In Isaiah, chapter thirty-seven, verse ten, “Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” This is Rabshaketh, the field commander of Sennacherib’s army, speaking on behalf of the king to the messengers who will deliver the message to Hezekiah. He continues in verses eleven through thirteen, trying to intimidate Hezekiah and those who stand with the king of Judah. Sennacherib attempted in every way to destroy Hezekiah’s confidence in the Lord. The Assyrian king arrogantly believed that his royal power surpassed that of the God of Judah or of any god.
The theme title “Thy God in whom thou trustest” serves as a reminder to those unbelievers that the believers who serve God depend upon Him alone and not in themselves, as they do. The first encounter, Rabshaketh mockingly suggested, in verse twenty, that the God of Judah is not powerful enough. However, little did the field commander know that God watches out for His people and protects them. After that verbal rambling, the reaction from Hezekiah in verse twenty-one. “But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.”
Rabshaketh probably did not expect that response from Hezekiah, and the outcome for the king of Assyria was doom. Another incident quite similar to this story is David and Goliath. In First Samuel seventeen, verses forty-three and forty-five, with Goliath speaking towards David, “Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?” “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” God was listening, and He was with David.