Bird's-eye view
In these closing verses of Isaiah 36, we see the immediate aftermath of the blasphemous tirade delivered by the Rabshakeh, the Assyrian field commander. The speech was a masterpiece of psychological warfare, designed to sever the people's trust from their king, and more importantly, from their God. It was a full-frontal assault on the covenant faithfulness of Yahweh. The response of the people of Judah and their leaders is a study in disciplined faith and godly order. They obey their king's command to remain silent, refusing to engage in a worthless shouting match with a servant of pagan pride. Then, Hezekiah's top officials respond with appropriate horror and grief at the blasphemy they have heard, and they follow the proper chain of command, bringing the matter directly to the king. This sets the stage for the great confrontation between the living God and the idols of Assyria, a confrontation that will be resolved not by human argument, but by divine intervention.
This passage serves as a crucial hinge. The enemy has spoken his piece, laying all his proud cards on the table. Now, the people of God must choose their response. Will they be swayed by the loud voice of the bully, or will they trust in the unseen God who had commanded their silence? Their actions here, marked by quiet obedience and solemn grief, demonstrate a corporate faith that prepares them for the deliverance God is about to work. It is a model for the church in any age when confronted by the arrogant taunts of a hostile world.
Outline
- 1. The Assyrian Challenge and the Test of Faith (Is 36:1-22)
- a. The Rabshakeh's Blasphemous Ultimatum (Is 36:1-20)
- b. The Godly Response of Judah (Is 36:21-22)
- i. The Obedient Silence of the People (Is 36:21)
- ii. The Grief and Report of the Leaders (Is 36:22)
Context In Isaiah
Chapter 36 is the historical record of the crisis that Isaiah had been prophesying about for years. The Assyrian war machine, which God had used as His rod of judgment against the nations (including the Northern Kingdom of Israel), has now come to the doorstep of Jerusalem. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, is the embodiment of worldly power, arrogance, and contempt for the God of Israel. The speech of his mouthpiece, the Rabshakeh, is not just political maneuvering; it is theological warfare. He argues from past victories that Yahweh is no different from the conquered gods of other nations. This is the ultimate test for King Hezekiah and the people of Judah. All of Hezekiah's righteous reforms, cleansing the temple, tearing down the high places, have led to this moment. Will their reformed faith hold up under the most intense pressure imaginable?
The silence of the people and the report of the officials in verses 21-22 are therefore not a sign of weakness or defeat. Rather, they are the first acts of faith in response to the crisis. They refuse to validate the blasphemer's speech with a reply and instead take the matter to the proper authority, both earthly (Hezekiah) and, as we see in the next chapter, heavenly (the Lord God Himself). This passage demonstrates the principle that true faith is often displayed not in loud protest, but in quiet, disciplined trust in God's established order.
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 21 But they were silent and answered him not a word,
Here we have a beautiful instance of disciplined, corporate obedience. The people on the wall have just been subjected to a torrent of abuse, mockery, and blasphemy. The natural human response, the fleshly response, would be to shout back, to defend their king's honor, to argue for the power of their God. But they do not. They hold their peace. This is not the silence of fear or cowardice; it is the silence of obedience. It is a strength, not a weakness. There are times when the wisest, most faithful thing you can do in the face of wicked taunts is to refuse to play the game. To answer a fool according to his folly is to become like him. The Rabshakeh wanted a shouting match, a debate on the wall where he controlled the terms. The people of God, in their silence, refused to grant him that platform. They understood that this was not a battle to be won with clever retorts, but with quiet trust in the God who was being mocked.
for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
This little phrase is the key to the whole verse. The people's silence was not a spontaneous, disorganized reaction. It was a direct result of a command from their king. Hezekiah, as a godly ruler, understood the nature of the enemy. He knew that engaging with such high-handed blasphemy was a spiritual tar pit. You don't wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty, and the pig likes it. Hezekiah's command was therefore a profound act of spiritual leadership. He was teaching his people that some accusations are so far beneath the dignity of the truth that to even answer them is to grant them a standing they do not deserve. The best answer to a stream of sewage is not to wade into it, but to stand back and let it flow past. This is godly authority at work, protecting the flock from a fruitless and defiling engagement with the enemy. The people's obedience shows that Hezekiah's reforms had taken root; there was order, discipline, and trust between the king and his subjects.
v. 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah
While the people on the wall were commanded to be silent, the leaders had a different responsibility. Their duty was not to remain silent indefinitely, but to report what had happened to the king. Notice the orderliness of it all. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah were the top officials of the kingdom, the men Hezekiah had sent out to meet the Assyrian envoy. Now, their task is complete, and they return to the one who sent them. This is how a godly society functions in a crisis. There is a clear chain of authority, and information flows through its proper channels. They do not incite a panic among the people. They do not form a committee to debate a response. They go directly to the king. This is a picture of how the church ought to function. When the world hurls its blasphemies, the leadership has a responsibility to hear it, to grieve it, and to bring it before the King, first to our earthly leaders, and ultimately to our Heavenly King in prayer.
with their clothes torn
This is not mere political theater. The tearing of clothes in the Old Testament was a visceral, outward expression of profound grief, horror, or righteous indignation. In this case, it is all three. They are horrified by the blasphemous words spoken against the Holy One of Israel. They are grieved for the honor of their God, which has been dragged through the mud by a pagan idolater. And they are righteously indignant that the covenant Lord would be compared to the tin-pot gods of Hamath and Arpad. This is the proper response of a regenerate heart to blasphemy. We live in an age that has forgotten how to be shocked by sin, an age that mistakes apathy for tolerance. But these men were not apathetic. They felt the insult to their God as a physical blow. Their torn robes were a testimony that they stood with God against the mocker. It was a sign that they were not neutral, that they had taken the matter to heart.
and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
The report is delivered faithfully. They do not soften the blow. They do not edit the Rabshakeh's words to make them more palatable for the king. They tell him exactly what was said. A leader cannot make wise decisions based on filtered or incomplete information. Eliakim and his companions had the courage to deliver the bad news straight. They laid the full weight of the enemy's psychological and theological assault at Hezekiah's feet. This act of telling is crucial. It transfers the burden from the people and the officials to the king, who, as we see in the next chapter, will in turn take the burden and lay it before the Lord. This is the pathway of faith in a crisis: from the people's ears, to the leader's report, to the king's throne, and finally, to God's throne. The enemy has had his say, and now the stage is set for God to have His.
Application
This passage is intensely practical for Christians today. We are constantly bombarded by the Rabshakehs of our time, in the media, in the academy, in the culture, who mock our faith and blaspheme our God. What is our response to be?
First, we must learn the wisdom of commanded silence. Not every accusation deserves an answer. Not every online troll needs to be engaged. There is a time to hold our peace, refusing to get drawn into the enemy's game on the enemy's terms. We must obey our King, who often tells us to turn the other cheek and not to cast our pearls before swine.
Second, we must have our hearts rightly calibrated to feel the horror of blasphemy. When the world mocks the name of Christ, it should grieve us. Like Eliakim and his friends, we should feel it. The tearing of clothes may not be our cultural custom, but the tearing of the heart should be. We must not grow numb to the casual contempt shown to our Lord.
Finally, we must follow the proper channels. When confronted with overwhelming opposition, we report to our leaders. We bring the matter to the elders of the church. And together, as the body of Christ, we bring the matter in prayer to our great King, Jesus. He is our Hezekiah, the one who takes the blasphemous words of the enemy, spreads them out before the Father, and trusts Him for deliverance. The battle belongs to the Lord, and our victory is found not in our clever arguments, but in our disciplined, obedient, and prayerful trust in Him.