Isaiah Chapter 37 verse 1 to 38 Overview, Key Themes, mean, Moral Lesson
Isaiah Chapter 37 verse 1 to 38 Overview
Isaiah Chapter 37 recounts a critical moment in the history of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah. The chapter opens with the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatening Jerusalem and the people of Judah. In response, Hezekiah turns to God in prayer, seeking deliverance from the impending invasion.
God responds to Hezekiah's plea through the prophet Isaiah, assuring him that the Assyrians will not prevail against Jerusalem. The chapter culminates in the miraculous defeat of the Assyrian army, demonstrating God's power and faithfulness to His people. This chapter serves as a powerful reminder of the effectiveness of prayer and the certainty of God's protection.
Isaiah Chapter 37 verse 1 to 38 Key Themes
- Divine Intervention: The chapter emphasizes God's power to intervene on behalf of His people, showing that He can protect and deliver them from formidable enemies.
- Prayer and Petition: King Hezekiah's earnest prayer for help illustrates the importance of seeking God in times of crisis.
- Assurance of Victory: God reassures Hezekiah that the Assyrians will not conquer Jerusalem, emphasizing His sovereignty over nations.
- Judgment on Assyria: The prophecy against Assyria highlights God's judgment on those who oppose Him, revealing that no power can withstand the will of God.
- Faithfulness to His Promises: God’s commitment to His covenant people is reiterated, showing that He is faithful to protect and save those who trust in Him.
Isaiah Chapter 37 verse 1 to 38
Isaiah Chapter 37 recounts a critical moment in the history of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah. The chapter opens with the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatening Jerusalem and the people of Judah. In response, Hezekiah turns to God in prayer, seeking deliverance from the impending invasion.
God responds to Hezekiah's plea through the prophet Isaiah, assuring him that the Assyrians will not prevail against Jerusalem. The chapter culminates in the miraculous defeat of the Assyrian army, demonstrating God's power and faithfulness to His people. This chapter serves as a powerful reminder of the effectiveness of prayer and the certainty of God's protection.
1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD.
2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah,
6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words that the king of Assyria has blasphemed me.
7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king, was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word:
10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?
12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Resef and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair and Sepharvaim?
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:
16 “LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
17 Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18 It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.
19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.
20 Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.”
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
22 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “Virgin Daughter Zion despises and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee.
23 Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your messengers you have heaped insults on the Lord. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon; I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. I have dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.’
26 Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone.
27 Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.
28 But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against me.
29 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.
30 This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: “This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
33 Therefore this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the LORD.
35 “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”
36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!
37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
what does isaiah chapter 37 verse 1 to 38 mean
Isaiah Chapter 37 recounts a pivotal moment in the history of Judah when King Hezekiah faces the impending threat of the Assyrian invasion led by King Sennacherib. Upon receiving a letter from Sennacherib that mocks God and threatens Jerusalem, Hezekiah turns to God in prayer, seeking divine intervention. He humbles himself and recognizes his dependence on the Lord for deliverance.
God responds through Isaiah, assuring Hezekiah that Jerusalem will be saved and that Sennacherib will not conquer the city. The chapter culminates in God’s miraculous intervention, as an angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight, leading to Sennacherib's retreat and eventual assassination.
Isaiah Chapter 37 verse 1 to 38 Moral Lesson
- Trust in God: The chapter emphasizes the importance of placing trust in God rather than relying on military might or alliances. Hezekiah's reliance on prayer illustrates the power of faith in difficult circumstances.
- Humility and Prayer: Hezekiah’s humble approach in seeking God's guidance serves as a reminder that genuine prayer and humility can lead to divine assistance.
- God's Sovereignty: The chapter highlights God’s control over the nations and the events of history, reassuring believers that He is actively involved in their lives and capable of delivering them from challenges.
- Divine Protection: The miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem serves as a testament to God’s ability to protect His people when they seek Him wholeheartedly.
- Consequences for Pride: The downfall of Sennacherib serves as a warning against pride and arrogance, illustrating that those who defy God will ultimately face judgment.
