Isaiah 36:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If we have triumphed over the strength of the One who supports you, then He is not great; indeed, He is insignificant and weak. Conversely, if He is mighty and has allowed our desires to lay waste to Judea, then we have entered this land with the Lord's permission.

Rabsak contended that Hezekiah's trust in Egypt was misguided, likening it to a shattered reed that would pierce the hand of anyone who leaned on it. He warned that Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was no help to those who depended on him. If Hezekiah claimed reliance on the Lord, he pointed out that this was the same God whose high places and altars Hezekiah had destroyed, instructing the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at one altar. He continued, insisting that they submit to the authority of the king of Assyria, offering to supply two thousand horses that Judah could not muster riders for. He challenged them on how they could withstand even a lowly servant of the king when trusting in chariots and horsemen.

Rabsak further asserted that he had invaded that land under divine directive, claiming the Lord commanded him to come and plunder it. The historical context reinforces the unfolding narrative, highlighting that in the third year of Uzziah, son of Elah, King of Israel, Hezekiah of Judah ascended to the throne at the age of twenty-five and ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, following in his ancestor David's ways. He relied on the Lord God of Israel, and there was none like him among the kings of Judah, either before or after his reign. He held fast to the Lord, obeying the commands given to Moses, leading to the Lord’s favor in all his endeavors. He bravely opposed Sennacherib and did not succumb to defeat.

In the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, Salmanassar, the Assyrian king, captured Samaria and the Israelite tribes, relocating them to Assyria near the rivers of Gozan and the cities of the Medes. Seven years later, in Hezekiah's fourteenth year, Sennacherib besieged Judah's fortified cities. When Lachish was under siege, Hezekiah sent messengers to Sennacherib, acknowledging their sin and asking for terms, offering to bear any tribute laid upon him. Hezekiah subsequently paid a hefty sum of silver and gold to Sennacherib, and in the process, he destroyed part of the temple's adornments.

As the Assyrian king sent Tartan and Rabsak from Lachish with a significant army to Jerusalem, they once again confronted the king. They called for Hezekiah to approach them. Eliakim, Sobnah, and Joach came out in response, to which Rabsak addressed them, echoing the phrase of the prophets, claiming the authority of the Assyrian king. The narrative draws attention to Rabsak's arrogance, as he claimed the title of 'great king' just as a prophet would declare, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ Eliakim and the others who approached were known from prior encounters in the valley of Zion, where it was prophesied that Eliakim would be given authority and be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.

Amid potential interpretation, there is a common belief that Sobnah is the same captain of the temple mentioned elsewhere, but he is distinctly identified here as a scribe. It has been speculated that Rabsak may have been the son of the prophet Isaiah or a Samaritan familiar with Hebrew who spoke blasphemously against the Lord. Despite Rabsak's claims of their reliance on Egypt being unfounded, Hezekiah never sought aid from Pharaoh, as no records of such entreaty exist. However, Rabsak juxtaposed truth with deceit when he insinuated that Hezekiah's abolishment of high places was against the Lord; in fact, it was done in reverence to worship the one true God appropriately.

When he mocked the inhabitants' inability to field an adequate army and simultaneously asserted divine sanction for his invasion, he realized the theological complexities at play. He attempted to discredit Hezekiah’s reliance on God by stressing his own divine mandate to conquer. The scriptural accounts clarify that Sennacherib’s conquests were part of a larger narrative where various Assyrian kings had previously taken Israelite territories, culminating in Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem, marking a climactic moment in their historical struggle.