B26-devotions

Going Deeper: (what you will find on the Bible study page)

The study will now examine the details of each of the three sections of Isaiah’s prophecy with a focus on what it means as an answer to prayer. Strictly speaking, Isaiah spoke these words before the Assyrian army actually left Jerusalem (see 37:36f.), and so the ancient Jews would have regarded it as a prophecy which was fulfilled; another example of the veracity of Isaiah’s prophecies!

Isaiah 37:21-29

Devotions for Thursday 19th June

As soon as Hezekiah came to the Lord in prayer and laid out the perilous state of the people of Judah in the Temple (37:14f.), he received an answer from the prophet Isaiah; and what a powerful answer! We read this passage from Isaiah from the point of view of knowing that Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, failed to take Jerusalem and as a consequence, Judah survived as a city state for another 120 years. So this prophecy of Isaiah is a triumphant confirmation of God’s control of history and His supreme command of the great Assyrian Empire, as well as God’s answer to Hezekiah’s prayer! It is fascinating that we have no record of Hezekiah doing any more than praying prostrate before the Lord; he did not summon Isaiah for this answer. Isaiah knew the situation and had previously encouraged Hezekiah when asked to help the King (37:5-7); but here, he simply received this message from the Lord. It was a miraculous and immediate response to the king’s prayer.

This prophecy is one of the most powerful prophecies in scripture to assert God’s absolute control over the affairs of nations and kings. The first part ridicules the grand assumptions of power paraded by the King of Assyria and his Commander in Chief. Their bragging was shown up to be just that! Despite their arrogant blaspheming (37:23), exaggerated claims (37:24), and tactical manoeuvring (37:25 – see notes and main study), Jerusalem would not be captured (as we find out formally in tomorrow’s study). Jerusalem was free to flaunt her independence and pour scorn on the one who sought to conquer her; the ‘virgin daughter of Zion’ tossed her head at Sennacherib, behind his back, and escaped his clutches! (37:22).

It is remarkable that this all happens as an answer to prayer. Some have argued that it is unfair for God’s people in general or Hezekiah in particular to be able to manipulate history by ‘pulling strings’ with God through prayer. That would be to misunderstand the purpose and meaning of prayer. Prayer is that communication between us and our Maker which brings us into line with His will for us; it does not pull God into line with our will, and there is a big difference between the two! In verses 26 and 27, God mocks the King of Assyria by declaring that His will has been governing affairs all along. God was in control and what was happening was according to His own plan (37:26). It was He who had made Sennacherib the great destroyer of cities and peoples (37:26,27), but the imagery of grass indicates that whatever destruction Assyria brought on people, they would survive; just like the grass which grows again after being scorched!

The last part of the prophecy describes God’s control of Assyria; the Lord ‘knows ... your going out and your coming in’ (37:28). This phrase comes from an ancient description of the activities of a king in warfare, leading an army out from his capital and back again, protecting his nation by securing its boundaries and fighting enemies. This was how the words were first used when describing David, ‘marching out and coming in’ (1 Sam 18:13), and the words came to signify peace and security in Israel, as in this famous psalm; ‘The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore’ (Psalm 121:8). However, the King of Assyria had not marched out and in to bring peace, but to ‘rage against me (God)’ (37:28), and for that he would be punished, as Isaiah had already prophesied (10:12f.)

This power of this prophecy lies not just in what it says about Sennacherib. Its power lies in the way it shows the power of God’s control of history. The events we have read may all have been in centuries past, but there is even more evidence now that God is in control, and there is no need to despair. Salvation is always God’s plan!

21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah which said, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Because you have prayed to me about Sennacherib King of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken about him:

The virgin daughter of Zion,

she despises you, she mocks you,

the daughter of Jerusalem

tosses her head behind you!

23 Whom have you despised and blasphemed?

Against whom have you raised your voice

and lifted your eyes up high?

Against the Holy One of Israel!

24 By your servants

you have insulted the Lord,

When you said,

‘With my many chariots

I climbed up the mountain height,

to the heights of Lebanon,

to cut down its highest cedars,

and its best firs,

to come to its farthest end,

its finest forest.

25 I dug wells

and drank waters,

I dried up with the sole of my foot

all the streams built for siege!’

26 Have you not heard?

I prepared it long ago?

I planned it from days of old

and now I have brought it to pass;

that you should crush fortified cities

into heaps of stones.

27 Their inhabitants have little strength,

dismayed and put to shame;

but they are like plants of the field

like shoots of grass,

like grass growing on housetops,

scorched before it grows.

28 I know your dwelling place,

your going out and your coming in,

as well as your raging against me.

29 Because you have raged against me

Your arrogance has come to my ears,

I will put my ring in your nose

and my bit in your mouth,

and I will turn you back to the way

by which you came.'

To read more about this passage of scripture: go to the Bible study page

To read the questions and discipleship challenges for this text: go to the discipleship page

Almighty and Everlasting God, we praise You for the mystery of Your ways. Within Your plan for the salvation of the world we are but a tiny breath in a vast expanse of sky. So like the air around us, use us according to Your purposes either visibly and invisibly, either with delicacy or with thunderous power. For we are fulfilled through knowing that as we submit to Your hands, we are part of Your plans for the world! AMEN

When the spirit is low, Jesus speaks,

But the soul finds it hard to hear;

For sin has hedged itself around the bruised heart

Like a barrier of brokenness; a barricade of stress.

We are brought this low too often

By things going wrong unawares;

The enemy has hurt us through what we love,

Our loved ones, our work, or God’s people, the Church.

One who loves the Lord suffers most,

From losing sight of God’s providence;

Our best is inadequate, and our spirits distressed,

But only confession to the Lord brings forgiveness.

So bring all to Him for His grace;

He strips the heart bare, however painful;

When we surrender to Him, the enemy is exposed,

And our brokenness is redeemed by Christ’s love.

Weekly Theme: the Bible

Pray for those who run schemes in churches to provide Bible studies and devotions to help people with their devotional life. If there is none in your church, seek the Lord’s guidance.

On-going prayers

Pray for your local police
Give thanks for the beauty of God’s world in which we are set
Pray about oil price rises which have affected the world economy

For the full Bible study, click link above,

or for a brief review, scroll page down.