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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 37:14

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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.

14. spread it (the letter) before the Lord ] that Jehovah might take notice of the arrogance displayed by it. The act is symbolic. Similarly the Jews at the beginning of the Maccabee insurrection spread out in prayer a copy of the Law, defaced with idolatrous pictures, as a witness to the outrages perpetrated against their religion ( 1Ma 3:48 ).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14 20. Hezekiah’s prayer in the Temple. Cheyne refers to a striking parallel in the Egyptian version of Sennacherib’s overthrow. “On this the monarch (Sethos), greatly distressed, entered into the inner sanctuary, and before the image of the god (Ptah) bewailed the fate which impended over him. As he wept he fell asleep, and dreamed that the god came and stood by his side, bidding him be of good cheer, and go boldly forth to meet the Arabian (Assyrian) host, which would do him no hurt, as he himself would send those who should help him” (Herod. II. 141, Rawlinson).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And Hezekiah received the letter – Hebrew, Letters (plural). It is not mentioned in the account of the embassy Isa 37:9, that a letter was sent, but it is not probable that all embassage would be sent to a monarch without a written document.

Went up into the house of the Lord – The temple Isa 37:1.

And spread it before the Lord – Perhaps unrolled the document there, and spread it out; or perhaps it means simply that he spread out the contents of the letter, that is, made mention of it in his prayer. Hezekiah had no other resource. He was a man of God; and in his trouble he looked to God for aid. He, therefore, before he formed any plan, went up to the temple, and laid his case before God. What an example for all monarchs and rulers! And what an example for all the people of God, in times of perplexity!

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 37:14-38

And Hezekiah received the letter . . . and read it . . . and spread it before the Lord

Hezekiahs prayer and deliverance

In the struggles, defeats, and final triumph of the ancient people of God in their conflicts with the surrounding nations, we have a key to the purposes of God in respect to the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world; a key to the interpretation of the principles and powers underlying the conflict between the people of God and the unbelievers of this world.

Gods hand is in this earths history; His eye is upon all men and His ear open to their ,counsels; at the proper time and in the proper place He will frustrate all the combinations of evil and bring to pass all His purposes of righteousness. It is not by might nor by power that believers triumph over their spiritual enemies or win their victories, but by the interposition of God s almighty arm. The preceding chapter is so closely connected with that from which our present study is taken, that the two must be read together. Jerusalem was under siege, or at least was threatened with siege and capture by the Assyrian king. In spite of all Hezekiahs efforts to buy a peace for himself and his kingdom, the greedy, haughty, and most powerful king was determined to be satisfied with nothing short of entire and full possession of Jerusalem itself. (For further historical setting let the reader consult 2Ki 18:13–19.; 2Ch 32:1-21.) The first peremptory message, with the proud and blasphemous boasts of Sennacherib, threw Hezekiah into great distress of mind and profound dismay. He appealed to the prophet Isaiah, who encouraged him to keep silence and trust in God (verses 1-7). A sudden rumour of an army marching in his rear caused a diversion of the Assyrians purpose, but meantime he sent another haughty message to Hezekiah, warning him that he was powerless to resist, and intimating his return presently to capture the city This was a written message (verse 14), and it again disturbed Hezekiah, but apparently his faith in God was not shaken, and so he resorted again to the temple and spread the whole matter out before the Lord and sought help and deliverance.

I. THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH. Hezekiah was a righteous, though not a perfect man. He was habituated to prayer.

1. The place and attitude of prayer. Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord. This was the proper standing-ground on which to make petitions. God had promised to meet His people there, and hear and answer their prayers (2Ch 7:14-15). We have not now any particular place in which to pray, but we have a Name which to plead–the name of Jesus, and whatsoever we ask in His name, other conditions being also fulfilled, shall be done unto us. Jesus is the true meeting-place between God and His people; He is the true ground on which prayer is to be made. By Him we have access to God (Eph 2:14). Then Hezekiah did another thing. He took the haughty and insolent letter of Rabshakeh and spread it before the Lord. So should we take God into our confidence, and in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make our request known unto God (Php 4:6). We too often plan our own deliverance or our own work and then ask God to ratify it, whereas the first thing to do is to spread the matter at once fully before God, reverently submitting to His plan and will, seeking in His wisdom the right thing to do.

2. The address. Here was a reverent remembrance of His majesty and a silent appeal to His power, in which also Hezekiah renewed his own confession of faith: O Lord of hosts, God of Israel. Israel was in trouble, and God was Israels God, not a mere titular deity, but the great God of hosts. This is a familiar designation of God and Jehovah, and refers to His universal sovereignty and power. That dwellest between the cherubim. This is a reference to the fact that God had been pleased to make His dwelling-place on the mercy-seat between those mysterious figures called the cherubim, from which place He was always graciously inclined towards His people. If the cherubim symbolise the incarnation (of which I, at least, have no doubt), then the reference to Gods position between them, or, as we would now say, God in Christ, is very significant. David made a similar appeal to now say, God on behalf of Israeal: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel; Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Stir up Thy strength and come and save us (Psa 80:1-2). Thou art the God, Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. The views of Sennacherib were that each nation and kingdom had their own gods (36:18-20), but Hezekiah ascribes to God not only aloneness in His being, but oneness, and universal sovereignty over all the kingdoms of the earth. He therefore could interfere in the plans of the Assyrian king for the purpose of frustrating them, as well as come to the defence of His own peculiar people; besides, there was a refutation and repudiation of the boasted idol gods who had been compared to Him. Thou hast made heaven and earth. It is a favourite thought of Isaiah and the old prophets, and indeed all the Jews who were instructed in the knowledge of God, to couple His redemptive with His creative power. Thus did Hezekiah throw himself on all the great attributes of God before he began his petition.

3. The supplication. Incline Thine ear and hear, open Thine eyes and see. Shall all the doings of this vain and proud braggart go past without Thine observation? Shall all his scandalous words in which he has openly derogated Thee pass by Thine hearing? True prayer has always reference to the glory of God, however much our own personal desires and needs may be involved in the things asked for. Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee (verse 10). Lord, refute and roll back that scandalous speech and reproach.

4. Confession. Hezekiah was not unmindful of the difficulties that opposed themselves to him, of the dangers that confronted him, nor of the truth of the statements of the letter concerning the power of Sennacherib. 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 two centuries they had had a steady career of conquest. There was no denying this; and many of the countries and kingdoms that had succumbed to their power were much stronger than that of Hezekiah at this time. There was therefore some show of truth in what they said (2Ki 15:19-20; 2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 16:9; 2Ki 17:5-6; Isa 20:1). Faith does not ignore difficulties nor close its eyes to precedents in which the enemy has triumphed, but then it is bold in the belief that God is able; and that what may seem to be failure is due to other causes than the lack of power or covenant faithfulness on the part of God.

5. The faith in which the prayer was made. Hezekiah having admitted the prowess of the great enemy, proceeds to say to the Lord that the triumph of Sennacherib over other nations and their gods proves nothing in this case, from the fact that the gods of the nations were no gods at all, but mere idols of wood and stone, the work of mens hands. Hezekiah in thus declaring his faith in God above all idols, seems also to call on God to make this truth apparent to the Assyrians. Here his jealousy for God momentarily rises above his anxiety for Jerusalem.

6. The petition. Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand. This is the simple, brief, and comprehensive petition. Just save us. We do not dictate the means, we do not dictate the nature of the salvation. Sometimes the most effective prayers are the shortest. God be merciful to me, a sinner, was a very brief prayer. So was Lord save me, but both were heard and answered; so was Hezekiahs.

7. The argument. Hezekiahs argument is all gathered up into this consummation, that the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art Jehovah, even Thou only. True believers long always that others may know their God. It is right for us to desire that our own may know God, and even our friends, but it is the part of the true Christian spirit to desire that even our enemies might know God, to long to see even all the nations of the earth brought to a saving knowledge of the truth. This was a true missionary prayer of Hezekiah. Sometimes the knowledge of God can only be spread by the overthrow of some great political power, or the removing of some gigantic enemy, such as Assyria and Sennacherib. It proved to be so in this case.

II. THE DELIVERANCE. After his prayer (we do not know how long after) Isaiah, who seems to have been supernaturally informed of the prayer, and in like manner put in possession of Jehovahs reply, sent word to Hezekiah, that inasmuch as he had submitted the matter concerning Sennacherib to God for help and deliverance, his request would be heard and answered. The following verses give an account of the answer.

1. The promise. The first part of this promise is to the effect that the virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee (verses 22, 23). This seems to be not only an answer to Rabshakeh for his vain and blasphemous boasting, but also an assurance to Hezekiah. The daughter of Zion, like a virgin maid, was in herself weak and helpless; nevertheless she held all the threatening of the Assyrian in scorn and contempt, and would shake her head in derision at him, either in defiance of his onset or following him with mockery in his retreat from the city. Then follows a message to the Assyrian direct, in which God rebukes him for his boastful blasphemies, and reminds him of how in the ages past God has overthrown and destroyed the nations which had presumed to oppose themselves to Jehovah. Then he is told that Gods eye has been upon him, and that now Jehovah was about to put a hook in his nose and lead him away out of the country in contempt, not even giving him the glory of a battle. Then follows another promise to the remnant of Judah that they should again take root downward and bear fruit upward (verses 24-32). Then comes again Gods Therefore, concerning the Assyrian.

(1) He shall not come into the city, not even near enough to shoot the first preliminary arrow at it, much less near enough to use shields, or even raise an embankment against it for the purpose of a siege. Sennacheribs army was not then under the walls, but only gathering in the distance, when the letter came to Hezekiah. God now assures the king that it shall not approach the city. He should be delivered, and that without even a siege.

(2) I will defend this city to save it for Mine own sake. This of course meant that, without even the secondary help of man, He would in a supernatural way defend it, and that for His own sake. Rabshakeh had defied God and put contempt upon His name, while boasting his own prowess, or that of his king. God would vindicate His name and save His city by such a demonstration of supernatural power, without the immediate agency of man, as would leave no doubt in the mind of the Assyrian as to the fact that the Lord was God indeed. Now and again God has done such things just to clear up the testimony and leave men no excuse for their opposition on the ground of ignorance. He did it with Pharaoh, who challenged His power.

2. The fulfilment. Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians, an hundred and four score and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses. This was an awful visitation. All the more so that it was done in the night and with perfect silence (2Ki 19:35). Who can withstand His judgments? Who is strong enough to fight against God? Let the wicked wonder before they perish at the rebuke of His countenance and the breath of His mouth.

3. Sennacheribs humiliation. It must have been an awful humiliation for this proud king to take his march over the same route by which he had approached Jerusalem, not laden with the spoil of the captured city, leading thousands of the chief men and princes, and King Hezekiah himself in his triumphal captive train, but with his shattered army to be the gazing stock of the countries he had subdued, and a by-word among his own people. We must fancy that he entered Nineveh with muffled drums, or no drums at all, with trailing or furled banners. When God does rise up to humble the proud, He does it thoroughly. A further humiliation awaited him. He went after up into the house of his idol to worship, not immediately, for he appears to have lived some twenty years after this defeat. But, at any rate, instead of his god defending him, much less giving him assurance of further victories, his own sons, who should have stood by and comforted their father, conspired together and slew him. So ended the career of this proud boaster, and so began the decline of this great Assyrian power. (G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)

Hezekiahs prayer and deliverance

It is said of Hezekiah that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel. Let us with reference to this side of his character notice some lessons suggested by this story of his trouble and his deliverance.

I. FAITH DISCOVERS GOD. The king of Judah needed such discernment to be sure that God was on his side. He must have been surprised when the Assyrian commissioner said to him, Do not believe that Jehovah will take your part; this is my masters message to you: The Lord said to me, Go up against this land to destroy it. That was not the first time nor the last when bad men have claimed Divine authority.

II. FAITH ASKS GOD FOR DELIVERANCE. The army of Judah understood very well that they were no match for the Assyrians: they were far weaker in numbers and were demoralised by a long experience of defeat and servitude. Sennacherib had taken pains to increase this impression. When this letter reached Hezekiah, he went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. That was his privilege–that is the right of every one who believes; it is our prerogative as Gods children. He offers us help in every extremity, only requiring that we feel our need.

III. FAITH INSPIRES FAITH. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, but not always. Like most men he found it easier to believe when he could see the way. When the Assyrian army was moving toward Jerusalem, in the early part of his reign, he was frightened: he forgot his God and so forgot himself, even sending to the invader this humiliating message: I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear (2Ki 18:14). And his unbelief spread. The people, who had little enough of spirit at the best, now, following their leader, gave up in despair. But there came to the king in his distress an inspiration–a friend had been raised up for his deliverance. It was the prophet Isaiah; a man who knew how to trust in the Lord at all times; when the sky was darkest he could see the stars beyond. When, after Samaria fell, leading men proposed an alliance with the Egyptian king, No he said woe to them that go down to Egypt for help. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He will deliver it. That faith inspired Hezekiah, giving him a reinforcement of courage which he very soon needed. He rallied and organised his forces for defence, and then went personally among the people, with the cheering exhortation, Be strong and courageous, &c. His faith inspired faith in them.

IV. FAITH OVERCOMES (verses 33-36). What delivered Hezekiah? Not his generalship; not his army it was the angel of the Lord. (T. T. Holmes.)

Sennacheribs letter

It is bad to talk proudly and profanely, but it is worse to write so, for that argues more deliberation and design; and what is written spreads farther, and lasts longer, and doth the more mischief. Atheism and irreligion written will certainly be reckoned for another day. (M. Henry.)

Hezekiahs prayer

Professor Cheyne refers to a striking parallel in the Egyptian version of Sennacherib s overthrow. On this the monarch (Sethos) greatly distressed, entered into the inner sanctuary, and before the image of the god (Ptah) bewailed the fate which impended over him. As he wept he fell asleep and dreamed that the god came and stood by his side, bidding him be of good cheer, and go boldly forth to meet the Arabian (Assyrian) host, which would do him no hurt, as he himself would send those who should help him. (Herodotus.)

Prayer a way of escape

I know an ancient castle on a high rock, which used to be garrisoned by soldiers. From inside the castle a long, winding passage, cut out of the solid rock, and called Mortimer s Hole, leads right away under the town, and opens up at a great distance. It was the way of escape for the garrison in a case of extremity. Prayer is such a door of deliverance, and no man can shut it. (I. E. Page.)

Prayer for help answered

When, Sir Josiah Mason once said, I have done everything I can and see no clear way, I say to myself, God help me. I have brought out all my judgment, my brain can do no more, so may it please Thee to give me a push. And, he added, I get the push, for as sure as I ask for help, help comes. (Sunday School Chronicle.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. And read it – “And read them”] vayikraem. So MS. Bodl. in this place; and so the other copy; instead of vaiyikraehu, “and read IT.”

And spread it – “And spread them”] vaiyiphresehu. hu is upon a rasure in a MS., which probably was at first mem. The same mistake as in the foregoing note.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

14. spreadunrolled the scrollof writing. God “knows our necessities before we askHim,” but He delights in our unfolding them to Him with filialconfidence (2Ch 20:3; 2Ch 20:11-13).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it,…. Or books k, in which the above things were written; and everyone of these he read, as Kimchi interprets it; though the Targum is,

“he took the letters from the hand of the messengers, and read one of them;”

that is, as Kimchi’s father explains it, in which was the blasphemy against God; this he read over carefully to himself, observed the contents of it, and then did with it as follows:

and Hezekiah went up unto the house of God; the temple, the outward court of it, further than that he could not go:

and spread it before the Lord; not to read it, as he had done, or to acquaint him with the contents of it, which he fully knew; but, as it chiefly regarded him, and affected his honour and glory, he laid it before him, that he might take notice of it, and vindicate himself, and avenge his own cause; he brought it as a proof of what he had to say to him in prayer, and to support him in his allegations, and as a means to quicken himself in the discharge of that duty.

k “libros”, V. L.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

This intimidating message, which declared the God of Israel to be utterly powerless, was conveyed by the messengers of Sennacherib in the form of a latter. “And Hizkiyahu took the letter out of the hand of the messengers, and read it (K. read them) , and went up to the house of Jehovah; and Hizkiyahu spread it before Jehovah.” S e pharm (the sheets) is equivalent to the letter (not a letter in duplo), like literae (cf., grammata ). (changed by K. into m- ‘ ) is construed according to the singular idea. Thenius regards this spreading out of the letter as a naivet; and Gesenius even goes so far as to speak of the praying machines of the Buddhists. But it was simply prayer without words – an act of prayer, which afterwards passed into vocal prayer. “And Hizkiyahu prayed to (K. before) Jehovah, saying (K. and said), Jehovah of hosts (K. omits ts e bha’oth ), God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim, Thou, yea Thou alone, art God of all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. Incline Thine ear, Jehovah, and hear , various reading in both texts )! Open Thine eyes (K. with Yod of the plural), Jehovah, and see; and hear the (K. all the) words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent (K. with which he hath sent him, i.e., Rabshakeh) to despise the living God! Truly, O Jehovah, the kings of Asshur have laid waste all lands, and their land (K. the nations and their land), and have put ( v e nathon , K. v e nath e nu ) their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, only the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. And now, Jehovah our God, help us (K. adds pray) out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou Jehovah (K. Jehovah Elohim) art it alone. ” On (no doubt the same word as , though not fabulous beings like these, but a symbolical representation of heavenly beings), see my Genesis, p. 626; and on yoshebh hakkerubhm (enthroned on the cherubim), see at Psa 18:11 and Psa 80:2. in is an emphatic repetition, that is to say a strengthening, of the subject, like Isa 43:25; Isa 51:12; 2Sa 7:28; Jer 49:12; Psa 44:5; Neh 9:6-7; Ezr 5:11: tu ille (not tu es ille , Ges. 121, 2) = tu , nullus alius . Such passages as Isa 41:4, where is the predicate, do not belong here. is not a singular (like in Psa 32:8, where the lxx have ), but a defective plural, as we should expect after paqach . On the other hand, the reading shelacho (“hath sent him”), which cannot refer to debharm (the words), but only to the person bringing the written message, is to be rejected. Moreover, Knobel cannot help giving up his preference for the reading v e nathon (compare Gen 41:43; Ges. 131, 4 a); just as, on the other hand, we cannot help regarding the reading as a mistake, when compared with the reading of the book of Kings. Abravanel explains the passage thus: “The Assyrians have devastated the lands, and their own land” (cf., Isa 14:20), of which we may find examples in the list of victories given above; compare also Beth-arbel in Hos 10:14, if this is Irbil on the Tigris, from which Alexander’s second battle in Persia, which was really fought at Gaugamela, derived its name. But how does this tally with the fact that they threw the gods of these lands – that is to say, of their own land also (for could not possibly refer to , to the exclusion of ) – into the fire? If we read haggoym (the nations), we get rid both of the reference to their own land, which is certainly purposeless here, and also of the otherwise inevitable conclusion that they burned the gods of their own country. The reading appears to have arisen from the fact, that after the verb the lands appeared to follow more naturally as the object, than the tribes themselves (compare, however, Isa 60:12). The train of thought is the following: The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the works of men: do Thou then help us, O Jehovah, that the world may see that Thou alone art it, viz., God ( ‘Elohm , as K. adds, although, according to the accents, Jehovah Elohim are connected together, as in the books of Samuel and Chronicles, and very frequently in the mouth of David: see Symbolae in Psalmos, pp. 15, 16).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Vs. 14-20: THE LETTER LAID BEFORE THE LORD

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; Exo 25:22; Psa 80:13, Deu 10:17; Psa 86:8-10; Isa 42:5; Isa 45:1-2).

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; 2Ch 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; 2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 16:9; 2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 17:24; Isa 2:8; Isa 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; Isa 25:9; Isa 33:22; Isa 35:4; 1Ki 18:36-39; Psa 46:10; Eze 36:22-23).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

14. Hezekiah took the letters. The Prophet now shews what kind of refuge Hezekiah had amidst so great calamities. He immediately went into the Temple, to lament before the Lord the calamity which: he could not remove, and to “cast upon him” (Psa 55:22) his grief and his anxieties. (51) Nor was this a blind or confused lamentation, but the pious king wished to move God by his tears and complaints to render assistance. We are taught by his example that, when we are sore pressed, there is nothing better than to east our burden into the bosom of God. All other methods of relief will be of no avail, if this single method be wanting.

And spread them before Jehovah. In “spreading the letters before the Lord,” he does not do this as if the Lord did not know what was contained in the letters, but God allows us to act in this manner towards him in accommodation to our weakness Neither prayers, nor tears, nor complaints make known to God what we need; for he

“

knows our wants and necessities before we ask anything from him.” (Mat 6:8.)

But here we ought rather to consider what is necessary for us, that is, that God should manifest that he knows the blasphemies of adversaries, and that they who have uttered them will not remain unpunished. The reason and design, therefore, why Hezekiah “spread before the Lord the letters” of the wicked tyrant was this, that he might excite his own earnestness, and inflame his own ardor, in prayer.

(51) “ Et jetter au sein d’iceluy sa tristesse et soliciltude.” “And to pour into his bosom his grief and anxiety.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

A KING IN TROUBLE

Isa. 37:14. And Hezekiah received the letter, &c.

The armies of Assyria had overthrown the cities of Phnicia and Philistia. Samaria had fallen. Many of the strongholds of Judah had been destroyed. Hezekiah attempted to turn aside the tide of war by sending a tribute to the conqueror. Like all compromises of unbelief, this act of submission resulted in increased trial. Sennacherib did not desire to make peace with Hezekiah. To have left Jerusalem unsubdued as he advanced towards Egypt would have been impolitic and unsafe. So he determined to destroy it, and sent a letter foil of boastful arrogance, threats, blasphemy, false insinuations, and insults toits king.
I. HEZEKIAHS TROUBLE.

1. Kings cannot escape trouble. Storms howl on mountain-tops when sunshine gilds the plains (H. E. I. 47; P. D. 2142, 2143).
2. Neither does piety prevent trouble. If it were an absolute evil, the righteous would escape it; but it is often an angel in disguise stooping to serve them. The best need discipline. The pious are often more benefited by trouble than by joy (H. E. I.116142).
3. Trouble may arise, not from our own wrong-doings, but from the wrong-doing of others. Sennacheribs lawless ambition then troubled the whole earth. God uses evil even to discipline His saints. He knew what Hezekiah needed, and used Sennacherib to discipline him (H. E. I. 85).
4. Great troubles may be conveyed to us by insignificant means. A letter only was received; but who can tell what trouble a letter may convey?
5. Hezekiahs trouble was great. It included
(1.) The threatened loss of his kingdom. He saw before him the loss of all his greatness and honour.

(2.) Threatened captivity or death.

(3.) Possible demolition of the royal city. Jerusalem was dear to every Jew. Especially so to Hezekiah, who had fortified and beautified it.

(4.) The ruin and exile of his people.

(5.) The dishonour of Jehovah. Sennacherib had insulted God. If Jerusalem were taken, His holy and beautiful house would be profaned, His glory tarnished, and His worship, which had been lately restored, obliterated from the earth.

II. HEZEKIAHS REFUGE.

All men have not a Divine refuge in trouble. The irreligious cannot rush into the sheltering arms of God. Hezekiah had done all that a wise monarch could do to defend his city (2Ch. 32:1-8), and after this he committed his way to God. Fanaticism despises means, but true faith uses them, and then soars above them to rest in omnipotence.

1. Hezekiah sought God, his refuge, in the Temple. For the spiritual training of a people who were to be Gods witnesses to the end of time, Gods presence was more especially revealed there. Special promises were given to those who prayed there. Moreover, it was Hezekiahs accustomed place of prayer. Helpful memories often crowd around us in places where we have prayed, and bear us up, as upon eagles wings, into the Divine presence.

2. He would set a good example to the nation. He would lead his people to seek God in that day of trouble.

3. He would publicly manifest his confidence in Gods power to protect and save. His faith found expression in an act which honoured God and quickened His peoples confidence in Him. He spread the letter before the Lord. A most significant acta prayer in action. Probably done in solemn silence, words afterwards rising to his lips. He would not answer this letter, but would leave it with God to answer it. Many letters might better be left with God than answered. If enemies threaten us, let us make God our refuge, and our deliverance also will be sure (P. D. 779).

Learn

1. So to live as to have those troubles only which come to us by Divine appointment.
2. In the greatest of these troubles never to despair of Divine help, but to expect it.
3. To be pious in prosperity, that when adversity comes we may have God for our refuge (H. E. I. 38773879).W. Osborne Lilley: The Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i. pp. 389391.

The conduct of Hezekiah recited here teaches us our first duty and best resource in any emergency. Sennacherib had captured all the defenced cities of Judah, and at length, determining to attack Jerusalem, he sent a taunting, boastful, threatening letter to Hezekiah, reminding him of the Assyrian conquests, and warning him against a vain confidence in the help of his God. This letter Hezekiah spread before the Lord in earnest prayer. The sequel shows how wisely he acted, and a consolatory message was sent by Isaiah to Hezekiah. Sennacherib was not allowed to shoot an arrow against Jerusalem; his army was destroyed, and he was compelled to return ignominiously to his own land, where he shortly afterwards perished. Here we have an example that should be followed by any one harassed, irritated, alarmed.

1. Sorrowful ones, take note of it. In this world there is much to trouble, harass, annoy us, but we should be more proof against such things if we were more accustomed to have recourse to the Divine helps graciously offered us. You know what a source of comfort it is to lay open your grief to a sympathising friend. This source of help and consolation may fail you, but there is no imaginable state in which you may not spread your sorrow before the Lord. Nor can any friend so fully enter into it, compassionate it, relieve it. What a privilege it is to have such a Comforter always at hand! How completely are they enemies to their own happiness who neglect to avail themselves of such an advantage (H. E. I. 37393741, 199, 2311, 2322; P. D. 96, 2820).

2. Connected with Hezekiahs sorrow there was fear. The more reason for spreading his case before the Lord, of all friends the most willing and able to remove the cause of apprehension. Daniel in the den of lions, Shadrach and his brethren in the furnace, Paul and Silas in prison, might be quoted in proof of Gods readiness to deliver His people from fear and danger. Whatever may be the nature or the source of your fear, spread it before the Lord (H. E. I. 4058).

3. Another feeling which the perusal of Sennacheribs letter was likely to produce in Hezekiahs mind was irritation. It was written in a tone of proud sarcasm, well calculated to produce this effect. If Hezekiah found any such feeling arise in his mind in reading it, what could he do better than lay it before the Lord? We are continually liable to meet with circumstances calculated to ruffle the temper. Then, if we wish to feel and act as Christians should, let us spread the case before the Lord; let us not trust to our command of temper, or to any resolutions we may have formed, but meet the sudden call upon our patience and forbearance by a prompt application to the Fountain whence those graces flow. It is possible to pray under any circumstances. Ejaculatory prayer is a most precious privilege, especially in circumstances of sudden trial or temptation. As anger springs up so suddenly in the mind in cases of irritation, it is most happy that there is an antidote to its evil effects on the mind that may be resorted to as speedily (H. E. I. 37653773). How much better is prayer than angry retorts (H. E. I. 261271).

The good effects of the habit of carrying everything to God are not limited to those three cases; they extend to every conceivable circumstance of trial or temptation. They have yet to learn the value of religion who do not know the difference it makes in a state of trial and affliction to have the privilege of turning to a reconciled and loving Father, and spreading our calamity before Him, and asking His tender and strong support. As trials may befall us any hour, we should live in constant fellowship with Him (H. E. I. 38723879).John Marriott, M.A.: Sermons, pp. 424436.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

SPREADING THE LETTER BEFORE THE LORD

Isa. 37:14. And Hezekiah received the letter, &c.

The letter was an insolent cartel of defiance from the Assyrian king Sennacherib, full as much of blasphemous defiance against God as of insolence to Gods servant. It represents the conflict between Assyria and Judah as being a struggle between the gods of one nation and the God of the other. The point of it is: Dont let the God in whom thou trusteth deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of Assyria. Thou hast seen what Assyria has done to all lands, and is thy God any better than theirs? So the king of Judah, very simple and child-like, picks up the piece of blasphemy and goes up to the temple and spreads it out before God. A very nave piece of unconscious symbolism! The meaning of it comes out in the prayer that follows: Open Thine eyes, O Lord, and see, &c. It is for Thee to act. That is the essential meaning of Hezekiahs action.

I. It was an appeal to Gods knowledge. For his comfort it was necessary to make this appeal. That which influences and agitates us, we need in some way to spread before the Lord. When some great anxiety strikes its talons deep into our hearts, we need to have the truth made clear to ourselves. The Eyes up yonder see all about it. A plain old piece of commonplace, but, oh! there is a deep, unutterable consolation when a man realises this. Thy Father which is in secret, seeth in secret.

II. It was an appeal to Gods honour. His prayer was this in effect: Hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God. I say nothing about myself, but it is Thine honour that is threatened. If this insolent braggart does the thing which he threatens, then it will be said, Forasmuch as this Jehovah was not able to save His people, therefore He let them perish; those who worship other gods will say, Jehovah is a name without meaningThy name, which is above every name! If a man has not got something like that in his prayers, they are poor prayers. With all humility, yet with all self-confidence, ask Him, not so much to deliver you, as to be true to His character and His promises, to be self-consistent with all that He has been; and let us feel, as we have a right to feel, that if any human soul, that ever in the faintest, poorest, humblest manner put out a trembling hand of confidence towards His great hand to grasp it, was suffered to go down and perish, there is a blight and blot on the fair fame of God before the whole creation which nothing can obliterate. But the feeblest cry shall be answered, the feeblest faith rewarded! Let us grasp the thought that not only for our own poor selvesthough, blessed be God, He does take our happiness for a worthy objectbut because His honour and fair fame are so inextricably wound with our well-being, He must answer the cries of His people (Eze. 36:22-24).

III. Let us take out of the story, not only what we ought to do when we go to God in prayer, but the kind of things we ought to take to Him. Every difficulty, danger, trial, temptation, or blasphemy by which His name is polluted, should be at once spread out before the Lord. But most of all the common things of everyday life! The small boy, whom one of our writers tells of, who used to pray that he might have strength given him to learn his Latin declension, had a better understanding of prayer than the men of the world can understand (H. E. I. 3756, 3757).
IV. Another lesson: If you have not been in the habit of going to the House of God at other times, it will be a hard job to find your way there when your eyes are blinded with tears, and your hearts heavy with anxiety. Hezekiah had cultivated a habit of trusting God and referring everything to Him; so he went straight into the Temple as by instinct, where he could have found his way in the dark, and spread this letter before the Lord as a matter of course. It is a poor thing when a mans religion is like a waterproof coat, that is only good to wear when it rains, and has to be taken off when the weather improves a little! If you want to get the blessedness of fellowship with God and help from Him in the dark days, learn the road to the Temple in sunshine and gladness, and do not wait for the bellow of the pitiless storm and darkness upon the path, before you go up to the Temple of God (H. E. I. 38773879).
V. What do we get by this habit of spreading out everything before God?

1. Valuable counsel. I do not know anything that has such a power of clearing a mans way, scattering mists, removing misconceptions, letting us see the true nature of some dazzling specious temptations, as the habit of turning to prayer. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the thing that perplexes us is that the steadiness of the hand that holds the microscope is affected by the beating of the heart and the passionate desires and wishes, and so there is nothing defined and clear; it is all a haze. Firmness of hand, clearness of vision, come in prayer to the man who is accustomed to take the harassing letter and spread it out before the Lord (H. E. I. 37413743).
2. A very accurate and easily applied test. I do not wonder that so many of us do not like to pray about our plans and about our anxieties; it is either because the plans have no God in them, or the anxieties have no faith. Anything we cannot pray about, we had better not touch. Any anxiety that is not substantial enough to bear lifting and laying before God, ought never to trouble us. Test your lives, your thoughts, your affairs, your purposes by this. Will they stand carriage to the Temple? If not, the sooner you get rid of them the better. And then, In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God; and, in spite of all the blatant Sennacheribs who have poured out their insolent blasphemies, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.Alexander Maclaren, in Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament, pp. 8185.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

3. THE PRAYER

TEXT: Isa. 37:14-20

And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah.

And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying,

O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to defy the living God.

Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries, and their land,

and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of mens hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them.

Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, even thou only.

QUERIES

Why spread the letter before Jehovah?

Why say God sits above the cherubim?

Why cast the nations gods into the fire?

PARAPHRASE

Hezekiah took the letter from the Assyrian messengers and read it for himself. Then, taking it to the Temple, he presented it before the Lord and prayed, saying, O Lord of hosts, Great God of Israel enthroned upon Thy Mercy Seat here in this Thy Temple, Thou art the Only God, King of all kingdoms, and Omnipotent Creator of the universe. Please turn Thine ears to hear my pleas and direct Thine eyes, O Lord, to see what I have to present to Thee. See, Lord, this letter of Sennacherib; it is a mocking defiance of Thy sovereignty. Admittedly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have conquered and destroyed all those peoples listed in the letter. Yes, they have thrown their gods into the fire and proved they were not gods at all but just pieces of wood and stone carved into images by mens hands. Of course, men can destroy gods like those. In view of this, my prayer to Thee, O Living God, is that Thou wilt save us so that all the world may know that Thou art the Only God.

COMMENTS

Isa. 37:14-16 PRAISE: Unlike Ahaz, when threatened by the Syrian-Israeli coalition, who went to the king of Assyria for help (see comments on Isa. 7:10-16), Hezekiah turned immediately to the Lord for help from his enemies. Hezekiah did not spread the letter before the Lord because he believed God would not know what it said had he not taken it to the Temple. His concept of God was not that of mysticism or paganism, as his prayer demonstrates. Hezekiah believed in a God who was omnipotent and omniscient.

Hezekiahs prayer ranks alongside the great prayers of the Bible as a model men today would do well to follow. It is brief, compared to the grand prayer of Daniel (ch. 9), but equally as reverent and believing. All praying should begin and end with praise to God. Jesus taught, Pray this way, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. . . . The holiness, majesty, righteousness, faithfulness, and sovereignty of God should be our first concern in prayer or evangelism or worship. Our salvation, our blessedness, our development into His nature all depends upon who He isnot upon what we are or what we want. Of course, we cannot be saved or blessed unless we want it, but we could want it forever and never have it if God is not Who He Is. Too much prayer is focused on petition and not enough on praise. Too much asking has a tendency to make our wants sovereign. Let us first pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth just like it is in heaven. . . .

The cherubim were the angel-like figures with wings, one on each end of the ark of the covenant, within the Holy of Holies in the Temple. They hovered over the mercy seat and were symbols to represent the place where Gods presence dwelt. Hezekiah, of course, did not think his God was a provincial God like those of the pagans, restricted to houses made with hands. He was merely reiterating his belief that Jehovah God was present where God said He would bein His Temple. He was affirming his faith that God was with the nation in their extremity.

Isa. 37:17-19 PETITION: Hezekiah refers to God anthropomorphically. That is, he refers to God as having human attributes (ears, eyes, etc.). This is true of both Old and New Testaments. Human attributes are the highest forms or symbols within mans experience by which he may express nonexperienced attributes! Anthropomorphism is an attempt to express the non-rational aspects of Gods being in terms of the rational. Biblical anthropomorphism is quite different from pagan concepts of their gods. The anthropomorphism of pagan religions describes their gods in forms of man and animals, trees, stars, or even a mixture of elements. To regard Jehovah God solely as Absolute Being or The Great Unknown is to refer to him or it, but if man is ever to think of God as personal, one with whom he can fellowship, man must think of God as Thou, and man can only conceive of Thou in anthropomorphic symbols. Hezekiah is praying, not to an Idea, but to a Person.

Note also Hezekiahs preciseness in prayer. He does not pray a generalized prayer for delivery from a general enemy. He prays the Lord to take action on the very words of Sennacherib. Specific prayer for a specific need. But what is the need? Hezekiah focuses on the fact that Sennacherib has defied the living God. The primary need, as Hezekiah sees it, is not physical deliverance but vindication of the sovereignty of Jehovah God (see Isa. 37:20). Hezekiah is well aware of the power of Assyria. He is a realist and no foolish optimist. The kings of Assyria have done all they brag about. They have laid waste the major portion of the inhabited world. They have even wreaked havoc and desolation in their own land (Mesopotamia) (cf. Isa. 14:20). This characterizes the Assyrians as a people thriving on war and desolation. They cared not that their warlike nature brought destitution even to their own land! One concept thoroughly established by the Assyrian conquests was the demonstration that the gods of all the nations conquered by them were not gods at all. When the Assyrians conquered a nation they took that nations gods (idols and images) and threw them into the fire and burned (wood and metal and stone) and melted them. The Assyrians proved that the gods of other nations were powerless. But what about the gods of the Assyrians?

Isa. 37:20 PURPOSE: Hezekiahs primary purpose was not for himself, not even for his country, but for the glory of God. Hezekiah is concerned for the honor of God. He prays that the power, sovereignty and uniqueness of Jehovah be vindicated before the eyes of the world. He is not willing that Jehovah be considered just another one of the provincial gods of the nations. God repeats over and over in the Old Testament that He acts for his own sake, and the men of faith in the Old Testament always prayed that God would act for his own names sake (cf. 2Sa. 7:21; 1Ki. 8:41; 2Ch. 6:32; Psa. 6:4; Psa. 31:16; Psa. 23:3; Psa. 31:3; Psa. 25:7; Psa. 25:11; Psa. 44:26; Psa. 79:9; Psa. 106:8; Psa. 115:1; Psa. 143:11; Isa. 37:35; Isa. 42:21; Isa. 45:4; Isa. 48:9; Isa. 48:11; Jer. 14:7; Jer. 14:21; Eze. 20:9; Eze. 20:14; Eze. 20:22; Eze. 20:44; Eze. 36:22; Dan. 9:17; Dan. 9:19). This is the most important concept of the Bible. All of mans hopes in this world or the next rest upon the vindication of the Absoluteness of Gods Person. Our every motive, desire, aim, prayer, action and concern must be that God will first act for His own sake. If His Word is not verified and confirmed and established, we are lost! The faith, once for all delivered to the saints, is the veracity, sovereignty, mercy, faithfulness, holiness of God as demonstrated and manifested in the Incarnate Son of God, who was Immanuel, God with us. (see special study, The Faith Once Delivered For All Time, p. 248.)

QUIZ

How does Hezekiahs reaction when threatened by enemies compare with the reaction of Ahaz (Isaiah 7)?

Why is Hezekiahs prayer great?

What is anthropomorphism and why is it necessary when speaking of God?

How does Hezekiah express his realism about Assyria?

What is the primary purpose of Hezekiahs prayer?

Why is this purpose so important in our relationship to God?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(14) Hezekiah received the letter.The Hebrew noun is plural, as though the document consisted of more than one sheet.

And spread it before the Lord.The act was one of mute appeal to the Supreme Arbiter. The corpus delicti was, as it were, laid before the judge, and then the appellant offered up his prayer. Mr. Cheyne quotes a striking parallel from the Annals of Assurbanipal (Records of the Past, vii. 67), who, on receiving a defiant message from the King of Elam, went into the Temple of Ishtar, and, reminding the goddess of all he had done for her, besought her aid, and received an oracle from her as a vision of the night.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (Isa 37:16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place perhaps in it unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee.

The virgin, the daughter of Zion This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God.

Hath despised thee It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

King Hezekiah Seeks To Yahweh ( Isa 37:14-20 ).

Isa 37:14

‘And Hezekiah received the message from the hand of the messengers and read it, and Hezekiah went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it before Yahweh.’

Hezekiah was slowly learning what he must do. No longer did he call for ambassadors from other countries but took the message and spread it before God in the house of Yahweh. It was a direct appeal to Yahweh by the intercessory priest of the order of Melchizedek, who represented his people before God, pleading for his city. The idea was that Yahweh Himself would then see it and know what had been said.

Isa 37:15-20

‘And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying, “O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Bend your ear, O Yahweh, and hear, open your eyes, O Yahweh, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their land, 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 Yahweh our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, even you alone.” ’

He describes Yahweh as dwelling between the cherubim. In the Holiest of all, the inner chamber in the Temple, was the ark of the covenant, over which was the mercy seat, the throne of Yahweh. And to each side of the mercy seat was a cherub (Exo 37:6-9). This was seen as depicting the heavenly reality (see Isa 6:2-3; Psa 99:1-3). Yahweh was Lord over creation.

He declares his faith that Yahweh is the only God and over all the kingdoms of the world, He is the Creator and maker of all things. Then he appeals to Him to listen to what he has to say. Let Him consider how His name has been blasphemed and what reproach is being brought upon it. (If our prayers had more concern for God’s glory and less for our own desires they would be more effective. Compare the Lord’s prayer).

But then he has to admit that the king of Assyria was to some extent right. They had indeed laid waste many countries and humiliated many gods. But that was the point. Those gods had been made of wood and stone and therefore could be destroyed. They were simply man-made.

Then he prays that Yahweh will reveal this difference and show His great power by intervening as He has promised (Isa 37:7), demonstrating to the whole world Who He is and what He can do.

The whole prayer emphasises that the teaching of Isaiah has not been lost on him, and that his mind is now clear on these central truths of the uniqueness of Yahweh, the folly of idolatry, and the transcendent power of Yahweh.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

4. HEZEKIAHS INTERCESSION

Isa 37:14-20

14And 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, 16And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that 14dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, 15of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. 17Incline 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 16the living God. 18Of a truth Lord, the 19kings of Assyria have laid waste all the 17Nations, and their countries, And have 18cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of mens hands, wood and stone: 19therefore they have destroyed them. 20Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that 20thou art the Lord, even thou only.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

Isa 37:14. , properly scripta, stands, like the Latin litcrae, for one writing (comp. 1Ki 21:8; 2Ki 10:1, where verse 2 interchanges with ; 2Ki 20:12, comp. Isa 39:1). The singular suffix following refers to the singular notion , scriptum.

Isa 37:15. The contents of this verse forms in 2 Kings 19 the beginning of Isa 37:15, and instead of , which is the more usual form of speech, it reads in 2 Kings .

Isa 37:16. . Grammatically it is, of course, not impossible to take as predicate and as in apposition with it. But then is in effect a formal, rhetorical emphasis of the predicate. But if is construed in apposition with the subject, then it is materially significant. For then it acquires meaning talis, and refers emphatically to the being of God as the inward ground of His works. This emphatic sense (= talis) has in reference to men Jer 49:12.

Isa 37:17. , according to the punctuation and according to 2Ki 19:16, , is to be construed as plural. is used only of opening the eyes and the ears Isa 42:20, comp. Dan 9:18.

Isa 37:18. Instead of we read in 2Ki 19:17 . If the reading in Isaiah be correct, then the following can only mean that the Assyrians have destroyed their own land, and that by depopulation in consequence of constant War [comp. Isa 14:20.Tr.]. But introduces a concession of the truth of what the Assyrian says, who boasts only of what they have done to other nations. It must then be admitted that 2 Kings has the more correct reading. There appears to be an alteration in Isaiah, probably occasioned by the less used of nations than of lands, and possibly also by the Isa 37:11., which reminds of Isa 37:11, means properly to make withered, then generally to waste, desolate, In its radical meaning and primarily it is used of lands, then also of nations (Isa 49:17; Isa 60:12; Jer 50:27). [ is used here in the sense of nations, as the singular seems sometimes to denote the inhabitants of the earth or land. This would at the same time account for the masculine suffix in .J. A. Alex. The Authors hypothesis to account for the variation in Isaiahs text is noticed by J. A. Alex., as urged by Gesenius, as is the case with much beside that the Author has to present on the same subject. In reference to the present instance J. A. Alex. says: Besides its fanciful and arbitrary character as a mere make-shift, and its gratuitous assumption of the grossest stupidity and ignorance as well as inattention in the writer, it is sufficiently refuted by the emphatic combination of the same verb and noun Isa 60:12,(which) proves that such a writer could not have been so shocked at the expression as to make nonsense of a sentence merely for the purpose of avoiding it. The reader will do well to observe, moreover, that the same imaginary copyist is supposed, in different emergencies, to have been wholly unacquainted with the idioms of his mother tongue [comp. Dr. Naegelsbach above at Isa 36:21 on , and at Isa 37:9 on ], and yet extremely sensitive to any supposed violation of usage. Such scruples and such ignorance are not often found in combination. A transcriber unable to distinguish sense from nonsense would not be apt to take offence at mere irregularities or eccentricities in the phraseology or diction of his author. The wisdom of this remark will no doubt in most minds outweigh the considerations that the Author offers, in the progress of his commentary on the present section, in proof of our text being second hand.Tr.].

Isa 37:19. describes, according to the succession of verbs , the concluding result.

Isa 37:20. . In 2Ki 19:19 the reading is , and according to the accents these words belong together, whether construed as predicate or apposition with the subject . Moreover the author of the Isaiah text seem to have combined them, and for this reason to have treated as superfluous. But it is certainly the most natural to separate the two words and take as predicate so that we obtain the sense: that thou Jehovah alone art God. Then the Isaiah text must be so understood, and be taken as in apposition with the subject , while the notion God is supplied from the context: that thou Jehovah, alone art (it, viz. God).

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. And Hezekiahsaying.

Isa 37:14-15. We learn here for the first that the messengers were to deliver a written message, for Isa 37:9-10 spoke only of an oral commission. The spreading out of the letter was a symbolic transaction. It verified on the one hand, the reality of the present necessity, on the other, it would, as it were, itself cry to heaven, the blasphemy of it should itself call down the divine vengeance. It recalls all the passages where mention is made of impiety that cried to heaven: comp. e.g., Gen 4:10; Job 16:18; Job 24:12; Job 31:33; Hab 3:11.

2. O LORDthou only.

Isa 37:16-20. That the Cherubim are only symbolic and not personal angel forms, as Lange would have it (Gen 3:24) is hard to believe. What Ezekiel saw (Isa 1:4 sqq.; Isa 9:3; Isa 10:2 sqq.), were not mere symbols, for symbols are likenesses, in which from a known greatness one infers the unknown. That partially agrees with the Ezekiel visions. For the rest these are of a transcendental nature. They open to us glimpses into the depths of the divinity, consequently into realities in fact, but into such before which we stand as before one that speaks in tongues. We must modestly refer the cherubim to the class of riddles that will not be resolved until the next life. It is a reflection of those heavenly functions of the cherubim, as they are described in Ezekiel, when we see the cherubim forms appear on the ark of the covenant as the bearers of the presence of God in the midst of the congregation of the Old Testament (Exo 25:18 sqq.). From the Kapporeth, from out the space between the two cherubim (ibid.22) the Lord will reveal Himself. Hence He is repeatedly designated as the (1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2; 2Sa 22:11; 1Ch 13:6; Psa 80:2; Psa 99:1). The thou art the God, even thou Hezekiah took from the glorious prayer of thanksgiving of his ancestor David (2Sa 7:28) in which the latter made known his faith in the glorious promise given to his house (ibid. Isa 37:12 sqq.). [See Text. and Gram.]. In reference to God, comp. Psa 44:5. Moreover one needs to examine closely in its context every single passage which may besides be drawn hither (Deu 32:39; Isa 41:4; Isa 43:10; Isa 43:13; Isa 43:25; Isa 48:12; Isa 51:12; Neh 9:6-7), see on Isa 41:4. Hezekiah evidently is at pains right thoroughly to emphasize the aloneness of God. Rabshakeh and Sennacherib himself (Isa 37:12) had most incisively expressed the heathen idea that every land has its gods. In contrast with this Hezekiah most decisively makes prominent that Jehovah is not merely a God, but the God alone for all nations of the earth: and that because he made heaven and earth (Gen 1:1; Isa 44:24; Isa 51:13, etc.).

The causal clause for they were no gods,etc. Isa 37:19, gives at once the reason why those victories of the Assyrians were possible, and the negative ground of comfort for Israels hope. They could desolate those lands and destroy their gods, because the latter were only mens work of wood and stone. But therein lay the reason for Israels hope. For Israels God was something very different: therefore the victory over those gave no ground for inferring that Assyria would conquer also the God of Israel. Isa 37:20 contains the prayer itself.

[The adverb now is equivalent to therefore, or since these things are so. The fact that Sennacherib had destroyed other nations, is urged as a reason why the Lord should interpose to rescue His own people from a like destruction: and the fact that He had really triumphed over other gods, as a reason why He should be taught to know the difference between them and Jehovah.J. A. Alex.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. On Isa 36:4 sqq. Haec proprie est Satanae lingua et sunt non Rabsacis sed ipsissimi Diaboli verba, quibus non muros urbis, sed medullam Ezechiae, hoc est, tenerrimam ejus fidem oppugnat.Luther. In this address the chief-butler, Satan performs in the way he uses when he would bring about our apostacy. 1) He urges that we are divested of all human support, Isa 36:5; Isaiah 2) We are deprived of divine support, Isa 36:7; Isaiah 3) God is angry with us because we have greatly provoked Him by our sins, Isa 36:7; Isaiah 4) He decks out the splendor, and power of the wicked, Isa 36:8-9; Isaiah 5) He appeals to Gods word, and knows how to turn and twist it to his uses. Such poisonous arrows were used by Satan against Christ in the desert, and may be compared with this light (Mat 4:2 sqq.). One needs to arm himself against Satans attack by Gods word, and to resort to constant watching and prayer.Cramer.

The Assyrian urges four particulars by which he would destroy Hezekiahs confidence, in two of which he was right and in two wrong. He was right in representing that Hezekiah could rely neither on Egypt, nor on his own power. In this respect he was a messenger of God and announcer of divine truth. For everywhere the word of God preaches the same (Isa 30:1-3; Isa 31:1-3; Jer 17:5; Psa 118:8-9; Psa 146:3, etc.). But it is a merited chastisement if rude and hostile preachers must preach to us what we were unwilling to believe at the mild and friendly voice of God. But in two particulars the Assyrian was wrong, and therein lay Hezekiahs strength. For just on this account the Lord is for him and against the Assyrian. These two things are, that the Assyrian asserts that Hezekiah cannot put his trust in the Lord, but rather he, the Assyrian is counseled by the Lord against Hezekiah. That, however, was a lie, and because of this lie, the corresponding truth makes all the deeper impression on Hezekiah, and reminds him how assuredly he may build on the Lord and importune Him. And when the enemy dares to say, that he is commissioned by the Lord to destroy the Holy Land, just that must bring to lively remembrance in the Israelite, that the Lord, who cannot lie, calls the land of Israel His land (Joel 4:2; Jer 2:7; Jer 16:18, etc.), and the people of Israel His people (Exo 3:7; Exo 3:10; Exo 5:1, etc.).

2. On Isa 36:12. [In regard to the indelicacy of this passage we may observe: 1) The Masorets in the Hebrew text have so printed the words used, that in reading it the offensiveness would be considerably avoided. 2) The customs, habits and modes of expression of people in different nations and times, differ. What appears indelicate at one time or in one country, may not only be tolerated, but common in another. 3) Isaiah is not at all responsible for the indelicacy of the language here. He is simply an historian. 4) It was of importance to give the true character of the attack which was made on Jerusalem. The coming of Sennacherib was attended with pride, insolence and blasphemy; and it was important to state the true character of the transaction, and to record just what was said and done. Let him who used the language, and not him who recorded it bear the blame.Barnes in loc.].

3. On Isa 36:18 sqq. Observandum hic, quod apud gentes olim viguerit adeo, ut quaevis etiam urbs peculiarem habuerit Deum tutelarem. Cujus ethnicismi exemplum vivum et spirans adhuc habemus apud pontificios, quibus non inscite objici potest illud Jeremiae: Quot civitates tibi, tot etiam Dei (Jer 2:28).Foerster.

4. On Isa 36:21. Answer not a fool according to his folly (Pro 26:4), much less the blasphemer, lest the flame of his wickedness be blown into the greater rage (Sir 8:3). Did not Christ the Lord answer His enemies, not always with words, but also with silence (Mat 26:62; Mat 27:14, etc.)? One must not cast pearls before swine (Mat 7:6). After Foerster and Cramer.

5. On Isa 36:21. Est aureus textus, qui docet nos, ne cum Satana disputemus. Quando enim videt, quod sumus ejus spectatores et auditores, tum captat occasionem majoris fortitudinis et gravius premit. Petrus dicit, eum circuire et quaerere, quem devoret. Nullum facit insidiarum finem. Tutissimum autem est non respondere, sed contemnere eum.Luther.

6. [On Isa 37:1-7. Rabshakeh intended to frighten Hezekiah from the Lord, but it proves that he frightens him to the Lord. The wind, instead of forcing the travelers coat from him, makes him wrap it the closer about him. The more Rabshakeh reproaches God, the more Hezekiah studies to honor Him. On Isa 37:3. When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest in prayer. When pains are most strong, let prayers be most lively. Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth.M. Henry, in loc.]

7. On Isa 37:2 sqq. Hezekiah here gives a good example. He shows all princes, rulers and peoples what one ought to do when there is a great and common distress, and tribulation. One ought with sackcloth, i. e., with penitent humility, to bring prayers, and intercessions to the Lord that He would look on and help.

8. On Isa 37:6 sq. God takes to Himself all the evil done to His people. For as when one does a great kindness to the saints, God appropriates it to Himself, so, too, when one torments the saints, it is an injury done to God, and He treats sin no other way than as if done to Himself. He that torments them torments Him (Isa 64:9). Therefore the saints pray: Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily (Psa 74:22).Cramer.

9. On Isa 37:7. God raises up against His enemies other enemies, and thus prepares rest for His own people. Example: the Philistines against Saul who pursued David, 1Sa 23:27.Cramer.

10. On Isa 37:14. Vitringa here cites the following from Bonfin Rerum Hungar. Dec. III. Lib. VI. p. 464, ad annum Isaiah 1444: Amorathes, cum suos laborare cerneret et ab Vladislao rege non sine magna caede fugari, depromtum e sinu codicem initi sanctissime foederis explicat intentis in coelum oculis. Haec sunt, inquit ingeminans, Jesu Christe, foedera, quae Christiani tui mecum percussere. Per numen tuum sanctum jurarunt, datamque sub nomine tuo fidem violarunt, perfide suum Deum abnegarunt. Nunc Christe, si Deus es (ut ajunt et nos hallucinamur), tuas measque hic injurias, te quaeso, ulciscere et his, qui sanctum tuum nomen nondum agnovere, violatae fidei poenas ostende. Vix haec dixerat . cum proelium, quod anceps ac dubium diu fuerat, inclinare coepit, etc.

[The desire of Hezekiah was not primarily his own personal safety, or the safety of his kingdom. It was that Jehovah might vindicate His great and holy name from reproach, and that the world might know that He was the only true God. We have here a beautiful model of the object which we should have in view when we come before God. This motive of prayer is one that is with great frequency presented in the Bible. Comp. Isa 42:8; Isa 43:10; Isa 43:13; Isa 43:25; Deu 32:39; Psa 83:18; Psa 46:10; Neh 9:6; Dan 9:18-19. Perhaps there could have been furnished no more striking proof that Jehovah was the true God, than would be by the defeat of Sennacherib. The time had come when the great Jehovah could strike a blow which would be felt on all nations, and carry the terror of His name, and the report of His power throughout the earth. Perhaps this was one of the main motives of the destruction of that mighty army.Barnes, on Isa 37:2].

11. On Isa 37:15. Fides Ezechiae verba confirmata magis ac magis crescit. Ante non ausus est orare, jam orat et confutat blasphemias omnes Assyrii. Adeo magna vis verbi est, ut longe alius per verbum, quod Jesajas ei nunciari jussit, factus sit.Luther.

12. On Isa 37:17. [It is bad to talk proudly and profanely, but it is worse to write so, for this argues more deliberation and design, and what is written spreads further and lasts longer, and does the more mischief. Atheism and irreligion, written, will certainly be reckoned for another day.M. Henry].

13. On Isa 37:21 sqq. [Those who receive messages of terror from men with patience, and send messages of faith to God by prayer, may expect messages of grace and peace from God for their comfort, even when they are most cast down. Isaiah sent a long answer to Hezekiahs prayer in Gods name, sent it in writing (for it was too long to be sent by word of mouth), and sent it by way of return to his prayer, relation being thereunto had: Whereas thou hast prayed to me, know, for thy comfort, that thy prayer is heard. Isaiah might have referred him to the prophecies he had delivered (particularly to that of chap. 10), and bid him pick out an answer from thence. The correspondence between earth and heaven is never let fall on Gods side.M. Henry.].

14. On Isa 37:31 sqq. This is a promise of great extent. For it applies not only to those that then remained, and were spared the impending destruction and captivity by the Assyrians, but to all subsequent times, when they should enjoy a deliverance; as after the Babylonish captivity, and after the persecutions of Antiochus. Yea, it applies even to New Testament times from the first to the last, since therein, in the order of conversion to Christ, the Jews will take root and bring forth fruit, and thus in the Jews (as also in the converted Gentiles) will appear in a spiritual and corporal sense, what God at that time did to their fields in the three following years.Starke.

15. On Isa 38:1. Isaiah, although of a noble race and condition, does not for that regard it disgraceful, but rather an honor, to be a pastor and visitor of the sick, I would say, a prophet, teacher and comforter of the sick. God save the mark! How has the world become so different in our day, especially in our evangelical church Let a family be a little noble, and it is regarded as a reproach and injury to have a clergyman among its relations and friends, not to speak of a son studying theology and becoming a servant of the church. I speak not of all; I know that some have a better mind; yet such is the common course. Jeroboams maxim must rather obtain, who made priests of the lowest of the people (1Ki 12:31). For thus the parsons may be firmly held in rein (sub ferula) and in political submission. It is not at all good where the clergy have a say, says an old state-rule of our Politicorum. Feuerlein, pastor in Nuremberg, in his Novissimorum primum, 1694, p. 553. The same quotes Spener: Is it not so, that among the Roman Catholics the greatest lords are not ashamed to stand in the spiritual office, and that many of them even discharge the spiritual functions? Among the Reformed, too, persons born of the noblest families are not ashamed of the office of preacher. But, it seems, we Lutherans are the only ones that hold the service of the gospel so low, that, where from a noble or otherwise prominent family an ingenium has an inclination to theological study, almost every one seeks to hinder him, or, indeed, afterwards is ashamed of his friendship, as if it were something much too base for such people, by which more harm comes to our church than one might suppose. That is to be ashamed of the gospel.

16. On Isa 38:1. [We see here the boldness and fidelity of a man of God. Isaiah was not afraid to go in freely and tell even a monarch that he must die. The subsequent part of the narrative would lead us to suppose that, until this announcement, Hezekiah did not regard himself as in immediate danger. It is evident here, that the physician of Hezekiah had not informed him of itperhaps from the apprehension that his disease would be aggravated by the agitation of his mind on the subject. The duty was, therefore, left, as it is often, to the minister of religiona duty which even many ministers are slow to perform, and which many physicians are reluctant to have performed.

No danger is to be apprehended commonly from announcing to those who are sick their true condition. Physicians and friends often err in this. There is no species of cruelty greater than to suffer a friend to lie on a dying bed under a delusion. There is no sin more aggravated than that of designedly deceiving a dying man, and flattering him with the hope of recovery, when there is a moral certainty that he will not and cannot recover. And there is evidently no danger to be apprehended from communicating to the sick their true condition. It should be done tenderly and with affection; but it should be done faithfully. I have had many opportunities of witnessing the effect of apprising the sick of their situation, and of the moral certainty that they must die. And I cannot now recall an instance in which the announcement has had any unhappy effect on the disease. Often, on the contrary, the effect is to calm the mind, and to lead the dying to look up to God, and peacefully to repose on Him. And the effect of that is always salutary. Barnes in loc.]

17. On Isa 38:2. It is an old opinion, found even in the Chald., that by the wall is meant the wall of the temple as a holy direction in which to pray, as the Mahometans pray in the direction of Mecca. But cannot mean that. Rather that is correct which is said by Forerius: Nolunt pii homines testes habere suarum lacrymarum, ut eas liberius fundant, neque sensu distrahi, cum orare Deum ex animo volunt.

18. On Isa 38:8 :

Non Deus est numen Parcarum carcere clausum.
Quale putabatur Stoicus esse Deus.

Ille potest Solis cursus inhibere volantes,

At veluti scopulos flumina stare facit.

Melanchthon.

19. On Isa 38:12. Beautiful parables that picture to us the transitoriness of this temporal life. For the parable of the shepherds tent means how restless a thing it is with us, that we have here no abiding place, but are driven from one locality to another, until at last we find a resting-spot in the church-yard. The other parable of the weavers thread means how uncertain is our life on earth. For how easily the thread breaks. Cramer. When the weavers work is progressing best, the thread breaks before he is aware. Thus when a man is in his best work, and supposes he now at last begins really to live, God breaks the thread of his life and lets him die. The rational heathen knew something of this when they, so to speak, invented the three goddesses of life (the three Parcas minime parcas) and included them in this little verse:

Clotho colum gestat, Lachesis trahit,

Atropos occat

But what does the weaver when the thread breaks? Does he stop his work at once? O no! He knows how to make a clever weavers knot, so that one cannot observe the break. Remember thereby that when thy life is broken off, yet the Lord Jesus, as a master artisan, can bring it together again at the last day. He will make such an artful, subtle weavers-knot as shall make us wonder through all eternity. It will do us no harm to have died. Ibid.Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo.

[As suddenly as the tent of a shepherd is taken down, folded up, and transferred to another place. There is doubtless the idea here that he would continue to exist, but in another place, as the shepherd would pitch his tent in another place. He was to be cut off from the earth, but he expected to dwell among the dead. The whole passage conveys the idea that he expected to dwell in another state. Barnes in loc.].

20. On Isa 38:17. [Note 1) When God pardons sin, He casts it behind His back as not designing to look upon it with an eye of justice and jealousy. He remembers it no more, to visit for it. The pardon does not make the sin not to have been, or not to have been sin, but not to be punished as it deserves. When we cast our sins behind our back, and take no care to repent of them, God sets them before His face, and is ready to reckon for them; but when we set them before our face in true repentance, as David did when his sin was ever before him, God casts them behind His back. 2) When God pardons sin, He pardons all, casts them all behind His back, though they have been as scarlet and crimson. 3) The pardoning of sin is the delivering the soul from the pit of corruption. 4) It is pleasant indeed to think of our recoveries from sickness when we see them flowing from the remission of sin; then the cause is removed, and then it is in love to the soul. M. Henry in loc.]

21. On Isa 38:18. [Cannot hope for thy truth. They are shut out from all the means by which Thy truth is brought to mind, and the offers of salvation are presented. Their probation is at an end; their privileges are closed; their destiny is sealed up. The idea is, it is a privilege to live because this is a world where the offers of salvation are made, and where those who are conscious of guilt may hope in the mercy of God. Barnes in loc.] God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2Pe 3:9). Such is the New Testament sense of these Old Testament words. For though Hezekiah has primarily in mind the preferableness of life in the earthly body to the life in Hades, yet this whole manner of representation passes away with Hades itself. But Hezekiahs words still remain true so far as they apply to heaven and hell. For of course in hell, the place of the damned, one does not praise God. But those that live praise Him. These, however, are in heaven. Since then God wills rather that men praise Him than not praise Him, so He is not willing that men should perish, but that all should turn to repentance and live.

22. On Isa 39:2. Primo (Deus) per obsidionem et bellum, deinde per gravem morbum Ezechiam servaverat, ne in praesumtionem laberetur. Nondum tamen vinci potuit antiquus serpens, sed redit et levat caput suum. Adeo non possumus consistere, nisi Deos nos affligat. Vides igitur hic, quis sit afflictionum usus, ut mortificent scilicet carnem, quae non potest res ferre secundas. Luther.

23. On Isa 39:7. God also punishes the misdeeds of the parents on the children (Exo 20:5) because the children not only follow the misdeeds of their parents, but they also increase and heap them up, as is seen in the posterity of Hezekiah, viz.: Manasseh and Amon.Cramer.

HOMILETICAL HINTS

[The reader is referred to the ample hints covering the same matter to be found in the volume on 2 Kings 18-20. It is expedient to take advantage of that for the sake of keeping the present volume within reasonable bounds. Therefore but a minimum is here given of what the Author offers, much of which indeed is but the repetition in another form of matter already given.Tr.]

1. On Isa 37:36. 1) The scorn and mockery of the visible world. 2) The scorn and mockery of the unseen world. Sermon of Domprediger Zahn in Halle, 1870.

2. On the entire 38. chapter, beside the 22 sermons in FEUERLEINS Novissimorum primum, there is a great number of homiletical elaborations of an early date; Walther Magirus, Idea mortis et vitae in two parts, the second of which contains 20 penitential and consolatory sermons on Isaiah 38. Danzig, 1640 and 1642. Daniel Schaller (Stendal) 4 sermons on the sick Hezekiah, on Isaiah 38. Magdeburg, 1611. Peter Siegmund Pape in Gott geheilighte Wochenpredigten, Berlin, 1701, 4 sermons. Jacob Tichlerus (Elburg) Hiskiae Aufrichtigkeit bewiesen in Gesundheit, Krankheit und Genesung, 18 sermons on Isaiah 38. (Dutch), Campen, 1636. These are only the principal ones.

3. On Isa 38:1. I will set my house in order. This, indeed, will not be hard for me to do. My debt account is crossed out; my best possession I take along with me; my children I commit to the great Father of orphans, to whom heaven and earth belongs, and my soul to the Lord, who has sued for it longer than a human age, and bought it with His blood. Thus I am eased and ready for the journey. Tholuck, Stunden der Andacht, p. 620.

4. On Isa 38:1. Now thou shouldest know that our word order his house has a very broad meaning. It comprehends reconciliation to God by faith, the final confession of sin, the last Lords Supper, the humble committing of the soul to the grace of the Lord, and to death and the grave in the hope of the resurrection. In one word: There is an ordering of the house above. In reliance on the precious merit of my Saviour, I order my house above in which I wish to dwell. Moreover taking leave of loved ones, and the blessing of them belongs to ordering the house. And finally order must be taken concerning the guardianship of children, the abiding of the widow, and the friend on whom she must especially lean in her loneliness, also concerning earthly bequests. Ahlfeld, Das Leben im Lichte des Wortes Gottes, Halle, 1867, p. 522.

5. On Isa 38:2-8. This account has much that seems strange to us Christians, but much, too, that quite corresponds to our Christian consciousness. Let us contemplate the difference between an Old Testament, and a New Testament suppliant, by noticing the differences and the resemblances. I. The resemblances. 1) Distress and grief there are in the Old, as in the New Testament (Isa 38:3). 2) Ready and willing to help beyond our prayers or comprehension (Isa 38:5-6) is the Lord in the Old as in the New Testament. II. The differences. 1) The Old Testament suppliant appealed to his having done nothing bad (Isa 38:3). The New Testament suppliant says: God be merciful to me a sinner, and Give me through grace for Christs sake what it pleases Thee to give me. 2) The Old Testament suppliant demands a sign (Isa 38:7-8; comp. Isa 38:22); the New Testament suppliant requires no sign but that of the crucified Son of man, for He knows that to those who bear this sign is given the promise of the hearing of all their prayers (Joh 16:23). 3) In Hezekiahs case, the prayer of the Old Testament suppliant is indeed heard (Isa 38:5), yet in general it has not the certainty of being heard, whereas the New Testament suppliant has this certainty.

Footnotes:

[14]seated on the, etc.

[15]to.

[16]living divinity.

[17]Heb. lands.

[18]Heb. given.

[19]and.

[20]thou Jehovah alone (art it).

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

Isaiah

THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH

WHERE TO CARRY TROUBLES

Isa 37:14 .

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 the letter before Him, and himself prayed God to guard His own honour, and answer the challenge flung down by the insolent Assyrian. It is noble when faith increases as dangers increase.

I. We have here an example of what to do with troubles and difficulties.

We are to lay them out before God, as we can do by praying about them. Hezekiah’s trouble was great. His kingdom could be crushed like an eggshell by the grasp of Sennacherib’s hand. But little troubles as well as great ones are best dealt with by being ‘spread before the Lord.’ Whatever is important enough to disturb me is important enough for me to speak to God about it. Whether the poison inflaming our blood be from a gnat’s bite, or a cobra’s sting, the best antidote is-pray about it.

How much more real and fervid our prayers would be, if we habitually turned all our affairs into materials for petition! That is a very empty dispute as to whether we ought to pray for deliverance from outward sorrows. If we are living in touch with God, we cannot but take Him into our confidence, if we may so say, as to everything that affects us. And we should as soon think of hiding any matter from our dearest on earth as from our Friend in heaven. ‘In everything , by prayer and supplication’ is the commandment, and will be the instinct of the devout heart.

Note Hezekiah’s assurance that God cares about him.

Note his clear perception that God is his only help.

Note his identification of his own deliverance with God’s honour. We cannot identify our welfare, or deliverance in small matters, with God’s fair fame, in such a fashion. But we ought to be quite sure that He will not let us sink or perish, and will never desert us. And we can be quite sure that, if we identify ourselves and our work with Him, He will identify Himself with us and it. His treatment of His servants will tell the world and not one world only what He is, how faithful, how loving, how strong.

II. We have here an example of how God answers His servants’ prayers.

It was ‘by terrible things in righteousness’ that Hezekiah’s answer came. His prayer was at one end of the chain, and at the other was a camp full of corpses. One poor man’s cry can set in motion tremendous powers, as a low whisper can start an avalanche. That magnificent theophany in Psa 18:1 – Psa 18:50 , with all its majesty and terror of flashing lightnings and a rocking earth, was brought about by nothing more than ‘In my distress I called upon the Lord,’ and its purpose was nothing more than to draw the suppliant out of many waters and deliver him from his strong enemy.

That army swept off the earth may teach us how much God will do for a praying child of His. His people’s deliverance is cheaply purchased at such a price. ‘He reproved kings for their sake.’

One man with God beside him is stronger than all the world. As the psalmist learned in his hour of peril, ‘Thou, Lord, makest me to dwell in safety, thou alone!’

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 37:14-20

14Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying, 16O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. 18Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.

Isa 37:14 This is obviously firsthand detailed historical narrative. It is very graphic and specific. Readers can see in their minds Hezekiah approaching YHWH, somewhere in the temple compound (cf. 1Ki 8:33), unscrolling these Assyrian messages before Him so that He could read them. Hezekiah mentions in Isa 37:4 that YHWH heard Rabshakeh read the message from the King of Assyria. Hezekiah now wants to remind Him of their arrogant and blasphemous character!

Isa 37:16 Notice the titles and ways Hezekiah characterizes YHWH.

1. O LORD of hosts

2. the God (Elohim) of Israel, cf. Jos 7:13; Jos 7:19-20

3. who is enthroned above the cherubim, cf. Exo 25:22; 1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2; 2Ki 19:15; 1Ch 13:6; Psa 80:1; Psa 99:1

4. You are the God (Elohim), cf. Deu 10:17

5. You alone, this term (BDB 94) is denoting monotheism here and YHWH’s choice of Israel as His instrument of redemption for all the world

6. You have made heaven and earth, Isa 42:5; Isa 45:18; Gen 1:1

See Special Topic: NAMES FOR DEITY .

Isa 37:17 There is a series of IMPERATIVES in Hezekiah’s prayer used as reverent requests.

1. incline Your ear, BDB 639, KB 692, Hiphil IMPERATIVE, cf. Dan 9:18

2. hear, BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERATIVE

3. open Your eyes, BDB 824, KB 959, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Dan 9:18

4. see, BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal IMPERATIVE

5. listen, same as #2

Hezekiah is using anthropomorphic language (see Special Topic: God Described As Human ) to beseech God to hear, see, and respond to the arrogant, blasphemous message of Sennacherib.

These same VERBS are used in Solomon’s dedication of the temple in 1Ki 8:29; 1Ki 8:52; 2Ch 6:39-40; 2Ch 7:15.

the living God This verse is very anthropomorphic (see Special Topic at Isa 6:1), attributing to YHWH human body parts as if He were a man. The OT presents God as an eternal, ever-present spirit. The term living God is a play on the name YHWH from Exo 3:14, which means I Am that I Am.

Isa 37:18 There was surely a measure of truth in Sennacherib’s claims.

Isa 37:19 The truth of Isa 37:18 is seen to be overstated because the gods of the cities mentioned were idols, not the true and only God! Idols were made by human hands. They could not see and hear and respond (i.e., Isa 37:17) as YHWH could, would, and will!

Isa 37:20 This verse has two VERBS.

1. deliver, BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil IMPERATIVE, cf. Isa 25:9; Isa 33:22; Isa 35:4. It is used fourteen times in chapters 40-66.

2. know, BDB 393, KB 390, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense. See Special Topic: Know at Isa 19:21.

This is a very important verse and shows the ultimate purpose of God’s acts. Israel was meant to be a kingdom of priests (cf. Exo 19:5-6). From the initial call of Abraham (cf. Gen 12:3), God’s plan was to deal with the entire world (cf. Isa 45:8; Isa 45:22). See Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan .

that You alone, LORD, are God This is surely an affirmation of the uniqueness of Israel’s God in the ancient world. He was God alone. There was no other (cf. Isa 43:11; Isa 45:5; Isa 45:18; Isa 45:21-22). This is the theological affirmation of monotheism!

The phrase art God is not in the MT, but is in the DSS, LXX, and the parallel in 2Ki 19:19.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

spread it, &c. See note on “lift up”, &c. (Isa 37:4).

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Isa 37:14-20

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying, O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth, Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; Open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to defy the living God. Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries, and their land, 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 Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, even thou only.”

Hezekiah’s spreading out Sennacherib’s letter in the temple was “a symbolical action” representing his prayer to Jehovah. It should not be thought of as the kind of worship seen in the prayer-wheels of the Buddhists, and the petitions written on pieces of paper and attached to sacred trees.

Hezekiah’s prayer here is a model in some ways. It acknowledged that Jehovah is over all nations and all men, the creator of heaven and earth, and that in him only is salvation. The basis of his petition, moreover is directed toward the benefit of all the nations of the earth, that they might know the one true God, and it is not marked by the narrow object of what would benefit Israel only. As Archer said, “He grounded his petition upon the need for the vindication of God’s glory, not upon his own personal need, or that of his people; because he realized they little deserved divine favor.

Isa 37:14-16 PRAISE: Unlike Ahaz, when threatened by the Syrian-Israeli coalition, who went to the king of Assyria for help (see comments on Isa 7:10-16), Hezekiah turned immediately to the Lord for help from his enemies. Hezekiah did not spread the letter before the Lord because he believed God would not know what it said had he not taken it to the Temple. His concept of God was not that of mysticism or paganism, as his prayer demonstrates. Hezekiah believed in a God who was omnipotent and omniscient.

Hezekiahs prayer ranks alongside the great prayers of the Bible as a model men today would do well to follow. It is brief, compared to the grand prayer of Daniel (ch. 9), but equally as reverent and believing. All praying should begin and end with praise to God. Jesus taught, Pray this way, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. . . . The holiness, majesty, righteousness, faithfulness, and sovereignty of God should be our first concern in prayer or evangelism or worship. Our salvation, our blessedness, our development into His nature all depends upon who He is-not upon what we are or what we want. Of course, we cannot be saved or blessed unless we want it, but we could want it forever and never have it if God is not Who He Is. Too much prayer is focused on petition and not enough on praise. Too much asking has a tendency to make our wants sovereign. Let us first pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth just like it is in heaven. . . .

The cherubim were the angel-like figures with wings, one on each end of the ark of the covenant, within the Holy of Holies in the Temple. They hovered over the mercy seat and were symbols to represent the place where Gods presence dwelt. Hezekiah, of course, did not think his God was a provincial God like those of the pagans, restricted to houses made with hands. He was merely reiterating his belief that Jehovah God was present where God said He would be-in His Temple. He was affirming his faith that God was with the nation in their extremity.

Isa 37:17-19 PETITION: Hezekiah refers to God anthropomorphically. That is, he refers to God as having human attributes (ears, eyes, etc.). This is true of both Old and New Testaments. Human attributes are the highest forms or symbols within mans experience by which he may express nonexperienced attributes! Anthropomorphism is an attempt to express the non-rational aspects of Gods being in terms of the rational. Biblical anthropomorphism is quite different from pagan concepts of their gods. The anthropomorphism of pagan religions describes their gods in forms of man and animals, trees, stars, or even a mixture of elements. To regard Jehovah God solely as Absolute Being or The Great Unknown is to refer to him or it, but if man is ever to think of God as personal, one with whom he can fellowship, man must think of God as Thou, and man can only conceive of Thou in anthropomorphic symbols. Hezekiah is praying, not to an Idea, but to a Person.

Note also Hezekiahs preciseness in prayer. He does not pray a generalized prayer for delivery from a general enemy. He prays the Lord to take action on the very words of Sennacherib. Specific prayer for a specific need. But what is the need? Hezekiah focuses on the fact that Sennacherib has defied the living God. The primary need, as Hezekiah sees it, is not physical deliverance but vindication of the sovereignty of Jehovah God (see Isa 37:20). Hezekiah is well aware of the power of Assyria. He is a realist and no foolish optimist. The kings of Assyria have done all they brag about. They have laid waste the major portion of the inhabited world. They have even wreaked havoc and desolation in their own land (Mesopotamia) (cf. Isa 14:20). This characterizes the Assyrians as a people thriving on war and desolation. They cared not that their warlike nature brought destitution even to their own land! One concept thoroughly established by the Assyrian conquests was the demonstration that the gods of all the nations conquered by them were not gods at all. When the Assyrians conquered a nation they took that nations gods (idols and images) and threw them into the fire and burned (wood and metal and stone) and melted them. The Assyrians proved that the gods of other nations were powerless. But what about the gods of the Assyrians?

Isa 37:20 PURPOSE: Hezekiahs primary purpose was not for himself, not even for his country, but for the glory of God. Hezekiah is concerned for the honor of God. He prays that the power, sovereignty and uniqueness of Jehovah be vindicated before the eyes of the world. He is not willing that Jehovah be considered just another one of the provincial gods of the nations. God repeats over and over in the Old Testament that He acts for his own sake, and the men of faith in the Old Testament always prayed that God would act for his own names sake (cf. 2Sa 7:21; 1Ki 8:41; 2Ch 6:32; Psa 6:4; Psa 31:16; Psa 23:3; Psa 31:3; Psa 25:7; Psa 25:11; Psa 44:26; Psa 79:9; Psa 106:8; Psa 115:1; Psa 143:11; Isa 37:35; Isa 42:21; Isa 45:4; Isa 48:9; Isa 48:11; Jer 14:7; Jer 14:21; Eze 20:9; Eze 20:14; Eze 20:22; Eze 20:44; Eze 36:22; Dan 9:17; Dan 9:19). This is the most important concept of the Bible. All of mans hopes in this world or the next rest upon the vindication of the Absoluteness of Gods Person. Our every motive, desire, aim, prayer, action and concern must be that God will first act for His own sake. If His Word is not verified and confirmed and established, we are lost! The faith, once for all delivered to the saints, is the veracity, sovereignty, mercy, faithfulness, holiness of God as demonstrated and manifested in the Incarnate Son of God, who was Immanuel, God with us. (see special study, The Faith Once Delivered For All Time, p. 248.)

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

received: 2Ki 19:14

and Hezekiah went: Isa 37:1, 1Ki 8:28-30, 1Ki 8:38, 1Ki 9:3, 2Ch 6:20-42, Psa 27:5, Psa 62:1-3, Psa 74:10, Psa 76:1-3, Psa 123:1-4, Psa 143:6, Joe 2:17-20

Reciprocal: 1Sa 30:6 – David 2Sa 7:18 – sat 2Ch 32:17 – He wrote 2Ch 32:20 – Hezekiah Psa 34:15 – and Psa 120:1 – my distress Isa 37:2 – General Jer 20:12 – for

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The response to the letter 37:14-35

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

When Hezekiah received Sennacherib’s letter, he took it with him into the temple and laid all the enemy’s words before the Lord in prayer.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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