Isaiah 37:27-38
Isa 37:27
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power,
they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field,
and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as
corn blasted before it be grown up.
The nations which God destroyed were very small in power
in comparison to his power. These
nations thought they were all powerful but as their destruction was nearing,
they were dismayed and confounded which is discouraged and confused.
They were so weakened that they were compared to the grass of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people
is grass. (Isaiah 40:7)
The grass has no strength to oppose the mower and neither did these
people have any power to oppose God.
The green herb was eaten by the animals in the fields.
The grass on the housetops was dry grass under the sun.
The corn or any vegetable before it becomes sustainable for its
vegetables to grow such as corn when it is still a young stalk.
Isa 37:28
But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming
in, and thy rage against me.
God assures them that they are doing nothing that he is
not aware of and whatever they do is under the watchful eye of God.
He also knows their rage against him and their mouths will be stopped.
No matter how swift the actions of Sennacherib was, he could never outrun
the LORD’s ability to keep track of him.
Isa 37:29
Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up
into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy
lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Sennacherib had been exciting himself up as he continued
to rage against God convinced that he was powerful enough to take Jerusalem.
His rage against God had grown up into a commotion or an uproar and God
was well aware of all the blasphemies that he spoke concerning God.
Since he had spoken evil against God, he would put a hook in his nose
which was something that conquered people suffered as they had hooks placed in
their lower lips or rings in their noses and were led around like that by those
who conquered them. The bridle
would also be used to guide the animal in the direction the rider wanted.
So God is promising Sennacherib that he will be taken back to Assyria by
the way God will choose him to go and will not be allowed to conquer Jerusalem.
He will go back as one who is conquered and not one who is the conqueror.
Isa 37:30
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat
this year such as groweth of
itself; and the second year that which springeth of the
same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the
fruit thereof.
Then God gives a sign to Hezekiah.
The invasion of Sennacherib had caused the problem that Judah could not
plant and cultivate their lands.
Here God is promising them that the present year and the following year, they
will have food to sustain themselves as the food that was grown would be able to
grow each year but then God promises them that the third year they will be able
to sow their fields and then reap them in harvest and will be able to enjoy the
fruits once again as the land will once again be able to grow crops.
Isa 37:31
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah
shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
Those who escaped from the outer villages and towns of
Judah when Sennacherib invaded will once again be able to return to their towns
and take root where they have been living and they will once again prosper and
bear fruit upward, that is, they will flourish once again as they did before the
invasion in 701 B.C.
Isa 37:32
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they
that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
Those who escaped to Jerusalem would now be able to go
out from Jerusalem and return to their homes and cities.
The same remnant is described differently as they escape out of Mount or
Fort of Zion. The zeal of the LORD
for his people will accomplish this as he shows his love for his people.
This verse also has a great spiritual meaning in that there will go forth
from Jerusalem a remnant and that is the true remnant of believers as they begin
to send forth the gospel to the world.
To escape out of Mount Zion will be those who have escaped the Mosaic law
by means of the grace of Christ.
Of the increase of
his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
The zeal of the LORD of hosts has made Christ the Savior of all the Elect
and the zeal of the LORD of hosts will establish and grow the body of Christ.
The word “zeal” carries with it the idea of jealousy as God is jealous
over his redeemed people.
For thou shalt worship no other god: for
the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God:
(Exodus 34:14) The Apostle Paul
was also jealous over the Christians he had the privilege of leading to Christ
especially those in the early church.
For I am jealous over you with
godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to
Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2)
The zeal of the LORD was a protecting jealousy.
Isa 37:33
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of
Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come
before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.
Then the LORD assures Hezekiah that the threat to
Jerusalem was just that, only a threat.
He was assured that Sennacherib would not enter the city and that he
would not even have the opportunity to fire one arrow or even send any soldiers
against the city. He will not even
construct a bank which is a siege mound which would be something that invaders
build against a wall to allow the troops to be able to get over the defense
walls and into the compound.
Isa 37:34
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and
shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
Hezekiah was also assured that Sennacherib would not
enter Jerusalem but would return to Assyria by the way he came which was through
Arabia.
Isa 37:35
For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake,
and for my servant David's sake.
God states that he will be the defender of the city.
It will not be for the inhabitants of the city, although they will
benefit from it, but it will be for the glory of God and also to be faithful to
the covenant which he made with David.
And when thy days be fulfilled,
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which
shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. (2 Samuel
7:12) The covenant which God
made with David was to have a descendant of his sit upon the throne.
That covenant was the covenant of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who
will be in the lineage of David.
This is why the city of Jerusalem was not to be destroyed at this time.
Isa 37:36
Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the
camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they
arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
Then the fierce wrath of God fell upon the Assyrians and
destroyed virtually all of the army as the angel of the LORD had destroyed
185,000 of them which would have been the main fighting force of Assyria.
Now they were reduced to a small army and after this Sennacherib made no
more campaigns against anyone even though he lived for seven more years beyond
this.
Isa 37:37
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
So Sennacherib, shamed after that massive loss of his
army, returned to Nineveh a defeated foe.
Now he understood the difference between the false gods of the nations he
conquered and the true God which defended Israel.
Isa 37:38
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house
of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the
sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son
reigned in his stead.