Isaiah 37 -YWHW answers Sennacherib

Chapter 37 of Isaiah remains rooted in the history of national Israel; a continuation of the scenario from chapter 36. Hezekiah seeks counsel from God's prophet, Isaiah. Recall that Hezekiah's advisors had returned from meeting Sennacherib's top man - it was bad news from man from man. Isaiah 37:1 (HCSB) When King Hezekiah heard ⌊their report⌋, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD’s temple.

The king of Judah was shaken, as a man, by what Assyria intended. His first response was to weep and mourn in a display of humility and to seek wisdom from YHWH. After this, Isaiah 37:2-4 (HCSB) Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver ⌊them⌋. Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke ⌊him for⌋ the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”

Hezekiah knew Isaiah was God's prophet; he wanted to hear from him. His message, carried by the three, revealed the dismay and disgrace of what was happening to Israel with a plea for Isaiah to petition YHWH to preserve the remnant of Israel.

Isaiah 37:5-7 (HCSB) So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘The LORD says: Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with. I am about to put a spirit in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”

Here's another example of verse number insertions that ought to make you scratch your head - verse 6 begins in the middle of a sentence. Do not allow verse and chapter divisions disrupt your reading and understanding of Scripture.

Isaiah's response to Hezekiah's henchmen is what the saints today need to hear: DO NOT FEAR WHAT MAN MAY DO! He tells us to fear not - only believe! YHWH was not ignorant of what Assyria was up to - He knew the king's aid was a blasphemer and He had planned to ruin that man's best life. God would a spirit in Rabshaken that would cause him to fear and then God would cause Rabshaken to be killed. Yes, God did that.

In verses 8 - 13, Sennacherib had moved on to the next city on his march to Jerusalem when Rabshaken caught up with him. The king of Assyria had heard from the prince of Egypt that Judah might be ready to fight them in this town - Libnah. Sennacherib sent a message to Hezekiah, the same as Rabshaken had given earlier, testifying of Assyria's might and Judah's hopelessness. The same taunting style, meant to cause Judah to doubt YHWH and fear Sennacherib.

Isaiah 37:14-20 (HCSB) Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple and spread it out before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are God—You alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Listen closely, LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, LORD, and see. Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. LORD, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, LORD our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD—You alone.

Again, Hezekiah went alone to seek wisdom from YHWH. This time we see what was on the king's mind. He admits the Assyrians' are fearful men and have defeated nations that followed gods that were not God. He adores and worships the one true God who created all things and rules all things. And he cries out for YHWH - the God of Judah! - to save them from Assyria so that everyone on earth would know the YWHW is God and there is none other. Proper prayer seeks to bring glory to God. Hezekiah did not have his reputation on his tongue but the honor and glory of God who had promised to all to keep a man on the throne of David forever.

God sends Isaiah to answer the prayers of the king of Judah. Isaiah 37:21-22a (HCSB) Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent ⌊a message⌋ to Hezekiah: “The LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the LORD has spoken against him."

Beginning in verse 22b, YHWH has a lengthy message for Assyria, beginning with His declared affection for the afflicted "daughters" Zion and Jerusalem, which scorn Sennacherib and mock him behind his back - knowing YHWH will avenge them because the king of Assyria had mocked and waged war against the Holy One of Israel; God Himself! All the plans of destruction carried by Assyria were proudly announced by them as their own accomplishments. Isaiah 37:26 (HCSB) God asks, "Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass." All the destruction at the hands of the Assyrians were His doing! Isaiah 37:28-29 (HCSB) "But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. Because your raging against Me and your arrogance have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came." Creator God will show the Assyrians whose in charge - He will put His hook in their nose and His bit in their mouth to make them go back to where they started. It's as if He had said, in another place, Proverbs 21:1 (HCSB) "A king’s heart is like streams of water in the LORD’s hand: He directs it wherever He chooses." Indeed - and Sennacherib's heart was subject to YHWH's hand, He directed it as He chose.

To Hezekiah, God spoke: Isaiah 37:30-32 (HCSB) “‘This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.’"

No matter what Assyria threatened them with, they were to count on God's provision. The remnant would take root and bear fruit; the remnant from both "daughters" - Jerusalem and Zion. And the zeal of YHWH would accomplish this. Has God rejected His people? God forbid! Though the number of Israel's sons be like the sand of sea, only the remnant will be saved, for YHWH will execute His sentence completely and decisively on the earth (Paul, in Romans 11 and 9, where He quotes Isaiah).

YHWH has a final word for Sennacherib - he will not enter Jerusalem nor even shoot an arrow into it. He will go back to where he started. Isaiah 37:34b-35 (HCSB) ⌊This is⌋ the LORD’s declaration. I will defend this city and rescue it because of Me and because of My servant David.” Here is God's own declaration of why the remnant will be saved: for His name and His servant David's sake. The Messiah was the promised son of David that made David valuable. All is from God, through God, and for God.

Here's how it played out, YHWH's decree: Isaiah 37:36-37 (HCSB) Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the ⌊next⌋ morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned ⌊home⌋ and lived in Nineveh.

BOOM! Proud, arrogant, tyrannical king of Assyria - defeated by an angel of YWHW. Do you fear the wrath of those tyrants who plan to seize power in the US on 20 Jan? Do you not know that, as with Sennacherib, all their goings up and down are known by Him, are directed by Him? Do you not think His counsel for us would be exactly the same today as it was for Hezekiah so many years ago? Trust in God for your daily bread, do not fear man - only believe on Him!

Some 20 years later, here's how Sennacherib ended. Isaiah 37:38 (HCSB) One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.

Appels fall close to apple trees. Men who do evil tend to die at the hands of evil men; even kin. This is the way of the world. It is not the way of God's people. Vengeance is YWHW's, not yours or mine. As one author put it, to be disappointed in one's self reveals misplaced trust. Trust the King - not your ability to follow Him! No matter how you or I try to make things work out "good" - we should NEVER trust that we can make things right. Trust the King - alone! Let no other trust intrude.