What is the meaning of Isaiah 36:7? But if you say to me The Assyrian spokesman (often called “the Rabshakeh”) taunts the delegation from King Hezekiah, challenging the very basis of Judah’s confidence. His opening phrase signals skepticism: “But if you say to me….” • This is a direct confrontation, similar to Goliath’s challenge in 1 Samuel 17:8–10; the enemy questions whether Israel’s God can truly deliver. • Cross reference 2 Kings 18:19–20, the parallel account, where the Rabshakeh argues that Judah has “mere words” but no real power. • From a literal standpoint, the text records an actual historical conversation in 701 BC, underscoring that the conflict between faith and intimidation is not abstract but lived in real time. We trust in the LORD our God The Rabshakeh mocks Judah’s declared trust. Yet that very trust is precisely what Scripture elsewhere commands. • Psalm 20:7 affirms, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” • Hezekiah had publicly exhorted the people: “Be strong and courageous… with us is the LORD our God to help us” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). • Isaiah, God’s prophet, had repeatedly urged reliance on the LORD rather than alliances with Egypt (Isaiah 30:1-3; 31:1). • By ridiculing faith, the Assyrian spokesman unwittingly highlights the very posture God desires—complete dependence on Him. Is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed The enemy misunderstands Hezekiah’s reforms, assuming that dismantling high places offended God. In reality, those high places were idolatrous or unauthorized worship sites. • 2 Kings 18:4 notes that Hezekiah “removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.” This was obedience to Deuteronomy 12:2-4, which commands the destruction of pagan sites. • The Rabshakeh’s confusion illustrates how outsiders often interpret obedience to God as alienating Him, when it actually secures His favor. • This distortion mirrors Satan’s tactic in Genesis 3:1, twisting God’s commands to sow doubt. Saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’? Hezekiah had centralized worship at the Jerusalem temple, the one altar God Himself had designated. • Deuteronomy 12:13-14: “You are not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place… but only at the place the LORD will choose.” • 2 Chronicles 31:2 describes how Hezekiah organized the priests and Levites “to present burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the LORD’s dwelling.” • Far from limiting access to God, centralization unified the nation around true worship. The Rabshakeh portrays it as deprivation, but Scripture presents it as purification. • This also foreshadows Jesus’ statement in John 4:23 that true worshipers will worship “in spirit and in truth”—in God’s prescribed way rather than human invention. summary Isaiah 36:7 records a mocking challenge: the Assyrian accuses Judah of trusting a God supposedly angered by Hezekiah’s removal of high places. Scripture shows the opposite: Hezekiah’s reforms pleased the LORD, aligning with His Word. The enemy’s taunt exposes a common tactic—misrepresenting obedience as folly—to erode faith. The verse thus calls readers to discern genuine trust, cling to God’s revealed commands, and recognize that true worship, centered on God’s appointed altar, is never a liability but the very ground of deliverance. |
    |