Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
Isaiah 37:13 belongs to the historical account in Isaiah 36-39 from Hezekiah's reign, when the king of Assyria came up and threatened Judah and the land. The chapter containing the verse parallels 2 Kings 19, though differing considerably in wording. The verse is part of the enemies' taunt about Hezekiah's helpless condition, invoking the rulers of Hamath, Arphad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah and pointing to the nations Assyria had conquered to challenge Judah's confidence in God and to argue that Judah's God could not deliver Jerusalem.
The campaign recorded in Isaiah 37:1-38 is Sennacherib's campaign against Judah from the southwest, distinct from the campaign from the northeast by Sargon described in Isaiah 10 and identified by its reference to what had been done to Samaria in Isaiah 10:11. Comparison of the Bible with the Assyrian monuments supports the historical accuracy of the Old Testament account. The account does not place the Assyrian army near Jerusalem when the angel slew 185,000 men, but places the king and his army at Libnah, and has the Assyrian king return to his own land and die there, so it does not support identifying the Tophet prepared for "the king" in Isaiah 30:33 with the destruction of the Assyrian army.
In that setting Hezekiah humbled himself and spread the taunting, insulting letter out before the Lord, God sent him a message through the prophet, and the Lord wonderfully delivered His people from Assyria's power by His angel, causing the invading army to lose 185,000 men in a single night. The account illustrates that a powerful enemy's numbers do not make it strong against God. The slaughter of Sennacherib's host was God's most notable testimony by revelation and living witness to Assyria that He is God above all in power and glory, given after Assyria had risen to world power and influence and then grown corrupt and gone far away from God.
The deliverance proves that one who stands alone in opposition to wrong is not alone because God is with him and God is a majority. Isaiah and Hezekiah are an example of subduing enemies through faith and the spiritual gifts given to the church, which Christians needed to retain in order to follow that example.
Isaiah 37:13 belongs to the historical account in Isaiah 36-39 from Hezekiah's reign, when the king of Assyria came up and threatened Judah and the land. The chapter containing the verse parallels 2 Kings 19, though differing considerably in wording. The verse is part of the enemies' taunt about Hezekiah's helpless condition, invoking the rulers of Hamath, Arphad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah and pointing to the nations Assyria had conquered to challenge Judah's confidence in God and to argue that Judah's God could not deliver Jerusalem.
The campaign recorded in Isaiah 37:1-38 is Sennacherib's campaign against Judah from the southwest, distinct from the campaign from the northeast by Sargon described in Isaiah 10 and identified by its reference to what had been done to Samaria in Isaiah 10:11. Comparison of the Bible with the Assyrian monuments supports the historical accuracy of the Old Testament account. The account does not place the Assyrian army near Jerusalem when the angel slew 185,000 men, but places the king and his army at Libnah, and has the Assyrian king return to his own land and die there, so it does not support identifying the Tophet prepared for "the king" in Isaiah 30:33 with the destruction of the Assyrian army.
In that setting Hezekiah humbled himself and spread the taunting, insulting letter out before the Lord, God sent him a message through the prophet, and the Lord wonderfully delivered His people from Assyria's power by His angel, causing the invading army to lose 185,000 men in a single night. The account illustrates that a powerful enemy's numbers do not make it strong against God. The slaughter of Sennacherib's host was God's most notable testimony by revelation and living witness to Assyria that He is God above all in power and glory, given after Assyria had risen to world power and influence and then grown corrupt and gone far away from God.
The deliverance proves that one who stands alone in opposition to wrong is not alone because God is with him and God is a majority. Isaiah and Hezekiah are an example of subduing enemies through faith and the spiritual gifts given to the church, which Christians needed to retain in order to follow that example.