I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.
The verse is the Assyrian king's insulting boast against Hezekiah and Jerusalem, claiming irresistible power in conquest through mastery of waters, that he could find drink where he chose and dry up the rivers of besieged places with his army. The boast was defiance and blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel, likening the God of Jerusalem to the gods of the nations which are the work of men's hands and denying that any god could deliver from Assyria. When the king of Assyria threatened Judah and Jerusalem, Hezekiah in humility spread the taunting letter before the Lord and joined Isaiah in prayer instead of trusting human strength. In answer Jehovah promised to defend the city for His own sake and for David's sake, and by evident miracle sent His angel to destroy 185,000 mighty men in a single night, showing that the deliverance of God's people does not depend on their numbers or military strength.
Words and Historical Setting
The verse is the Assyrian king's insulting, taunting message and boast to Hezekiah and Jerusalem. He boasts of his power to obtain water and to dry up rivers, claiming that he has dug wells and drunk water and that with his army he can dry up all the rivers of besieged places. The claim is one of superior power and irresistible conquest through control over waters, set within a threat against God's people.
It stands in the history of Hezekiah's reign when the king of Assyria came up and threatened Judah and Jerusalem and the land. That threat was met by Hezekiah's humility and prayer, by God's message to him through the prophet, and by the Lord's wonderful deliverance of the land from the power of Assyria by His angel. The account thus connects Hezekiah's prayer with the destruction of the besieging army.
The chapter containing the verse has a parallel account in the nineteenth chapter of 2 Kings, so that Isaiah 37 is alike to 2 Kings 19. The parallel is marked by considerable verbal difference in wording between the two accounts.
The verse belongs to the account of Sennacherib's campaign. That campaign came from the southwest, as distinguished from the campaign described in Isaiah 10, which came from the northeast and is identified as Sargon's. Careful study of this chapter together with the related accounts indicates that when the angel killed 185,000 men, the Assyrian army was with the king at Libnah rather than near Jerusalem.
God's Deliverance and Its Lessons
The boast was defiance and blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel, treating the God of Jerusalem as no different from the gods of the nations of the lands, which are the work of men's hands, denying that any god of any nation or kingdom could deliver his people out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and exalting voice and lifting up eyes on high against Him. In answer Jehovah declared that the king of Assyria would not come into the city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it, but would return by the way he came, for Jehovah would defend the city to save it for His own sake and for David's sake.
To prevent glorying in human power and to make clear to Judah and to all nations that there is a God in heaven mightier than earthly gods, the deliverance was wrought by evident miracle when Jehovah sent an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valor and the leaders and captains in the camp. That stroke destroyed 185,000 men in a single night, within twelve hours. So Sennacherib returned with shame of face to his own land where those who came forth from his own bowels slew him in the house of his god, and Jehovah thus saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and guided them on every side.
The verse stands within God's witness to Assyria when that nation stood next in world power and influence after Egypt and had grown corrupt and far away from God. After calling Assyria to repentance through Jonah, God bore witness to Assyria again and again that He is God above all, most notably by the slaughter of the host of Sennacherib. The account shows Hezekiah, though taunted by his enemies with his helpless condition, relying on God rather than human strength, spreading their taunting, insulting letter out before the Lord, and joining Isaiah in prayer. God heard that prayer and connected it with the destruction of the army besieging Jerusalem, when one messenger was enough to bring the enemy's doom.
The threat and deliverance teach that the deliverance of God's people does not depend on their military strength or numbers. A person standing alone in opposition to wrong is not really alone, because God is with him, and God is a majority.
The verse is the Assyrian king's insulting boast against Hezekiah and Jerusalem, claiming irresistible power in conquest through mastery of waters, that he could find drink where he chose and dry up the rivers of besieged places with his army. The boast was defiance and blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel, likening the God of Jerusalem to the gods of the nations which are the work of men's hands and denying that any god could deliver from Assyria. When the king of Assyria threatened Judah and Jerusalem, Hezekiah in humility spread the taunting letter before the Lord and joined Isaiah in prayer instead of trusting human strength. In answer Jehovah promised to defend the city for His own sake and for David's sake, and by evident miracle sent His angel to destroy 185,000 mighty men in a single night, showing that the deliverance of God's people does not depend on their numbers or military strength.
Words and Historical Setting
The verse is the Assyrian king's insulting, taunting message and boast to Hezekiah and Jerusalem. He boasts of his power to obtain water and to dry up rivers, claiming that he has dug wells and drunk water and that with his army he can dry up all the rivers of besieged places. The claim is one of superior power and irresistible conquest through control over waters, set within a threat against God's people.
It stands in the history of Hezekiah's reign when the king of Assyria came up and threatened Judah and Jerusalem and the land. That threat was met by Hezekiah's humility and prayer, by God's message to him through the prophet, and by the Lord's wonderful deliverance of the land from the power of Assyria by His angel. The account thus connects Hezekiah's prayer with the destruction of the besieging army.
The chapter containing the verse has a parallel account in the nineteenth chapter of 2 Kings, so that Isaiah 37 is alike to 2 Kings 19. The parallel is marked by considerable verbal difference in wording between the two accounts.
The verse belongs to the account of Sennacherib's campaign. That campaign came from the southwest, as distinguished from the campaign described in Isaiah 10, which came from the northeast and is identified as Sargon's. Careful study of this chapter together with the related accounts indicates that when the angel killed 185,000 men, the Assyrian army was with the king at Libnah rather than near Jerusalem.
God's Deliverance and Its Lessons
The boast was defiance and blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel, treating the God of Jerusalem as no different from the gods of the nations of the lands, which are the work of men's hands, denying that any god of any nation or kingdom could deliver his people out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and exalting voice and lifting up eyes on high against Him. In answer Jehovah declared that the king of Assyria would not come into the city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it, but would return by the way he came, for Jehovah would defend the city to save it for His own sake and for David's sake.
To prevent glorying in human power and to make clear to Judah and to all nations that there is a God in heaven mightier than earthly gods, the deliverance was wrought by evident miracle when Jehovah sent an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valor and the leaders and captains in the camp. That stroke destroyed 185,000 men in a single night, within twelve hours. So Sennacherib returned with shame of face to his own land where those who came forth from his own bowels slew him in the house of his god, and Jehovah thus saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and guided them on every side.
The verse stands within God's witness to Assyria when that nation stood next in world power and influence after Egypt and had grown corrupt and far away from God. After calling Assyria to repentance through Jonah, God bore witness to Assyria again and again that He is God above all, most notably by the slaughter of the host of Sennacherib. The account shows Hezekiah, though taunted by his enemies with his helpless condition, relying on God rather than human strength, spreading their taunting, insulting letter out before the Lord, and joining Isaiah in prayer. God heard that prayer and connected it with the destruction of the army besieging Jerusalem, when one messenger was enough to bring the enemy's doom.
The threat and deliverance teach that the deliverance of God's people does not depend on their military strength or numbers. A person standing alone in opposition to wrong is not really alone, because God is with him, and God is a majority.