13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
REFLECTION:
Sennacherib’s field commander called for Jerusalem’s surrender. He repeatedly challenged Hezekiah: did they depend on Egypt? or on God? None of the gods of other peoples were able to protect their lands against Assyria’s military might.
The Assyrian commander scoffs Judah’s God. God may exist somewhere, he may be important to us. But he is irrelevant now, for he is powerless to act. He continued to taunt them, “On what are you basing this confidence of yours?” As events unfolded, it became clear that Isaiah’s and King Hezekiah’s confidence was rightly placed – in God. There are no circumstances we can imagine which can limit God’s power to save.
Have you been taunted by others because of your faith? Or have you ever felt that God was not relevant in your situation? Recall the circumstances, your response and feelings. Continue to converse with God. Ask for strengthened faith and whatever the situation there is “no turning back”.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
REFLECTION:
Read the passage silently, watching for its emphasis on restoration and healing.
What pictures of healing speak to you?
God putting things right
blind eyes opening
deaf ears hearing
disabled people leaping
voiceless people singing
water flowing in the desert
hot sands suddenly becoming cool
What do you like best about the “Way of Holiness” (v.8)?
no rude or rebellious drivers
can’t get lost on it
no dangerous animals to stop you in your tracks
Tell God about the images you most resonate with. Tell Him why. Ask God for the restoration or healing that you or others need.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Draw near, O nations, to hear,
and give attention, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes from it. 2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host;
he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. 3 Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
the mountains shall flow with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction. 6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
REFLECTION:
This whole chapter is almost too tough to hear. It describes God’s undoing of those parts of creation that refuse to accept the sovereignty of God. The nations that God would judge refused to respond to the Lord. Therefore, their lands would be returned to the birds and the beasts. What God has ordained is certain to pass.
How do you feel about God after reading this passage? How might you feel if you read it from the viewpoint of an oppressed person reflecting on the fact that justice would one day overtake your oppressor?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
