Bible study · Isaiah 36:1-22
Isaiah 36: In whom do you trust?
Read Isaiah 36:1-22 before you meet.
In a few lines
Isaiah names Hezekiah in its first verse and not again until chapter 36, and here he never speaks. The chapter belongs to Rabshakeh, and its word is trust, seven times, every one in his mouth. He calls Egypt a staff of reed that pierces the hand, says the LORD sent him, and asks who can deliver Jerusalem out of his hand. The chapter ends in silence, by the king's command.
The verse to carry
“But they remained silent, and said nothing in reply, for the king’s commandment was, “Don’t answer him.””
Isaiah 36:21
To talk about
1. "Now in whom do you trust?" (36:5). Rabshakeh meant it as a taunt. If you heard it as an honest question about this past week, what would your answer show?
2. Rabshakeh threatened (36:18-20), but he also offered each person his own vine, fig tree and cistern, before he spoke of taking them away "to a land like your own land" (36:16-17). Why can an offer of comfort be harder to resist than a threat?
3. The three officials didn't argue with Rabshakeh. They came to Hezekiah "with their clothes torn, and told him the words of Rabshakeh" (36:22). When words shake your trust in God, what helps you most: answering them, or taking them to someone first?