Isaiah 37:1-7

B. PERSEVERANCE, CHAPTER 37
1. THE PLEA

TEXT: Isaiah 37:1-7

1

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 Jehovah.

2

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.

3

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4

It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

5

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6

And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7

Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return unto his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

QUERIES

a.

What is a day of contumely?

b.

Why say, children are come to the birth. etc.?

c.

When did the king of Assyria return to his own land?

PARAPHRASE

When King Hezekiah listened to the report of the men sent to meet with Rabshakeh, he tore his robes indicating his anguish of soul, put on camel'S-hair clothing indicating his penitence and went into the Temple to humble himself before the Lord. Just before doing this he had sent Eliakim, his chief administrator, and Shebna, his royal scribe, and the chief priestsall in camel'S-hair clothing of humilityto Isaiah, the prophet of God, son of Amoz. They were sent to Isaiah with this message from King Hezekiah: This is a day of distress and anguish, punishment and rebuke, reproach and rejection from the Lordit is a day from which only a miracle can deliver us like a day when children are ready to be born but the mothers-' wombs will not open! So I am hoping, Isaiah, your God will take note of the defiant, insulting words of the Rabshakeh, who was sent by the king of Assyria for that very purpose and will punish him for the words He has heard the Rabshakeh speak. So pray, Isaiah, for those of us remaining, as many as we can find. So, they came to Isaiah with this message. And this was Isaiah's reply to them: Say this to Hezekiah, your master; Jehovah's word is, Do not be afraid of the threats and insults of the men sent by the king of Assyria, because I will dispose the king of Assyria to leave Judah through a report that will come to him from his homeland that he is needed back there at once, and he will return to his own land, and he will eventually die a violent death by the hand of his own people.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 37:1-5 WORSHIP: It is significant that Hezekiah, upon hearing the report of Rabshakeh's scoffing intimidation and insulting blasphemy of Jehovah, turned immediately to worship God in penitence and sent to get God's word from God's prophet. Happy is any nation whose ruler turns in penitence to worship Jehovah and seek His word in national crises. It was a Hebrew custom in times of great stress and turmoil, sorrow and remorse to both rend the clothing and put on sackcloth (cf. Genesis 27:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; 1 Kings 21:27; Esther 4:1, etc.). In addition to all this Hezekiah went into the Temple (the house of the Lord) undoubtedly to pray. He did not pray to have the Lord's will revealed directly to himselffor that he sent to the messenger of God, Isaiah. His prayer was probably one of penitence.

Not only did Hezekiah devote himself to penitence and seeking the Lord's will, but he instructed his officials to do so also. Most political potentates are accustomed to depend too much on their own power and expertise and consult God's spokesmen only on matters of morality and religion. Many potentates have made that mistake (Saul, Ahaz, Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, the Caesars, ad infinitum). Then he sent them to Isaiah. He did not order Isaiah to come to him, as many rulers would have done. Respecting God's prophet shows Hezekiah's deep reverence for God! There was no question in Hezekiah's mind who was the King of the UniverseJehovah. This is true worship, acknowledging God's sovereignty and seeking His will.
King Hezekiah sends Isaiah his analysis of the current political-military crisis. It is dark and foreboding. The following Hebrew words are used by Hezekiah to describe the situation: tzar (trouble, anguish, distress, oppression); thokekhah (rebuke, correction, punishment); natzah (contumely, contempt, blasphemy). It was a day so dire and catastrophic that it was like a woman in labor struggling to give birth and her womb will not open to deliver. Unless some extraordinary help is forthcoming death will be the result. Hezekiah realizes Judah is at this critical juncture.

Hezekiah's It may be Jehovah. will hear is like the Who knows whether he will not turn and repent. of Joel 2:14 and Jonah 3:9, etc. It is not a guess! It is an expression of hope that God will intervene based upon known deeds of God in the past (see our comments, Minor Prophets, College Press, pg. 176, 249, 250, 251). Hezekiah's description of the day, trouble, rebuke, contempt, indicates his persuasion that their circumstances were by the permissive will of God to correct them for their trouble, rebuke and contempt of God. Their circumstances were designed to bring them back to God and Hezekiah was one of the first to recognize and admit it. It is no wonder God compared Hezekiah to Davidafter God's own heart.

So, the good king commits the defiance of the Rab-shakeh to the Living God who is being defied. The Hebrew word translated defy is lekharek and means literally to reproach and blasphemeto insult and scoff at. Hezekiah requests Isaiah to pray for the shariyth (remnant) that is nimetzaah (findable, or remaining). Apparently the king is referring to besieged Jerusalem as all that is left of Judah. So Hezekiah's servants brought his request to Isaiah.

Isaiah 37:6-7 WORD: Isaiah's answer is authoritative, direct and simple. It is as simple as Thus saith the Lord. The answer is simple but the application of it (be not afraid) may be difficult in view of the present circumstances. This is where man's faith is put to the test. If faith fails then he is by his own choice not of the nature fit to companion with God. Isaiah told Ahaz (Isaiah 7:4) not to fear the enemies of the covenant people earlier, but Ahaz failed in faith.

The Lord promises, through Isaiah, to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. The Hebrew word is ruakh which is usually translated spirit but literally means breath or wind. It is sometimes translated mind (Ezekiel 11:5; Ezekiel 20:32) and sometimes means an emotion (Proverbs 29:11; Genesis 26:35). Just how God puts a spirit, mind, emotion, disposition in a pagan ruler to return to his homeland when he seems of a mind to do something other must remain one of the mysteries of the Infinite and Omnipotent God. We are told in other places of such action by God (Isaiah 10:5-19; Isaiah 44:28 to Isaiah 45:6; Jeremiah 51:20-23; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). God is capable of speaking to pagan rulers in dreams and visions (as He did to Nebuchadnezzar) or stirring up their spirits (as He did to Cyrus). It does not appear that God gave Sennacherib a vision. He heard something from his own land that caused him to return, and 20 years later he was violently slain by his own sons. We will document this event in later comments. It should be noted here Isaiah does not predict Sennacherib's death immediately upon his arrival back in Assyria. It is not the prophet's purpose to predict all the detailsonly those which are essential to Hezekiah's trust in the Lord.

QUIZ

1.

Why did Hezekiah rend his clothes and put on sackcloth?

2.

How drastic had the political-military situation of Judah become?

3.

What is the remnant that is left?

4.

What is the character of Isaiah's reply?

5.

How did God put a spirit in the king of Assyria?

6.

Why did the king of Assyria return to his own land?