"Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Tell Hezekiah king of JudahThis phrase sets the stage for a direct message to Hezekiah, the king of Judah. Hezekiah is a significant figure in the history of Judah, known for his faithfulness to God and his efforts to reform the religious practices of his people. The historical context here is crucial; Hezekiah reigned during a tumultuous period when the Assyrian Empire was expanding aggressively. The Assyrians were known for their military prowess and their brutal tactics, which instilled fear in many nations. The mention of Hezekiah by name underscores the personal nature of the message and the gravity of the situation he faced. Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you
This phrase is a direct challenge to Hezekiah's faith and trust in God. The Assyrian envoy, likely Rabshakeh, is attempting to undermine Hezekiah's confidence in the Lord. The Hebrew root for "trust" (בָּטַח, batach) conveys a sense of security and reliance. This is a pivotal moment where Hezekiah's faith is being tested. Historically, the Assyrians had a reputation for mocking the gods of the nations they conquered, believing their own gods to be superior. This phrase is a reflection of the spiritual warfare at play, where the enemy seeks to sow doubt and fear. by promising that Jerusalem will not be delivered
The promise that Jerusalem will not fall is central to the message of hope and divine protection. The Hebrew word for "delivered" (נָתַן, nathan) often implies being given over or handed over to another's control. The Assyrians are trying to convince Hezekiah that his faith in God's promise is misplaced. This is a moment of tension between the visible power of the Assyrian army and the invisible power of God. The historical context here is significant, as Jerusalem was a fortified city, yet humanly speaking, it seemed vulnerable against the might of Assyria. into the hand of the king of Assyria
The "hand" symbolizes power and control. The king of Assyria, likely Sennacherib at this time, represents the epitome of earthly power and threat. The Assyrians were known for their advanced military strategies and their ability to conquer and subjugate nations. This phrase highlights the immediate danger facing Jerusalem and the seemingly insurmountable odds against them. However, from a scriptural perspective, it also sets the stage for God to demonstrate His sovereignty and power over even the greatest earthly empires. Persons / Places / Events 1. HezekiahThe king of Judah during the time of the Assyrian threat. Known for his faithfulness to God and his efforts to reform the religious practices of Judah. 2. JerusalemThe capital city of Judah, under threat from the Assyrian army. It holds significant religious and political importance as the center of Jewish worship and governance. 3. The King of AssyriaRefers to Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and threatened Jerusalem. He represents the worldly power and opposition to God's people. 4. IsaiahThe prophet who conveyed God's messages to Hezekiah and the people of Judah. He played a crucial role in encouraging faith and trust in God during the crisis. 5. The Assyrian ThreatThe military campaign led by Sennacherib against Judah, which serves as a backdrop for God's deliverance and the testing of faith for Hezekiah and his people. Teaching Points Trust in God's PromisesHezekiah's situation teaches us the importance of trusting in God's promises, even when circumstances seem dire. Our faith should not waver in the face of worldly threats. The Power of PrayerHezekiah's response to the Assyrian threat was to seek God in prayer. This highlights the power and necessity of prayer in times of crisis. God's Sovereignty Over NationsThe account demonstrates God's sovereignty over all nations and rulers. No earthly power can thwart God's plans for His people. Faith in ActionHezekiah's faith was not passive; he actively sought God's guidance and took steps to prepare Jerusalem. Our faith should lead to action, grounded in trust in God. The Danger of DeceptionThe Assyrian message aimed to deceive and instill doubt. We must be vigilant against voices that seek to undermine our faith in God's truth. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Hezekiah's response to the Assyrian threat challenge us to trust God in our own difficult situations? 2. In what ways can we apply Hezekiah's example of prayer and seeking God's guidance in our daily lives? 3. How does the account of God's deliverance of Jerusalem encourage us to view God's sovereignty in the world today? 4. What are some modern "Assyrian threats" that attempt to deceive us and shake our faith, and how can we combat them? 5. How do the accounts in 2 Kings 19 and 2 Chronicles 32 enhance our understanding of Isaiah 37:10, and what additional insights do they provide for our faith journey? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Kings 19This chapter parallels Isaiah 37 and provides additional context and details about the Assyrian threat and Hezekiah's response. Psalm 46This psalm reflects themes of God's protection and presence, which are relevant to Hezekiah's trust in God amidst the Assyrian siege. 2 Chronicles 32Offers another account of Hezekiah's reign and the Assyrian invasion, emphasizing Hezekiah's faith and God's deliverance. Isaiah 36Provides the background leading up to Isaiah 37, including the Assyrian envoy's taunts and threats against Jerusalem. People Adrammelech, Amoz, Assyrians, David, Eliakim, Esarhaddon, Haran, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Rabshakeh, Sennacherib, Sharezer, Shebna, TirhakahPlaces Ararat, Arpad, Assyria, Cush, Egypt, Gozan, Hamath, Haran, Hena, Ivvah, Jerusalem, Lachish, Lebanon, Libnah, Mount Zion, Nineveh, Rezeph, Sepharvaim, Telassar, Tigris-Euphrates Region, ZionTopics FALSE, Assyria, Beguile, Deceive, Delivered, Depend, Faith, Handed, Hands, Hezekiah, Hezeki'ah, Hope, Jerusalem, Judah, Lift, Promising, Reliest, Rely, Saying, Says, Speak, Thus, Trust, Trustest, Trusting, Won'tDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 37:10-13 5937 rivalry Library Where to Carry Troubles
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.'--ISAIAH xxxvii. 14. When Hezekiah heard the threatenings of Sennacherib's servants, he rent his clothes and went into the house of the Lord, and sent to Isaiah entreating his prayers. When he received the menacing letter, his faith was greater, having been heartened by Isaiah's assurances. So he then himself appealed to Jehovah, spreading …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Triumph of Faith
'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. 15. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, 16. 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. 17. Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open Thine eyes, O Lord, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The First Trumpet.
The first trumpet of the seventh seal begins from the final disturbance and overthrow of the Roman idolarchy at the close of the sixth seal; and as it was to bring the first plague on the empire, now beginning to fall, it lays waste the third part of the earth, with a horrible storm of hail mingled with fire and blood; that is, it depopulates the territory and people of the Roman world, (viz. the basis and ground of its universal polity) with a terrible and bloody irruption of the northern nations, …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem Christ Rightly and Properly Said to have Merited Grace and Salvation for Us.
1. Christ not only the minister, but also the author and prince of salvation. Divine grace not obscured by this mode of expression. The merit of Christ not opposed to the mercy of God, but depends upon it. 2. The compatibility of the two proved by various passages of Scripture. 3. Christ by his obedience truly merited divine grace for us. 4. This grace obtained by the shedding of Christ's blood, and his obedience even unto death. 5. In this way he paid our ransom. 6. The presumptuous manner in which …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
WHEREIN ITS GOODLY LIGHT, WALLS, GATES, ANGELS, AND THE MANNER OF THEIR STANDING, ARE EXPOUNDED: ALSO HER LENGTH AND BREADTH, TOGETHER WITH THE GOLDEN MEASURING-REED EXPLAINED: AND THE GLORY OF ALL UNFOLDED. AS ALSO THE NUMEROUSNESS OF ITS INHABITANTS; AND WHAT THE TREE AND WATER OF LIFE ARE, BY WHICH THEY ARE SUSTAINED. 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.'-Psalm 87:3 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, THE LORD IS THERE.'-Ezekiel 48:35 London: Printed in the year 1665 …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Concerning the Lord's Supper
There are two passages which treat in the clearest manner of this subject, and at which we shall look,--the statements in the Gospels respecting the Lord's Supper, and the words of Paul. (1 Cor. xi.) Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that Christ gave the whole sacrament to all His disciples; and that Paul taught both parts of it is so certain, that no one has yet been shameless enough to assert the contrary. Add to this, that according to the relation of Matthew, Christ did not say concerning the bread, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?] If God be for us, who can be against us? T he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty, when attempting to excite …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 37:10 NIVIsaiah 37:10 NLTIsaiah 37:10 ESVIsaiah 37:10 NASBIsaiah 37:10 KJV
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