Are you carrying burdens that feel too heavy? Maybe you're exhausted by motherhood, grieving a loss, facing an uncertain diagnosis, or wondering how you'll keep going another day. Isaiah 35–41 reminds us that the God who rules over kings and nations is also the Shepherd who gently leads those with young.

In this episode of The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries, Stephanie Hickox walks through Isaiah 35–41 and Psalm 76, tracing God's power, faithfulness, and tender care. From King Hezekiah's desperate prayers during the Assyrian invasion to some of Isaiah's most beloved promises, you'll be reminded that the Lord hears your prayers, strengthens the weary, and never abandons His people.

If you've ever needed courage to trust God in overwhelming circumstances, these chapters offer timeless hope rooted in His unchanging Word.

In This Episode

• Why Isaiah's message shifts from judgment to blessing
• The beautiful promise of the coming kingdom where sorrow and sighing flee away (Isaiah 35)
• How King Hezekiah responded when the mighty Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem
• What Hezekiah's prayers teach us about bringing impossible situations before the Lord
• Archaeological discoveries that affirm the historical reliability of Isaiah's account, including Sennacherib's palace reliefs and the Chicago Prism
• God's miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Assyrian army
• Hezekiah's illness, God's mercy, and the sobering lessons from his later years
• Why Isaiah 40 remains one of Scripture's greatest chapters of comfort
• Encouragement for weary moms from the Good Shepherd who "gently leads those that are with young"
• How God's promises in Isaiah 41 provide strength during seasons of grief, fear, and uncertainty

Key Bible Passages

• Isaiah 35:3–10
• Isaiah 36–39
• Isaiah 40:3
• Isaiah 40:8
• Isaiah 40:11
• Isaiah 40:28–31
• Isaiah 41:10
• Isaiah 41:13
• Psalm 76:11–12

Memorable Truths from This Episode

"He gives power to the faint."

"The word of our God will stand forever."

"Fear not, for I am with you."

"The Lord is powerful enough to overthrow nations, yet tender enough to gently lead weary mothers."

A Word for the Weary Mom

Motherhood can leave us physically exhausted and spiritually drained. Isaiah reminds us that our strength was never meant to come from ourselves. The God who defended Jerusalem, fulfilled His promises through Christ, and reigns over every nation is the same God who holds your hand today.

When you don't know what tomorrow holds, He does.

When you're overwhelmed, He strengthens you.

When you're afraid, He tells you, "Fear not."

When you feel like you can't take another step, He promises to help you.

Join the Journey

The Dwelling Place is a daily Bible podcast from Entrusted Ministries, helping busy Christian women faithfully read through the Bible while discovering how every passage points us to God's character and encourages us in everyday faith and biblical motherhood.

If this episode encouraged you, be sure to follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with another mom who needs the reminder that those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

Connect with Entrusted Ministries for more Bible reading resources, biblical parenting encouragement, and tools to help you delight in God's Word every day.

Resources Mentioned:

• Entrusted With a Child's Heart
• The Again Podcast
• Full-Circle Discipline Resources

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary

This is The Dwelling Place

from Entrusted Ministries.

2

I'm Stephanie Hickox, And as we

discuss Isaiah chapters 35 through

3

41 and Psalm 76 I'm confident that

you'll find what you need today

4

Whether you're overwhelmed, exhausted, or

facing a situation that feels impossible

5

Isaiah's words will meet you right

where you're at Today we're wrapping

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up the second portion of the Book of

Isaiah, which focused on the judgment

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of Israel and the nations, and we'll

begin the third section focusing on

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the blessing of Israel and the nations

This will include several chapters of

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narrative on the life of King Hezekiah.

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after chapters of oracles against

the nations, chapter thirty-four

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told us that not only does the

Lord have a day, He has a sword.

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He is enraged against the nations

and has devoted them to destruction.

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This is not the side you want to be on.

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But chapter thirty-five tells

us how the wilderness will bloom

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and the desert will rejoice.

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In the renewed kingdom, not just the

people will be restored, but creation

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will be also In verses three through

six we read, " Strengthen the weak

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hands and make firm the feeble knees.

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Say to those who have an

anxious heart, 'Be strong.

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Fear not.

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Behold, your God will come with vengeance.

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With the recompense of God,

He will come and save you.'

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Then the eyes of the blind shall be

opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

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Then shall the lame man leap like a deer

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

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For waters break forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert If this reminds

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you of the fulfillment of Jesus' ministry,

you are absolutely correct, but verse

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eight points to Jesus' future reign.

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There is a focus on joy in

the kingdom of the Lord.

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And a highway shall be there, and it

shall be called the Way of Holiness.

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And the ransomed of the Lord shall

return and come to Zion with singing.

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Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

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They shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee

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away now we're beginning that third

portion of Isaiah, which extends

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from chapter thirty-six to sixty-six

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at this point in Judah's history,

Hezekiah is king and Sennacherib, the

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king of Assyria, is attacking Judah.

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The northern kingdom of Israel already

fell to the Assyrians, and Judah has been

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warned several times by the prophets that

their end is coming too But Hezekiah

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has been walking righteously with the

Lord and doesn't want the Assyrian

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captivity of Judah to happen on his watch

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I'm gonna give a brief pause to

talk about some of the historical

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and archeological evidence that we

have for Hezekiah and Sennacherib.

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I've had the opportunity to be led twice

through the University of Chicago's

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Institute for the Study of Ancient

Cultures with Christian archeologist

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Ted Wright, founder of Epic Archeology.

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He walked us through these incredible

historical artifacts that confirm

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the historicity of the Bible.

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We have actual walls of Sennacherib's

throne room that have been

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excavated and brought to Chicago.

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In two thousand and fifteen, ISIS

destroyed much of what remained, but

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thankfully we still have several portions

of these palace walls, which depict cities

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from Judah such as Jerusalem and Lachish.

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I'm astounded that we actually

have a winged bull that's twenty

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feet tall and thirty to fifty tons.

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It was carved out of one piece

and is completely intact.

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My kids and I have a picture with it

and we believe that this would have

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been present in Sargon II's palace and

passed down to his son Sennacherib.

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We also have what's known as the Chicago

Prism, which details Sennacherib's

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own account of his exploits.

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The Assyrians, much like the

Egyptians, were very careful

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to not list their defeats.

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But Sennacherib records in his own

words that he had battering rams outside

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the city of Jerusalem and that he had

Hezekiah trapped like a bird in a cage

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while he stated that he had besieged

many cities in Judah, in a somewhat

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interesting passive detail, he doesn't

say that he was able to conquer Jerusalem

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All of these remains show the advancement

and the power of the Assyrian Empire

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that was coming against Judah.

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It was the greatest nation in the

world at that time, and Hezekiah

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had every right to be intimidated,

but he knew a king that was even

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greater, and he continued to seek him.

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This is the stage to which

chapter thirty-six begins.

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At the gates by the upper pool,

which is the same location that

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King Ahaz had rejected the sign from

Isaiah, this is where Sennacherib's

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messengers and a great army come.

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They begin to taunt the people

of Israel, and once again, we

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encounter Eliakim and Shebna

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hezekiah sent his messengers, and

Sennacherib sent Rabshakeh, which means

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chief cupbearer Rabshakeh was trying

to intimidate the people, saying,

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"Look, we've destroyed Lachish and

taken over so many of your cities.

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Just give up.

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Are you really gonna trust in your God?

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That hasn't worked out for any

of the nations around you."

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The Rabshakeh intentionally speaks in a

way that the surrounding people can hear.

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Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah say

basically, "Hey, the kids are listening.

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Keep it down."

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And they ask him, "Can you

talk to us in Aramaic?"

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But the Assyrians are determined to

stir up anxiety in the people And he

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continues to speak in their language

saying, "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you.

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There's no way your God can deliver you."

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As he continues blaspheming the

Lord, listing off the nations that

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they've defeated, his taunting

reminds me of the way that Goliath

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came out after the Israelites

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But the people and the messengers

honor Hezekiah's order and

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don't respond to the taunts.

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They come back to Hezekiah grieving

over the message with their clothes torn

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in chapter thirty-seven, as soon as

Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes

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and covered himself with sackcloth,

and went into the house of the Lord.

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And he sent Eliakim, who was over the

household, and Shebna the secretary, and

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the senior priests covered with sackcloth,

To the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.

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They said to him, " Thus says

Hezekiah, ' This day is a day of

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distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace.

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Children have come to the

point of birth and there is no

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strength to bring them forth.

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It may be that the Lord your God will

hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his

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master, the king of Assyria, has sent to

mock the living God, and will rebuke the

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words that the Lord your God has heard.

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Therefore lift up your prayer

for the remnant that is left.'"

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when the servants of King Hezekiah came

to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, " Say to

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your master, ' Thus says the Lord, " Do

not be afraid because of the words you

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have heard, with which the young men

of the king of Assyria have reviled me.

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Behold, I will put a spirit in him so

that he shall hear a rumor and return

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to his own land, and I will make him

fall by the sword in his own land."'"

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Right when Hezekiah prays, he

receives the encouragement from

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the Lord that Jerusalem will be

protected God will not let them fall.

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But meanwhile, Rabshakeh goes to

Sennacherib and says, " They're

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not going to surrender."

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Sennacherib writes a letter

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Further taunting Hezekiah, " Do not let

your God in whom you trust deceive you by

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promising that Jerusalem will not be given

into the hand of the king of Assyria.

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Behold, you have heard what the

kings of Assyria have done to all

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lands, devouring them to destruction,

and shall you be delivered?"

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Hezekiah takes this letter, goes into

the temple, and prays to the Lord, " O

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Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned

above the cherubim, you are the God, , you

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alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.

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You have made heaven and earth.

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Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear.

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Open your eyes, O Lord, and see.

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And hear all the words of Sennacherib,

which he has sent to mock the living God.

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Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have

laid waste all the nations and their lands

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And have cast their gods into the fire.

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For they were no gods, but the work

of men's hands, wood and stone.

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therefore they were destroyed.

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So now, O Lord our God, save us from his

hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth

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may know that you alone are the Lord

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Right away, God sends Isaiah to

come to Hezekiah, letting him

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know his prayer has been answered.

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The Lord declares against Assyria,

" Whom have you mocked and reviled?

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Against whom have you raised your

voice and lifted up your eyes to the

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heights against the Holy One of Israel?

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By your servants you

have mocked the Lord."

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After God says, "I have used

you to accomplish my purposes

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He promises, " Because you have raged

against me, and your complacency

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has come to my ears, I will put

my hook in your nose, and my bit

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in your mouth, and I will turn you

back on the way by which you came."

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God encourages Hezekiah in verse 33.

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" Therefore thus says the Lord

concerning the king of Assyria, ' He

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shall not come into this city.

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By the way that he came, by the same

he shall return, and he shall not

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come into this city,' declares the

Lord, ' for I will defend this city

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to save it for my own sake and for

the sake of my servant, David.'"

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Though from an outward perspective

it seemed all hope was lost, now the

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angel of the Lord appears, which is

most likely the pre-incarnate Christ,

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and he strikes down one hundred and

eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians.

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When the people wake in the morning,

there are dead bodies all around, which

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causes Sennacherib to return home,

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and as he is worshiping in the

house of Nisroch his god, two of

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his sons come and strike him down

with the sword, just as God foretold

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But they may have not even had the

crown in mind because they flee and a

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different son reigns in their father's

place Sennacherib's mocking of God

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is silenced, and he meets his end.

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The god he worshiped could not

defeat the Lord of the Bible

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and could not even protect him.

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And just to put the nail in the coffin

that the Lord is completely sovereign over

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the affairs of men and of kings, psalm

through 12 tells us, " Make your vows

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to the Lord your God and perform them.

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Let all around him bring gifts to

him who is to be feared, who cuts off

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the spirit of princes, who is to be

feared by the kings of the earth."

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I want to point out that it's

believed that this encounter

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with the Assyrians actually

happened after chapters 38 and 39.

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But because the focus of Isaiah is

now going to shift toward Babylon,

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Isaiah chose to put this account

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after The Assyrian encounter.

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And perhaps placing these shortcomings

of Hezekiah last is an attempt to ensure

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that we don't look upon his legacy

believing that he was the savior king

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In chapter 38, Hezekiah becomes very

sick, and Isaiah comes to him with a

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message from the Lord that he will die.

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Hezekiah understandably pleads to the

Lord I've honored you with all my heart.

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Please extend my life."

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God answers his prayer and

gives him 15 more years to live

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God offers him a sign changing

the way the shadows fell upon the

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sundial And Hezekiah writes a prayer

about this wrestling in his heart.

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I'll highlight a few of those verses.

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" Like a swallow or a crane, I chirp.

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I moan like a dove.

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My eyes are weary with looking upward.

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O Lord, I am oppressed.

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Be my pledge of safety."

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In verse 17, Hezekiah writes,

" Behold, it was for my welfare

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that I had great bitterness.

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But in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction, for you

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have cast all my sins behind your back."

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And then he tells God, " If I went down to

Sheol, I wouldn't be able to praise you.

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The living, the living, he

thanks you as I do this day.

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This father makes known to the

children your faithfulness."

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The Sheol he referenced here is not hell.

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It's a very nuanced topic in the

Hebrew, but he's just saying, " If

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I'm dead, I can't praise you, Lord

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Chapter 39 is probably where you'll

be most disappointed with his reign.

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The king of Babylon finds out about

his sickness and brings him a gift.

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Hezekiah welcomes him in and shows him

every last bit of treasure that Judah has.

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I've heard some comment that this was due

to Hezekiah's pride, but scripture doesn't

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assign any motive to Hezekiah's actions,

so I think we need to be really careful

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that we don't make assumptions

either, It was very common that when

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you were forming an alliance with

another nation, you would show them

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what you're bringing to the table.

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but even if this was Hezekiah's motive,

it was wrong because he was still

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seeking security in a foreign king

instead of the Lord, and God rebukes

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him for it Isaiah delivers this message,

" Hear the word of the Lord of hosts.

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Behold, the days are coming when all

that is in your house and that which

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your fathers have stored up till

this day shall be carried to Babylon.

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Nothing shall be left," says the Lord.

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" And some of your own sons who will come

from you, whom you will father, shall

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be taken away and they shall be eunuchs

in the palace of the king of Babylon."

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Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, " The

word that you have spoken is good,"

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for he thought, "There will be

peace and security in my days."

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In my opinion, this is the most

disappointing and selfish thing

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that we encounter of Hezekiah.

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And since the Davidic line is coming

through him, he should be very concerned

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that his sons would become eunuchs,

as this doesn't just threaten his

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legacy, but also the Davidic line

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Now Isaiah shifts to

these oracles of blessing.

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Whereas the second portion began with the

king rejecting a sign and the judgment

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for the nations, this third section of

Isaiah kicks off with the king receiving

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a sign from the Lord and then describing

how Judah and the nations will be blessed.

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I'm gonna highlight a few

really beautiful verses.

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I'm sure several will be well known to you

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And rightfully so, because they

meet us right where we're at.

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In chapter 40 verse three, "A

voice cries in the wilderness,

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'Prepare the way of the Lord.

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Make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.'"

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This verse was also written in connection

with John the Baptist in the Gospels

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In 40 verses seven and eight, " The

grass withers, the flower fades.

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When the breath of the Lord blows

on it, surely the people are grass.

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The grass withers, the flower fades, but

the word of our God will stand forever."

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40:11 is particularly sweet for moms.

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" He will tend his flock like a shepherd.

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He will gather the lambs in his arms.

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He will carry them in his bosom and

gently lead those that are with young."

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I have a dear friend whose son

was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

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It was terminal and inoperable.

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And as she was inundated with attempts

of well-meaning people trying to offer

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solutions, the Lord placed this verse

on her heart to encourage her that she

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didn't need to figure it all out and

that God would guide her Sadly for us,

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but joyfully for him, that precious

little boy is now with his Savior.

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But my friend will emphatically proclaim

that God did gently and tenderly lead

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her every step of the process Chapter

40 concludes, " Have you not known?

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Have you not heard?

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The Lord is the everlasting God, the

creator of the ends of the earth.

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He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

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He gives power to the faint, and to him

who has no might he increases strength.

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Even youths shall faint and be weary, and

young men shall fall exhausted; but they

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who wait for the Lord shall renew their

strength; they shall mount up with wings

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like eagles; they shall run and not be

weary; they shall walk and not faint."

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Isaiah 41:10 has been a verse I've

clung to over and over, particularly

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when I lost my father unexpectedly

Fear not, for I am with you; Be

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not dismayed, for I am your God.

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I will strengthen you, I will

help you, I will uphold you

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with my righteous right hand

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And 41:13, " For I, the Lord

your God, hold your right hand.

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It is I who say to you, ' Fear not.

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I am the one who helps you.'"

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Heavenly Father, we come

before you completely humbled

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that you are our helper.

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Though you are sovereign and powerful

enough to destroy nations and to

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bring kings to an end, you choose to

gently lead those that are with young

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We thank you that you hear our prayers.

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And whether we're concerned about

physical health or our children's

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eternity, that these are things

that matter to you as well.

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We thank you that we do not do it alone.

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And Lord, I confess that as I read

that you do not faint or grow weary,

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I'm convicted that I have not pressed

into you enough for my strength today.

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I know I'm praying with many moms that

are also weary at the responsibilities

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you've placed before them.

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When motherhood and life are beyond what

we can accomplish in our own strength.

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I ask that you would strengthen us

for the work you've put before us.

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Give us the wisdom and the endurance

to be faithful and to praise you.

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Thank you that you help us, lead

us, and fill us with your peace

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We know your word will stand forever.

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Jesus, it's in your name we pray.

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Amen