"Remnant" in Isaiah 36:4

In Isaiah 36:4, Hezekiah asks the prophet Isaiah to pray for the "remnant that is left." Contextually, this may refer to Jerusalem, which appears to be one of the few places left in Judah which has not fallen to the Assyrian invader. This seems unlikely, however, because in this military campaign Jerusalem is the real lynchpin. Assyria's victories will only be confirmed and secured when Judah's capital is also taken. Moreover, Hezekiah is not only interested in preserving Jerusalem, but in regaining and keeping all of Judah.

In the Bible as a whole, "remnant" is most often used to refer either to those Jews who returned to Palestine after the terms of the Babylonian Exile were lifted, or to those Jews who remained out among the nations but maintained their faith in the God of Israel. Either way, "remnant" connotes those few left behind after the bulk of the people has been removed. The northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria), composed of ten tribes, had been exiled in another Assyrian invasion some ten years earlier. Thus, Hezekiah sees Israel and Judah, although two nations, as a single people under God; although Judah had remained politically intact, it was in truth only a remnant (two tribes) of the whole people of God (twelve tribes).

That is, Judah is part of a covenant community broader than itself. This recognition is striking because Israel's religion was debased; leaving aside the various centers of pagan idol worship, even the worship of the Lord himself had been corrupted by taking place elsewhere than Jerusalem and through golden calves. Hezekiah's reign was marked by a restoration of the worship God had prescribed for his people in the Scriptures, but the reformer king nonetheless recognizes his erring brethren as brethren. Here, then, we learn we should consider ourselves united to other Christians outside the narrow confines of our particular denominations and traditions.

At the same time, "remnant" indicates that the Church's very future is at stake. If Judah, itself a mere remnant, falls, there is nothing left of God's people. From our vantage point in history, we know God will preserve yet a smaller remnant through the Babylonian Exile which Judah will eventually suffer, but of course Hezekiah couldn't foresee that possibility. When he describes Judah as a remnant, he confesses their situation is desperate; divine intervention is their only hope.

In Romans 9, Paul uses Hosea's prophecies to demonstrate that the Lord has used the remnant of Israel to turn the Church into an innumberable host. Despite her present vast numbers (when reckoned ecumenically), the Church's only hope continues to be divine intervention: in this life, but most especially through the arrival of the new heavens and earth in glory.