Isaiah 37:21 says, Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: Hezekiah had prayed to God in faith even though everything looked terrible around him. When things look the worst in our lives, we still need to pray to God in faith, and He will answer us in grace, as Matthew Henry points out. I don’t believe that this means that everything will always immediately get better now, but by God’s grace we are already assured of the everlasting victory. We just need to patiently remain faithful to God.
Verse twenty-two adds, This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. God had a message for Sennacherib, and that was that he was not as powerful as he thought. God didn’t say that He had a great army that was going to defeat Sennacherib, but that the virgin, the daughter of Zion, was going to do so. I believe this was a reference to the coming birth of Jesus, Who is the One Who defeats all evil, but it wasn’t the virgin Mary herself who would do this, but her son Jesus Christ Who would. Of course, this didn’t happen in the time of Sennacherib, but I do believe it was a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ.
Verse twenty-three continues, Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah said that God was going to defeat Sennacherib because he had exalted himself and lifted up his eyes in pride as he defied God and His people. Those who lift themselves up today as being more powerful than God and defy His people and Him will one day realize how wrong they were to believe that they were more powerful than God.
Verse twenty-four states, By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. Isaiah said God was aware of the bragging of Sennacherib when he said by his great number of chariots that he was going to defeat anyone who stood against him, including God Himself. There are still nations today who believe that their military strength makes them unbeatable, and some even deny the existence of God, much less His power. Just as Sennacherib was wrong, so will all who stand against God be proven to be.
Verse twenty-five adds, I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. Isaiah said that God reminded Sennacherib that He could even control the supply of water. We need to acknowledge that God simply by His word is more powerful than any person or nation will ever be. Sennacherib was bragging about his powerful army, but God said He controlled even the water that Sennacherib’s army would need to survive. No matter how powerful a person or nation may believe themselves to be today, God is still the One with all the real power.
Verse twenty-six continues, Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. God asked Sennacherib if he had not heard that God had long ago worked mighty works, including the forming of the universe. If that were the case, then why did Sennacherib now think he could be victorious against the walled cities of God. God said that for Sennacherib to think that he was able to do anything by his power being greater than God’s power was pure arrogance. If we as Christians begin to believe that we are more powerful than anyone else because of our power and not by the power of God, then we are setting ourselves up for a fall.
Verse twenty-seven says, 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. Isaiah said that God had found those who opposed Him in the past to be of small power and that they ended up confounded and dismayed. We can look to God’s victories over other nations in the past to give us hope, but the main victory that we need to look to is the victory of Jesus Christ when He lived, died, and wad resurrected to defeat all of God’s enemies forever.
Verse twenty-eight adds, But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Isaiah said God stated the He knew of all the actions of those who defied and raged against Him. Just because people deny God and look to defeat those who serve Him doesn’t mean that God isn’t aware of their actions, even if He doesn’t immediately take action against them. No person or nation who works to destroy God and His people will ever stand when God’s judgment comes, no matter how powerful they may see themselves as being today.
Verse twenty-nine continues, 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. God said that even though Sennacherib thought he could come in and defeat God’s people that He was going to put a hook in Sennacherib’s nose and a bridle in his lips and turn him back the way he had come. Those who defy God and refuse to accept His gift of salvation will one day be turned away from heaven and sent to everlasting punishment.
Verse thirty states, 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. This sign was to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. That year, they were to eat the crops that had come up on their own, and the same would be true the next year, but the third year they were to sow and plant vineyards and reap the fruit of them. God didn’t say that their enemies would immediately be done away with, but they just had to continue to live faithfully to Him. Our enemies will not always be done away with immediately, but as Christians, we simply need to continue to rely on God to meet our spiritual needs.
Verse thirty-one adds, And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: Isaiah said that God had made a promise that the remnant of the house of Judah, those who had remained faithful to Him, would take root downward and bear fruit upward. As followers of Christ, we are already rooted in an everlasting relationship with God which He has sealed us to, but it is up to us then how much fruit we may bear.
Verse thirty-two continues, 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. Isaiah said that a remnant would go out of Jerusalem as well as those that had escaped out of mount Zion, because God’s zeal for them had assured this would happen. We as Christians have this same assurance today. God has already secured the everlasting victory over sin and death, and we just need to live in the knowledge that we are forever saved by His power if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
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