WEDNESDAY
When Hezekiah receives word that Assyria is invading, he inquires of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet.
Isaiah 37:5–7 (NIV)
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’ ”
Then Isaiah prophecies the word of the Lord concerning Sennacherib and his fall.
Isaiah 37:23 23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
Sennacherib and his officials have ridiculed, blasphemed, raised their voices and lifted their eyes in pride against the Holy One of Israel. God is holy! He commands respect. He is awesome and separate from anything else in creation.
Isaiah continues his prophecy from the Lord, speaking to the pride and arrogance of Sennacherib. Sennacherib has defeated many nations and now views himself as an unstoppable force. But he does not know God.
Isaiah 37:26 26 “Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone.
God is here reminding him that, even though he has conquered many nations in battle, he has only done so because Yahweh had ordained it. God is sovereign over even the most powerful kings on earth. Sennacherib may be king of Assyria, but God is king of all the earth. (Ps. 47:7)
Isaiah concludes his prophecy with what God will do to Sennacherib.
Isaiah 37:29 29 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.
God, the sovereign God, will put his hook in his nose and his bit in his mouth and cause him to return. We know how a bit is used by a rider to control a large horse. Similarly, a hook in the nose was used to control large animals like oxen or bulls. So God is essentially telling Sennacherib, “You think you’re so powerful. I’m leading you like a beast to do what I want.”
Isaiah later concludes his prophecy:
Isaiah 37:33–38 33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. 34 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord. 35 “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” 36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Wow! Talk about God fighting for his people! The angel of the Lord puts to death 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp without Israel lifting a finger. Sennacherib is judged even further when he is assassinated by his two sons in the temple of his pagan god.
God can fight for us way better than we can fight for ourselves. He is the sovereign God. Sovereign over all the kings of the earth. Why would we not trust this God to fight for us.
Reflection
Put yourself in the place of an Israelite soldier in this battle scene. Imagine the crushing anxiety and fear as you looked out over the wall at this massive army besieging your city. You have no hope in yourself and your army’s ability to defeat this force. Then one morning you wake up and the army is gone. As you go out to the camp of the enemy you find 185,000 dead soldiers! God had fought for you! Imagine the awe and wonder at the power of God. Imagine the holy fear and reverence this would produce in you. Imagine the faith and trust that would result.