By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH - CHAPTER 37

THE HUMILIATION OF THE PROUD ASSYRIAN

   And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

    1. Having heard the blasphemous threats of the Assyrian, king Hezekiah rent his garments, put on sackcloth (a sign of mourning) and went into the house of the Lord, (vs. 1; Gen. 37:34; Psa. 73:16-17; 77:13).
    2. He also sent representatives (garbed like himself) to Isaiah, the prophet, whom he recognized as God's representative (and who had warned against trusting in Egypt, cf. 20:2-6) - desiring his prayers and counsel, (vs. 2-5).
      a. The king is greatly troubled, humiliated and disgraced, (comp. 26:16-18).
      b. But, his greatest concern seems to be that the Assyrian has defied the living God, (36:15, 18, 20).
      c. Perhaps, if Isaiah will lift up a prayer in behalf of the remnant of his people, the Lord will hear and rebuke the proud Assyrian who has insulted His holy name, (vs. 4; 1:9; 10:20-22; comp. Jer. 21:1, 2).

   And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

    1. Hezekiah must not be afraid because of the blasphemies he has heard "the king's boys" (Heb.) speak against Jehovah, (vs. 6; 7:4; 35:4).
    2. The Lord will send a spirit (angel) that will so disturb the Assyrian as to turn him back to his own land where he will fall by the sword, (vs. 7, 9, 37-38).

   So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?

    1. Conferring with king Sennacherib, at Libnah, the Rabshakeh was turned aside from Jerusalem by word that the king of Ethiopia had come to fight against Assyria, (vs. 8-9).
    2. But, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with a threatening letter, (vs. 10-13).
      a. He must not permit his God to deceive him into thinking he could escape subjection to the king of Assyria, (vs. 10; 36:15).
      b. Just see what the kings of Assyria have done to all who opposed them; can Hezekiah foolishly dream of being delivered from a similar humiliation? (vs. 11; 10:9-11).
      c. Hezekiah must consider all those nations whose gods have been helpless before the great power of his Assyrian fathers, (vs. 12-13).

   And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.

    1. In a symbolic gesture, Hezekiah took the letter to the temple and spread it out before the Lord, (vs. 14).
    2. Then he bowed his heart, in humble worship, before the Lord of hosts - the high and exalted God of Israel who made the earth and all things therein, (vs. 15-16; Ex. 25:22; Psa. 80:13, Deut. 10:17; Psa. 86:8-10; Isa. 42:5; 45:12).
    3. He asks the Lord to see, hear and consider the words with which Sennacherib has spoken in mockery of the living God, (vs. 17; II Chron. 6:40; Psa. 17:6; Dan. 9:18-19; Psa. 74:22-23).
    4. Hezekiah admits that the Assyrians have laid the nations waste and cast their gods into the fire - but only because they were all the works of men's hands, (vs. 18-19; II Kings 15:29; 16:9; 17:6, 24; Isa. 2:8; 17:7-8), Psa. 115:5-9.
    5. Finally, Hezekiah appeals for deliverance - that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Jehovah (the covenant-God of Israel) alone is truly God, (vs. 20; 25:9; 33:22; 35:4; I Kings 18:36-39; Psa. 46:10; Ezek. 36:22-23).

   Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

    1. Isaiah sends word to king Hezekiah that God has heard and answered his prayer against Sennacherib, (vs. 21).
    2. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised, scorned and wagged her head in contempt for the Assyrian who has so presumptuously profaned the name of Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, (vs. 22-23; Psa. 9:13-14; Zeph. 3:14; Zech. 2:10; Psa. 22:7; 109:25; Matt. 27:39).
    3. The proud Assyrian has boasted far beyond what he is able to accomplish; he has NEVER been strong! (vs. 24-25; 2:11; 5:15, 21; Ezek. 30:7; Hab. 1:12; Isa. 8:7-8; 10:33-34).
    4. He has been ignorant of the fact that he was a mere instrument, in the hand of Jehovah, for the accomplishment of His own purpose, (vs. 26-27; 40:21, 28; Psa. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; Isa. 14:27; 25:1; 46:10-11; 10:6; 40:7-8).
    5. Nor has anything, of his attitude or actions, been hidden from the Lord who is about to put a hook in his arrogant nose, and a bridle in his blasphemous mouth, to turn him back to his own land, (vs. 28-29; Psalm 139:1; Isa. 10:12; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4).
    6. In verses 3O-32 the Lord gives a sign and word of encouragement for the remnant of His people; He is still zealous in behalf of His own, (comp. Lev. 25:5, 11; Isa. 4:2; 10:20; 27;6; cp. 9:7; 59:17; Joel 2:18; Zech. 1:14-17).
    7. The king of Assyria will not come into Jerusalem, make war against it, or build a mound against it; the Lord will defend the city for His own name's sake - and for His servant David's sake, (vs. 33-35; 31:5; 38:6; 43:25; 48:9-11).

   Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the word; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

    1. As the Assyrian host slept "the angel of the LORD" himself (an expression that almost always refers to an Old Testament appearance of the Christ) smote their camp, leaving 185,000 corpses, (vs. 36; 10:12, 33-34).
    2. Sennacherib was deeply enough impressed by this overthrow that he returned to Nineveh, (vs. 37; Jonah 1:2; 3:3).
    3. Some 20 years later, as he worshipped in the temple of Nisroch, his god, he was slain by two of his own sons, who went into exile, (vs. 38).
    4. Another of his sons, Esarhaddon, ascended the throne that was vacated by Sennacherib, and reigned in his stead, (vs. 39; comp. Ezra 4:1-5).
    5. Lord Byron's immortal poem, "The Destruction of Sennacherib", is an inspiring portrayal of Jehovah's dealing with the proud Assyrian.

The Assyrian came down like the wolf of the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow laid withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still.

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride:
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols were broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

    So, Jerusalem was spared; but the rest of the land of Judah was ravaged. Hezekiah's bid for freedom (which Isaiah warned against - 28:14-33; 30:1-5) had brought indescribable and immeasurable suffering. Judah was still not free, but was to remain a vassal of Assyria for years to come.