Deliverance is One of The Great Promises of God.
The Rescue of Judah From The Assyrian Threat:
God’s Wonderful Deliverance (Isaiah 37:21–38).
21Then
Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent this message to King Hezekiah: “The Lord God of
Israel says: This is my answer to your prayer against Sennacherib, Assyria’s
king.
22“The Lord says to him: My people—the helpless virgin daughter of Zion—laughs at you and scoffs and shakes her head at you in scorn. 23Who is it you scoffed against and mocked? Whom did you revile? At whom did you direct your violence and pride? It was against the Holy One of Israel! 24You have sent your messengers to mock the Lord. You boast, ‘I came with my mighty army against the nations of the west. I cut down the tallest cedars and choicest cypress trees. I conquered their highest mountains and destroyed their thickest forests.’
25“You boast of wells you’ve dug in many a conquered land, and Egypt with all its armies is no obstacle to you! 26But do you not yet know that it was I who decided all this long ago? That it was I who gave you all this power from ancient times? I have caused all this to happen as I planned—that you should crush walled cities into ruined heaps. 27That’s why their people had so little power and were such easy prey for you. They were as helpless as the grass, as tender plants you trample down beneath your feet, as the grass upon the housetops, burnt yellow by the sun. 28But I know you well—your comings and goings and all you do—and the way you have raged against me. 29Because of your anger against the Lord—and I heard it all!—I have put a hook in your nose and a bit in your mouth and led you back to your own land by the same road you came.”
30Then
God said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that I am the one who is delivering
this city from the king of Assyria: This yearb he will abandon his
siege. Although it is too late now to plant your crops, and you will have only
volunteer grain this fall, still it will give you enough seed for a small
harvest next year, and two years from now you will be living in luxury again. 31And
you who are left in Judah will take root again in your own soil and flourish
and multiply. 32For a remnant shall go out from Jerusalem to
repopulate the land; the power of the Lord Almighty will cause all this to come
to pass.
33“As
for the king of Assyria, his armies shall not enter Jerusalem, nor shoot their
arrows there, nor march outside its gates, nor build up an earthen bank against
its walls. 34He will return to his own country by the road he came
on and will not enter this city, says the Lord. 35For my own honor I
will defend it and in memory of my servant David.”
36That night the Angel of the Lord went out to the camp of the Assyrians and killed 185,000 soldiers; when the living wakened the next morning, all these lay dead before them. 37Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, returned to his own country, Nineveh. 38And one day while he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords; then they escaped into the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son became king.[1] (Isaiah37:21–38)
The Rescue of Judah From The Assyrian Threat: God’s Wonderful Deliverance
The Lord reinforced the wonderful promise he had given earlier to Hezekiah. The king and his people would be delivered from the Assyrian threat. Even while Hezekiah was in the temple praying, the Lord was giving a message to Isaiah to take to the king. Isaiah brought God’s message—14 verses long—in the form of a poem or song, a song of judgment against the Assyrian king Sennacherib (vv. 22–35). Then in the final three verses of the chapter, we see the judgment of God against King Sennacherib taking place just as the prophet Isaiah predicted (vv. 36–38).
a. Conveying God’s message to Hezekiah, Isaiah declared the judgment of God against King Sennacherib (vv. 21–22). The Assyrian king would flee Jerusalem; and as he fled, he would be mocked by the people. Note that Jerusalem is referred to as The Virgin Daughter of Zion, which simply means that no enemy had ever conquered or defiled the city, not since it had been made the capital of Israel by King David.
b. After
giving the details of the judgment, Isaiah stated why Sennacherib was to be
severely punished (vv. 23–25). First, he had ridiculed and
blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, the Lord God of the universe Himself.
Second, he had heaped insults on the Lord, on the God who would not tolerate
insults or rejection. Third, the king had considered himself above all men and
gods, boasting of his military power (vv. 24–25). He had taken great
pride in himself, bragging …
Ø
that he could conquer all mountains or nations
Ø
that he could cut down the tallest trees, that
is, leaders
Ø
that he could reach the farthest parts of the
earth
Ø
that he could dig wells and drink the freshwater
of foreign lands
Ø that he had the power to dry up the rivers of Egypt, that is, their defenses
c. God then charged the Assyrian king with being ignorant of a very basic truth. What was this truth? That the Lord Himself was sovereign over all men and nations (vv. 26–28). It was God Himself who had ordained the rise and superpower status of Assyria.
23He raises up a nation and then destroys it.
He makes it great and then reduces it to nothing. 24-25He
takes away the understanding of presidents and kings and leaves them wandering,
lost, and groping, without a guiding light.[2]
Note: God has irrefutable, irresistible authority and power over nations (Job 12:23-25.). God’s power is not limited to the fate of individuals; He controls the destiny of entire nations. He causes nations to rise and fall, to expand their territory or lose it. He can make a nation great, or He can destroy it and disperse its people in an instant. God’s unlimited wisdom and power over nations is a clear reason Job placed his trust in God and called upon Him throughout his life. God's unlimited power and wisdom work equally in our lives and is equally a clear reason to place our faith and trust in Him for our lives here and now and our eternal destiny.[3]
The Lord had
used Assyria as an instrument to weaken, discipline, and correct other nations.
Therefore, it was because of God alone that Assyria had been raised up by the Lord
to become a world power. Judgment, discipline, and correction had to be carried
out upon the nations of the world to stir them to turn and cry out to the Lord.
Furthermore, God was not only sovereign over Assyria and the other nations of the world, but He also knew every movement of the Assyrian king and his rage against the Lord (v. 28).
d. After pronouncing the Lord’s judgment upon King Sennacherib and Assyria, Isaiah declared that the king would be defeated, subdued like an animal, and returned to his own land (v. 29). Sennacherib’s rage and arrogance against the Lord were the reasons he was to suffer the Lord’s judgment. Note the reference to a hook being put in the king’s nose and a bit in his mouth. The hook and bit were generally used to control animals, but it was the practice of the Assyrians to use hooks and bits to control their prisoners.
e. Turning
to Hezekiah, Isaiah gave a sign that assured the king of God’s wonderful
provision (vv. 30–32). All that had been invaded and defeated by Assyria,
which was everything except Jerusalem, would recover from the invasion after
two years. The people would be able to sow and reap in the third year. Note how
this wonderful promise is broken down year by year. In the first year, the year
of the invasion, the people had not been able to plant their crops. But there
would already be enough food grown in the fields to feed the population that
had survived. During the second year, there would still be enough food
sprouting from what had spilled upon the ground. In the third year, the people
would be able to cultivate the land and reap the harvest.
Still, the wonderful assurance of food was not all that God was promising. Judah would also be left with a remnant, survivors who would experience a miraculous growth in population (Is. 10:20–23). In His zeal, the Lord of Hosts would fulfill this promise. Note how the remnant referred to in these verses applies both to that day and to the day of the Messiah (Ro. 11:5).
f. In
closing, Isaiah shared the clear, unmistakable assurance of God: the Assyrian
king would not conquer Jerusalem (vv. 33–35).
Ø
The Assyrian king would not enter the city,
attack, shoot an arrow, nor lay a siege ramp against Jerusalem (2 K. 25:1–21).
Ø
The Assyrian king would quickly return to his
own land, going back by the quickest route he knew.
Ø
The Assyrian king would definitely not enter the
city of Jerusalem.
Ø The city would be defended by God Himself defended for God’s own honor and for the sake of David.
g. That very night the judgment of God against Assyria and King Sennacherib fell. The prophecy of Isaiah came true, and the promise of God was fulfilled (vv. 36–38). During the night, the Angel of the Lord went into the Assyrian camp and executed 185,000 soldiers. Utterly shocked and not understanding what had happened, the Assyrian survivors broke camp and withdrew, returning to Nineveh. And note, that the Assyrian army remained in Ninevah and lived there. Sometime after returning, King Sennacherib was assassinated while worshipping in the temple of his false god Nishroch (v. 38). He was killed by two of his own sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer. Right after his death, he was succeeded by another son, Esarhaddon.
Thought 1. Deliverance is one of the great promises of God. When we call
upon God for deliverance, one of two things happens: either God miraculously
delivers us, or else He gives us the power to walk through the obstacle
standing in our way. Even in facing the obstacle of death, power is available
to the believer. Quicker than the eye can blink, the power of God transfers the
believer from this physical earth into the spiritual world. Death is conquered,
triumphed over. And the believer lives forever in God’s presence.
No matter what confronts us—disease, accident, financial difficulty, divorce, or any other trial or hardship—God promises to deliver us. If we will turn to the Lord for deliverance, cry out to Him in prayer, and genuinely trust Him to deliver, He will give us the power to overcome the hindrance or to walk through it victoriously. Listen to the wonderful promises of God’s deliverance:
V “Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… Nay, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro. 8:35,
37–39).
V “There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it” (1 Co. 10:13).
V “Now unto Him, that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us” (Ep. 3:20).
V “For we would not, brethren, have you
ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of
measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had
the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but
in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth
deliver: in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (2 Co. 1:8–10).
V “And the Lord shall deliver me from every
evil work, and will preserve me unto His
heavenly kingdom: to Whom be glory forever
and ever. Amen” (2 Ti. 4:18).
V “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that
through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage” (He. 2:14–15).
V “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly
out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished” (2 Pe. 2:9).
V “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn. 5:4–5).
V “He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea,
in seven [the full number of trials] there shall no evil touch thee” (Jb. 5:19).
V “Through Thee will we push down our enemies:
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us” (Ps. 44:5).
V “And even
to your old age, I am He; and even to hoar [gray] hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will
deliver you” (Is. 46:4).
V “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord”
(Je. 1:8).
V “He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in the earth, Who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions” (Da. 6:27).[4]
b 37:30
This year, implied. two years from now you will be living in
luxury again. The third harvest from then would yield a bumper crop.
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2010. Job. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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