1. 1. ISAIAH 37 COMMENTARY EDITED BY GLENN PEASE Jerusalems Deliverance Foretold 1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 1.BARNES, When king Hezekiah heard it - Heard the account of the words of Rabshakeh Isa_36:22. That he rent his clothes - (See the note at Isa_36:22). He covered himself with sackcloth - (See the note at Isa_3:24). And went into the house of the Lord - Went up to the temple to spread out the case before Yahweh Isa_37:14. This was in accordance with the usual habit of Hezekiah; and it teaches us that when we are environed with difficulties or danger and when the name of our God is blasphemed, we should go and spread out our feelings before God, and seek his aid. 2. Pulpit, This chapter is the sequel of the preceding, and is so closely connected with it that the two really constitute but one narrative. Isa_37:22 of Isa_36:1-22. is more closely connected with Isa_37:1-38, than with the position of the narrative to which it is attached. Isa_37:1 When King Hezekiah heard it; rather, heard them; i.e. the "words of Rabshakeh," which his officials reported to him. He rent his clothes. He did as they had done (Isa_36:22; see the comment on that verse). But he went further, showing a deeper sense of horror and affliction than the officials had shown by being covered with sackcloth (on the combination of the two modes of showing grief or horror, see Gen_37:34; 2Sa_3:31; 1Ki_21:27; Est_4:1, etc.). And went into the house of the Lord. The temple was not only a place for offering praise and sacrifice, but also a "house of prayer". Hezekiah can, on this occasion, have gone up to the house of the Lord only to pray.
2. 2. 3. GILL, And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it,.... The report that his ministers made to him of the blasphemies and threatenings of Rabshakeh, the general of the Assyrian army: that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth; the one because of the blasphemies he heard; the other cause of the destruction he and his people were threatened with: and went into the house of the Lord; the temple, to pray to him there: he could have prayed in his own house, but he chose rather to go to the house of God, not so much on account of the holiness of the place, but because there the Lord promised, and was used to hear the prayers of his people, 1Ki 8:29,30 as also because it was more public, and would be known to the people, and set them an example to follow him in. Trouble should not keep persons from, but bring them to, the house of God; here the Lord is to be inquired of, here he is to be found; and from hence he sends deliverance and salvation to his people. Nothing is more proper than prayer in times of affliction; it is no ways unbecoming nor lessening the greatest king on earth to lay aside his royal robes, to humble himself before God, in a time of distress, and pray unto him. Hezekiah does not sit down to consider Rabshakeh's speech, to take it in pieces, and give an answer to it, but he applies unto God. 4. HENRY, We may observe here, 1. That the best way to baffle the malicious designs of our enemies against us is to be driven by them to God and to our duty and so to fetch meat out of the eater. Rabshakeh intended to frighten Hezekiah from the Lord, but it proves that he frightens him to the Lord. The wind, instead of forcing the traveller's coat from him, makes him wrap it the closer about him. The more Rabshakeh reproaches God the more Hezekiah studies to honour him, by rending his clothes for the dishonour done to him and attending in his sanctuary to know his mind. 2. That it well becomes great men to desire the prayers of good men and good ministers. Hezekiah sent messengers, and honourable ones, those of the first rank, to Isaiah, to desire his prayers, remembering how much his prophecies of late had plainly looked towards the events of the present day, in dependence upon which, it is probable, he doubted not but that the issue would be comfortable, yet he would have it to be so in answer to prayer: This is a day of trouble, therefore let it be a day of prayer. 3. When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest in prayer: Now that the children are brought to the birth, but there is not strength to bring forth, now let prayer come, and help at a dead lift. When pains are most strong let prayers be most lively; and, when we meet with the greatest difficulties, then is a time to stir up not ourselves only, but others also, to take hold on God. Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth 5. JAMISON, Isa_37:1-38. Continuation of the narrative in the thirty-sixth chapter. sackcloth (See on Isa_20:2). house of the Lord the sure resort of Gods people in distress (Psa_73:16, Psa_73:17; Psa_77:13).
3. 3. 6. K&D 1-4, The king and the deputation apply to Isaiah. And it came to pass, when king Hizkiyahu had heard, he rent his clothes, and wrapped himself in mourning linen, and went into the house of Jehovah. And sent Eliakim the house-minister, and Shebna (K. omits ) the chancellor, and the eldest of the priests, wrapped in mourning linen, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet (K. has what is inadmissible: the prophet son of Amoz). And they said to him, Thus saith Hizkiyahu, A day of affliction, and punishment, and blasphemy is this day; for children are come to the matrix, and there is no strength to bring them forth. Perhaps Jehovah thy God will hear the words (K. all the words) of Rabshakeh, with which the king of Asshur his lord has sent him to revile the living God; and Jehovah thy God will punish for the words which He hath heard, and thou wilt make intercession for the remnant that still exists. The distinguished embassy is a proof of the distinction of the prophet himself (Knobel). The character of the deputation accorded with its object, which was to obtain a consolatory word for the king and people. In the form of the instructions we recognise again the flowing style of Isaiah. , as a synonym of , , is used as in Hos_5:9; (from the kal ) according to Isa_1:4; Isa_5:24; Isa_52:5, like (from the piel ), Neh_9:18, Neh_9:26 (reviling, i.e., reviling of God, or blasphemy). The figure of there not being sufficient strength to bring forth the child, is the same as in Isa_66:9. (from , syn. , Gen_38:29) does not signify the actual birth (Luzzatto, punto di dover nascere), nor the delivering-stool (Targum), like mashber shel-chayyah, the delivering-stool of the midwife (Kelim xxiii. 4); but as the subject is the children, and not the mother, the matrix or mouth of the womb, as in Hos_13:13, He (Ephraim) is an unwise child; when it is time does he not stop in the children's passage (mashber banm), i.e., the point which a child must pass, not only with its head, but also with its shoulders and its whole body, for which the force of the pains is often not sufficient? The existing condition of the state resembled such unpromising birth-pains, which threatened both the mother and the fruit of the womb with death, because the matrix would not open to give birth to the child. like in Isa_11:9. The timid inquiry, which hardly dared to hope, commences with 'ulai. The following future is continued in perfects, the force of which is determined by it: and He (namely Jehovah, the Targum and Syriac) will punish for the words, or, as we point it, there will punish for the words which He hath heard, Jehovah thy God (hokhach, referring to a judicial decision, as in a general sense in Isa_2:4 and Isa_11:4); and thou wilt lift up prayer (i.e., begin to offer it, Isa_14:4). He will hear, namely as judge and deliverer; He hath heard, namely as the omnipresent One. The expression, to revile the living God (le chareph 'Elohm chai), sounds like a comparison of Rabshakeh to Goliath (1Sa_17:26, 1Sa_17:36). The existing remnant was Jerusalem, which was not yet in the enemy's hand (compare Isa_1:8-9). The deliverance of the remnant is a key-note of Isaiah's prophecies. But the prophecy would not be fulfilled, until the grace which fulfilled it had been met by repentance and faith. Hence Hezekiah's weak faith sues for the intercession of the prophet, whose personal relation to God is here set forth as a closer one than that of the king and priests. 7. PULPIT, Spiritual advice in, time of need not to be despised even by great kings. The great of the earthkings, princes, nobles, statesmen, generalsare too apt to rest upon their own internal gifts of wisdom, talent, sagacity, cleverness, and to place little reliance upon others. Especially are they apt to feel a jealousy towards "the spiritualty," and to hold themselves above the necessity of seeking aid from persons whom they view as unpractical, ignorant of worldly business, flighty,
4. 4. enthusiastic, fanatical. Ahab, when he determined to renew the Syrian war, and to attempt the recovery of Ramoth-Gilead, took no counsel, so far as appears, with any one but himself, and certainly neglected to ask the advice of the only true prophet of Jehovah living within reach (1Ki_22:3-8). Josiah failed to take the advice of Jeremiah before going out to meet Necho (2Ch_35:20-24); Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah went against his advice in resisting Nebuchadnezzar. It has become almost a principle of modern politics that the spiritualty are not to advise except on matters closely connected with religion or morals, and even on such matters their advice is looked upon with suspicion. The cuckoo-cry of "priestcraft" is raised, and the spiritualty is bidden to confine its, If strictly to its own sphere, and not to intermeddle in the ordinary politics of a nation. Hezekiah's conduct suggests a contrary lesson, seeming to teach I. THAT THE SPIRITUALTY ARE THE BEST ADVISERS EVEN IN TEMPORAL MATTERS. For, first, they have a less direct interest in such matters, and so are likely to give more unbiased counsel. Secondly, they are accustomed to take into account remoter eventualities, as well as immediate results, and are therefore likely to entertain broader views than others. Thirdly, they are more keenly alive than laics to the moral aspect of political questions, which is often a most important aspect, and one that deserves to have a preponderating weight in determining action. II. THAT IN CONSULTING THEM IT IS WELL TO SHOW THEM DUE RESPECT. Disrespect is the ordinary rule when the politicians of the world condescend to make any reference at all to the spiritualty. "Hasten hither Micaiah, the son of Imlah," strikes the keynote of their utterances (1Ki_22:9). It is not uncommon for them even to dictate what the spiritualty shall say (1Ki_22:13). Hezekiah was more respectful, and more wise. He sent his highest officers of state to the house of the prophet, and humbly asked his prayers and his advice. No doubt there is a wide difference between such a prophet as Isaiah and a modern bishop, or archbishop, or conclave of bishops. Still, if there is to be consultation of these last, a show of respect for them should at least be maintained. It cannot be expected that otherwise they will regard their advice as of importance, or apply their minds very carefully to give the best advice in their power. III. THAT IN THE WORST STRAITS THEY CAN GIVE VALUABLE HELP, IF NOT BY ADVICE, YET BY PRAYER. "Wherefore lift up thy prayer," said Hezekiah, "for the remnant that is left" (verse 4). God might not have thought fit to "reprove the words of Sennacherib." His patience might have been exhausted, and he might have been about to allow the conquest of Judaea by Sennacherib, as he afterwards allowed its conquest by Nebuchadnezzar. Hezekiah could not be sure that there was any escape. But in the worst case, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man would avail much." It would avail to mitigate, if not to prevent, the sufferings of the people, to support them under misfortune, it not to save them from it. In times of national Deed and distress, wise kings and governments do well to ask the prayers of the Church, not that God will not hear them if they address themselves directly to him, but that he may be besieged, as it were, on all sides by prayer, and so prevailed upon to have mercy. The force of prayer is greatly augmented by the prayer being multiplied. "Where two," or more, "agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" (Mat_18:19). 8. CALVIN, 1.And it came to pass. The Prophet declares that the only hope of safety that was left to the pious king was to bring his complaints before God as a righteous judge; as it is said in the Psalm, that the same manner as servants or handmaids, when they are injured, look to the protection of their master
5. 5. or mistress, so the eyes of believers are fixed on the assistance of God. (Psa_123:2.) Thus, when Jerusalem appears to be completely ruined, Hezekiah, being bereft of earthly assistance, betakes himself to the protection of God, and thus acknowledges that there is no other remedy for heavy distresses. Hence also the grace of God shone more brightly, so that it was evidently miraculous, when the pious king was rescued from the jaws of that lion. We ought, therefore, to observe this circumstance, that we may better understand the great excellence of the work of God. Here we are also taught what we ought to do in the most desperate circumstances, not to be indolent or sluggish in supplicating the assistance of God, who himself invites us to come to him. We must not tremble or despair, but, on the contrary, ought to be stimulated by the necessity which presses upon us to seek his aid; as we see what Hezekiah did, who immediately betook himself to the temple in the same manner as to a place of safety, that he and all his people might take refuge under the shadow of God. That King Hezekiah rent his clothes. He likewise adds the outward expressions of repentance, the of the clothes and wearing sackcloth, sprinkling of ashes, and other things of the same kind; for these were the ordinary signs of repentance, when, under the weight of any calamity by which they were afflicted, they confessed their guilt before God and implored pardon from him. Wonderful is the modesty of the holy king, who, after having performed so many illustrious works, and after having been adorned by the excellence of so many virtues, does not hesitate to prostrate himself humbly before God; and, on the other hand, wonderful is his courage and the steadfastness of his faith, in not being hindered by the weight of so heavy a temptation from freely seeking God by whom he was so severely smitten. Scarcely do we find one man in a hundred who does not murmur if God treats him with any degree of severity, who does not bring forward his good deeds as a ground of complaint, and remonstrate that he has been unjustly rewarded. Other men, when God does not comply with their wishes, complain that their worship of God has served no good purpose. We perceive nothing of this kind in Hezekiah, who, though he is conscious of possessing uncommon piety, does not shrink from a confession of guilt, and therefore if we desire to turn away God anger, and to experience his favor in adversity, we must testify our repentance and sincerely acknowledge our guilt; for adversity does not fall out to us by chance, but is the method by which God arouses us to repentance. True, indeed, sackcloth and ashes will be of little avail, if they be not preceded by the inward feelings of the heart; for we know that hypocrites are abundantly liberal in the use of ceremonies; but as we have formerly said, the Holy Spirit justly commends those exercises, when they are directed to their proper object. And indeed it was a proof of uncommon piety and modesty, that the pious king and the whole nation excited themselves in this manner to fear God, and that he made a voluntary acknowledgment of guilt in a form attended by wretched filthiness; for we know how unwilling kings are to let themselves down from their rank. 9. PULPIT, Hezekiah's resources. The conduct of the king on hearing the haughty message of the Assyrian is that of a man of habitually religious mind and religious practice. 1. He rends his garments and covers himself with sackcloth. This was significant of sorrow and of self- humiliation: "Humble yourselves beneath the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt you in due time."
6. 6. Instead of searching far and wide for the causes of our distress, it were well to look first into our own hearts, and that closely. There, where the mischief has begun, the remedy and the hope may be revealed. 2. He sends a deputation to the minister of God; also clothed in sackcloth. They give the king's message to Isaiah, "This day is a day of trouble, punishment, and contumely." The outward forms and shows of grief could not denote them truly. They had "That within which passed show, Beneath the trappings and the suits of woe." The mourning garb expresses the need of the rending of the heart, and the bowing down of its pride before the judgments of God. Human extremity is confessed: "There is no strength to bring forth." The toil over insoluble problemsthe matching of one's strength against a superhuman enterprise, the comparison of one's idea of what should be with one's sense of the absence of resources for its accomplishment, brings utter exhaustion. It is under such conditions that men learn that whatever strength they had at any time is from God, that whatever help is needed must come from him now. In the house of God, in the attitude of humility and penitence, in communion with men of God, let us be found in the day of distress. I. THE HUMAN INTERCESSOR. In common life we recognize the principle of intercession. We shelter ourselves behind the worth of another; we seek to gain interest with the powerful and the good. To carry things by personal interest and partiality doubtless opens the door to abuses; but alter all it is founded itself upon love. Logic says," Let every case be judged by its merits, every man stand or fall by merit or demerit of his person." Love, softening down the hard lines of logical principle, or concealing them with flowing ornament, says, "Let fellow-feeling and pity, kinship of blood or of mind, have their influence on the decision." The great truth of the mediation of Christ is reflected in a weaker but still emphatic way in the office of an Abraham, a Moses, a Samuel. Scripture expressly recognizes: "The prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (cf. Jer_15:1). Our objection to the Romish doctrine of the intercession of saints should not carry us too far. It might lead us to a cold denial of the influence of loving thought upon one another's weal. What limit is there to the far-reaching influences of love? Because some assume to know too much of those influences and the manner in which they may be secured, that is no reason why we should ignore them. "An interest in the prayers of good men," it is natural to seek, and blessed to have secured. The belief in the intercession of good men rests on the belief that some men stand nearer to God than others. They have a firmer faith, a steadier insight into the methods of Providence, and therefore a clearer outlook into the future, and a courage which is inspiring to others. On this occasion Isaiah is found to be calm and undisturbed by the revilings of the Assyrian. He can speak of his officers with contempt as the "minions of the King of Assyria." He can foretell that a "spirit" will be put in the enemyan impulse quite contrary to that now animating him; he will hear ill news, will return to his own land, and will fall by the sword. The prophet sustains the king; Hezekiah leans on Isaiah; true policy finds its inspiration in religion. The ministers of state, if wise, will own the worth of the service of the ministers of God. II. BUSINESS LAID BEFORE GOD. The threat of the Assyrian, the taunting arguments on which he had before relied, are repeated. Let Hezekiah beware of trusting in Jehovah, for he may prove no better resource than the "gods of the nations" which have been subdued by the Assyrians. Hezekiah takes the letter, goes up into the house of Jehovah, and spreads it open before Jehovah. We may be reminded, as we read, of the prayer-machines of the Buddhists; or of the waxen tablets hung upon the statues of the
7. 7. gods by the Romans. inscribed with prayers, as alluded to by Juvenal in his tenth Satire. But where the outward act is similar, the intention may be widely different. If we look to the essence of the act, there is nothing in itself more superstitious in laying open a written letter before God, than in addressing him orally on its contents. If the spreading out is a "prayer without words," the prayer with words follows. There is no external form which we may not fill out with the life of our spirit and make vital and real; none from which we may not withdraw that life, and so leave dead and cold. It is idle to suppose that the mere abandonment of certain forms will remove the foundations of superstition, which is certain to spring up in a mechanical and lifeless state of mind. III. HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. His thoughts of God. He is revealed in nature and in human life. He is enthroned upon the cherubimthose mysterious creatures of poetic and plastic fancy, representing spiritual power revealed in strong wind and cloud, and figured in the ark. Analogous figures are common in Oriental art. Jehovah is the God of nature, the Creator of heavens and earth. He is the only true Ruler of the kingdoms of the earth. The heathen believed that their gods swayed in the sphere both of nature and of human lifethat their glory and power was revealed, not only in sun, and moon, and stars, and wind, but in the might of warriors and the ascendency of kings. But the contrast is that these pretensions were unreal, that of Jehovah alone. founded on truth and facts. Those "gods of the nations" who had been put into the fire by the Assyrian were no genuine gods, as the result has proved. When the idol was destroyed, the visible image of the god, the faith of the worshipper lost its visible support, and his hope fled. There was no Saviour here. True faith is not dependent on such visible props; they may failit remains. The symbols of religion may change; old sanctuaries may fall into decay; Jerusalem may be taken; the Shechinah-glory may fade from the hallowed spot; but Jehovah remains. In superstition, when the idols are broken, the false faith dies; in true religion, when the idols are broken, the true faith rises into new life. Adversity, fatal to imposture, brings the genuine tradition to light. The true God is bound by his very nature to be the Saviour, the Deliverer of men. The cry for salvation must sooner or later, in one or another way, be answered from him. If the cry be not answered, it is a proof that we have not directed it to the true Objectnot to Jehovah, the Alone, the Eternal, but to some creature, the fabrication, if not of our hands, of our sensuous and unspiritual fancy.J. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 1.BARNES, And he sent Eliakim - (See the note at Isa_36:3). And the elders of the priests - It was a case of deep importance, and one that pertained in a special manner to the interests of religion; and he, therefore, selected the most respectable embassage that he could to present the case to the prophet. Covered with sackcloth - Religion had been insulted. The God whom the priests served had been blasphemed, and the very temple was threatened, and it was proper that the priests should go with the habiliments of mourning.
8. 8. Unto Isaiah - It was customary on occasions of danger to consult prophets, as those who had direct communication with God, and seek counsel from them. Thus Balak sent messengers to Balaam to consult him in a time of perplexity (Num_22:5 ff); thus Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel consulted Micaiah in time of danger from Syria 1Ki_22:1-13; thus Ahaziah, when sick, sent to consult Elijah 2Ki_1:1-9; and thus Josiah sent an embassage to Huldah the prophetess to inquire in regard to the book which was found in the temple of the Lord 2Ki_22:14) 2. PULPIT, He sent Eliakim and Shebna and the elders of the priests. A dignified embassy, showing how much Isaiah was held in honour. The prophets, as representatives of Jehovah, were entitled to respect and observance even from kings. 3. GILL, And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe,.... Two of the commissioners sent to Rabshakeh, and who heard his insolence and blasphemy, and were capable of giving a full account of it, to Isaiah the prophet: and the elders of the priests; as the chief of those that were concerned in civil affairs, so the chief of those that were employed in sacred things, were sent: this was a very honourable embassy; and it was showing great respect to the prophet, to send such personages to him: covered with sackcloth; as the king himself was, following his example; and this is to be understood not of the elders of the priests only, but of Eliakim and Shebna also. These, so clad, were sent by the king unto Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz; to give him an account of the present situation of affairs, of the distress he was in, and to desire his prayers: a very proper person to apply to, a prophet, one highly dear to God, and honoured by him, had near access unto him, and knew much of his mind. 4. JAMISON, unto Isaiah implying the importance of the prophets position at the time; the chief officers of the court are deputed to wait on him (compare 2Ki_22:12-14). 5. CALVIN, 2.And he sent Eliakim. This message was not intended merely to invite Isaiah to join with him in lamentation, but to request some consolation from his doctrine. And indeed to no purpose shall prayers be poured into the air, if they do not rest on the word of God. Thus we see that unbelievers are exceedingly noisy in their prayers, and yet they flee from God by despising or disregarding his promises. It was therefore a proof of sincere piety in Hezekiah, that, while he was earnestly employed in prayer, he at the same time added a confirmation of his hope, that he might not yield to temptation. To Isaiah, the son of Amos the Prophet. He follows the method appointed by God, when he wishes to hear God speaking by the mouth of Prophet. (Deu_18:15; Mal_2:7.) Though he relies on God alone, he does not reject the testimony of a mortal man; and therefore not without reason does he expressly add the designation Prophet; for he sends to Isaiah, that he may be confirmed by some new prediction, and names him, not as a private individual, but as the servant of God, whose duty it was to soothe the pious king by some consolation.
9. 9. There are therefore two remedies that deserve our attention, by which we are soothed in affliction. First, we ought to call on God to deliver us; and, secondly, we ought to consult the prophets, at least, if we can obtain them, that they may bring us some comfort out of the word of God; for it is their duty to encourage and comfort the afflicted by promises, and if they fail to do so, still abundant consolation is communicated to us from the word. And we ought to consult the prophets, who were appointed, not only for their own age, but also for posterity and for every age; for although the men are dead, yet their books survive; their doctrine lives and shall never die. We shall never, therefore, be destitute of true remedies, if we do not reject them; but, in a word, we ought always to consult God. It may be asked, not Hezekiah abundantly supplied and fortified by the promises of God? Was it not a sign of distrust to seek new promises from the Prophet? I reply, it ought not to be ascribed to unbelief or distrust, that he seeks a new promise; for, being conscious of his weakness, he does not scruple to ask new confirmations. The flesh always excites us to distrust, and therefore we ought not to despise additional aid; on the contrary, we ought always to seek every kind of assistance, by which we may resist various temptations; for on all sides Satan attacks and besieges us in such a manner that, if we are not strongly fortified, we shall scarcely be able to escape his snares and devices till the end. Although, therefore, we have been taught by the word of God that he will assist us in adversity, yet when we are engaged in any arduous contest, it is proper that we should again and again ask at the mouth of the Lord, and seek new confirmations for the purpose of strengthening our faith. There are indeed no prophecies of the same kind that are given to us in the present day; but we ought to apply to our use the general prophecies, which were also written for our benefit. (Rom_15:4.) As to the reason why Hezekiah sent ambassadors, and did not himself go to Isaiah, it was obviously because he was praying in the Temple; for the circumstance, that all the elders and counsellors were clothed with sackcloth, shews clearly that the mourning was general; and it is probable that prayers were publicly offered by the command of the king. Yet it ought to be observed, that the Prophet did not remain at home for his own ease or pleasure, but by his absence God intended to try the faith of the pious king. 3 They told him, This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 1.BARNES, This is a day of rebuke - This may refer either to the reproaches of Rabsbakeh, or more probably to the fact that Hezekiah regarded the Lord as rebuking his people
10. 10. for their sins. The word which is used here ( tokechah), means more properly chastisement or punishment Psa_149:7; Hos_5:9. And of blasphemy - Margin, Provocation. The word used here ( ne 'atsah), means properly reproach or contumely; and the sense is, that God and his cause had been vilified by Rabshakeh, and it was proper to appeal to him to vindicate the honor of his own name Isa_37:4. For the children are come ... - The meaning of this figure is plain. There was the highest danger, and need of aid. It was as in childbirth in which the pains had been protracted, the strength exhausted, and where there was most imminent danger in regard to the mother and the child. So Hezekiah said there was the most imminent danger in the city of Jerusalem. They had made all possible preparations for defense. And now, in the most critical time, they felt their energies exhausted, their strength insufficient for their defense, and they needed the interposition of God. 2. PULPIT, A day of rebuke; rather, of reproof, or punishment (comp. Psa_149:7 and Hos_5:9). That God should have allowed such an insulting embassy to come and go in safety was a mode of reproving his people, and to some extent punishing them for their sins. Even Hezekiah himself deserved reproof for having so long placed his reliance upon Egypt (Isa_20:5, Isa_20:6; Isa_30:1- 4; Isa_36:6, Isa_36:9), though now apparently he had turned to Jehovah, and relied on him only (Isa_36:7, Isa_36:15). Blasphemy. So Delitzsch. Mr. Cheyne suggests "contumely," and Dr. Kay "contempt." But the meaning "blasphemy," which Mr. Cheyne confesses to "suit the context," is required in all the other passages where (substantially) the same word occurs (Neh_9:18, Neh_9:26; Eze_35:12). Hezekiah calls the day one "of blasphemy," on account of Rabshakeh's impious utterances (Isa_36:15, Isa_36:18, Isa_36:20). The children are come to the birth, etc. This was a proverbial phrase for a time of extreme difficulty (see Hos_13:13), and is not to be pressed as embodying at all a close analogy. Judah was in sore trouble, and was expecting deliverance. It seemed now as if she would not have strength to go through the crisis, but would perish through weakness. 3. GILL, And they said unto him,.... The messengers to the prophet: thus saith Hezekiah; this is the message he has sent us with; this is what he would have us lay before thee, and has given us in charge to say unto thee: this day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy; it was a "day of trouble" to Hezekiah and his people, because it was a "day of rebuke", in which God rebuked them for their sins; or of "reproach and reviling", as the Targum and Septuagint, in which the Assyrians reviled and reproached both God and them; and especially because it was a "day of blasphemy" against God: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth; which is to be understood not of the reformation within themselves, happily begun and carried on, but now hindered from being brought to perfection, by the Assyrian army being so near them; nor of their attempt to cast off the Assyrian yoke, which was thought to be just upon finishing, but now despaired of, unless divine assistance be given; nor of their inability to punish the blasphemy that so much affected them; but of the deplorable condition they were now in. Hezekiah compares himself and his people to a woman in travail, that has been some time in it, and the child is fallen down to the place of the breaking forth of children, as the word (p) used
11. 11. signifies, but unable to make its way, and she having neither strength to bear it, nor to bring it forth, nature being quite exhausted, and strength gone, through the many pains and throes endured: and just so it was even with him and his people, they were in the utmost pain and distress; they could not help themselves, nor could he help them; and therefore must perish, unless they had immediate assistance and relief. Jarchi interprets the children of the children of Israel, the children of God. 4. JAMISON, rebuke that is, the Lords rebuke for His peoples sins (Psa_149:7; Hos_5:9). blasphemy blasphemous railing of Rab-shakeh. the children, etc. a proverbial expression for, We are in the most extreme danger and have no power to avert it (compare Hos_13:13). 5. BI, Hezekiahs day of trouble Ahaz the father and immediate predecessor of Hezekiah on the throne of Judah, engaged himself, and virtually his successors, to pay tribute to the kings of Assyria. Such a state of vassalage Hezekiah no doubt rightly though hazardously declined to continue, and this is what is meant when it is said of him that he rebelled gains the king of Assyria and served him not (2Ki_18:7). Any such refusal on the part of Hezekiah to acknowledge the despotic king of Assyria as his lordparamount we may be sure would not be allowed to pass unchallenged, and hence Sennacheribs invasion of the kingdom of Judah in order to compel submission to what the king of Judah objected to and declined to do. This is what constituted Hezekiahs day of trouble. (W. Alnwick.) Days of trouble 1. Hezekiah but represents what has been the general experience of man, for there has probably never lived a man on the face of the earth whose lot it has not been to have some days of trouble and annoyance. 2. If we cannot entertain a reasonable hope of any such thing as immunity from trouble, we can, however, endeavour to live and act so that our troubles may not be more than they need to be. It cannot be doubted that many bring much trouble on themselves, and subject themselves to many heart-aches and heart burns, which they ought never to have known, and probably would not have experienced had a different course of conduct been pursued, a course, perhaps, pointed out to them by those gifted with greater wisdom, prudence, and foresight than they themselves were possessed of, but which by their obstinacy of will and unjustifiable determination to take their own way, they were led to reject. 3. We are not, of course, to think that because many and great troubles fall to the-lot of a man, he has necessarily acted foolishly, acted in opposition to any law of God, either natural, religious, or spiritual. This was just the grievous mistake Jobs friends fell into. 4. It is only in heaven that trouble will be a thing unknown, and where all tears will for ever be wiped away. 5. We cannot but see the importance of being well prepared for days of trouble before we are made sensible of their presence with us. If we are wise enough to prepare ourselves for them their approach will be no surprise to us, and we shall be the better able to battle with them,
12. 12. and to turn that which is an evil in itself into a blessing, and so much help to us in our journey heavenward. 6. There can be no doubt that troubles are often sent by a wise and gracious providence for this very purpose. 7. It now only remains for me to make a few further remarks on how to deal with days of trouble when from being matters of prospect or future contingents, they have become translated into actual and stern facts. In dealing with such days we shall find much instruction and guidance afforded us by the example of Hezekiah in dealing with his day of trouble. As soon as Hezekiah became acquainted with the invasion of Sennacherib, he went into the house of the Lord, the sure resort of Gods people in the time of distress, there in prayer to lay both his trouble and its cause before God, and at the same time he sent Eliakim and Shebna unto the prophet Isaiah to desire that man of God to lift up his prayer in behalf of the remnant that was left. We are informed what was the blessed result of this union of prayer on the part of the king and the prophet. The day of trouble was removed, and the sun, which one day was shrouded in darkness, the next, shone forth bright and clear, every cloud being swept from the sky. The course taken by the king of Judah in his day of trouble and distress must commend itself to all who are found in similar circumstances by its marvellous success. It is a fact, in spite of the sneering scepticism of some people, that prayer is a really great power, and that as a means for the attainment of ends consistent with and approved by infinite wisdom and goodness, it will succeed when other means, such as men in their ignorance sometimes elect to employ as the best and fittest, utterly fail to reach the end aimed at. (W. Alnwick.) Hours when prophets have influence In the midst of his distress Hezekiah sent unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. So far Hezekiah was right. He might have gone himself directly by an act of faith to the living God, but he had regard to the constitution of Israel, and he availed himself of the ordinances and institutes appointed of Heaven. Hezekiah made through Eliakim a pathetic speech to Isaiah This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. There are hours when prophets come to the enjoyment of their fullest influence. Isaiah had been despised and derided, but now his hour has come, and he stands up as the one hope of Judah. The question was, What can you, Isaiah, do to extract Israel from all the peril which now presses upon the people of God? In the sixth verse we see how nobly the attitude of Isaiah contrasts with the attitude of Hezekiah. Instead of the word of inspiration proceeding from the, king it issued from the prophet. (J. Parker, D. D.) A dangerous crisis The children are come to the birth, &c. Obviously a proverbial expression for a crisis which becomes dangerous through lack of strength to meet it (Isa_66:9; Hos_13:13). (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
13. 13. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives. 1.BARNES, It may be the Lord thy God - The God whom thou dost serve, and in whose name and by whose authority thou dost exercise the prophetic office. Will hear the words - Will come forth and vindicate himself in regard to the language of reproach and blasphemy which has been used. See a similar use of the word hear in Exo_2:24; Exo_3:7. To reproach the living God - The revilings of Rabsbakeh were really directed against the true God. The reproach of the living God consisted in comparing him to idols, and saying that be was no more able to deleted Jerusalem than the idol-gods had been able to defend their lands (see the note at Isa_36:18). The phrase the living God is often applied to Yahweh in contradistinction from idols, which were mere blocks of wood or stone. For the remnant that is left - For those who survive; or probably for those parts of the land, including Jerusalem, that have not fallen into the hands of the Assyrian. Sennacherib had taken many towns, but there were many also that had not yet been subdued by him. 2. PULPIT, It may be the Lord will hear; i.e. "will notice," or "will punish." If Isaiah laid the matter before God, and prayed earnestly, it was possible that God would intervene to save Judah, and punish the blapshemous words uttered. The living God. In opposition to the dead idols of the heathen, which had neither life, nor breath, nor perception (see Psa_115:4-8; Psa_135:15-18). The remnant that is left. It is usual to explain this of Judah generally, which still survived, although Israel had been carried away captive. But perhaps the contrast is rather between the numerous Judaean captives who had been taken and conveyed to Assyria by Sennacherib when he took the "fenced cities" (Isa_36:1), and the portion of the nation which still remained in the land. Sennacherib says, in his annals, that he took "forty-six" cities, and carried captive to Assyria above two hundred thousand persons. 3. GILL, It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh,.... He had heard them; but the sense is, that it might be that he would take notice of them, and resent them in a public manner, and punish for them; and this is said, not as doubting and questioning whether he would or not, but as hoping and encouraging himself that he would: and it may be observed, that Hezekiah does not call the Lord "my God", or "our God", because he and his people were under the chastening hand of God for their sins, and were undeserving of such a relation; but "thy God", whose prophet he was, whom he served, and to whom he was dear, and
14. 14. with whom he had an interest; and therefore it might be hoped his prayer to him would be heard and accepted, and that through his interposition God would be prevailed upon to take notice of the railing speech of Rabshakeh: whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; who has life in and of himself, and is the fountain, author, and giver of life to all others; him he reproached by setting him on a level with the lifeless idols of the Gentiles: and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard; reprove him for his words, take vengeance upon him, or punish him for the blasphemous words spoken by him against the Lord and in his hearing: to this sense is the Targum; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left; lift up thy voice, thy hands, and thine heart, in prayer to God in heaven; pray earnestly and fervently for those that are left; the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the other ten having been carried captive some time ago; or the inhabitants of Jerusalem particularly, the defenced cities of Judah having been already taken by the Assyrian king. The fewness of the number that remained seems to be made use of as an argument for prayer in their favour. In times of distress, men should not only pray for themselves, but get others to pray for them, and especially men of eminence in religion, who have nearness of access to God, and interest in him. 4. HENRY, It is an encouragement to pray though we have but some hopes of mercy (Isa_37:4): It may be the Lord thy God will hear; who knows but he will return and repent? The it may be of the prospect of the haven of blessings should quicken us with double diligence to ply the oar of prayer. 5. When there is a remnant left, and but a remnant, it concerns us to lift up a prayer for that remnant, Isa_37:4. The prayer that reaches heaven must be lifted up by a strong faith, earnest desires, and a direct intention to the glory of God, all which should be quickened when we come to the last stake. 5. JAMISON, hear take cognizance of (2Sa_16:12). reprove will punish him for the words, etc. (Psa_50:21). remnant the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah, Israel being already captive. Isaiah is entreated to act as intercessor with God. 6. K&D, Isaiah's reply. And the servants of king Hizkiyahu came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them ( , K. ,) Speak thus to your lord, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have blasphemed me! Behold, I will bring a spirit upon him, and he will hear a hearsay, and return to his land; and I cut him down with the sword in his own land. Luzzatto, without any necessity, takes in Isa_37:3 in the modal sense of what they were to do (e dovevano dirgli): they were to say this to him, but he anticipated them at once with the instructions given here. The fact, so far as the style is concerned, is rather this, that Isa_37:5, while pointing back, gives the ground for Isa_37:6 : and when they had come to him (saying this), he said to them. we render servants (Knappen)
15. 15. (Note: Knappe is the same word as Knave; but we have no word in use now which is an exact equivalent, and knave has entirely lost its original sense of servant. - Tr.) after Est_2:2; Est_6:3, Est_6:5; it is a more contemptuous expression than . The ruach mentioned here as sent by God is a superior force of a spiritual kind, which influences both thought and conduct, as in such other connections as Isa_19:14; Isa_28:6; Isa_29:10 (Psychol. p. 295, Anm.). The external occasion which determined the return of Sennacherib, as described in Isa_37:36- 37, was the fearful mortality that had taken place in his army. The she muah (rumour, hearsay), however, was not the tidings of this catastrophe, but, as the continuation of the account in Isa_37:8, Isa_37:9, clearly shows, the report of the advance of Tirhakah, which compelled Sennacherib to leave Palestine in consequence of this catastrophe. The prediction of his death is sufficiently special to be regarded by modern commentators, who will admit nothing but the most misty figures as prophecies, as a vaticinium post eventum. At the same time, the prediction of the event which would drive the Assyrian out of the land is intentionally couched in these general terms. The faith of the king, and of the inquirers generally, still needed to be tested and exercised. The time had not yet come for him to be rewarded by a clearer and fuller announcement of the judgment. 7. CALVIN, 4.If perhaps Jehovah thy God will hear. Hezekiah appears to doubt whether, or not the Lord is willing to hear him; for the particle (ulai) is translated perhaps, and this is the meaning which it frequently bears in Scripture. But it ought to be observed that believers, even though they know with certainty that the Lord will assist them, yet, in consequence of being perplexed by the difficulty of the case, often speak in this manner. Hezekiah had reasons for hesitating, if we look at the matter itself; but when he turns his eyes to the word, he is made certain as to the will of God, so that he ceases to tremble. But as it is impossible that the flesh should not retard believers by making them walk in a halting and staggering manner, (46) they sometimes accommodate their language to the present appearances of things. It may also be observed, in other passages of Scripture, that the saints, even while speaking of what was certain, spoke in this manner; for Peter, in exhorting Simon, says, If perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. (Act_8:22.) He does not advise Simon to tremble and hesitate in prayer; for stroh a supplication would have been vain; but he points out the heinousness of the offense; that he may strike his mind more forcibly, and may at length constrain him to rouse himself that he may approach God with true repentance. This word perhaps,therefore, does not imply doubt, but is equivalent to an expression which we commonly use, if it be possible, when we venture to hope and promise to ourselves something. And Hezekiah did not speak as if God were deaf to the words of the ungodly, or as if anything escaped his notice; but because it was a fixed principle in his heart that is near to all that truly call upon him, (Psa_145:18,) he determines to strive against despondency, and arms himself by prayer; and because he does not expect to gain the conquest without difficulty, he says, If perhaps. (47) Besides, he mentions two kinds of hearing, which in some measure removes the difficulty.
16. 16. If perhaps Jehovah, thy God shall hear the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard. At first sight there is some apparent contradiction in these words; but the manner of speaking is highly appropriate, because Hezekiah was assuredly and beyond all controversy convinced that nothing is hidden from God; only he argues with himself on this point, whether or not, God determines to call in question the blasphemy of this filthy dog; because frequently he delays and conceals vengeance for a time, and thus seems to shut his eyes and overlook it. In short, taking for granted that things are open and manifest to God, (Heb_4:13,) he only asks with earnestness whether or not God actually shews that he is so highly offended by the blasphemies of Rabshakeh that he determines not to allow them to remain unpunished. In a word, he wishes God to hear effectually, that is, by restoring those things which were scattered and confused, and shewing himself to be a judge; for then do we know that he actually sees and observes all things. In this manner Hezekiah asks, not the Lord heard the blasphemies of Rabshakeh, to take vengeance on them, and to shew that he hath a regard to the glory of his name? Jehovah thy God. By calling him God of Isaiah, Hezekiah does not mean that there is only one man who worships God, nor does he exclude himself from the number of the godly; but because prayers flowed from doctrine, the pious king wished to speak in commendation of the ministry of the Prophet, and to testify that he was a true servant of God. That relation is somewhat more extensive; for all believers call on God, and, on the other hand, God reckons them among his people; but God is reckoned in a peculiar manner to be the God of Isaiah and Paul, because they have a special calling. In a word, these words expressly contain praise and commendation of Isaiah calling. Thou wilt therefore lift up a prayer. This is the second reason why Hezekiah sent messengers to Isaiah; namely, that he also would pray along with others. Hence we learn that it is the duty of a prophet, not only to comfort the afflicted by the word of the Lord, but also to offer his prayers for their salvation. Let not pastors and ministers of the word, therefore, think that they have fully discharged their duty, when they have exhorted and taught, if they do not also add prayer. This indeed is what all ought to do; but Hezekiah sent to Isaiah in a particular manner, because he ought to lead the way to others by his example. Besides, lift up a prayer is nothing else than pray, but the mode of expression deserves attention; for it shews how our feelings ought to be regulated when we pray. Scripture everywhere enjoins us to up our hearts to heaven, (Lam_3:41;) for otherwise we would have no fear of God. Moreover, our stupidity is so great that we are immediately seized by gross imaginations of God; so that if he did not bid us look to heaven, we would choose rather to seek him at our feet. lift up a prayer, therefore, is to pray in such a manner that our hearts may not grovel on the earth, or think anything earthly or gross about God, but may ascribe to him what is suitable to his majesty, and that our warm and earnest affections may take a lofty flight. In this sense it is said in the Psalm, my prayer come up before thee as incense, and as the evening sacrifice. (Psa_141:2.) For the remnant that is still left. When he desires that prayer should be offered the remnant of the people that was left, this circumstance was fitted powerfully to move the Lord; not that he is moved after the manner of men, but he acts towards us in this manner, and accommodates himself to our weakness. Thus when our affairs are brought to such an extremity that we are not far from destruction, we ought to spread our misery before God, that our minds may receive some consolation; for God declares that he hath regard to poor and afflicted. (Psa_22:24.) And the nearer we appear to be to destruction, so much
17. 17. the more warmly and earnestly ought we to implore that he would render assistance to us, as we see here that Hezekiah did when matters were desperate. (46) Tellement qu ne marchent qu trainant les jambes ou a clochepied, that they walk only by dragging their limbs or limping. (47) Paraventure, ou possible. or possible. 5 When King Hezekiahs officials came to Isaiah, 1.GILL, So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And delivered the above message to him from the king: these servants are mentioned Isa_37:2. Musculus thinks that the third and fourth verses are the words of the king to the messengers, and not of the messengers to the prophet; and that the first clause of the "third" verse should be rendered, "that they might say unto him", &c.; and having received their instructions, here is an account of their going to the prophet with them, which they delivered to him, and which it was not necessary to repeat. The Arabic version reads this verse in connection with the following, thus, "when the servants of King Hezekiah, came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them", &c. 2. HENRY, Isaiah's reply. And the servants of king Hizkiyahu came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them ( , K. ,) Speak thus to your lord, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have blasphemed me! Behold, I will bring a spirit upon him, and he will hear a hearsay, and return to his land; and I cut him down with the sword in his own land. Luzzatto, without any necessity, takes in Isa_37:3 in the modal sense of what they were to do (e dovevano dirgli): they were to say this to him, but he anticipated them at once with the instructions given here. The fact, so far as the style is concerned, is rather this, that Isa_37:5, while pointing back, gives the ground for Isa_37:6 : and when they had come to him (saying this), he said to them. we render servants (Knappen) (Note: Knappe is the same word as Knave; but we have no word in use now which is an exact equivalent, and knave has entirely lost its original sense of servant. - Tr.) after Est_2:2; Est_6:3, Est_6:5; it is a more contemptuous expression than . The ruach mentioned here as sent by God is a superior force of a spiritual kind, which influences both thought and conduct, as in such other connections as Isa_19:14; Isa_28:6; Isa_29:10 (Psychol. p. 295, Anm.).
18. 18. The external occasion which determined the return of Sennacherib, as described in Isa_37:36- 37, was the fearful mortality that had taken place in his army. The she muah (rumour, hearsay), however, was not the tidings of this catastrophe, but, as the continuation of the account in Isa_37:8, Isa_37:9, clearly shows, the report of the advance of Tirhakah, which compelled Sennacherib to leave Palestine in consequence of this catastrophe. The prediction of his death is sufficiently special to be regarded by modern commentators, who will admit nothing but the most misty figures as prophecies, as a vaticinium post eventum. At the same time, the prediction of the event which would drive the Assyrian out of the land is intentionally couched in these general terms. The faith of the king, and of the inquirers generally, still needed to be tested and exercised. The time had not yet come for him to be rewarded by a clearer and fuller announcement of the judgment. 3. CALVIN, 5.And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. As the Prophet formerly related that the pious king had no other refuge than to consult the mouth of the Lord, so he now shews that he did not consult in vain; for he received the consolation which he desired. Instructed by this example, if we seek relief from him by pouring our cares and anxieties into the bosom of God, our hope shall never be disappointed; and although there will not always be prophets in the world, such as Isaiah was, yet he will come forth seasonably to render assistance in an appropriate manner. 6 Isaiah said to them, Tell your master, This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heardthose words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 1.BARNES, Wherewith the servants ... - Hebrew, naarey - The youth, or the young men. The word properly denotes boys, youths, young men; and is used here probably by way of disparagement, in contradistinction from an embassy that would be truly respectable, made up of aged men. Have blasphemed me - God regarded these words as spoken against himself and he would vindicate his own honor and name. 2. CLARKE, Thus shall ye say - ko tomerun, thus shall ye (explicitly, earnestly, and positively) say. The paragogic nun deepens and increases the sense. 3. GILL, And Isaiah said unto them, thus shall you say unto your master,.... Or, "your lord" (q); King Hezekiah, whose ministers and messengers they were:
19. 19. thus saith the Lord, be not afraid of the words thou hast heard; be not not terrified by them, they are but words, and no more, and will never become facts: wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me; by representing him as no better than the gods of the Gentiles, and as unable to deliver out of the hands of the king of Assyria the city of Jerusalem, when he had said he would. The word (r) for "servants" signifies boys, lads, young men; so Rabshakeh and his two companions, Rabsaris and Tartan, are called, by way of contempt, they acting a weak and childish part as well as a wicked one. 4. HENRY, Those that have made God their enemy we have no reason to be afraid of, for they are marked for ruin; and, though they may hiss, they cannot hurt. Rabshakeh has blasphemed God, and therefore let not Hezekiah be afraid of him, Isa_37:6. He has made God a party to the cause by his invectives, and therefore judgment will certainly be given against him. God will certainly plead his own cause. 7. Sinners' fears are but prefaces to their falls. He shall hear the rumour of the slaughter of his army, which shall oblige him to retire to his own land, and there he shall be slain, Isa_37:7. The terrors that pursue him shall bring him at last to the king of terrors, Job_18:11, Job_18:14. The curses that come upon sinners shall overtake them. 5. JAMISON, servants literally, youths, mere lads, implying disparagement, not an embassy of venerable elders. The Hebrew is different from that for servants in Isa_37:5. blasphemed me (Isa_36:20). 6. PULPIT, The servants of the King of Assyria. Mr. Cheyne translates, "the minions of the King of Assyria," remarking truly that the word used is not the ordinary one for "servants," but "a disparaging expression." Perhaps the best translation would be lackeys. 6B, PULPIT, Caution against fear. "Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard." We are often afraid of whispers; we often suffer severely through words. It is not surprising. Words are winged, and fly across oceans. Words are penetrating, and enter into the secret places of the heart. Words are indestructible, and, once uttered, who but God can restrain their power? I. THESE WERE WORDS AGAINST GOD. Alas! there have been many such in every age. This is part of the perils of moral government, which leaves the creature "free." But God has set in order a universe of men, and not of machines, and he is too wise not to have ordered all things wisely and well. Man is evidently a being born to the perils which beset all freedom. Thus he can speak against the Most High. "I am equal to the sad occasion," says in effect Jehovah to Isaiah. "The servants of the King of Assyria have blasphemed me, but I will send a blast upon them." No more solemn thought can occupy our minds than the consideration how every day blasphemous, false, and base words are spoken against our Father in heaven. II. THESE WORDS ARE OFTEN DESIGNED TO HURT HIS CHILDREN. "Fear them not," says God; "they cannot hurt you." We are thankful for this revelation of the impotence of evil. If your character is falsely traduced, God can "bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." If
20. 20. your influence is injured for a time, God has so ordered the world that evil men reveal their true character. They are not good, and they know it; "and they that be otherwise cannot be hid." Let not the friends of God tremble in the presence of infidel insinuation or sceptical scorn. God's nature has been revealed. His wonderful works attest his power and goodness. Christ and the cross are the revelation of his love. III. THESE WORDS ARE SURE TO BE HEARD. We cannot at times help the entrance of evil, but we can help the entertainment of it. We must treat all the evil surmises of wicked men with the disdain that they deserve. We can, as Solomon suggests, "turn from it and pass away." Besides, just as there is in love what Dr. Chalmers calls "the expulsive power of a new affection," so there is in love to God a power to banish all that old love of the world which makes men mingle with the irreverent and undevout. The syren voice of evil whisperings will have no charm for us when we hide God's Word in our heart. The great lesson is not to be afraid of the wickedness of the wicked, or to make their words of account by taking too great note of them. Many malignant words would have perished at their birth if they had not been made much of by argument and reply. The best answer is to trust in God and do the right.W.M.S. 7. CALVIN, 6.Thus saith Jehovah. Isaiah begins by saying that he gives the reply in the name of God, and expressly declares that the oracle comes from God, both because prophets ought always to beware of bringing forward anything of their own, and because in so difficult a matter the authority of God was needful. In this manner also, the Prophet shewed that he met the prayers of the pious king. Even false prophets, indeed, boast of the name of God, but falsely. Isaiah was truly the organ of the Holy Spirit, and therefore he has a right to mention the holy name of Him that sent him. Fear not. When he bids him fear, he exhorts Hezekiah to be of a courageous or, at least, a calm disposition. Whenever we hear this word, let us be reminded that we are enjoined to cultivate that peace which faith produces in our hearts; for all who trust in God, and expect from him deliverance from their distresses, rise superior to all fears by the exercise of patience, so that even in the midst of affliction they have peace. Besides, in order that the pious king may continue cheerfully to expect a joyful issue, he plainly declares that God conducts his own cause which he has undertaken to defend, because he cannot permit wicked men unpunished to dishonor his name without making it appear at length that he is a righteous judge. (48) The servants of the king of Assyria. By calling them servants, he presents in a stronger light the baseness of the action; for although the king himself had spoken in this manner, still it would have been intolerable that the Lord should be despised and so shamefully attacked by a mortal man. Hence it might easily be concluded that much less would he endure to be so highly insulted by (49) and therefore the rank of the person increases the heinoushess of the attack. (48) En les punissant. punishing them. (49) word translated servants, is not the same with that in the preceding verse, but strictly means young men or boys, and is so translated in the Targ. and Vulg. Many interpreters regard it as a contemptuous description, and it is so translated by Hitzig, ( knappen attendants.) Umbreit, ( buben boys or lads,) Henderson, (striplings,) and in other modern versions. Alexander.
21. 21. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword. 1.BARNES, Behold, I will send a blast upon him - Margin, Put a spirit into him. The word rendered blast ( ruach) is commonly rendered spirit. It may denote breath, air, soul, or spirit. There is no reason to think that the word is used here in the sense of blast of wind, as our translators seem to have supposed. The sense is probably, I will infuse into him a spirit of fear, by which be shall be alarmed by the rumour which he shall hear, and return to his own land. The word is often used in this sense (compare 1Sa_16:14; see also Isa_31:8-9). Gesenius understands it here in the sense of will or disposition. I will change his will or disposition, so that he will return to his own land. And he shall hear a rumour - The rumour or report here referred to, was doubtless that respecting Tirhakah king of Ethiopia Isa_37:9. It was this which would alarm him, and drive him in haste from the cities which he was now besieging, and be the means of expelling him from the land. And I will cause him ... - This is said in accordance with the usual statements in the Scriptures, that all events are under Gods providential control (compare the note at Isa_10:5- 6). By the sword in his own land - (See the note at Isa_37:38). 2. CLARKE, I will send a blast I will infuse a spirit into him - nothen bo roach never signifies any thing but putting a spirit into a person: this was , the spirit of deceit. - Secker. I will send a blast - I do not think that Archbishop Secker has hit the true meaning of these words. I believe ruach means here a pestilential wind, such as the Arabs call simoom, that instantly suffocates both man and beast; and is what is termed the angel of the Lord, Gods messenger of death to the Assyrians, Isa_37:36. 3. GILL, Behold, I will send a blast upon him,.... The king of Assyria; a pestilential one, as he afterwards did, which destroyed his army: or,
22. 22. I will put a spirit into him (s); a spirit of fear and dread, which will oblige him to desist from his purposes, and flee; though some interpret it only of an inclination, a will (t) in him, to return: it may be understood of an angel, a ministering spirit, and be rendered "I will send a spirit against him"; an angelic spirit, as he did, which cut off his army in one night: and he shall hear a rumour; of the sudden and total destruction of his army; though some refer this to the rumour of the king of Ethiopia coming out to make war against him, Isa_37:9, but upon this he did not return to his own land, nor was he slain with the sword, as follows: and return to his own land; as he did, immediately upon the slaughter of his army by the angel: and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land: as he did, being slain by his own sons, Isa_37:37. 4. HENRY, Sinners' fears are but prefaces to their falls. He shall hear the rumour of the slaughter of his army, which shall oblige him to retire to his own land, and there he shall be slain, Isa_37:7. The terrors that pursue him shall bring him at last to the king of terrors, Job_18:11, Job_18:14. The curses that come upon sinners shall overtake them. 5. JAMISON, blast rather, I will put a spirit (Isa_28:6; 1Ki_22:23) into him, that is, so influence his judgment that when he hears the report (Isa_37:9, concerning Tirhakah), he shall return [Gesenius]; the report also of the destruction of his army at Jerusalem, reaching Sennacherib, while he was in the southwest of Palestine on the borders of Egypt, led him to retreat. by the sword (Isa_37:38). 6. PULPIT, Behold, I will send a blast upon him; rather, I will put a spirit within him; i.e. I will take away from him the spirit of pride and arrogance by which he has been hitherto actuated, and I will infuse into his heart, instead, a spirit of hesitation and fear. He shall hear a rumour; literally, as Delitzsch translates, he shall hear a hearsay;i.e. "a report," or "tidings." It is uncertain what "tidings" are intended. Some suppose "tidings of the movements of Tirhakah;" others, "tidings of the destruction of his host;" a few, "tidings of an insurrection in some other part of the Assyrian empire." This last supposition is wholly gratuitous, since we have no indication, either in Scripture or in the inscriptions, of any such insurrection. The choice lies between the other two, or between one or other of them, and the two combined. The vagueness is owing, not to the time at which the present narrative took shape, but to the fact that a vague promisequite sufficient for its purposewas given at first, the filling in of the details being reserved for a later period (see Isa_37:22-35). I will cause him to fall by the sword (see Isa_37:38). 7. CALVIN, 7.Behold, I will bring a wind upon him. Others translate it, will put my Spirit in him, as if the Prophet were speaking of a secret influence of the heart; but that is a forced interpretation. It is a highly appropriate metaphor that there is in the hand of God a wind or whirlwind to drive Sennacherib in another direction. To compare wicked men to or chaff, (Psa_1:4) is a mode of expression frequently employed in Scripture, because God easily drives them wherever he thinks proper, when they think that
23. 23. they are standing very firm. The commotion that arose in the kingdom of Sennacherib is compared by the Prophet to a or which drove him out of Judea, and then he shews that the Lord will find no more difficulty in repelling that enemy than if he wished to move straw or chaff; and the very same thing might be said of all tyrants, however powerful. For he shall hear a report. The words he shall hear are evidently added for the sake of explanation, and therefore I have chosen to interpret them as assigning a reason, he shall hear. (50) This is the wind by the raising of which Sennacherib was suddenly driven away; for a report which he heard about the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia constrained him to return to his own country. And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. This means as if he had said, now annoys and harasses others, and endeavors to extend widely the limits of his empire; but I will raise up enemies to him, in the very bosom of his own land, who shall discomfit him. Some expound it to mean the land of Israel, but that is an excessively forced interpretation; for he speaks of the land of the king of Assyria himself, and there is an implied contrast, who subdued other men cities and kingdoms shall not be able to defend his own country, but shall be destroyed and perish in it. (50) heard a message. (lang. it) Havendo inteso un certo grido, heard a certain noise. Ital. Uno foll etmas heren, shall hear something. Luth. Germ. 8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. 1.BARNES, So Rabshakeh returned - Returned from Jerusalem to the camp of his master. He had received no answer to his insulting message Isa_36:21; he saw there was no prospect that the city would surrender; and he therefore returned again to the camp. And found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah - He had departed from Lachish. Why he had done this is unknown. It is possible that he had taken it, though this is not recorded anywhere in history. Or it is possible that he had found it impracticable to subdue it as speedily as he had desired; and had withdrawn from it for the purpose of subduing other places that would offer a more feeble resistance. Libnah was a city in the south of Judah Jos_15:42, given to the priests, and declared a city of refuge 1Ch_6:54, 1Ch_6:57. Eusebius and Jerome say it was in the district of Eleutheropolis (Calmet). It was about ten miles to the northwest of Lachish. This city was taken by Joshua, and all its inhabitants put to the sword After taking this. Joshua next assaulted and took Lachish Jos_10:29-32.
24. 24. 2. CLARKE, Rabshakeh returned - From Isa_36:2, we learn that the king of Assyria had sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem; now it is likely that Rabshakeh had besieged that place, and that the king of Assyria had taken his station before this city, and dispatched Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. But, as in the verse above it is said, he had departed from Lachish, probably he had been obliged to raise the siege, and sat down before Libnah, which promised an easier conquest. 3. GILL, So Rabshakeh returned,.... To the king of Assyria his master, to give him an account how things went at Jerusalem, and that he could get no direct answer from the king of Judah, and to consult with him what was proper to be done in the present situation of things; leaving the army before Jerusalem, under the command of the other two generals. For that he should take the army with him does not seem reasonable, when Hezekiah and his people were in such a panic on account of it; besides, the king of Assyria's letters to Hezekiah clearly suppose the army to be still at Jerusalem, or his menacing letters would have signified nothing; and after this the destruction of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem is related: and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos_10:29, and lay nearer to Jerusalem than Lachish, where Rabshakeh left him; so that he seemed to be drawing his army towards that city, on which his heart was set. Josephus (u) makes him to be at this time besieging Pelusium, a city in Egypt, but wrongly; which has led some into a mistake that Libnah and Pelusium are the same: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish; where he was, when he sent him to Jerusalem, Isa_36:2, having very probably taken it. 4. HENRY, We may observe here, 1. That, if God give us inward satisfaction in his promise, this may confirm us in our silently bearing reproaches. God answered Hezekiah, but it does not appear that he, after deliberation, sent any answer to Rabshakeh; but, God having taken the work into his own hands, he quietly left the matter with him. So Rabshakeh returned to the king his master for fresh instructions. 5. JAMISON, returned to the camp of his master. Libnah meaning whiteness, the Blanche-garde of the Crusaders [Stanley]. Eusebius and Jerome place it more south, in the district of Eleutheropolis, ten miles northwest of Lachish, which Sennacherib had captured (see on Isa_36:2). Libnah was in Judea and given to the priests (1Ch_6:54, 1Ch_6:57). 6. K&D, Rabshakeh, who is mentioned alone in both texts as the leading person engaged, returns to Sennacherib, who is induced to make a second attempt to obtain possession of Jerusalem, as a position of great strength and decisive importance. Rabshakeh thereupon
25. 25. returned, and found the king of Asshur warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he had withdrawn from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, (K. Behold), he has come out to make war with thee; and heard, and sent (K. and repeated, and sent) messengers to Hizkiyahu, saying. Tirhakah was cursorily referred to in Isa_18:1-7. The twenty- fifth dynasty of Manetho contained three Ethiopian rulers: Sabakon, Sebichos ( = ,) although, so far as we know, the Egyptian names begin with Sh), and Tarakos (Tarkos), Egypt. Taharka, or Heb. with the tone upon the penultimate, Tirhaqah. The only one mentioned by Herodotus is Sabakon, to whom he attributes a reign of fifty years (ii. 139), i.e., as much as the whole three amount to, when taken in a round sum. If Sebichos is the biblical So', to whom the lists attribute from twelve to fourteen years, it is perfectly conceivable that Tirhakah may have been reigning in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. But if this took place, as Manetho affirms, 366 years before the conquest of Egypt by Alexander, i.e., from 696 onwards (and the Apis-stele, No. 2037, as deciphered by Vic. de Roug, Revue archol. 1863, confirms it), it would be more easily reconcilable with the Assyrian chronology, which represents Sennacherib as reigning from 702- 680 (Oppert and Rawlinson), than with the current biblical chronology, according to which Hezekiah's fourteenth year is certainly not much later than the year 714. (Note: On the still prevailing uncertainty with regard to the synchronism, see Keil on Kings; and Duncker, Geschichte des Alterthums. pp. 713-4.) It is worthy of remark also, that Tirhakah is not described as Pharaoh here, but as the king of Ethiopia (melekh Kush; see at Isa_37:36). Libnah, according to the Onom. a place in regione Eleutheropolitana, is probably the same as Tell es-Safieh (hill of the pure = of the white), to the north-west of Bet Gibrin, called Alba Specula (Blanche Garde) in ten middle ages. The expression (and he heard), which occurs twice in the text, points back to what is past, and also prepares the way for what follows: having heard this, he sent, etc. At the same time it appears to have been altered from . 7. PULPIT, Rabshakeh found the King of Assyria warring against Libnah. Libnah was a town at no great distance from Lachish (Jos_10:31; Jos_15:39-42). It was also near Mareshah (Jos_15:42-44), and must therefore have belonged to the more southern portion of the Shefeleh, and probably to the eastern region, where the hills sink down into the plain. The exact site is very uncertain, and still remains to be discovered. Sennacherib's object in moving upon Libnah is doubtful; hut it would seem, from his monuments, that he had captured Lachish, and had gone on to Libnah, as the next stronghold on the way to Egypt. 8. CALVIN, 8.And Rabshakeh having returned. He now declares how Rabshakeh, without doing anything, returned to his king, not to the same place where he had left him; for he understood that he had raised the siege of Lachish, and had departed into Egypt for the purpose of attacking Libnah. Some think that this city is Pelusium, others choose rather to assign it to Judea. It is, indeed, probable that, in consequence of a report that reached him about the approach of enemies, he moved his camp towards Egypt, that by meeting them he might prevent them from advancing. Though God restrained the violence of the tyrant by a new war, in order to give some relief to the Jews, yet he did not wish to conquer the tyrant by the hand of man, but only to shew openly and, as it were, to display on a theater his unconquerable pride; because, even when he was in great danger, he did not cease to vomit out the same blasphemies, as we shall soon see.
26. 26. 9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a] was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 1.BARNES, And he heard say - The report or rumour referred to in Isa_37:7. In what way he heard this is not intimated. It is probable that the preparations which Tirhakah had made, were well known to the surrounding regions, and that he was already on his march against Sennacherib. Tirhakah - This king, who, by Eusebius and by most ancient writers, is called Tarakos, was a celebrated conqueror, and had subdued Egypt to himself. He reigned over Egypt eighteen years. When Sennacherib marched into Egypt, Sevechus or Sethon was on the throne. Sennacherib having laid siege to Pelusium, Tirhakah came to the aid of the city, and, in consequence of his aid, Sennacherib was compelled to raise the siege and returned to Palestine, and laid siege to Lachish. Tirhakah succeeded Sevechus in Egypt, and was the third and last of the Ethiopian kings that reigned over that country. He probably took advantage of the distracted state that succeeded the death of Sevechus, and secured the crown for himself. This was, however, after the death of Sennacherib. The capital which he occupied was Thebes (see Prideauxs Connection, vol. i. pp. 141, 145, 149. Ed. 1815). As he was celebrated as a conqueror, and as he had driven Sennacherib from Pelusium and from Egypt, we may see the cause of the alarm of Sennacherib when it was rumoured that he was about to follow him into Palestine, and to make war on him there. He is come forth - He has made preparations, and is on his way. He sent messengers ... - With letters or despatches Isa_37:14. Hezekiah was probably ignorant of the approach of Tirhakah, or at all events Sennacherib would suppose that he was ignorant of it; and as Sennacherib knew that there would be no hope that Hezekiah would yield if he knew that Tirhakah was approaching to make war on him, he seems to have resolved to anticipate the intelligence, and to see if it were possible to induce him to surrender. He, therefore, sent substantially the same message as before, and summoned him to capitulate. 2. CLARKE, He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia - When he heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out against him, then he sent that blasphemous manifesto which is contained in Isa_37:10-13, to terrify Hezekiah into submission. How much was this like, in words and spirit, to the manifesto sent to the Parisians by the late Duke of
27. 27. Brunswick, from the plains of Champaigne, in 1792, which was the forerunner of the mighty torrents of human blood which was shed in the French revolution! And what a blast of God fell upon him and his army - nearly like that which fell on the army of Sennacherib! He sent messengers He sent messengers again - The word vaiyishma, and he heard, which occurs the second time in this verse, is repeated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, and embarrasses the sense. The true reading instead of it is, veyesheb, and he returned, which the Septuagint read in this place, , and which is preserved in the other copy, 2Ki_19:9 : He returned and sent, that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, he sent again. 3. GILL, And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia,.... Not Rabshakeh, but the king of Assyria heard a rumour of this Ethiopian king coming out to war against him: his name, in Josephus (w), is Tharsices; in the Septuagint version it is Tharaca; and by Africanus (x) he is called Taracus; and is the same, who, by Strabo (y), out of Megasthenes, is named Tearcon the Ethiopian: the Ethiopia of which he was king was either the upper Ethiopia or that beyond Egypt; to which agrees the Arabic version, which calls him Tharatha king of the Abyssines; but others take it for Cush, or rather Ethiopia in the land of Midian, or Arabia, as Bochart; which lay nearer to Judea than the other Ethiopia. Now the report that was brought to the king of Assyria of him was, he is come forth to make war with thee; not by assisting the Egyptians, as Josephus, but rather the Jews; or by making an irruption into the king of Assyria's country in his absence: this some think to be the rumour predicted, Isa_37:7. and when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah; with terrifying letters, to frighten him into an immediate surrender of the city, that he might withdraw his army, and meet the king of Ethiopia with the greater force; and the rather he dispatched these messengers in all haste to Hezekiah, that his letters might reach him before he had knowledge of the king of Ethiopia, asking a diversion in his favour, which would encourage him to hold out the siege the longer: saying; as follows: 4. HENRY, Those that delight in war shall have enough of it. Sennacherib, without provocation given to him or warning given by him, went forth to war against Judah; and now with as little ceremony the king of Ethiopia goes forth to war against him, Isa_37:9. Those that are quarrelsome may expect to be quarrelled with; and God sometimes checks the rage of his enemies by giving it a powerful diversion. 3. It is bad to talk proudly and profanely, but it is worse to write so, for this argues more deliberation and design, and what is written spreads further, lasts longer, and does the more mischief. Atheism and irreligion, written, will certainly be reckoned for another day. 4. Great successes often harden sinners' hearts in their sinful ways and make them the more daring. Because the kings of Assyria have destroyed all lands (though, in fact, they were but a few that fell within their reach), therefore they doubt not but to destroy God's land; because the gods of the nations were unable to help they conclude the God of Israel is so; because the idolatrous kings of Hamath and Arphad became an easy prey to them therefore they doubt not but to destroy God's land; because the idolatrous kings of Hamath and Arphad became an easy prey to them therefore the religious reforming king of Judah must needs
28. 28. be so too. Thus is this proud man ripened for ruin by the sunshine of prosperity. 5. Liberty of access to the throne of grace, and liberty of speech there, are the unspeakable privilege of the Lord's people at all times, especially in times of distress and danger. Hezekiah took Sennacherib's letter, and spread it before the Lord, not designing to make any complaints against him but those grounded upon his own handwriting. Let the thing speak itself; here it is in black and white: Open thy eyes, O Lord! and see. God allows his praying people to be humbly free with him, to utter all their words, as Jephthah did, before him, to spread the letter, whether of a friend or an enemy, before him, and leave the contents, the concern of it, with him. 6. The great and fundamental principles of our religion, applied by faith and improved in prayer, will be of sovereign use to us in our particular exigencies and distresses, whatever they are; to them therefore we must have recourse, and abide by them; so Hezekiah did here. He encouraged himself with this, that the God of Israel is the Lord of hosts, of all hosts, of the hosts of Israel, to animate him, of the hosts of their enemies, to dispirit and restrain them, - that he is God alone, and there is none that can stand in competition with him, - that he is the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, and disposes of them all as he pleases; for he made heaven and earth, and therefore both can do any thing and does every thing. 7. When we are afraid of men that are great destroyers we may with humble boldness appeal to God as the great Saviour. They have indeed destroyed the nations, who had thrown themselves out of the protection of the true God by worshipping false gods, but the Lord, the God alone, is our God, our King, our lawgiver, and he will save us, who is the Saviour of those that believe. 8. We have enough to take hold of, in our wrestling with God by prayer, if we can but plead that his glory is interested in our case, that his name will be profaned if we are run down and glorified if we are relieved. Thence therefore will our most prevailing pleas be drawn: Do it for thy glory's sake. 5. JAMISON, Tirhakah (See on Isa_17:12; see on Isa_18:6). Egypt was in part governed by three successive Ethiopian monarchs, for forty or fifty years: Sabacho, Sevechus, and Tirhakah. Sevechus retired from Lower Egypt owing to the resistance of the priests, whereupon Sethos, a prince-priest, obtained supreme power with Tanis (Zoan in Scripture), or Memphis, as his capital. The Ethiopians retained Upper Egypt under Tirhakah, with Thebes as the capital. Tirhakahs fame as a conqueror rivaled that of Sesostris; he, and one at least, of the Pharaohs of Lower Egypt, were Hezekiahs allies against Assyria. The tidings of his approach made Sennacherib the more anxious to get possession of Jerusalem before his arrival. sent 2Ki_19:9 more fully expresses Sennacheribs eagerness by adding again. 6. PULPIT, Rabshakeh found the King of Assyria warring against Libnah. Libnah was a town at no great distance from Lachish (Jos_10:31; Jos_15:39-42). It was also near Mareshah (Jos_15:42-44), and must therefore have belonged to the more southern portion of the Shefeleh, and probably to the eastern region, where the hills sink down into the plain. The exact site is very uncertain, and still remains to be discovered. Sennacherib's object in moving upon Libnah is doubtful; hut it would seem, from his monuments, that he had captured Lachish, and had gone on to Libnah, as the next stronghold on the way to Egypt. 7. CALVIN, 9.And hearing concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia. From what follows we may conjecture the reason why the king of Assyria suddenly departed from Judea; for the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia had formed a league with each other against Sennacherib, because they saw that his power was
29. 29. becoming excessive, and that his invasion of other countries had no limit, and therefore they readily concluded that, unless they opposed his violence at an early period, they also would be in imminent danger from him. These kings did not intend to provide for the safety of Judea at their own loss, but looked to thems