Isaiah Chapter 37 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Isaiah 37:1–2
On hearing it, King Hizkiyahu tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of ADONAI. He sent Elyakim, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and the leading cohanim, covered with sackcloth, to Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz.
At the end of chapter 36, we saw that the three leaders of Jerusalem were returning to tell king Hezekiah what the messenger from the king of Assyria had told them and now we see Hezekiah's reaction to the blasphemy that was spoken by the messenger.
We see that Hezekiah went into mourning and repentance as he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth which speaks of his desire to experience God. Then, we see that he went to the temple to worship God while sending the men who had spoken to the messenger from the king of Assyria as well as the leading priests to see the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 37:3–7
They said to him, "This is what Hizkiyahu says: 'Today is a day of trouble, rebuke and disgrace. Children are ready to be born, but there is no strength to bring them to birth. Maybe ADONAI your God will hear the words of Rav-Shakeh, whom his master the king of Ashur has sent to taunt the living God, and will rebuke the message which ADONAI your God has heard. So pray for the remnant that is left.'" When King Hizkiyahu's servants came to Yesha'yahu, he said to them, "Tell your master that this is what ADONAI says: 'Don't be afraid of the words you heard the servants of the king of Ashur use to insult me. I will put a spirit in him that will make him hear a rumor and return to his own land; then I will cause him to die by the sword in his own land.'"
The delegation that went to see Isaiah asked him to pray on behalf of the people and Isaiah gave them a message from the Lord. God said that he had the situation under control and that he would allow an evil spirit to enter the king of Assyria. This evil spirit would lie causing the king of Assyria to turn around and head home where he would die.
Isaiah 37:8–13
Rav-Shakeh returned and, having heard that the king of Ashur had left Lakhish, found him making war with Livnah. Then he heard it said that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia was on his way to fight him. On hearing this, the king of Ashur sent messengers to Hizkiyahu, after ordering them, "This is what you are to say to Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, "Yerushalayim will not be handed over to the power of the king of Ashur." You have heard what the kings of Ashur have done to all lands - they have completely destroyed them. So how will you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them? No, my ancestors destroyed them - Gozan, Haran, Retzef and the people of 'Eden who were in Tel'asar. Where is the king of Hamat? the king of Arpad? the king of the city of S'farvayim, of Hena and 'Ivah?'"
The rumor that the messenger of the king of Assyria heard was that the king of Ethiopia was on his way to fight with them. On hearing this, the king of Assyria sent other messengers to Hezekiah in Jerusalem. Once again the Assyrian messengers tried to get Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem to let go of their hope in the Lord as they spoke of the peoples that had been defeated in the past.
Isaiah 37:14–20
Hizkiyahu took the letter from the messengers' hands and read it. Then Hizkiyahu went up to the house of ADONAI and spread it out before ADONAI. This is the prayer that Hizkiyahu prayed to ADONAI: "ADONAI-Tzva'ot, God of Isra'el, who dwells above the k'ruvim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. Turn your ear, ADONAI, and hear! Open your eyes, ADONAI, and see! Hear all the words that Sancheriv sent to taunt the living God. It is true that the kings of Ashur have laid waste all the countries and their lands and have thrown their gods into the fire. For those were non-gods, merely the products of people's hands, wood and stone; this is why they could destroy them. Now therefore, ADONAI our God, save us from his power - so that all the kingdoms on earth will know that you are ADONAI - you only."
We see that, once again, when Hezekiah was faced with the choice of listening to these messengers of Satan or listening to the words of the Lord, He went to the Lord and prayed about the situation.
His prayer begins with the acknowledgement that God is the creator of all things and that, as the creator, God is greater than all that was created. In his prayer, Hezekiah recognized that the kings of Assyria were tools of Satan and he asks for God to judge the false gods of Assyria so that the entire earth would see the power of the one true God.
Isaiah 37:21–23
Then Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz sent this message to Hizkiyahu: "ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'You prayed to me against Sancheriv king of Ashur.' Here is ADONAI's answer concerning him: "'The virgin daughter of Tziyon despises you; she laughs you to scorn. The daughter of Yerushalayim shakes her head at you. Whom have you taunted and insulted? Against whom have you raised your voice and haughtily lifted your eyes? The Holy One of Isra'el!
We have seen the pride of the king of Assyria exhibited but God's answer to the prayer of Hezekiah is a message for the king of Assyria. In this message we see that this prideful king is going to be laughed at and despised.
Senchariv is reminded that his attacks and insults on God's people are a direct insult to God because of the fact that God has a purpose for his chosen people. The same thing is true for us as followers of Yeshua Messiah in that God has a purpose for us and an attack on us is an insult to God.
Isaiah 37:24–28
"'Through your servants you taunted Adonai. You said, "With my many chariots I have ascended the mountain heights even in the far reaches of the L'vanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best cypress trees. I reached its remotest heights and its best forests. I dug [wells] and drank the water. The soles of my [soldiers'] feet dried up all the rivers of Egypt." "'Haven't you heard? Long ago I made it; in antiquity I produced it; and now I am making it happen: you are turning fortified cities into heaps of ruins, while their inhabitants, shorn of power, are disheartened and ashamed, weak as grass, frail as plants, like grass on the rooftops or grain scorched by the east wind. "'But I know when you sit, when you leave, when you enter - and when you rage against me.
God's message to Senchariv is a reminder that God is over all things and he is going to bring destruction upon the kingdom of Assyria. Senchariv is reminded that God knows all things.
Isaiah 37:29–30
And because of your rage against me, because of your pride that has reached my ears, I am putting my hook in your nose and my bridle on your lips; and I will make you return by the way on which you came. "'This will be the sign for you [people of Isra'el]: this year, you will eat the grain that grows of itself; the second year, you will eat what grows from that; but in the third year, you will sow, reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
The message continues with the proclamation that God is entering the battle on behalf of his people and he gives a message to the people of Jerusalem. In the first and second years, the people of Judah would eat grain that grew by the supernatural power of God but, in the third year, the people would sow and reap a harvest.
Isaiah 37:31–35
"'Meanwhile, the remnant of the house of Y'hudah that has escaped will again take root downward and bear fruit upward; for a remnant will go out from Yerushalayim, those escaping will go out from Mount Tziyon. The zeal of ADONAI-Tzva'ot will accomplish this.' "Therefore this is what ADONAI says concerning the king of Ashur: "'He will not come to this city or even shoot an arrow there; he will not confront it with a shield or erect earthworks against it. "'By the way he came he will return; he will not come to this city,' says ADONAI. 'For I will defend this city and save it, both for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.'"
This passage speaks of the fact that a remnant of Judah would trust in the words of God and they would be sown into the land where they would bear fruit for the kingdom. In the same manner, God promised that another remnant would go out from Jerusalem in the last days and they too would produce fruit.
Because of this purpose, God promised to protect Jerusalem from the king of Assyria. The same thing applies to us today as we have a purpose and, because of that purpose, God will act on our behalf to fulfill that purpose.
Isaiah 37:36–38
Then the angel of ADONAI went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of Ashur. Early the next morning, there they were, all of them, corpses - dead. So Sancheriv king of Ashur left, went and returned to live in Ninveh. One day, as he was worshipping in the temple of Nisrokh his god, his sons Adramelekh and Shar'etzer struck him with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. So his son Esar-Hadon took his place as king.
We see that God sent one angel to accomplish his will in the matter of the king of Assyria as 185,000 of his soldiers were killed in one night. Upon seeing this, Senchariv left the land and returned to his home to worship his false god where he was killed by two of his sons and was replaced as king by a third son.
We see that, in all of this, all that the people of Judah had to do was to trust in the word of God and watch as he fulfilled that word.