Dear Haddon,
What in the world is a Rabshakeh? And what does a Rabshakeh have to do with you as you turn 4 years old. Great question – so let me see if I can give you an answer.
One of the things that I love about God’s Word is that I am always discovering new things. In one of my pondering times last week I was reading in Isaiah 36 and this is what I read:
¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army.
Now, I have read through Isaiah bunches of times over the last 50 years but I have no recollection of ever reading about some dude called the Rabshakeh. Turns out that he is a very interesting part of King Hezekiah’s story and can teach us a lot that can help us as our story is being written.
The Rabshakeh was a high ranking military officer in the Assyrian army serving under King Sennacheib. The Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (the Jewish nation had split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah following Solomon’s reign) and were now on the verge of conquering Judah. The Rabshakeh had been sent by the king to promote fear in Hezekiah and the people of Judah as well as to mock and belittle and disparage the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel.
There are a few application points that I take away from Hezekiah’s response to the Rabshakeh.
1) The Rabshakeh’s voice in many ways is similar to the voice of culture in our day – mocking what we believe, belittling our faith and disparaging the God we belong to. In our technologically advanced world there seems to be less and less of a place for the Christian worldview to bring influence to the table of decision making. To bring God into most conversations is to invite ridicule and dismissal.
2) Hezekiah had instructed his people not to respond to the Rabshakeh. Isaiah 36:21 says, “But they were silent and answered him not a word for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” I find that interesting. Hezekiah was wiser than me – and most people. We try to come to God’s defense and usually find ourselves in an argument that is not winnable. God can fight his own battles – which in fact He does in this case… see below.
3) Hezekiah’s response was this… “he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.” (37:1) He prayed and listened to the counsel of the Lord through Isaiah and then watched God go to work. It was a pretty simple strategy and prayer was what he did to begin with – not as an afterthought or after he had made things worse and needed God to bail him out.
So here is how things played out. Isaiah 37:36 reads, “And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people rose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Ninevah.”
So my young grandson, what does all of this have to do with your four year old self? You are growing up in a culture that is going to be less and less tolerant of people who follow Jesus and more and more belittling of your faith. Never forget that our God is a great God, strong and mighty. When you are confronted by those who mock your faith and make fun of what you believe – take courage, stand firm, and as a first response go to Lord in prayer and in His Word.
Just a few chapters later in Isaiah 41:10 we can take great comfort in these words…
Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Never forget that you are very loved,
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