(15) Neither yet believe him.--And believe him not. How much less . . . deliver you.--Rather, much less will your gods deliver you; or, much more will your gods not deliver you. (Comp. Isaiah 37:10-11.) According to ancient conceptions the gods of strong nations were strong gods. Now the Assyrians had vanquished stronger nations than Judah, and therefore, as they ignorantly supposed, stronger deities than the God of Judah. (Some Hebrew MSS. and all the versions have the verb in the singular, which gives the sense, "much less will your god deliver you.") Verse 15. - The urgency of Sennacherib's appeal to the people was of course his way of trying to save work of actual siege, fighting, etc., to himself and his army. The how much less of the message of Sennacherib probably meant that his estimate of the your God i.e. the God of Israel, was measured partly by the comparative smallness and unwarlike character of the nation of Judah, when set side by side with the great heathen nations, and partly by the spiritual and invisible character and being of God, little intelligible to such a one as Sennacherib. 32:1-23 Those who trust God with their safety, must use proper means, else they tempt him. God will provide, but so must we also. Hezekiah gathered his people together, and spake comfortably to them. A believing confidence in God, will raise us above the prevailing fear of man. Let the good subjects and soldiers of Jesus Christ, rest upon his word, and boldly say, Since God is for us, who can be against us? By the favour of God, enemies are lost, and friends gained.Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places,.... For the sense of this and the three following verses, see the notes on Isaiah 36:17; see Gill on Isaiah 36:18, Isaiah 36:19, Isaiah 36:20 |