Isaiah 37 describes one of the great turning points in biblical history and what it means to trust the Lord during an overwhelming crisis. To understand this chapter, we need to consider the historical background that goes back to the reign of King Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah.
During the days of Ahaz, Judah faced a political and military crisis. The northern kingdom of Israel and Syria, tried to force Judah to form an alliance against the threat of Assyria. Instead of trusting the Lord for deliverance, Ahaz put his hope in men.
Through Isaiah, the Lord told Ahaz: “If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established” (Isaiah 7:9). But Ahaz chose fear over faith. Rather than looking to the Lord, he appealed to Assyria for help. He took silver and gold from the Temple to buy Assyria’s protection (2 Kings 16:7–8). The result was that Judah became dependent upon them for their security.
What appeared politically wise became spiritually disastrous. Assyria soon became a ruthless and dominating power. The northern kingdom of Israel fell in 722 BC under the Assyrians, fulfilling the warnings of the prophets. Judah survived, but only as a vassal state living under Assyrian control.
Then came Hezekiah his son who sought the Lord. He began spiritual reform by removing idols, restoring Temple worship, and calling the nation to return to the Lord. Politically, he rebelled against Assyria and refused to continue serving them (2 Kings 18:7).
This rebellion brought the fury of Assyria to fall on them. Under Sennacherib, Assyria invaded Judah in 701 BC, capturing many fortified cities and surrounding Jerusalem. Humanly speaking, Judah had no hope. Assyria was the superpower of the ancient Near East. Nation after nation had fallen before them.
This is the crisis in Isaiah 36 setting the stage for chapter 37.
Chapter 36 shows Assyria mocking God and attacking Judah’s faith through intimidation and fear. The Rabshakeh (the king’s emissary) stood outside Jerusalem and essentially declared: “Do not trust in the Lord.”
Now in chapter 37, the central question is will Judah respond like Ahaz with fear and political dependence, or with with trust in the Lord?
Isaiah 37 reveals that the real battle is not just physical warfare but theological. It’s a contest between flesh and Spirit, between trusting empires or trusting God.
The message of this chapter is that God can deliver His people if they will place their confidence in Him. Jerusalem will not be saved by military strength, diplomacy, or alliances with Egypt or other nations, but only by the power of the Lord Himself.
This chapter reminds us that our faith is often tested when circumstances appear impossible. When worldly powers seem overwhelming and fear presses in on every side, God calls His people not to panic, but to pray, trust, and stand firm in Him.
V 1-7 After hearing the mocking of God and His words the Rabshakeh, Hezekiah tears his clothes and covers himself with sackcloth. These are symbols of mourning, humility, and repentance.
Instead of turning to military strategy, Hezekiah goes to the House of the Lord. This is a major contrast with Ahaz in Isaiah 7. Ahaz trusted his diplomacy with Assyria, while Hezekiah seeks God. Ironically it is now Assyria attacking now.
V 2-3 tells us that King Hezekiah had sent, Eliakim and Shebna who were elders of the priests to Isaiah the prophet. And Hezekiah says through them to Isaiah: “This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver.”
Hezekiah does not speaki directly to Sennacherib or to attemp more diplomacy. Instead, he turns to Isaiah who was God’s prophet and acknowledges Judah’s desperate condition.
The phrase: “children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver” is a metaphor picturing the crises that Israel was facing. Judah is like a woman in labor with no strength left to complete the birth. Humanly speaking it was hopeless.
Often God allows His people to come to places where worldly solutions fail so they will finally depend on Him. So Hezekiah sends the priestly elder to Isaiah. Because the Word of God that comes through Isaiah and all His prophets provides wisdom and counsel in times of crisis.
Isaiah responds with reassurance in v 6 “Do not be afraid”. This is a command found throughout Scripture whenever God’s people face overwhelming circumstances. Then he says: The Lord declares that Sennacherib will hear a rumor, return to his land, and die there by the sword. What appears uncertain to us is already known and governed by God.
V 8–13 The chief advisor of the Assyrians received reports of Assyria’s departure from Lachish, in Judah (v. 8). Despite learning that Ethiopian troops (from Cush, v. 9) were coming against him, the king of Assyria sends a threatening message. “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
He then lists the conquered cities and defeated gods which reflect his world view and thinking which shows his misunderstanding of Israel’s God. He believes that if Assyria could defeat these nations and their gods, Judah and its God would not stand a chance (vv. 11-13). The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not a tribal deity. He’s Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. So, we see that this conflict is not just physical warfare but spiritual as well.
We need to have this perspective in mind in these days. God rules over all men as Paul writes in Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
V 14–20 This is one of the greatest prayers in Scripture. Hezekiah prays according to God’s Word and serves as a model for us in our prayers. He brings the threatening letter to the Temple and lays it before the Lord. This is the biblical pattern for our prayers as we are reminded in Phil. 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Hezekiah begins by exalting God and citing His Word and covenant relationship with Israel. That He is present behind the veil enthroned above the cherubim in the Holy of Holies. That He is the living God creator of heaven and earth.
Faith grows when we see God through His Word. Hezekiah does not deny the reality of the facts, Assyria has conquered nation after nation. But confesses that their victories came over gods who were idols made by human hands.
In v 17 He says that Sennacherib is taunting and mocking the God of Israel and in v 20 Hezekiah’s motivation in requesting the salvation of Jerusalem was not personal or even national but rather that the world might know that the Lord alone is God this was Daniel’s motive in his prayer when he was in Babylon (Dan. 9:16–19).
V 21–35 God then responds through Isaiah words directed to Sennacherib saying essentially, “you think you’re sovereign, but I have been directing history all along.” Assyria was powerful, but Assyria was merely an instrument in God’s hand. Just as the Lord allowed Pharaoh to oppress Israel in Egypt.
In v 26 “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass and in v 29 “I put My hook in your nose…” Like an animal led by its master, Assyria could go no farther than God allowed. He is the same today, no weapon formed against God’s chosen shall prosper.
The Lord mocks the arrogance of Sennacherib. Because pride always exalts itself against God. God always resists the proud in both believers and unbelievers and in the same way he lifts the humble who look to Him.
Kings and kingdoms rise and fall, but God alone is King. He provides a word of assurance if they will receive it. The people will eat wild crops for two years and then they will plant and harvest their own crops and vineyards. This sign brings to mind the previous sign the Lord offered Ahaz through Isaiah in Is. 7. Ahaz rejected the offer of a sign but Hezekiah receives it.
V 31-32 A major Isaiah theme of Isaiah appears again in these verses. “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.” Though judgment may come, God always preserves a remnant. The remnant survives not because of its greatness or righteousness, but because of God’s grace and covenant faithfulness.
V 36–38 Suddenly judgment comes. The Angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. Jerusalem is delivered without Judah doing anything. This recalls God’s provision at the Red Sea in Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” Salvation and deliverance belong to the Lord. Sennacherib returns home humiliated. Years later, while worshiping his god, he is assassinated by his own sons exactly as Isaiah foretold.
Assyria appeared unstoppable. Yet in one night the presence of Almighty God changed everything.
God often allows impossible situations so that we might learn dependence. Those times are sovereignly allowed and orchestrated by our God for God’s glory and to strengthen our faith and confidence in Him and His Word.
The story also relates the ultimate end of Sennacherib whose worship of Nisroch does not protect him from the assassination plot of his sons twenty years later (v. 38) in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in 37:7. The inclusion of this verse at the end of this episode has a ring of irony. Sennacherib’s god, whose power was going to destroy Judah, could not even protect one man who stood worshiping in his presence. This final description of Sennacherib’s death highlights the supremacy of the Lord and, ultimately, the futility of quests for power.
