Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us. This city won’t be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and each of you eat from his vine, and each one from his fig tree, and each one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”
Show the surrounding paragraph
Isaiah 36:15-20 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?” Then Rabshakeh stood, and called out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! The king says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you. Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us. This city won’t be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and each of you eat from his vine, and each one from his fig tree, and each one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”
Parallel Translations
-
Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us. This city won’t be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’
Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and each of you eat from his vine, and each one from his fig tree, and each one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
Who are they among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”
-
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
Show all 3 translations
-
neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying: The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus saith the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying: The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'
Cross-references (70)
- Isaiah 10:9-11 (v19) Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?” As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose…
- Jeremiah 49:23 (v19) Of Damascus: “Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news. They have melted away. There is sorrow on the sea. It can’t…
- 1 Kings 4:25 (v16) Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
- 2 Chronicles 32:19 (v20) They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
- Psalms 50:21 (v20) You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your…
Show all 67 cross-references
- Isaiah 36:15 (v18) Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us. This city won’t be given into the hand of the king of…
- Isaiah 37:17-18 (v18) Turn your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and behold. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living…
- Zechariah 3:10 (v16) In that day,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’ ”
- Isaiah 36:7 (vv15, 18) But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to…
- Isaiah 37:10 (vv15, 18) “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem won’t be…
- Daniel 3:15 (vv18, 20) Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and…
- Exodus 5:2 (v20) Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel…
- Numbers 34:8 (v19) From Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the border shall pass by Zedad.
- 2 Samuel 8:9 (v19) When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer,
- 1 Kings 20:23 (v20) The servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let’s fight…
- 2 Kings 17:5-7 (v19) Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the…
- 2 Kings 17:24 (v19) The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, from Cuthah, from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of…
- 2 Kings 18:32 (v17) until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive…
- 2 Kings 18:33-35 (v18) Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of…
- 2 Kings 19:12-13 (v18) Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in…
- 2 Kings 19:17-18 (v18) Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no…
- 2 Kings 19:22-37 (v20) Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
- 2 Chronicles 32:13-17 (v18) Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands in any way able…
- 2 Chronicles 32:15 (v20) Now therefore don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this way. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able…
- Job 15:25-26 (v20) Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty, he runs at him with a stiff neck, with…
- Psalms 12:4 (v18) who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”
- Psalms 73:9 (v20) They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.
- Psalms 92:5-7 (v18) How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this: though…
- Psalms 115:2-8 (v18) Why should the nations say, “Where is their God, now?” But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver…
- Psalms 135:5-6 (v18) For I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the…
- Psalms 135:15-18 (v18) The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they…
- Isaiah 36:10 (v18) Have I come up now without Yahweh against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, “Go up against this land, and destroy it.” ’ ”
- Isaiah 37:11-13 (v19) Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered? Have the gods…
- Isaiah 37:12-13 (v18) Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in…
- Isaiah 37:18-19 (v20) Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the countries and their land, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were…
- Isaiah 37:23-29 (v20) Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
- Isaiah 45:16-17 (v20) They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together. Israel will be…
- Jeremiah 10:10-12 (v18) But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to…
- Micah 4:4 (v16) But they will sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and no one will make them afraid: For the mouth of Yahweh of Armies has…
- Habakkuk 2:19-20 (v18) Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and…
- Genesis 32:20 (v16) You shall say, ‘Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.’ ” For, he said, “I will appease him with the present that…
- Genesis 33:11 (v16) Please take the gift that I brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” He urged him, and he took…
- Exodus 3:8 (v17) I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a…
- Deuteronomy 8:7-9 (v17) For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and…
- Deuteronomy 11:12 (v17) a land which Yahweh your God cares for. Yahweh your God’s eyes are always on it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year.
- 1 Samuel 11:3 (v16) The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel; and then, if there is no…
- 1 Samuel 25:27 (v16) Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.
- 2 Samuel 8:6 (v16) Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. Yahweh gave victory to David…
- 1 Kings 4:20 (v16) Judah and Israel were numerous as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
- 2 Kings 5:15 (v16) He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, “See now, I know that there is no God…
- 2 Kings 17:6-23 (v17) In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the…
- 2 Kings 18:9-12 (v17) In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up…
- 2 Kings 18:31 (v16) Don’t listen to Hezekiah.’ For the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone of you eat from his own…
- 2 Kings 24:11 (v17) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,
- 2 Kings 24:12-16 (v16) and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers;…
- Job 20:17 (v17) He will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
- Job 40:9-12 (v20) Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him? “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with…
- Psalms 4:2 (v15) You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood?
- Psalms 22:7-8 (v15) All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying, “He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him.…
- Psalms 71:9-11 (v15) Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire…
- Proverbs 5:15 (v16) Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.
- Proverbs 12:10 (v17) A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
- Isaiah 37:23-24 (v15) Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
- Matthew 27:43 (v15) He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
- 2 Corinthians 9:5 (v16) I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that…
- 2 Kings 18:10-12 (v19) At the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was…
- Jeremiah 10:3-5 (v18) For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They…
67 distinct cross-references across this passage (70 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv16, 19 The Hebrew word signifieth blessing, whereby this wicked captain…
The Hebrew word signifieth blessing, whereby this wicked captain would have persuaded the people, that their condition should be better under Sennacherib than under Hezekiah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–20 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord,....…
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord,.... Hezekiah trusted in the Lord himself, and he endeavoured, both by his own example, and by arguments, to persuade his people to do so likewise; of this Rabshakeh was sensible, and was more afraid of this than of any thing else, and, therefore laboured this point more than any other; see Ch2 32:6;
saying, the Lord will surely deliver us, this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria: which he might say with the greatest confidence, since the Lord had promised to defend it, Isa 31:5 and especially if his sickness, and recovery out of it, and promises then made to him, were before this, as some think; since it is expressly promised by the Lord, that he would deliver him and the city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, Isa 38:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 19 Verse 15. This city shall not be delivered] ולא…
Verse 15. This city shall not be delivered] ולא velo, AND this city. Ten of Kennicott's MSS., and nine of De Rossi's, with one (ancient) of my own, add the conjunction.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–19 Make you trust in the Lord - Rabshakeh knew…
Make you trust in the Lord - Rabshakeh knew that Hezekiah was professedly devoted to Yahweh, and that he would endeavor to induce the people to trust in him. The Jews had now no other refuge but God, and as long as they put their confidence there, even Rabshakeh knew that it was hazardous to attempt to take and destroy their city. It was his policy, therefore, first to endeavor to undermine their reliance on God, before he could have any hope of success. The enemies of God’s people cannot succeed in their designs against them until they can unsettle their confidence in Him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 19, 20 The foes of God's people cannot succeed against them,…
The foes of God's people cannot succeed against them, unless they can shake their trust in Him (compare Isa 36:10).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19–20 19. Where are the gods — Rabshakeh had, in…
19. Where are the gods — Rabshakeh had, in the previous verse, appealed to his success as to the petty northern nations. Their gods failed them, so will Jehovah, the Jews’ deity, fail them. For Hamath, Arphad, and Sepharvaim, see notes in Isa_10:9. The defeat of Samaria is another argument.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–19 15. The Lord will surely deliver us] Cf. ch.…
15. The Lord will surely deliver us] Cf. ch. Isa_37:35.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 18, 19 (15, 16) Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in…
(15, 16) Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord . . .—Rabshakeh had apparently heard from spies or deserters of Hezekiah’s speech to his people (2Ch_32:7-8). In contrast with what he derides as trust in a God who was against those who trusted Him, he offers tangible material advantages They have only to leave the besieged city, and to go to the Assyrian camp, and they will be allowed provisionally to occupy their own houses and till their own fields, and, instead of dying of thirst, shall have each man the waters of his own cistern; and then, not without a latent sarcasm, worse than the vœ victis which is the normal utterance of conquerors, he offers the doom of exile as if it were a change for the better, and not the worse, as though the conquered had no love of country as such, no reverence for the sepulchres of their fathers, no yearning for the Temple of their God. The taunt and the promise may, perhaps, be connected with Sennacherib’s boast that he had improved the water-supply of the cities of his empire (Records of the Past, i. 32, 9:23, 26, 28).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15–19 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah. There…
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah. There is nothing improbable in Rabshakeh"s having thus spoken. Isaiah had long been encouraging Hezekiah to resist Sennacherib by promises of Divine aid. (Isa_30:31 Isa_31:4-9) Hezekiah would naturally repeat these premises to the people, and could not give their effect in simpler words than by saying, "Jehovah will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the King of Assyria." Spies and deserters would naturally tell the Assyrian envoys what he had said.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v19 Where are the gods?
Isa_36:19
Where are the gods?
Read full note →
--
Hamath
Hamath at the north border of the Holy Land, a large town on the Orontes, depopulated by the Assyrian in 720. Arpad, Aradus, a town on the coast, now a heap of ruins. Sepharvaim, or Sipar, a town to the north of Babylon, built on both sides of the Euphrates. (B. Blake, B.D.)
Inquiry for gods:
These inquiries may, by a slight accommodation, be used as showing some characteristics of false gods, and showing, by implication, the glory and worship which are due to the one living Lord. Men have a distinct right to inquire for their gods. Almighty God Himself does not shrink from this test of personality and nearness. He will be inquired of. He has proclaimed Himself accessible. Come now, let us reason together. God is within reach of the heart of man; and religion, as well as bringing with it a Divine fear, brings with it also a Divine companionship. Men cannot live on mere sublimity. Man cannot get hold of infinitude. He must have something that he can lay the hands of his heart upon. God must give miniatures of Himself, which little children even can put away in the hiding-places of their love as their chief jewels. (J. Parker, D.D.)
What is a mans god?
A mans god is whatever is the supreme object of his admiration and trust. It may be beauty, it may be strength, it may be money, it may be fame, it may be self-righteousness, it may be self-confidence. Now there are times in life when a man instinctively or by force inquires for his god; and he who cannot, in such critical hours, find his god, has made the profoundest and saddest spiritual mistake in the bestowment of his affections and the gift of his trust. There are times when you are dissatisfied with yourself; when you feel your utter nothingness. Take a season of utter prostration, when the strong man is withered. At such a time we look out for something greater than ourselves. Is there no one who can meet us in this extremity of feebleness, who can come down to us, not in the thunder of His great power, but in the condescension of His almightiness? Look at a time of commercial panic, business distress, when no man knows whom to trust. Man cannot be satisfied then without the supernatural; he may even drift into superstition. Atheists pray when they are in extreme pain or peril. There are times when all men either come quietly, with reverence and tenderness, to seek God who has withdrawn for a moment, or when they are startled, are frightened into momentary devotion. (J. Parker, D.D.)
Man-made gods
1. Some people have made money their god, and there is not a more helpless god in all the temples of idolatry. He will never come to you in the crisis of your life. He will make little compromises with you, help you over divers stiles, solve certain little problems for you. But when your soul is in agony, when your life has wrought itself down to the one last spasm, he will be a dumb god. We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. If you could take a five-pound note with you across the grave into yonder invisible mysterious world, nobody would know what it was. You would have to explain it, and nobody would believe you. You might hold it up, and show the watermark, and lecture upon it, and turn it round and round, and nobody could change it.
2. There is another god that some men are making. Its name is Luck! Some men say, Things will not turn out so badly after all. I have always been able to get upon the sunny side of the road, and something will occur to get me upon that side again. I have trusted the chapter of accidents. My chances have always turned out right, and they will turn out right again. There never was so mocking an idol as luck. The young man who throws in a game of that kind and is lucky, will have another game to play. He has another competitor who will force him, and say, Now you must have the dice out again. The name of that last competitor is Death, and he will play you. The young man says, I do not want to play. Death grasps him by the throat, and says, You shall play! Now he gets hold of his dice-box, and Death always wins.
3. Some mens god is a well-favoured countenance. They trust to their shape, figure, bearing, expression. They say, My face is an introduction, a certificate, a guarantee: wherever I go a space is cleared for me. A very superficial god! I can imagine such persons brought into circumstances which will try their god severely. Yonder is a man lofty in stature, portly in bearing, commanding in all the attributes of external person. He says that he feels a pain piercing him. He is taken home, and betakes himself to his bed. His physician comes to his room and says, This is a case of small-pox. That god of his will be dug in the face till the mans own mother will not know him, and the sister who loved him best will pray to escape from his presence. God can blotch your skin! God can send poison into your blood! And you, who sneered at ungainly virtue, at unfavoured honesty, may be a corrupt, worm-eaten, pestilent thing in the dirt! What, then, if any man should say to you, Where is thy God? (J. Parker, D.D.)
The revelation of the true God in times of human need
This part of the subject is not free from difficulty. Many a man has felt the most intense pain on observing what he supposed was Gods absence from the scene of human affairs. This difficulty must be grappled with if we would be honest to all sides of our great subject. In reply to this difficulty I suggest three things.
1. As a mere matter of fact, attested by a thousand histories known in our own experience, God has appeared in vindication of His name and honour.
2. As a first principle in sound theology, it must be admitted that God Himself is the only true judge as to the best manner and time of interposition. By so much as He is God this point at least must be conceded. Let us be fair to the Almighty, as we would be fair to man. Stephen was taken by the mob, dragged out and stoned. Where was his God then? was once the mocking inquiry of a well-known freethinker. Go to Stephen himself for an answer; and when he, outraged and dishonoured, said with his dying breath, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,--to have wrought in the human soul, under circumstances so tragic and terrible, a desire like that, was to do more for Stephen than if he had been lifted up by myriads of angels out of the hands of his murderers and set in the sun! Do not let us forget Gods spiritual gifts to us. Though the stones were falling upon him and he was in the last agonies, he said in a whisper, the sound of which shall survive the voices of all thunders and floods, I see heaven opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. It is only in crises, in extremities such as these, that the highest reach of faith is realised, and that faith itself becomes victory.
3. Then the very absence of God, being dictated by wisdom and controlled by love, must be intended to have a happy effect upon human faith. When God is absent, what if His absence is intended to excite inquiry in our hearts? It is in having to grope for God we learn lessons of our own blindness and weakness and spiritual incapacity. (J. Parker, D.D.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16, 18 General Information:
General Information:
The chief commander continues speaking to the people of Judah.
Read full note →
Make peace with me
This idiom means to agree officially to act peacefully towards one another. AT: "Let us agree to have peace" (See: Idiom)
come out to me
This idiom means to surrender. AT: "surrender to me" (See: Idiom)
until I come and take
Here the king of Assyria is referring to his army as himself. AT: "until my army comes and takes" (See: Metonymy)
a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards
These two phrase have the same meaning and are used together to emphasize how prosperous the land will be. (See: Parallelism)
a land of grain ... a land of bread
This means that they land is full of natural resources, such as grain. AT: "a land where there is plenty of grain ... a land where there is plenty of bread" (See: Possession)
translationWords
Hezekiah
king
Assyria
peace
vine
fig
water
grain
wine
bread
vineyard
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 16, 19 36:15 Hezekiah demonstrated a strong faith in the Lord,…
36:15 Hezekiah demonstrated a strong faith in the Lord, unlike Ahaz (ch 7). Hezekiah’s faith would bring rescue, whereas Ahaz’s lack of faith brought him trouble (see 7:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.