King Sennacherib is not camped with the troops that are outside of Jerusalem but is camped at Lachish. The Assyrian records contain a depiction of Sennacherib seated on a throne at Lachish, backing up what Isaiah is saying in our passage today about the king of Assyria not headquartering himself outside of Jerusalem. Something happens at Libnah that causes the king to have to break camp and engage in a conflict there. When the field commander outside of Jerusalem hears about this conflict, he rushes to aid his master, which halts the activity that he was previously engaged in: threatening to lay siege to Jerusalem.
"When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah." (Isaiah 37:8) We don't know what is going on at Libnah but I presume it is some sort of rebellion against being subject to Assyria. The Assyrian government was forcing many villages, cities, and even some entire nations to pay tribute.
In Friday's study the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah that the Lord was not only going to cause Sennacherib to leave off the imminent siege of Jerusalem but that He would cause Sennacherib to go all the way back to his home country. Next we find out why this happens.
"Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush, was marching out to fight against him." (Isaiah 37:9a) At this time in Egypt's history it was ruled over by the Cushites. In some versions of the Bible they are referred to as Ethiopians. Tirhakah was not actually Pharaoh of Egypt yet; he was the crown prince of Egypt and the general of the army, but by the time our passage was written down he may have ascended to the throne. Also it was typical for ancient writers to ascribe to a person the status they eventually achieved when writing about them, even if they had not yet achieved that status at the time of the event being described. Sennacherib hears that the Egyptian army is advancing toward his nation, causing him to have to temporarily abandon some of his military pursuits in other regions in order to meet this threat from the south.
Earlier in the book of Isaiah we learned that the nation of Judah hoped that the nation of Egypt would be a helpful ally to them against their mutual enemy. The Lord warned the king of Judah through the prophet Isaiah that Egypt would not be able to neutralize this enemy. The Lord urged the king and his people to trust only in Him, not in an alliance with a pagan nation. Tirhakah meets the Assyrian forces north of Jerusalem in battle at a location called Eltekeh but, as we learned during our study of the kings, this was ineffective in preventing Assyria's advancement throughout the region and Assyria will later conquer the nation of Egypt.
Sennacherib doesn't want the people of Jerusalem to think he has given up on his intention to conquer the city. He sends a message that basically says, "I'll be back!" as he breaks camp upon hearing of the threat from Egypt.
"When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 'Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them---the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?'" (Isaiah 37:9b-13)
He is saying something like, "Your god, Hezekiah, is no more effective than any of the other gods who could not stand against me or against the kings who came before me. If you try to hold out against me, my troops will besiege your city until you are all about to die of thirst and starvation. Then, when our siege ramps are tall enough to go over your walls, we will pour in and slaughter everyone who has survived the siege. Why put yourself, your family, and your citizens through this? You've already brought trouble onto everyone by refusing to pay tribute to me any longer. Now your only choice is to surrender and be deported to foreign lands where you will live---or continue to rebel against me and die!"
The gods of the people on the list in verses 9b-13 truly were ineffective against the kings of Assyria because these gods do not exist. But the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exists! And this is the God with whom Sennacherib is dealing. This is the God whose name Sennacherib has blasphemed. This is the God who will soon supernaturally destroy 185,000 Assyrian troops. This is the God who has already said that He will see to it that Sennacherib is struck down in his own country.
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