whereby he took away the high places (), as directed against Yahweh. Some of the high places may have been dedicated to Yahweh, but worshipped under the form of an image, in violation of the Second Commandment. So the "brazen serpent" (broken in pieces by Hezekiah, and called Nehushtan, 'a piece of brass,' because it was worshipped by Israel), was originally set up by God's command. Hence, the Assyrian's allegation has a specious colour-You cannot look for help from Yahweh, for your king has 'taken away His altars.' The familiarity which Rabshakeh shows, not only with the Hebrew l...

7._And if thou shalt say to me. _Rabshakeh employs an argument which consists of three parts. Either Hezekiah thinks that he has sufficient strength to resist, or he expects assistance from Egypt, or he trusts in God. If he trusts in himself, he is mistaken; for what is he when compared to my king? As to Egypt, it will render him no assistance, but on the contrary will inflict serious damage. It remains therefore that he expects some assistance from God. But he has thrown down his altars and curtailed his worship; will he not rather be punished on that account? In short, this Rabshakeh takes away from the pious king all assistance, both divine and human. By this slander Satan attempted not only to wound the heart of the king, that it might sink under the weight, of affliction, but to make an impression on the light and fickle multitude; because hitherto in the hearts of many there remain...

Verse Isaiah 36:7. _BUT IF THOU SAY_ - "But if ye say"] _Two_ ancient MSS. have תאמרו _tomeru_ in the plural number; so likewise the _Septuagint,_ _Chaldee_, and the other copy, 2 Kings 18:22. _YE SHALL WORSHIP BEFORE THIS ALTAR_ - "To worship only before this altar"] See 2 Chronicles 32:12....

BUT IF THOU SAY TO ME - If you shall make this plea, that you believe Yahweh will protect you in your revolt. The word ‘thou’ here refers to Hezekiah, or to the ambassadors speaking in his name. In 2 Kings 18:22, it is, ‘but if ye say unto me;’ that is, you ambassadors. The sense is substantially the same. IS IT NOT HE ... - This is given as a reason why they should not put their confidence in Yahweh. The reason is, that he supposed that Hezekiah had removed all the altars of Yahweh from all parts of the land, and that they could not calculate on the protection of a God whose worship bad been abolished. It is probable that Sennacherib and Rabshakeh had beard of the reformation which had been effected by Hezekiah; of his destroying the groves and altars which had been consecrated in the reign of his father to idolatry

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

BUT IF THOU SAY TO ME, WE TRUST IN THE LORD OUR GOD,.... In his promises, providence, power, and protection, and not in human counsels and strength; not in allies and auxiliaries, as Pharaoh king of Egypt; should this be replied, Rabshakeh has something to say to that; having shown the vanity of trusting in the above things, he now proceeds to beat them off of all trust in the Lord their God: IS IT NOT HE, WHOSE HIGH PLACES AND WHOSE ALTARS HEZEKIAH HATH TAKEN AWAY; the question might easily be answered in the negative; no, he has not; the high places and altars which Hezekiah took away were the high places and altars of Heathen gods, of false deities, and not of the true God of Israel, and which was to his honour and glory; but Rabshakeh would make a crime of it, and, ignorantly supposing that these were the altars and high places of the God of Israel, would insinuate that the taking o...

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

THOU. Some codices read "ye", as in 2 Kings 18:22. THE LORD. Hebrew. _Jehovah._ App-4. GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ App-4. IS IT NOT HE... ? Manifesting Rabshakeh's ignorance....

The speech of the Rabshakeh, dealing with the two motives which might be supposed to have induced Hezekiah to rebel: (1) his reliance on the help of Egypt (Isaiah 36:6), and (2) his religious confidence in Jehovah (Isaiah 36:7); and urging him to submit to the king of Assyria (Isaiah 36:8)....