Isaiah 37 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 37 Short Summary:

After the Rabshakeh threatened Jerusalem in the last chapter, the king of Assyria sent another message to Hezekiah mocking him and his God. Hezekiah took the king’s letter and presented it to the Lord in prayer. God promised Hezekiah that He would defend Jerusalem. God sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night.  

Isaiah 37 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• These events took place around 701 BC, which was the 14th year of King Hezekiah (36:1).

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• Hezekiah – King of Judah

• Sennacherib – King of Assyria

• Rabshakeh – Probably not a proper name but a title for a ranking officer of Assyria. The Rabshakeh carried Sennacherib’s messages to Jerusalem.

• Eliakim and Shebna – Hezekiah’s servants who spoke with the Rabshakeh.

DEFINITIONS:

• Cherubim (37:16) - Cherubim are winged heavenly beings that dwell with God. In 1 Kings 6, Solomon constructed two images of cherubim, each 10 cubits tall, whose wings spread out over the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple’s Most Holy Place.

OUTLINE:

• HEZEKIAH SEEKS GUIDANCE FROM ISAIAH (37:1-7):

  • Hezekiah was distraught when he heard the words of the Rabshakeh.

  • He sent for Isaiah the prophet in hopes of hearing that the Lord would defend Jerusalem for His name’s sake after the Rabshakeh mocked the God of Judah.

  • Isaiah told Hezekiah not to fear. God was going to deliver Jerusalem by sending a spirit to cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor and return to Assyria. In Assyria, God had already planned the demise of the king.

• SENNACHERIB’S SECOND MESSAGE TO HEZEKIAH (37:8-13):

  • The Rabshakeh returned to Sennacherib at Libnah.

  • When Sennacherib was told that the king of Cush was planning to fight against him, he sent a second message to Hezekiah in Jerusalem.

  • The second message mocked God as insufficient to save Jerusalem from Sennacherib’s power.

  • He reminded Hezekiah of all the gods of the other nations that had failed to save their people.

• HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER TO THE LORD (37:14-20):

  • Hezekiah took Sennacherib’s letter and spread it out before the Lord.

  • He prayed to God, acknowledging His greatness. He said, “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth” (37:16).

  • He asked God to listen to Sennacherib’s taunts and save Jerusalem so all the people of the earth would know He was the only true God.

• GOD’S RESPONSE TO HEZEKIAH’S PRAYER (37:21-35):

  • God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and sent a message through Isaiah.

  • God promised to humble Assyria. Their pride had gone too far.

  • Sennacherib didn’t realize that it was only by God’s permission that he had accomplished what he had.

  • God, speaking to Sennacherib, said, “Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came” (37:29).

  • God promised to defend Jerusalem and save it for His name and the name of His servant David.

• SENNACHERIB AND ASSYRIA ARE DEFEATED BY GOD (37:36-38):

  • When the Assyrian army was camped near Jerusalem, God sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.

  • Sennacherib returned to Assyria after his humiliation. He was later assassinated by his sons, just as Isaiah prophesied in 37:7.

APPLICATION:

• Don’t be like the people of Judah in this chapter.

• Isaiah had been prophesying for years that God wasn’t going to allow Assyria to conquer Jerusalem, but the people of Judah were terrified when the Assyrians threatened them because they didn’t know God’s words and promises.

• They didn’t care about what God had to say when times were easy, so they had no stability or confidence when times got tough.

• The same thing can happen to us. If we neglect God’s words during the easy times, we aren’t going to know what to do when things get hard.

• Cherishing and meditating on God’s words when life is easy will prepare you to weather turbulent future storms with faith

• A lot of people start picking up their Bibles when tragedy strikes (that’s a good thing), but ideally you want to be in your Bible long before tragedy appears on the horizon.