Isaiah continues to speak the truth in the context of the Israelite King Hezekiah slowly bringing about the doom of his nation. Of course, the doom is not final, and God eventually restores the fortunes of his people. But in today’s portion, Hezekiah welcomes Judah’s own destroyers into his own palace. There’s probably a lesson for us somewhere in here.
The time spent with Jesus in Matthew is well-spent. The man went about forgiving sins, healing sicknesses, casting out demons. His teachings were inscrutable. His conduct was powerful. His power was indubitable. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Isaiah 36
In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.
And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to him.
The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’?
Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’ ”
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you.
Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,
until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land 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 among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Isaiah 37
On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”
So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,
who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’ ”
When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.”
On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?
Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’ ”
So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:
“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him:
‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises you and mocks you;
the Daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head behind you.
Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
and you have said:
“With my many chariots
I have ascended
to the heights of the mountains,
to the remote peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the finest of its cypresses.
I have reached its farthest heights,
the densest of its forests.
I have dug wells
and drunk foreign waters.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it;
in days of old I planned it.
Now I have brought it to pass,
that you should crush fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power,
are dismayed and ashamed.
They are like plants in the field,
tender green shoots,
grass on the rooftops,
scorched before it is grown.
But I know your sitting down,
your going out and coming in,
and your raging against Me.
Because your rage and arrogance against Me
have reached My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
and My bit in your mouth;
I will send you back
the way you came.’
And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah:
This year you will eat
what grows on its own,
and in the second year
what springs from the same.
But in the third year you will sow and reap;
you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah
will again take root below
and bear fruit above.
For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem,
and survivors from Mount Zion.
The zeal of the LORD of Hosts
will accomplish this.
So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow into it.
He will not come before it with a shield
or build up a siege ramp against it.
He will go back the way he came,
and he will not enter this city,’
declares the LORD.
‘I will defend this city
and save it
for My own sake
and for the sake of My servant David.’ ”
Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
Isaiah 38
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ”
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,
“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised:
I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’ ”
So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.
This is a writing by Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
I said, “In the prime of my life
I must go through the gates of Sheol
and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”
I said, “I will never again see the LORD,
even the LORD, in the land of the living;
I will no longer look on mankind
with those who dwell in this world.
My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;
He cuts me off from the loom;
from day until night You make an end of me.
I composed myself until the morning.
Like a lion He breaks all my bones;
from day until night You make an end of me.
I chirp like a swallow or crane;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak as I look upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
What can I say?
He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this.
I will walk slowly all my years
because of the anguish of my soul.
O Lord, by such things men live,
and in all of them my spirit finds life.
You have restored me to health
and have let me live.
Surely for my own welfare
I had such great anguish;
but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion,
for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
For Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You.
Those who descend to the Pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
The living, only the living, can thank You,
as I do today;
fathers will tell their children
about Your faithfulness.
The LORD will save me;
we will play songs on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the house of the LORD.
Now Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”
Isaiah 39
At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery.
And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?”
“They came to me from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”
“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.
“They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts:
The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.
And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
Matthew 8
When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”
“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.
The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve them.
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took on our infirmities
and carried our diseases.”
When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea.
And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
“Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.
Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.
Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.
Matthew 9
Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
And the man got up and went home.
When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”
So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples.
Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.
When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.
“Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.
After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. And the news about this spread throughout that region.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked.
“Yes, Lord,” they answered.
Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”
But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.
As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.
And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”
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