Isaiah 36:11 - Meaning and Application

We can learn several lessons from this.

1. While princes and advisers are discussing public matters, it is not fair to bypass them and appeal directly to the people. Hezekiah’s envoys made a reasonable request when they asked that this exchange be held in a language the people could not understand (Isaiah 36:11). Matters of state are secret matters and should stay secret, since ordinary people are not fit judges of them. It is wrong to stir subjects against their rulers with dishonest hints, because that is not treating others as we would want to be treated.

2. Proud and insulting people often answer more harshly when they are treated gently. Nothing could have been said more kindly and respectfully than what Hezekiah’s messengers said to Rabshakeh. They spoke as servants and politely asked, “Please, speak” (Isaiah 36:11). Yet this only made him more arrogant and cruel. Returning harsh words to those who answer softly is a way of repaying evil for good, and some people become more wicked when they are treated well.

3. When Satan tries to turn people away from trusting God, he often suggests that they will improve their lives by giving in to him. But this is a lie, and a foolish one. The world and the flesh often say, “Agree with us, submit to us, and you will have an easier life,” but they are really leading people into the worst kind of slavery. Their promises are as unreliable as Rabshakeh’s promises of fair treatment. So when they speak nicely, do not believe them. No land is like the land of promise, the holy land.

4. Nothing is more foolish, or more insulting to the true and living God, than comparing him with pagan gods. It is absurd to act as if he can only protect his worshipers as well as those false gods can protect theirs. The gods of Hamath and Arpad were false and powerless. They were nothing, while he is the great I AM. Those idols were made by human hands and imagination, but God is the maker of all things.

5. Proud sinners often think that because they have beaten other people, they can also defeat their Creator. They have conquered this nation and that nation, so they assume the Lord himself will not save Jerusalem from their hand. But people may argue with other people, like broken pieces of pottery with other broken pieces. They should not try to challenge the potter.

6. Sometimes it is wise not to answer a fool according to his folly. Hezekiah told them not to reply, because it would only make Rabshakeh curse and blaspheme even more. Let God stop his mouth, since they could not. They had enough truth on their side, but it would have been hard to speak it without anger. If they had started trading insults, Rabshakeh would have beaten them at that game.

7. God’s people should still feel deeply the shame done to God by wicked people’s blasphemy, even when they think it is not wise to answer back. Though they did not answer him a word, they tore their clothes in holy zeal for God’s honor and in holy anger at the contempt shown to him. They tore their garments when they heard such blasphemy, because they took no pleasure in outward honor when God’s name was being dishonored.