Isaiah 37:1
And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
When Hezekiah heard the blasphemy, taunts and insults of a great and mighty army come up against the land and Jerusalem, he did not meet his enemies in his own strength though outnumbered, but rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD in grief and humility to seek the Lord for counsel, help, protection and deliverance. His humble seeking opened the way for God's message to him through the prophet and for the Lord's wonderful deliverance from the power of Assyria by His angel, and when he laid the insulting message before God and prayed to be delivered from the mighty host his prayer was answered in the loss of 185,000 men of the invading army in one night, showing he was not helpless while God was with him. That overthrow stands as God's most notable witness to Assyria that He is God above all, borne after that nation arose to world power and influence and then grew corrupt and went far from God, following His gracious call to repentance through the Hebrew prophet Jonah and other repeated witnesses. Isaiah and Hezekiah together are examples of subduing enemies through faith for Christians who retain that faith and the church's spiritual gifts to follow, while Hezekiah as a great and good king also illustrates human frailty and the lesson against trusting in men.
Setting and Meaning
Isaiah 37:1 belongs to the first part of Isaiah, chapters 1 to 39, which contains prophecies and historical accounts from Isaiah's time of active work among rulers and people as God's messenger to the nation. That first part is made up of separate prophecies given at different times and on different occasions and afterward gathered into one collection. Chapters 40 to 66 are distinct from it, being occupied wholly with the future.
The verse opens the account in Isaiah 37:1-38 of Sennacherib's campaign against Judah, which came from the southwest. That account helps distinguish this campaign from the earlier campaign described in Isaiah 10, which came from the northeast and was made by Sargon.
The thirty-seventh chapter of Isaiah is alike to the nineteenth chapter of 2 Kings, so the two chapters give the same account of Hezekiah's reign. The parallel holds with considerable verbal difference between the two tellings.
When Hezekiah heard it, a great and mighty army had come up against the land and Jerusalem, with threat, blasphemy, taunts and insults against the Lord and His people. Though outnumbered he did not oppose his enemies in his own strength, but cried to the Lord for protection and deliverance. Rending his clothes, covering himself with sackcloth, and going into the house of the LORD was his response of grief and humility. By going into the Lord's house he sought the Lord for counsel, help, protection and deliverance from the mighty host, and his prayer was answered with deliverance.
Deliverance Through Faith
Hezekiah's rending of his clothes and covering himself with sackcloth and going into the house of the Lord was humility under threat from the king of Assyria come up against the land, and that humble seeking opened the way for God's message to him through the prophet and for the Lord's wonderful deliverance from the power of Assyria by His angel. His grief at the enemy's taunts and threats turned him to the house of the Lord, where he brought the insulting message before God and prayed to be delivered from the mighty host. That prayer was answered when the invading army suffered the loss of 185,000 men in one night, showing that he was not helpless while God was with him.
The slaughter of Sennacherib's host recorded in this chapter is God's most notable witness to Assyria that He is God above all. It came after that nation had arisen to world power and influence and then had grown corrupt and gone far from God. It followed His gracious call to repentance through the Hebrew prophet Jonah and other repeated witnesses that He is God above all.
The striking down of the 185,000 men by the angel took place when the Assyrian army was not near Jerusalem but was with the king at Libnah, and that destruction is not identified as the fulfillment of Isaiah 30:33 concerning Tophet prepared for the Assyrian king. Isaiah and Hezekiah together are examples of subduing enemies through faith, whom Christians who retain that faith and the church's spiritual gifts may follow. Hezekiah in this account is also a great and good king whose life illustrates human frailty and the lesson against trusting in men.