Isaiah 37:30
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
This was a sign given through Isaiah to Hezekiah when Sennacherib king of Assyria came against Judah and threatened Jerusalem, boasting that no god of any nation could deliver out of his hand. It promised that Judah would recover in stages after the invasion, eating in the first year what grew of itself without sowing, in the second year what sprang from the same, and in the third year sowing and reaping and planting vineyards and eating their fruit. It stood with the assurance that God would defend the city to save it for His own sake and for David's sake, and that the invader would not come into it. The deliverance was wrought in a plainly miraculous way by direct intervention through His angel, when 185,000 of the Assyrian army died in a single night. It came as an answer to the prayer of Hezekiah with Isaiah, who spread the taunting letter before the Lord when enemies mocked his helplessness, to keep Judah from glorying in human power and to make known to Judah and to all nations that there is a God in heaven mightier than the gods of the peoples, proving that He can deliver His people even when vastly outnumbered.
Setting and Promised Sign
This is a sign given as God's message through Isaiah to Hezekiah when Sennacherib king of Assyria threatened the land, came against the fortified cities of Judah and threatened Jerusalem. The Assyrian boast was that no god of any nation could deliver out of his hand, and he spoke of the God of Jerusalem as the work of men's hands. The sign stands after Hezekiah's humility and before the Lord's deliverance of Jerusalem by His angel. Isaiah 37 gives fuller details of the invasion, the blasphemy against Jehovah, the prayer of Hezekiah and Isaiah, and the deliverance recorded in 2 Chronicles 32:9-23.
The sign is God's promise to restore Judah after the Assyrian threat, with the land to recover in stages. In the first year the people would eat what grew by itself without sowing. In the second year they would eat what sprang from the same. In the third year they would sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
The provision came from the harvest of the forty-eighth year, which God made sufficient to sustain the people for three years. That abundance enabled them to pass through two consecutive sabbath years and then to sow and harvest again. The passage stands in Isaiah 36-39, which vividly portrays man's frailties and warns against trusting in men. Even the great and good King Hezekiah failed to give God the glory for his healing, instead revealing his gathered earthly riches to the Babylonian ambassadors, arousing their cupidity so that they afterward despoiled the kingdom.
The surrounding account shows the Assyrian army was not near Jerusalem when the angel killed 185,000 men, but was with the king of Assyria at Libnah. Its destruction is therefore rejected as the fulfillment of Isaiah 30:33.
Deliverance, Witness, and Application
The sign stands within the promise that God would defend Jerusalem to save it for His own sake and for David's sake, and that the invader would not come into the city. That defense was accomplished in an evidently miraculous way by direct intervention, when the besieging Assyrian army perished and 185,000 men died in a single night. The slaughter took place in twelve hours, showing that one messenger of the Lord is sufficient to carry out God's deliverance.
It was wrought in that miraculous manner to prevent glorying in human power and to make clear to Judah and to all nations that there is a God in heaven more mighty than the gods of the peoples of the earth. The victory was meant as a constant reminder of the nothingness of man and the greatness of God, which is the very essence of righteousness by faith. The exaltation resulting from it ought to furnish opportunity for exalting the power and mercy of the King of heaven who wrought this marvelous thing for the salvation of Jerusalem. It belongs to God's witness by revelation and living testimony to Assyria after Assyria had grown corrupt and gone far from God, bearing witness that He is God above all, most notably in the slaughter of Sennacherib's host.
The deliverance came as Hezekiah, with Isaiah, prayed while Jerusalem faced the Assyrian threat. When enemies taunted him with his helpless condition he spread the taunting, insulting letter out before the Lord, his prayer was heard, and Jerusalem was delivered when the besieging army perished, presenting the deliverance as an answer to prayer. The account shows that God can deliver His people even when they are vastly outnumbered and subdue their enemies through faith and spiritual gifts. It proves that one opposing wrong is not truly alone, for God with him is a majority.