Isaiah 37:26
Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.
God spoke these words to answer Sennacherib's threat against Judah in Hezekiah's reign, when Judah was weak and God delivered His people and land by destroying the Assyrian army. Sennacherib's success in taking fortified cities and reducing them to ruinous heaps came not from his own superior power but from what God had done and formed long ago and had now brought to pass. His boasting that no god could deliver from his hand was empty pride against the Holy One of Israel, and God defended Jerusalem to save it for His own sake and for David's sake by sending an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valor and leaders in the Assyrian camp, 185,000 men in a single night. That destruction came in answer to the united prayer of Isaiah and Hezekiah for Jerusalem, showing that prayer brings swift and mighty deliverance from a mighty enemy and teaching dependence on God's power rather than on human wisdom or strength. Isaiah and Hezekiah subdued their enemies through faith, and their victory stands to turn hearts to God as a reminder of the nothingness of man and the greatness of God, since human might cannot prevail against Him.
Historical Context and Meaning
The verse belongs to God's answer to Sennacherib's threat against Judah in Hezekiah's reign, when despite Judah's weakness God delivered His people and land from Assyrian power by destroying the Assyrian army. Sennacherib's success in taking fortified cities and reducing them to ruinous heaps was not from his own superior power and did not place him beyond God's control, but was what God had done and formed long ago and had now brought to pass. Those left in the wasted cities were of small power, dismayed and confounded like grass of the field and corn blasted before growth. God knew Sennacherib's abode and his going out and coming in and his rage against Him, and would put His hook in his nose and His bridle in his lips and turn him back by the way he came, humbling him by angelic ministration.
The helpless Hezekiah was taunted by his enemies about his helpless condition, and he spread their insulting taunting letter out before the Lord. God was with him as a majority, and so brought to pass the destruction of the invading army with a loss of 185,000 men in a single night. The army was not near Jerusalem when the angel killed the 185,000 but was likely with the king at Libnah. Since the Assyrian king returned to his own land and died there, these events do not fulfill the prophecy of Tophet prepared for the king in Isaiah 30:33.
The thirty-seventh chapter of Isaiah in which the verse stands parallels the nineteenth chapter of 2 Kings and is alike to it. There is considerable verbal difference between the two chapters. The record of Sennacherib's campaign against Judah to which the verse belongs is contrasted with the campaign described in Isaiah 10. It falls within the broader account of Hezekiah's experiences, including his sad mistake and its predicted result.
Divine Purpose and Deliverance
The verse stands as part of God's witness by revelation and living testimony to Assyria that He is God above all, borne again and again after Assyria rose to world power and influence and then grew corrupt and went far from God, with the slaughter of Sennacherib's host as the most notable instance of that witness. Sennacherib's success in coming up against all the fortified cities of Judah and taking them was not from his own superior power, but was what God had done and formed long ago and had now brought to pass. His boasting that none of the gods of the nations could deliver out of his hand, and his servants' speaking of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth which are the work of men's hands, was empty pride against the Holy One of Israel.
God answered through Isaiah that He would defend Jerusalem to save it for His own sake and for David's sake. To make clear to Judah and to all nations that there is a God in heaven mightier than idols, He wrought the promised deliverance in an evidently miraculous manner by sending an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valor and leaders in the Assyrian camp. The victory was gained by God's direct intervention to turn hearts unto Himself. Its trophies should have been constant reminders of the nothingness of man and the greatness of God, which is the very essence of righteousness by faith, and an opportunity for exalting His saving power in the sight of all nations.
Isaiah and Hezekiah subdued their enemies through faith and the spiritual gifts given to the church, despite Judah's weakness and the threat of a powerful army. Human might cannot prevail against God, who delivered His people by destroying the Assyrian army. Retaining that faith would enable Christians to follow their example. God Himself long ago formed and brought to pass Sennacherib's power to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps, leaving their inhabitants of small power, dismayed and confounded like grass of the field and corn blasted before growth. God knew Sennacherib's abode and his going out and coming in and his rage against Him, and because his rage and tumult came up into God's ears He would put His hook in his nose and His bridle in his lips and turn him back by the way he came, humbling him by angelic ministration. Nebuchadnezzar knew this history, and it should have been a lesson in humility to him; if he had regarded it he would have been saved from the seven-year humbling recorded in Daniel 4.
Answer to United Prayer
Hezekiah prayed for Jerusalem when a mighty enemy besieged it, and the besieging army was destroyed, so the account to which the verse belongs stands as an example that prayer brings deliverance from a mighty enemy. It was the united prayer of Isaiah and Hezekiah that was answered when 185,000 Assyrians died in twelve hours. That swift destruction shows that prayer brings mighty deliverance from God. Hezekiah's prayer was heard and the doom of thousands was sealed when one messenger of the Lord was enough, teaching confidence in God and dependence on His power, providence, and promises rather than on human wisdom or strength.