Reflections: Isaiah 36-39

Chapters 36-39 of Isaiah consist of a short series of historical narratives involving King Hezekiah of Judah. I am fascinated by the stories of the men who ruled Israel and Judah as kings, and Hezekiah’s story is very interesting and unique.

The book of Isaiah tends to mention the kings who ruled Judah during Isaiah’s lifetime as historical references – it lets us know the time in history when these events are taking place. Isaiah 1:1 states that Isaiah’s prophetic ministry extends through the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Bible scholars don’t agree on when and for how long the reigns of each of these kings lasted because there were times when a King and his son ruled as co-regents.

For example, Uzziah took the throne at the age of 16, after his father, Amaziah, had been taken prisoner of war by the Northern Kingdom of Israel. When the different biblical narratives are pieced together, along with other historical evidence, it’s clear that Amaziah survived for another 24 years after his son was placed on the throne (Imagine the awkwardness of the homecoming after Amaziah returned from his imprisonment!). It is therefore generally recognized that Uzziah and his father reigned together for those 24 years. So, when it says in the book of Kings that Amaziah reigned for 29 years, and Uzziah (called “Azariah” in 2 Kings 15:1) reigned for 52 years, this is actually the passing of 57 years on the calendar.

But if we peg the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry to what it says in Isaiah 6:1 (“In the year that King Uzziah died”), and factor in the prospects for co-regencies among Uzziah’s successors, the time frame for the historical events reported in the book of Isaiah are from roughly 740 BC to 680 BC; about 60 years.

As for the events of Chapters 36-39, Hezekiah’s reign begins around 729 BC, when he is 25 years old. By referencing the parallel narrative in 2 Kings 18 and 2 Chronicles 29, some of the other events we’ve already seen in the book of Isaiah can be put in perspective. 2 Kings 18:8-10 pinpoints the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom of Israel to the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign (a time when he was a co-regent with his father, Ahaz), and the defeat and destruction of Israel two years later. Both 2 Kings 18:13 and Isaiah 36:1 state the invasion of Judah by the Assyrian King Sennacherib takes place in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, making him about 40 years old in Isaiah 36.

The book of Isaiah says very little regarding the prophet’s judgment on the characters of the kings who ruled during his life. The books of Kings and Chronicles, however, give us a moral “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” for each of them by declaring in the opening verses discussing each King’s reign; either saying “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,” or “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” But even if a King got the “thumbs up,” he would make choices later in life that brought God’s judgment on him, or he was not wholeheartedly devoted to God’s principles. If we check the Kings in Isaiah’s life, Uzziah and Jotham get a general “thumbs up,” and “Ahaz” gets a “thumbs down.”

But Hezekiah, the King who is an integral part of the narrative here in chapters 36-39, gets more than a “thumbs up.” In 2 Kings 18:3, it states that Hezekiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.” Verse 4 commends him for going farther than most other Kings in stamping out the rampant idolatry in the nation. But then, in v.5, Hezekiah gets a special commendation because “he trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the Kings of Judah, either before or after him.”

There was indeed something uniquely special about Hezekiah. His personal devotion to God was exemplary. We will see in Chapter 39 that he has faults, but by and large, he was faithful to God’s principles as he ruled Judah, and in his own life. The events told here show us a man who sincerely sought God in his responsibilities as king. He set an example for his people to follow, guided them in matters of faith and morals, and took personal responsibility for the spiritual condition of the nation.

2 Chronicles 29:2 indicates that Hezekiah hit the ground running. Apparently, the apostasy of his father had led to the complete neglect of worship in the temple. As soon as Hezekiah became King, he began a program of reform to clean up and repair the temple and bring the priests and the Levites back to perform their work. It was a tremendous undertaking.

When the work in the temple was finished, Hezekiah personally oversaw the “grand re-opening” of the temple, with the people of Jerusalem gathered. The King commanded the priest to offer sacrifices. He re-established the “worship team” to provide non-stop singing and music. This all culminated in “the whole assembly [bowing] in worship, while the singers sang, and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the burnt offering was completed” (2 Chronicles 29:28). Hezekiah personally reestablished the practice of worshiping the true God and continued to set the example for piety and devotion for his people throughout his reign.

2 Chronicles 30 explains that Hezekiah also reestablished the practice of celebrating the Passover. It’s not clear when in the timeline this event occurred, and how long Passover had been neglected; 2 Chronicles 30:3 suggests it was because “not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.” This could mean that it was the apostacy of Hezekiah’s father that had kept it from happening, and we’re only talking about Passover not happening for a generation. But 30:3 also seems connected to the decision made to delay the Passover celebration a month because of the current shortage of priests (it would be like celebrating Christmas on January 25). Then there’s the mention of “the people not assembled in Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 30:1 says that the invitation for the people to come celebrate the Passover went “to all Israel and Judah” as well as “Ephraim and Manasseh” (the tribes usually associated with control of the Northern Kingdom).

Some scholars believe the Passover had not been celebrated communally by the people of Israel and Judah since the death of Solomon. As explained in 1 Kings 12:25-33, the rulers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were concerned that the established exclusive nature of worship at the Jerusalem temple would lead to divided loyalty for their people. Therefore, the first ruler of this new nation, King Jeroboam I, built two temples, one in the city of Bethel, the other in Dan, each equipped with its own golden calf idol. This new “religion” was based on the first five books of the bible and the Torah, but it was designed to compete with the program at the Jerusalem temple at every turn. (While 1 Kings 12 makes it clear these practices were condemned by God, they were not that different than what the average Israelite had been accustomed to since the days of the Judges, which is why the religion of the Northern Kingdom continued unabated for the 210 years the Northern Kingdom existed, and lingered even during the time of Christ – a form of Jeroboam’s religion was practiced by the Samaritans [see John 4]). Jeroboam established his own priesthood and built shrines all over his kingdom where the people could offer sacrifices. But the most sinister concept was he established festival holidays held at his new temple sites that conflicted with the established festivals in Jerusalem. 1 Kings 12:32-33 gives a specific example; Jeroboam establishes the time of his new festival for the 15th day of the 8th month, “a month of [Jeroboam’s] own choosing.” This conflicted with the Festival of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see Leviticus 23:34), which was held on the 15th day of the 7th month. While not a direct conflict, it would be impossible for the people of the Northern Kingdom to travel to Jerusalem and then back to Shechem in the same month. Jeroboam apparently made this one-month deferral uniform and established a new holiday to conflict with every major festival on Judah’s sacral calendar.

Hezekiah’s revival of Passover likely occurred AFTER the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria. Jeroboam’s religion, at least from an official standpoint, had been wiped out. There were no more holidays in the Northern Kingdom to compete with the Passover festival. 2 Chronicles 30:2 says that Hezekiah, along with his officials and the “whole assembly in Jerusalem” decided to celebrate the Passover a month later than prescribed in scripture. While the text blames this on a lack of priests, I think the underlying reason was to bring the calendars of the north and the south together, making it easier for the remaining residents of the devastated Northern Kingdom to make arrangements to travel to Jerusalem and attend. And while 2 Chronicles 30:10 states that many in the northern region “scorned and ridiculed” the messengers, there was a contingent from the northern tribes who attended the Passover celebration. Hezekiah had effectively turned the tables on Jeroboam and his successors! The people of Israel celebrated the Passover in unity for the first time in over 200 years!

2 Chronicles 31 tells us the King also reestablished (or perhaps truly established for the first time) a pattern of financial support and giving — tithing — to support the work of the temple. He started by generously giving out of his own pockets, and then encouraging the people to give. This financial plan was so successful, Hezekiah had to order storerooms built to hold it all (2 Chronicles 31:11). The family of every priest and Levite was provided for. 2 Chronicles 31:20–21 concludes, “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21 In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so, he prospered.”

This brings us up to the point where the narrative in Isaiah 36 begins.

Well, almost. One year before the events of Isaiah 36, 2 Kings 18:13-16 relays some earlier dealings between Hezekiah of Judah and Sennacherib of Assyria. At that time, Assyria invaded Judah and captured “all the fortified cities.” To try and convince Sennacherib to back down, Hezekiah, in essence, begs for mercy, and agrees to pay whatever Assyria demands – and they demand 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. Hezekiah gives up “all the silver found in the temple” and in the royal palace and must strip off all the gold covering the door posts and doors in the temple itself to pay the Assyrians. Interestingly, this is all verified in the historical records and accounts kept by the Assyrians themselves.

At the same time, in 2 Chronicles 32:2-8, Hezekiah was not just depending on what amounted to a massive bribe. He realized that an attack on Jerusalem was imminent. He therefore consulted his officials and military leaders. Strategically, they wanted to make Jerusalem as secure as possible. They first blocked up the water supply, so the invaders would be deprived of quenching their thirst. They fortified the city walls and towers, even building an additional wall outside the first, which allowed the reinforcing of the terraces inside the new wall. The army was equipped with new weapons and shields.

But as before, he led by example in matters of faith. He had the populace divided into brigades under the army’s commanders and encouraged them to have faith that the Lord would help them fight this battle.

Then came the events of Isaiah 36 -- the Assyrian King sent one of his “field commanders” to address Jerusalem, while King Hezekiah sends three envoys to meet him. The commander makes threats that Assyria will destroy Jerusalem and conquer Judah, and openly mocks Hezekiah’s faith in God. The three envoys go back to the King to report.

In Isaiah 37, when Hezekiah hears this awful news, he goes into official mourning, tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes to seek God in the temple. But not before sending two of his envoys to inquire of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah responds with a new prophecy: he encourages the king to not be afraid, and that prior to Sennacherib even reaching Jerusalem, God will arrange to send the Assyrian king a report that will “make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down by the sword.”

In Isaiah 37:9, Sennacherib receives the predicted report involving a powerful enemy marching out to confront Assyria. Before Sennacherib withdrew, he sent out a personal letter to Hezekiah, telling in him in so many words that he would return to destroy Jerusalem.

In 37:14, Hezekiah responds by humbly returning to the temple, taking this letter with him, and spreading it out before God. He prays most earnestly – the evidence shows that there is little hope. As a practical reality, Hezekiah knows that Sennacherib is an enemy that Judah cannot defeat. Even the idols representing the gods of the nations which Sennacherib has defeated are no more. Yet, Hezekiah acknowledges the power and authority of the Lord, and asks God for deliverance.

Meanwhile, Isaiah sends Hezekiah a word from the Lord: God acknowledges that Sennacherib is indeed powerful, but that his power exists only because God has allowed it. In v. 29, the Lord promises that “I will put a hook in [Sennacherib’s] nose,” and a bit in his mouth, and force him to return the way he came. In v. 33, God promises that “He will not enter the city, or shoot an arrow here,” and in v. 35, that “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”

Then, in v. 36, in an incredible display of supernatural power, God sends an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. It was such a spectacle, that when the people of Jerusalem rose the next morning, they were presented with the gruesome picture of dead bodies as far as the eye could see! Yet the narrative presents it all as if it’s a common occurrence. Then, as if to offer a brief postscript, v. 38 says that “one day,” Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons while worshipping in the temple of his God. While that “one day” did not occur for 20 years, the Assyrian historical records verify this prophecy was literally fulfilled.

Greek historians attributed the sudden death of all these Assyrian soldiers to an outbreak of the bubonic plague. If you’re keeping score, the sudden death of these soldiers on the battlefield fulfills the short-term notions of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies found in chapters 10:33-34, 30:31, and 31:8. Plus, the historical records the Assyrians themselves kept confirm all of the events reported in the Old Testament regarding this military campaign, down to Sennacherib’s claims to capturing all of Judah’s fortified cities, taking 200,000 people captive, and receiving the silver and gold offered as a bribe. The record even has the Assyrian King boasting that he made Hezekiah a “prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.” BUT – there is nothing in the Assyrian historical archives saying that Sennacherib captured Jerusalem!

Isaiah 38 tells the story of Hezekiah’s illness. From a chronological perspective, this story, and the one that follows in chapter 39 involving the visit of the Babylonian envoys actually occurred before the Assyrian invasion in the chapters just preceding. This is because Babylonian historical records state that the King of Babylon identified in 39:1 – “Marduk-Baladan” – died in 703 BC. The Assyrian campaign against Judah began in the 14th year of Hezekiah’s reign, which would have been 2 to three years later. There is a clue in v.6 also, when Isaiah says that God “will deliver you and this city from the king of Assyria.” Obviously, Sennacherib had not become an issue just yet.

38:1 tells us that Hezekiah was ill, to the point of death. Isaiah visits the King to warn him to “put your house in order,” for the Lord said that Hezekiah is going to die, “you will not recover.”

Hezekiah was not yet an old man, even by the standards of that time. By calculating the time of this announcement to the end of the passage (God gives him 15 more years to live), and noting he was 25 years old when he started his reign, he could not have been much older than 36 or 37 during this illness. Regardless of the severity of this unknown illness, this would have had to have been a tremendous shock to the King.

And why the command to “put your house in order?” Some scholars note that this is simply a statement that would be made to any monarch faced with imminent death. A king had to have specific testamentary arrangements in place, particularly regarding the successor to the throne. Hezekiah was a relatively young man, and perhaps had not yet written his “last will and testament.” (Maybe I can use this story in advertisements for my estate planning practice?)

But what if there was something more? Something very complicated?

It is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, but Jewish Talmudic tradition holds that because of Hezekiah’s tunnel-vision regarding his devotion to God and leading the people in matters of faith and worship, he had never taken the time to pursue marriage or a family. According to these traditions, part of Isaiah’s rebuke to the King in telling him that he was going to die was that the Lord had judged him for his failure to provide for an heir. At least part of the reason this disease was wracking his body and that he was going to die so young was his rebelliousness in not making sure a descendant of David would be on the throne. We can never know if this is true – the Bible does not mention this -- but I find that this concept fits into the clues left in the scriptures, which also help strengthen the concept of the Jewish traditions. I’ll talk about that more in just a bit.

After hearing that he’s about to die, Hezekiah “turns his face to the wall,” (the wall of his bedroom? The wall of the temple nearby?”) and prays, basically arguing with God that he has been faithful all his life, and has done what is right, and he “wept bitterly.” I don’t know if it’s fair to characterize this as the king saying that God was being unfair to him or not, but to Hezekiah’s credit, he doesn’t seem to blame God. Particularly if the concept of him not producing an heir was really part of the issue, it would appear to me that he’s saying, “Hey, my life has been so good. How can this be the end of it?” It also is a heartfelt expression that Hezekiah firmly believed that the Lord graciously favors those who earnestly serve him.

Isaiah then returns to tell Hezekiah that God has heard his prayers, seen his tears, and will add 15 years to his life. He also promises deliverance from Assyria. Oh, and he also promised to give Hezekiah a sign that this promise will come true. “[The Lord] will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” Isaiah 39:22, while seemingly reporting the chronology of the event backwards (see 2 Kings 20:8, which shows this question preceded the notion of “the sign”) shows that Hezekiah had asked for the sign prior to Isaiah telling him what it was. In 2 Kings 20:8-11, Isaiah offers Hezekiah a choice. The Lord would either make the shadow go forward ten steps, or backward ten steps. The King mused out loud that “it is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps . . . have it go back ten steps.”

Hezekiah is truly healed. In Chapter 39, he receives envoys from the King of Babylon, bearing gifts because the Babylonian king had heard of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery. In v.2 it says Hezekiah “received the envoys gladly” and took them on a tour of the capital, showing them all the nation’s wealth and all its armor and defenses. Isaiah then appears to confront  the king, asking questions for which he already knew the answers: Where were these men from, and what did the king show them? Hezekiah reported truthfully; they were from Babylon, and he had shown them “everything.”

Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah and gives him a word from “the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah tells him that there will come a time when “everything in your palace . . . will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left,” and that “Some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.”

Hezekiah’s response seems strange. He replies that, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” “for he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.” My initial reaction is this is a selfish expression of relief that he himself would not experience the adversity of the fulfillment of this prophecy. He seems happy that, “At least it won’t happen to me, in my lifetime.” On the other hand, perhaps it is really a statement of humility; Isaiah’s apparent rebuke does not connect the King showing the nation’s treasures to the Babylonians to any sin the King has committed. Obviously, the judgment of God fulfilled in the Babylonian exile was the compounding of the sin and rebellion of the people of Judah for generations. Hezekiah must know that the judgment of God is now being withheld because the people have repented and turned back to God, and he may just be grateful for an intervening time of peace that the Lord is allowing for his people. He recognizes this judgment is inevitable and hopes and prays it is delayed as long as possible.

Finally, what of this issue of a connection between Hezekiah, his illness, and his failure to marry and produce children? We have a hint of it right here in Chapter 39:7, where the judgment of God will fall on “your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you.” This points to the fact that Hezekiah’s son and heir, Manasseh, assumes the throne at the age of 12. (See 2 Kings 21:1). No matter how you figure out the possibility of any overlapping co-regencies here, it always adds up to the fact that Hezekiah’s heir was not born until AFTER Hezekiah recovered from the illness that nearly killed him.

The Talmud’s traditions fill in some more amazing details involving Hezekiah’s family relations. 2 Kings 21:1 identifies Manasseh’s mother as “Hephzibah.” She is referenced in one other place in the Bible, in Isaiah 64:2, where the same name is used as a symbolic name for the nation of Israel, there identified as “Zion.” Instead of being referred to as “Desolate” and “Deserted,” Jerusalem will be called “Hephzibah,” which is a feminine noun meaning “my delight is in her,” and the nation will be called “Beulah,” which means “married,” and says that the Lord will take delight in Jerusalem and “your land will be married.”

This gives us a framework upon which to hang the concepts of Hezekiah neglecting his family obligations and his failure to produce an heir. While the book of Isaiah only identifies the prophet as having two children, both sons, the learned rabbis who produced the traditions of the Talmud interpreted this reference to “Hephzibah” in Isaiah 64 to mean that Isaiah had a third child later in life – a daughter, with the same name. The Talmudic rabbis put the identification of Manasseh’s mother and this cryptic reference in Isaiah’s writings together to conclude that after Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he married Isaiah’s daughter! The prophet Isaiah would therefore technically have become the king’s father-in-law.

This would have needed to have happened quickly after his recovery, and Hezekiah’s son would have been born shortly thereafter. According to Hebrew tradition, when a boy reaches the age of 12, he becomes a "son of the law" and earns the title of “gadol,” a Hebrew word meaning “big” or “great,” and can be used to refer to a learned rabbi or used as slang to mean someone is “hip,” “cool,” “with it,” or “awesome.” 12 is the age a Hebrew boy usually experiences Bar Mitzvah, passing from  the days of childhood to youth and young manhood, and was considered old enough to concern himself with the “serious work of life." If Hezekiah had a son in the same year he is told by the prophet of God who has never steered him wrong that he is likely to die within fifteen years, I would think he would at the earliest possible moment give the heir-presumptive every advantage of training in leadership, and would have made him co-regent on his 12th birthday, giving the King and his on at least 3 years to work together to train the young prince to be ready.

Unfortunately, Manasseh turns out to be the opposite of his father when it comes to matters of faith. 2 Kings 21 says nothing good about him. In fact, 2 Kings 21:9 says he led the people to “do more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.” Comparing Manasseh unfavorably to the Amorites, King Ahab, and the entire history of the Northern Kingdom, God promised to “wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish.”  He is further condemned for shedding so much innocent blood that “he filled Jerusalem from end to end.”

According to the Talmudic tradition, Manasseh was the one who had Isaiah killed. Because Isaiah doesn’t mention Manasseh as one of the kings he ministered under, if this is true, it would have had to have occurred either before the boy became king, or during the brief time of the co-regency. If so, the legend of how it happened fits in with the judgments of 1 Kings 21. Supposedly Isaiah had angered Manasseh and was forced to flee. He sought to hide himself inside a hollow tree. Unfortunately, Manasseh’s men found him. Manasseh purportedly ordered that Isaiah be killed on the spot, and had the tree sawed asunder with Isaiah still inside. (Again, this is from Hebrew tradition, and is NOT in the scriptures).

Yet, the prophecy Isaiah speaks to Hezekiah that “some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away . . . to Babylon,” is literally fulfilled in his son. In 2 Chronicles 33:10-17, the Assyrians return to attack Jerusalem, and Manasseh is taken prisoner and delivered to the King of Babylon. He is humiliated to the furthest degree – hook in the nose, bronze shackles, and taken into prison in the Babylonian capital. In v. 12, it says “In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so, he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.”

After this, Manasseh was as faithful to the one true God as his father. But the principal of reaping what you sow remains, for in 2 Chronicles 33: 16-17, it tells us: “16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.”

And of course, while the details of Hezekiah’s life are fascinating and alluring, there is still the reality that his family line ultimately culminated in the birth of Jesus. The promise of the Messiah is the underlying theme of everything in the book of Isaiah. All the kings mentioned in Isaiah 1:1 – Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah – along with Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh – are all featured in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. God’s faithfulness to the Kings of Judah, even in their unfaithfulness, saw the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah through to Jesus.