There are 2 major sections in the Book of Isaiah: Isaiah 1-39 and Isaiah 40-66. Our reading today concludes the first major section.

In Isaiah 36-37, we have the account of Judah’s miraculous deliverance from the superpower Assyria. It is very significant that the army commander of Assyria issues his threat to the leaders of Judah from the very place (Isaiah 36:2) where years earlier, the prophet Isaiah had stood, and urged King Ahaz to trust the LORD in the face of an impending threat from King Rezin and King Pekah. In that situation, the Davidic King, Ahaz, chose not to trust the LORD’s word of promise, but instead, trusted in a military and political alliance with Assyria (2 Kings 16:7-18).

A Son Who Is Not Like His Father

In our present situation, Ahaz’ son, King Hezekiah, has to deal with the impending threat of Assyria. This is the consequence of his father’s unfaithfulness to the covenant with Yahweh God. Because of Ahaz’ idolatry years before, the very thing he chose to trust in, is now seeking to destroy God’s people. As we have mentioned in our prior blogs on the Book of Isaiah, a key principle for the prophet Isaiah is that whatever you trust in place of the LORD will eventually seek to destroy you.

In Isaiah 36-37, we see that King Hezekiah does not make the same mistake that his father made. He reveals the greatness of his heart by humbling himself before the LORD (Isaiah 37:14-20) and trusting Isaiah’s prophetic word (Isaiah 37:21-35). As a result, Judah experiences a powerful deliverance. The arrogant Assyrian King Sennacherib, who sought to come against Yahweh God like He was one of the idols of the other conquered nations of Assyria, was routed. His army was defeated by Yahweh God and he himself was shamefully put to death by 2 of his own sons (Isaiah 37:36-38).

A Good King But Still Not The Messiah King

In Isaiah 38 & 39, we see the humanness of Judah’s faithful King Hezekiah. He is a good king but he is not the Messiah King promised in Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:1-7. He has led God’s people to experience a supernatural deliverance from certain destruction at the hands of the superpower Assyria. But Hezekiah is a mortal and fallible human leader.

His mortality is seen in his illness that we read about in Isaiah 38. And even though God heals him and adds 15 years to his life, he will still eventually die. The events of Isaiah 39 reveals his fallibility. Instead of giving God the glory when the envoys of Babylon come and celebrate his healing from serious illness, he shows off his treasures to the Babylonians. He makes a fool of himself as he shows his wealth to “the politely approving gaze of the Babylonians, who have in fact seen wealth many times the value of the Judean’s little horde in their own homeland” (Oswalt).

Hezekiah trusted the LORD in a great moment of crisis in Judah’s history when they faced obliteration at the hands of the Assyrian army. But it seems like Hezekiah, just like many of the Davidic kings before him, has failed learn to deeply trust in the LORD in the face of human glory. His response to Isaiah’s word is shockingly self-serving (Is. 39:8). Isaiah’s message is that Judah’s ultimate hope rests in One yet to come.

Hezekiah’s life demonstrates that Yahweh God can be trusted. But his life also demonstrates that “our trust can no more be in good human beings than in bad ones. Our trust is in God alone” (Oswalt). In Isaiah 40-55, we will see several prophesies of the Suffering Servant (i.e. Isaiah 49:1-7) who will resemble in several ways the Messianic King prophesied in Isaiah 9:1-7 & Isaiah 11:1-9. This divine and human figure will fully accomplish God’s purposes.

The Christian Church believes this long-promised King to be Jesus Christ. All of God’s promises are Yes and Amen in Christ (2 Cor. 1:18-22). All of God’s purposes will be fulfilled in and through Jesus the Messiah. He alone is fully faithful. He is our justification and victory before God. Let us fully trust Him and learn to abide in Him and walk with Him in the power of God’s Spirit.

QOTD: Is your ultimate hope in yourself and man, or in the divine-human King Jesus?