Isaiah 37:1-20
Alternative devotions for Thursday 7th January
1 And so when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim (the Master of the Palace), Shebna (the secretary), and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet. 3 They said to him, ‘This is what Hezekiah says; “This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children are ready to be born, and there is no strength to give them birth. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God has heard the words of the Commander in Chief who has been sent by his master the King of Assyria to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; so lift up your prayer for the remnant that is here.”’
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, ‘Say this to your master, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, by which the King of Assyria’s youths have blasphemed against me. 7 Look, I will put a spirit in him, so he will hear a rumour and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’
8 When the Commander in Chief heard that the King of Assyria had left Lachish, he returned and then found the King fighting against Libnah. 9 The King (of Assyria) then heard a report about Tirhakah King of Ethiopia reporting that he had set out to attack him, so when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah to say, 10 ‘This is what you will say to King Hezekiah of Judah: “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you into thinking that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria. 11 Look, you have heard what the Kings of Assyria have done to destroy all lands; will you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed saved any of them, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the King of Hamath, the King of Arpad, the King of the city of Sepharvaim, the King of Hena, or the King of Ivvah?'"
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 ‘O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, you alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear all the words Sennacherib has sent in order to mock the living God. 18 It is true, O Lord, that the Kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire. They were not gods but the work of human hands, made of wood and stone, so they were destroyed. 20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are the Lord; You alone.’
© All text and pictures on this page copyright Paul H Ashby 2010 - all rights reserved
We praise You, Lord Jesus, because You have blessed our families over many years, and we ask You to continue to bless us throughout the coming year. We need Your love when things become difficult, and we need Your advice when we do not know what to do. With this help, may we gain in spiritual confidence as we experience the practical nature of Your great love. Thank You, Lord Jesus, AMEN
Mary said ‘My soul magnifies the Lord’ (Luke 1:46);
Let us praise Almighty God for His wonderful love.
Zechariah said ‘He has shown mercy’ (Luke 1:72);
Let us receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gabriel said ‘Do not be afraid’ (Luke 1:30);
Let us take our stand with Jesus Christ and boldly live for Him.
The angelic choir said ‘Glory to God in the highest’ (Luke 2:14);
Let us demonstrate the love of God in everything we do.
The shepherds said ‘Come and see what the Lord has done’ (Luke 2:16);
Let us find our way by following the guidance of the Lord.
Simeon said ‘My eyes have seen Your salvation’ (Luke 2:30);
Let us live with the sure hope of our eternal salvation!
Prayer ideas
Pray for the defeat of evil in our midst; join those who battle against the works of Satan in every form.
On-going prayers
- Pray for Christian families. Pray today for families you know in which one parent goes to church; pray for family unity in faith
- Pray for small businesses struggling to gain financial backing
- Give thanks to God for those who entertain us with fun and laughter
Review
The plot thickens! The terrible threats made by the Assyrian Commander in Chief against King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were conveyed to the King, and his response was to contact Isaiah immediately. This was a significant choice by Hezekiah, because it was important that he chose to take the advice of a prophet, something his forebears had not always done (see Ahaz in Isaiah 7). Being consistent with the prophecies he had been given (see chapters 10 and 12), Isaiah dismissed the threat of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, (37:5-7). From this point onwards, however, it is easy to become confused about what was really happening.
In the previous chapter (36), the text tells us that the Assyrian Commander in Chief stood close by to the city of Jerusalem with a significant army nearby, and speaking in the name of the King of Assyria who was elsewhere. However, we now find out that the picture is a little more complicated than this! In our passage (37:8), we read that the Commander had to leave Jerusalem hurriedly to go and assist his master, the King of Assyria, named Sennacherib. He had defeated the city of Lachish, a dozen miles to the southwest of Jerusalem, and was heading towards nearby Libnah; and he now heard about a threat from the king of Ethiopia (37:9). Clearly, the Assyrian army was divided up and operating in several places.
The upshot of the various military manoeuvring was although Judah was infiltrated with a significant Assyrian presence controlling all the towns and regions of Judah, and with a powerful army laying siege to Jerusalem, the Assyrians were a long way from ‘home’ and considerably stretched. Although they were not willing to launch a full scale assault on Jerusalem they had every intention of finishing what they started, so a strongly worded letter was sent to Hezekiah warning him of the power of Assyria to destroy everything, gods, lands and Kings (37:10-13). Hezekiah would have hoped that the Assyrians would leave Judah but was dismayed at their continued threats, and came before the Lord in urgent prayer (37:14-20), showing his piety and zeal. He had a clear understanding of his duties as King of Judah (1 Samuel 8, see also Deut 17:13f, and 28:36f.), but because the Assyrian threat was not yet over, Hezekiah pleaded with the Lord for salvation (37:20).
Two things are worth noting. Firstly, when it comes to interpreting what was happening, the picture I have just described may seem obvious, but others see it differently! The timing of what the Commander in Chief did in verse 8 is so confusing that some people think this is contrived, and the message sent to Hezekiah by the King of Assyria (37:10-13) was merely a different ‘version’ of what we read in chapter 36. Personally, I do not agree with this theory, because some confusion should be expected in the complexities of war, and while the Assyrian troops surrounded Jerusalem, it is not surprising that several efforts were made to persuade Hezekiah to surrender.
Secondly, the most important feature of this passage is that God’s people, as represented by King Hezekiah, were submissive to their God, and not to the worldly events happening around them. The city of Jerusalem was desperately weakened by the Assyrian assault and was relatively defenceless, but the Assyrians did not attack the city. The opposing King was elsewhere, and his Commander in Chief was recalled from his duties in Jerusalem to help him in other battles! Isaiah perceived the wider picture and prophesied that the Assyrian king would go home (37:6,7); his words were of great comfort to king and people alike, confirming that despite the threats, God was able to look after His people because they accepted Him as their Covenant God and Creator (37:16,20).
Hezekiah’s confession of faith in the face of insuperable odds is the key to the whole narrative and the eventual salvation of Israel from the Assyrian threat. This was something which later generations of Jewish people greatly admired in Hezekiah and the people of that time. They showed a quality of faith in the face of adversity which was and is inspirational.
