LESSON 10

ISAIAH, CHAPTER 34-39

God’s judgments are world wide, and His future Kingdom will bring world peace.

The book of Isaiah is an outline of the entire Bible in its structure.  The Hebrew Bible has 39 books, which we call the Old Testament, and 27 book, which make up the New Testament.  This study of chapter 34 through 39 brings us to the natural break in the book.  In our last study we worked our way through the six woes or judgments, and now Isaiah looks beyond the judgments of Assyria to the Lord’s anger against all nations. In the midst of the judgments, God set forth a very striking contrast in chapter 35 of Israel’s glorious future under the Messiah in His Kingdom rule.

In chapter 34 Isaiah uses Edom, which is located south of the Dead Sea, to depict what is coming on a world that rejects God and His Christ.  You can not read Isaiah 34 without thinking of Revelation 19:19-21 and Zechariah 14.  Edom’s relentless hatred against the Jewish nation would lead to her desolation, unfriendly to human habitation.  Twenty-six hundred years have gone by since Isaiah 34:16, 17 have been penned and it remains a desert land to this day.  Perhaps the people of today’s world should look more carefully to their treatment of the nation of Israel.

The prayer of Christendom echoes over the 2,000 year history of the Church, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Isaiah sees by the eye of faith Israel coming back to her land with joy and singing in chapter 35.  Here is a message of hope to those who are weak and need steady knees.  In view of world conditions, God wants His children to be strong and not to be afraid.  Those who trust in God will win in the end, for His promises are a sure foundation.  God will prepare a highway of holiness which will give safe passage to His redeemed people.  Today there is no safe secure highway from Jerusalem to Egypt.  When the Messiah sets up His kingdom in Jerusalem, all that is in the world today is going to change.  I would think that the people of today’s world living in the Middle East who long for true peace would do well to pray and look forward to the time of which Isaiah writes. 

As we complete the first part of Isaiah in chapters 36-39, we have historical events that are important in the life of King Hezekiah.  These same major events are found in II Kings 18:13-21:26 and also covered in II Chronicles 32-33. These events form a bridge to the prophecies of Isaiah Chapter 40-66. King Hezekiah as a son of David thus in the line of Christ future Messiah of Israel plays a very special role.  As we work our way through his life some very interesting lessons can be learned.  In Isaiah Chapter 36-37 we see Sennacherib’s unsuccessful attempt to capture Jerusalem.  The Assyrians had conquered the Northern Kingdom and carried the people of the land into captivity.  The Assyrians are at the gates of Jerusalem demanding Hezekiah’s surrender.  The Assyrian general meets with a delegation from Hezekiah and makes fun of Hezekiah’s trust in Egypt, calling them a broken reed.  The General then turns his scoffing toward the Lord of Israel in Isaiah chapter 36:15-18.  This psychological warfare was intended to insult and intimidate the Jews of Jerusalem.  The Assyrian general had wrongly assumed that when Hezekiah had torn down the religious shrines from the hills of Judah, the gods would be offended. Instead the Lord of the universe was pleased that Hezekiah had turned Israel back to the God of Israel by his actions.  The people of God obeyed their King and gave no answer to their enemies.  The royal delegation reports back to Hezekiah as Isaiah 36 closes and in the traditional manner of mourners tore their clothing.

Isaiah 37 opens on a critical note as King Hezekiah faces national crises.  This event ranks along side of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in the history of the nation.  Hezekiah inquires of Isaiah what God would have him do and what course of action to follow.  Do not be afraid is the answer, and he goes up before the Lord and spreads the second letter from Rabshakeh, demanding the surrender of Jerusalem.  The call now is for God to save Jerusalem in chapter 37:20, that all the nations of the earth may know the Lord of Israel is the God of the entire universe.  One sign given is there will be no siege of the city as was common in that day.  Other signs are that the people will live on what they have and that in the third year regular sowing and reaping will occur. Next, an angel of the Lord is sent and kills 185,000 Assyrians in one night so no threat exists.  Dead corpse are a threat to no one, and Sennacherib retreats only to be assassinated twenty years later.  The spiritual lessons for us today are many; but when faced with impossible odds, we must never give up, and we must allow God to deliver us in the face of the greatest obstacles.  Help is a prayer away,and John 16:2, along with II Timothy 1:7 still apply. 

Isaiah 38 reveals Hezekiah’s illness, which was life threatening, and his miraculous recovery.  When the King heard his prognosis, he turned his face toward the wall and prayed and wept.  He was only thirty-nine, and long life was promised in those days to those who walked with the Lord.  God heard his prayer, and Isaiah was given the message he would live another fifteen years.  To show the Lord had promised this, the sun dial or time was set back 10 degrees.  Remember with God nothing is impossible.  Those who question the miracles of God love to challenge this kind of account.  In the term, “the living, the living he shall praise thee,” is an expression of faith in the fact that the Lord will come to our rescue.  Praise and singing are a common experience of those who with the eye of faith believe in God’s final victorious Messianic reign.

In Isaiah 39 we have a lesson in the failure of King Hezekiah.  After all the victories the nation had experienced in deliverance of Jerusalem and the King in his personal health, you would think that defeat was impossible.
With the Assyrians, the enemy was clearly defined. He was on guard, and God gave him victory.  Now the enemy of flattery and vanity through the Babylonians lay the ground work for the eventually downfall of the nation.  The King of Babylon sends a letter and presents it to Hezekiah, which resulted in him showing off the wealth and treasurers of Israel.  Isaiah had preached against foreign alliances with pagan nations and considered them a sin against the Lord.  Because of Hezekiah’s disobedience Jerusalem would be destroyed and the youth would be taken to Babylon and made to serve as eunuchs in the King’s house.  As this chapter closes, Hezekiah accepts the divine decision and is thankful it will not take place in his lifetime.

We are now ready to enter the second part of the book which looks forward to the future restoration and redemption of Israel.