Week 29
Isaiah 31-35
31 - The Lord warns Israel against seeking an alliance with Egypt, as the
Assyrians were preparing to attack Jerusalem. God promises to fight for Judah,
which we will see in 2 Kings 19 and when we get to Isaiah 37.
32 - The scene in this chapter jumps forward to the last days, when Jesus will
reign with righteousness in the land.
33 - The Assyrians are warned against seeking to destroy Jerusalem, and in
the future they will see the Great King, and there will be peace and prosperity in
the city of God that satan sought to humble.
34 - The Day of the Lord’s wrath is described, when He will rain down
judgement upon the nations who hate Him.
35 - Following the Lord’s judgement everything will be changed. The land will
blossom and bring forth fruit, the lame and the blind will be healed, and the
ransomed of the Lord will return to Zion with singing and joy.
2 King 18:1-8 and 2 Chronicles 29-31
When the wicked king Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah reigned as king in Judah
in his place. Hezekiah was a godly king, and he reversed most of the damage
that his father had done in Judah, and to the temple. The temple was cleaned
out, the furnishings and utensils restored, and it was re-dedicated to the service
of the Lord. There was a revival in the land, and Hezekiah sent messengers
north to the remnant in Israel who had not been taken captive by the Assyrians,
and invited them to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Lord’s Passover.
Some responded to that invitation, while others laughed at Hezekiah’s
messengers. The people not only celebrated the Passover as required in the law
for 7 days, but they decided to continue that celebration an additional week
before everyone went home.
2 King 17, 18:9-37 and 2 Chronicles 32:1-19 and Isaiah 36
In the 6 th year of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah the Assyrians invaded the northern
kingdom of Israel, and took most of the people away as captives to be resettled
in foreign lands. This occurred a little more than 700 years before Jesus was
born, and a little more than 100 years before the Babylonians took Judah into
captivity.
About 8 years later the Assyrians come back to the land to attack Judah and
Jerusalem, and the king of Assyria’s general stood outside the walls of the city
profaning Hezekiah and the Lord. The Rabshakeh even spoke to the people in
Hebrew, and tried to convince them to forsake Hezekiah and the Lord, since he
had already proven victorious in every nation he had previously attacked.
2 King 19 and 2 Chronicles 32:20-23 and Isaiah 37
King Hezekiah is faithful in seeking the Lord’s deliverance from the menace of
the Assyrians, and Isaiah the prophet tells him what the Lord is going to do. The
Rabshakeh was distracted and went away, but sent a letter warning Hezekiah to
expect their return. However, as the Lord promised through Isaiah, He sent an
angel among the Assyrian army and killed 185,000, so that the king returned to
Nineveh in shame, and was then murdered in his own city.
2 King 20 and 2 Chronicles 32:24-33 and Isaiah 38-39
Following this rescue from the Assyrians, Hezekiah become ill in the 14 th year
of his reign, when he was around 39 years old. God first tells him to get his
house in order, and prepare to die, however after Hezekiah prays to the Lord for
mercy, Isaiah tells him that he will be given another 15 years. Unfortunately, like
some good kings in the past, we’re told that pride wells up in the heart of
Hezekiah, and he does not properly appreciate what God did for him.
Following his being healed, the king of Babylon sends envoys to visit
Hezekiah, and he proudly shows them all the wealth and treasures of his
kingdom. Isaiah later confronts him about this lack of discretion, and tells the
king that in the future Babylon will come back to take all of what he showed them,
as well as his own sons to be servants in that country. Hezekiah is relieved that
such a thing will not happen in his lifetime.
After the predicted time of 15 years has passed, Hezekiah dies, and his 12
years old son Manasseh reigns in his place. Manasseh will reign for 55 years,
and prove to be one of the most wicked kings in the history of Judah. Manasseh
would have never been born if Hezekiah had accepted the word of the Lord
regarding his death. Hezekiah was a great and godly king in the beginning, but
he did not finish well!
2 King 21:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 and Isaiah 40
Manasseh proves the expanse of his wickedness, and he leads Judah in
more idolatry and evil than even the nations around them, and he fills Jerusalem
with the blood of God’s people. He sets up false idols for people to worship, and
even sets up an alter in the Lord’s temple.
Yet, interestingly, near the end of his life the Lord allows the Assyrians to take
him captive, and he humbles himself before God and repents, so that he is
restored to his place in Jerusalem, and he directs the people to serve Yahweh.
Manasseh led a wicked and sinful life, and caused much grief in Judah, yet in a
sense he finished far better than he started.
Isaiah 40 recounts the greatness of the Lord, and how even the most powerful
of nations are as nothing to Him. He describes the foolishness of people who
make false gods by their own hand, and who bow down to idols that cannot hear
or answer. Yet all that the Lord has made endures without fail, and His
righteousness lasts forever!
Isaiah 41-43
In Isaiah 41 the Lord foretells of things to come in Judah, and speaks of a king
that He has called, but who He does not name. Many Christian scholars believe
that God is referring to Cyrus, whom He will name in Isaiah 44 and 45, who will
rule among the Medes and Persians after the Babylonians are conquered.
In 42 the Lord is talking about another King to Come, Who will be Jesus
Christ, with several things written here that were prophetic of, and fulfilled in Him.
In chapter 43 the Lord predicts the future time when He will bring together His
people from out of all the nations of the world, which was at least partially fulfilled
following WWII, when Israel became a recognized nation in May of 1948. God
will never go back on His promises to Abraham, and will always maintain a
remnant in Israel, even though satan will not stop in trying to wipe them out.