“Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.”
The Rabshakeh challenges Hezekiah's trust in the LORD, asserting that Hezekiah himself has removed the high places and altars, thereby weakening the religious basis for confidence. The suggestion is that the destruction of local altars has alienated the people from their gods and rendered them defenseless against Assyrian power. The oracle suggests that Hezekiah's centralizing religious reform, while theologically sound, had provoked resistance among those who preferred traditional worship at local high places. The Rabshakeh attempts to exploit potential religious divisions by suggesting that Hezekiah's reforms have weakened rather than strengthened Judah. The psychological strategy attempts to undermine both the king's religious authority and the people's confidence in centralized worship.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000