BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Feeling some déjà vu after today’s reading? If it sounds familiar, that’s because it is.

The story of Hezekiah and the Assyrian army already appeared in 2 Kings 18-20. Why would the biblical authors include the same story twice? Zooming out to see the literary design of Isaiah can help.

Isaiah’s opening chapters introduce a problem: Israel has become violent, unjust, and idolatrous instead of a blessing to every nation on Earth as God had promised (see Gen. 12:2-3). So Yahweh commissions Isaiah to deliver messages of both judgment and hope to the people. They will experience loss and pain from their corruption, but that’s not the end. A future king from David’s line will come to fulfill Yahweh’s promise (see 2 Sam. 7).

Unfortunately, the first Davidic king in Isaiah, Ahaz, becomes a major letdown. When invaders press against his northern border, Ahaz shrugs off Yahweh’s offer of help. Now Hezekiah, Ahaz’ son, faces the same threat in exactly the same place: “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field” (Isa. 7:3, 36:2). The repeated phrase acts as a hyperlink between the two stories, drawing our attention to the contrast between them. Where Ahaz distrusted and snubbed God, Hezekiah trusts and pleads with God, going straight to the temple and praying for Yahweh to rescue.

Hezekiah’s humble faith stands out against his father’s faithlessness—and against the arrogant self-reliance that Isaiah condemns in the long poetic section between these two stories. Finally, a king who trusts in Yahweh! Could this be the “tender shoot” from the “stump” of Jesse (see Isa. 11) that we’ve been waiting for?

Reflection Questions

• How does the addition of Hezekiah’s poem (Isa. 38:10-22) in Isaiah’s retelling add to your understanding of this familiar story?
• Compare Ahaz and Hezekiah’s responses to Isaiah. How does each king interact with Yahweh’s prophet? What happens? What does this tell you about the intended relationship between prophets and kings?