21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
The Jewish negotiators didn’t try to argue with the Rabshakeh, instead they dressed themselves appropriately for those days and hastened to the King, the person who had to face the reality of the Assyrians words and make a decision. Why did they tear their clothes? Dress is appropriate or inappropriate! People used to wear black to funerals to display the darkness of death and the sorrow of grief. Recently I have gone to funerals where people have been told to dress in colourful clothes because the person whose funeral it is would have enjoyed that! Are we to express grief at the passing or give thanks for the life of the person no longer with us, or maybe both? I don’t have strong opinions on dress for funerals provided that it is appropriate. But dress should always be appropriate! Much dress these days, at least in the West, is anything but appropriate. Much is worn to be purposefully provocative, intending to be tempting and is anything but modest or respectful! Often modest nudity would be less provocative!
1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” – What do you think that the sentence ‘children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.’ referred to? I suspect that the children were the two agreements with Egypt and Ethiopia and the fact that they were useless and wouldn’t produce aid and freedom for Judea! Thankfully Hezekiah, although terrified, thought clearly and turned to God’s representative for guidance and help, instead of making some snap decision and relying on his own wisdom. This is a lesson that we all need to learn early! But learning it late is better than never learning it at all!
5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” – What Hezekiah got was not ‘Prophetic Advice’ but a ‘Divine Promise’ a ‘Promised Plan’! A plan which seems appropriate for one who throws, to use his own sort of language, dung in the face of God! (the envoy said ‘who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?’) The Plan sounds fantastic! Tomorrow we will see how it works out!
Psalm 77: 14-15 – You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah – Selah – think about that!
Prayer: Thank You that even when You don’t work miracles, You still don’t leave our side!