Isaiah Chapter 36 – The King of Assyria Challenges Faith
Isaiah Chapter 36 marks a dramatic transition from prophecy to history. The Assyrian army, led by King Sennacherib’s envoy, comes to intimidate Judah. Through the voice of the Rabshakeh, they deliver a message of fear and mockery, attacking not just Jerusalem’s walls but the very faith of its people. Will Hezekiah trust Egypt—or the living God? This chapter sets the stage for a divine response to human arrogance.
From Threats to Trust: A Test at the Walls
✔ Sennacherib’s army surrounds Judah with overwhelming power.
✔ Rabshakeh delivers a speech of doubt and defiance.
✔ Egypt is mocked as a broken reed.
✔ God’s ability to save is questioned publicly.
✔ Hezekiah’s leaders remain silent in obedience.
✔ Faith stands still while intimidation roars.
📖 Isaiah 36:5 – “I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust…?”
🔎 This verse exposes the heart of the chapter—trust. Who do we rely on when the enemy surrounds us? Isaiah 36 isn’t just about history—it’s about faith under fire.
Isaiah Chapter 36 - Overview
Isaiah 36:1–3 – Assyria Comes to the Gate
📖 Isaiah 36:1 – “Now it came to pass… that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.”
🔎 The enemy had conquered nearly everything. Now Jerusalem stands alone. This moment is heavy with dread, and faith must decide whether to fold or stand.
📖 Isaiah 36:2–3 – “And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh… and they stood by the conduit of the upper pool…”
🔎 This is the same location where Isaiah once warned King Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3). God brings His people full circle—what Ahaz refused to trust, Hezekiah must now uphold.
➡️ When fear returns to the same place, will faith respond differently?
Isaiah 36:4–10 – Rabshakeh’s Strategy of Fear
📖 Isaiah 36:4 – “What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?”
🔎 Rabshakeh questions the very idea of faith. He speaks for every voice that scoffs at hope and mocks reliance on God.
📖 Isaiah 36:6 – “Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt…”
🔎 Egypt had failed Judah before. Rabshakeh rightly points out its weakness, but falsely assumes God is the same.
📖 Isaiah 36:7 – “But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God…”
🔎 The Assyrian mocks not just Judah’s alliances—but their God. This is no longer political—it’s spiritual warfare.
➡️ The enemy will always target the foundation of your faith.
Isaiah 36:11–20 – Public Pressure and Religious Mockery
📖 Isaiah 36:11 – “Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language…”
🔎 Hezekiah’s officials want to avoid panic—but Rabshakeh insists on fear being broadcast. The enemy wants everyone to hear and tremble.
📖 Isaiah 36:13–15 – “Let not Hezekiah deceive you… neither let him make you trust in the Lord…”
🔎 Here lies the devil’s age-old tactic—discouraging trust in God by planting doubt through authoritative voices.
📖 Isaiah 36:18–20 – “Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land…?”
🔎 The Rabshakeh compares Yahweh to pagan idols, a fatal error. He doesn’t understand that Judah’s God is not like the others.
➡️ Earthly power often overestimates itself when it misunderstands who God truly is.
Isaiah 36:21–22 – Silence as Obedience
📖 Isaiah 36:21 – “But they held their peace, and answered him not a word…”
🔎 Sometimes faith doesn’t shout—it waits. Hezekiah’s men obeyed his command to be silent. This was not weakness, but wisdom.
📖 Isaiah 36:22 – “Then came Eliakim… with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.”
🔎 Their torn garments reflect grief—but they didn’t respond in fear. Instead, they brought the matter to their king, who would bring it to God.
➡️ Silence can be powerful when it is the sound of trust.
Isaiah Chapter 36 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Siege to Silence
🔹 Timeframe: During Assyria’s invasion of Judah, around 701 BC.
🔹 Setting: Outside Jerusalem’s wall, near the upper pool.
🔹 Theme: Faith under pressure; intimidation vs. trust.
🔹 Connection to Christ: Christ also stood silent before accusers (Isaiah 53:7); ultimate trust doesn’t need loud defense.
Faith in the Face of Fear
Isaiah 36 brings us to the frontline of a spiritual battle. The enemy mocks, threatens, and intimidates—but God’s people stand in quiet strength.
🔹 Don’t answer every accusation—some are traps.
🔹 Don’t trust in worldly alliances—trust in the Word.
🔹 Don’t be shaken by numbers—be anchored in promise.
🔹 Don’t forget who defends you—your King is near.
🔹 Don’t panic—pray.
Key Takeaways
🔑 The enemy’s first weapon is intimidation.
🔑 Faith doesn’t always shout—it can be silent strength.
🔑 Mockery of God is the enemy’s final misstep.
🔑 Obedience under pressure is a powerful testimony.
🔑 The battle begins in words—but ends with God.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Jerusalem under siege mirrors end-time spiritual pressure (Revelation 20:9).
🔮 Rabshakeh’s challenge echoes the serpent’s voice in Eden—“Did God really say?”
🔮 The silence of Hezekiah’s men foreshadows Christ’s silent submission before His accusers.
🔮 God often allows tests of trust before displaying deliverance.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Rabshakeh was not a name but a title—like “chief officer” in Assyrian court.
📜 Speaking in Hebrew was intentional psychological warfare.
📜 Egypt was a former ally and unreliable protector, frequently referenced as a false hope.
📜 The upper pool was a historical location of prophetic importance (see Isaiah 7).
Present-Day Reflection: When Fear Stands at Your Gate
Isaiah 36 is more than history—it’s your battlefield too. Fear will knock, mock, and shout from the wall. But what matters most is how you respond.
🔹 Don’t argue with fear—stand in faith.
🔹 Don’t repeat the lies—remember God’s truth.
🔹 Don’t give the enemy the last word—silence speaks.
🔹 Don’t forget—your King hears every word.
🔹 Don’t retreat—this battle belongs to the Lord.
💡 Final Reflection: Who Do You Trust?
Isaiah 36 puts trust to the test. When the enemy looms, silence is strength and surrender is not defeat—but devotion.
📌 Are you trusting in men—or in the Maker?
📌 Are you speaking from fear—or listening in faith?
📌 Are you running to allies—or waiting on God?
📖 Isaiah 36:7 – “But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God…”
🔥 God sees the silence—and honors the faith behind it.
Sennacherib Invades Judah
Isa 36:1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
Isa 36:2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.
Isa 36:3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.
Isa 36:4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
Isa 36:5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
Isa 36:6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
Isa 36:7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
Isa 36:8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
Isa 36:9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Isa 36:10 And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
Isa 36:11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
Isa 36:12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
Isa 36:13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
Isa 36:14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
Isa 36:15 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.
Isa 36:16 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;
Isa 36:17 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.
Isa 36:18 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?
Isa 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Isa 36:20 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?
Isa 36:21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
Isa 36:22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Date Written
740–700 BC
Written By
The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz
Language
Hebrew
Verses
22