Isaiah 37:30-38
Alternative devotions for Tuesday 12th January
Review
These three paragraphs bring to an end the story of the attack on Jerusalem by Assyria. The first two conclude Isaiah’s prophetic response to Hezekiah’s prayer (37:16f.) and they reassure the King that the Lord was in control of all that happened during the invasion of Judah With extraordinary but powerful brevity, the last paragraph tells us about the miraculous annihilation of the Assyrian army outside Jerusalem in 701BC. The Assyrian siege was life and death for the people of Jerusalem, and it is not surprising that this event stands at the very centre of Isaiah’s prophecies. In those days, the defeat of Assyria was unthinkable, so the events described here (37:36-38) are nothing short of miraculous, and a dramatic proof, yet again, of the truth of Isaiah’s prophecies.
It was Assyrian policy to defeat nations firstly by military means. But this was only the start, and in order to establish the empire and its culture, and destroy all other cultures that might prevail amongst occupied nations, their people were deported and scattered around the empire (e.g. see 37:1-13). In this way, the Assyrians made it extremely hard for the national identity of a conquered nation to be retained. In addition, the occupied lands were taken over by others, usually Assyrian loyalists who had earned the right to be given such lands for their personal benefit. The subsequent loss of any connection between a people’s culture and the land meant that few cultures survived this aggressive Assyrian onslaught.
Against this background, Isaiah’s prophetic response to Hezekiah is all the more understandable. Isaiah appeals to King Hezekiah to trust in God in the midst of this dire situation, and his faith will then be rewarded. God has indeed heard Hezekiah’s prayer and he is willing to save His people because of the King’s repentance, but it presents him with a challenge. The prophecy asks Hezekiah to believe that agriculture will once more be re-started in the regions of Judah around the city of Jerusalem. In the same way, Hezekiah is challenged to believe that the ‘remnant of the house of Judah’ (37:31) will not be dispersed around the Assyrian empire, but become more firmly rooted, and ‘bear fruit upward’ (37:31). Judah can survive because God had plans for His people, and this is formally sealed by a promise of God, ‘the zeal of the Lord will do this’ (37:32).
The second part of Isaiah’s prophecy turns our attention towards the King of Assyria. After all the bragging and boasting of the Commander in chief of the armies of Assyria, it is now time for such bragging to be silenced (38:33-35). God will not allow the King of Assyria to come into Jerusalem or do anything to attack her (37:33); the Lord says ‘I will cover this city to save it ...’ (37:35). This verse is particularly interesting because it is like a miniature theological ‘manifesto’ combining the authority of the Lord God to act in His world, His intent to save, His special love for Jerusalem the place of His dwelling, and His special relationship with the line of David. It does not take too much for us to find here a glimpse of the Gospel. The prophecy speaks of the eternal hope that God will not allow evil to invade His covenant plans for Israel and the salvation of ‘Zion ... for the sake of my servant David’; a phrase in which we see a prophecy of the Messiah.
The final defeat of the Assyrian army by the Angel of the Lord (37:36) comes as something of a shock; but whatever happened (and the description here is very sparse), the people of Isaiah’s day regarded this as an answer to Hezekiah’s prayer and the proof of Isaiah’s prophecies. Against all odds, Isaiah and Hezekiah had trusted in the Lord and the impossible was achieved. Salvation would be won for those who placed their hope in God! But there is no doubt that the whole of Isaiah’s prophecy here is a challenge to faith. If Hezekiah was willing to believe Isaiah’s prophecy, then he would see the gods of this world in disarray (37:36-38)!
30 ‘This will be the sign for you: You will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what comes from that; in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit. 31 Then the remnant of the house of Judah who survived will increasingly take root downward, and bear fruit upward; 32 for a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and a band of survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
33 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the King of Assyria: He will not come into this city, or shoot an arrow there, or confront it with a shield, or put up a siege ramp against it. 34 He will return by the same way in which he came; and he will not come into this city, says the Lord. 35 For I will cover this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.’
36 Then the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp; when the time came to rise in the morning, they were all dead bodies! 37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria set out to return home to Nineveh. 38 Then it happened that as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword and fled to the land of Ararat; and his son Esar-haddon reigned after him.
© All text and pictures on this page copyright Paul H Ashby 2009 - all rights reserved
Be patient with us, Lord God, particularly when we are forgetful, or when we fail to live up to the standards of the faith we profess. Challenge our wilful obstinacy when it resists Your will, but deal gently with our unintended waywardness when we fail to discern Your light. Lead us through repentance to hear Your voice of forgiveness, so that once again, we may offer You our thanks and praise: AMEN
What spiritual connections exist
between you and Your Saviour?
A mountain of personal experience?
A hope that one day, good will prevail?
Some searching theological questions?
The longing of the human heart for love?
A knowledge of the Lord’s healing touch?
Contact with God’s people over the years?
The truth that Christ has died to save You?
Sustained ministry and the help of others?
The presence of Jesus throughout the day?
Remember, these spiritual connections,
Often reveal to others the reality of our faith.
Prayer ideas
Listen carefully to what people say to you, and after your conversation, pray for them and their needs
On-going prayers
- Pray for Your home church Pray for the fellowship of the church and the groups in which people meet for prayer and Bible study
- Give thanks to God for the many opportunities He has given you
- Pray that scandals will not de-stabilise Northern Ireland
