Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"What confidence is this in which you trust?"
Text: Isaiah 36:4
THE MESSAGE OF THE RABSHAKEH
The Rabshakeh spoke on behalf of king Sennacherib. He was a master war strategist of the Assyrians.
“Then the Rabshakeh said to them,
‘Say now to Hezekiah,
‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria:
‘What confidence is this in which you trust?
I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words.
Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?
Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt,
on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it.
So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.”'”
Isaiah 36:4-6
1. Representing the King of Assyria.
a) The Rabshakeh called Sennacherib “the great king”.
b) Sennacherib was the king of a growing Assyrian empire.
2. Addressing King Hezekiah and his entourage.
a) The Rabshakeh employed deep psychological means in his address.
b) The goal of his address.
i) To cause Hezekiah to surrender to Assyria.
ii) This would then be a bloodless victory for the Assyrians.
iii) This would be a great coup if it was successful.
3. How the Rabshakeh sought to reach his goal.
a) To undermine the confidence of King Hezekiah.
i) Judah had done very well under Hezekiah’s rule,
hence the sense of confidence of the nation.
ii) Hezekiah had fortified many cities.
iii) There were also political alliances with countries like Egypt.
b) Hezekiah’s plans were mentioned.
i) There were plans to strengthen Judah.
ii) It is natural that Judah would seek to strengthen the nation in every way possible.
iii) The Rabshakeh sneered at Hezekiah’s plans as “mere words”.
c) Judah’s alliance with Egypt.
i) There was a military pact with Egypt.
ii) Egypt would send troops to help Judah.
iii) The Rabshakeh described Egypt as a broken reed.
iv) If Judah were to lean upon Egypt for help,
Hezekiah would be leaning on a broken reed that would pierce his hand.
v) Egypt was despised as a useless and weak nation
who cannot help any nation that had turned to it for assistance.