Isaiah 37:4
It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.
The verse stands in the historical sketch with included messages that makes up the fifth section of the first part of Isaiah, chapters 1-39. The larger passage of chapters 36-39 gives a mighty lesson against trusting in men and vividly portrays human frailty. Even Hezekiah, great and good as king, failed to give God the glory for his healing, and instead of revealing the riches of God's grace and power to heal he displayed the earthly riches he had himself gathered, thereby arousing the cupidity of the Babylonian ambassadors who afterward despoiled the kingdom.
The chapter records history from Hezekiah's reign, when the king of Assyria advanced and threatened the land in Sennacherib's campaign against Judah. That campaign recorded here came from the southwest, distinct from the campaign described in Isaiah 10, which came from the northeast. The chapter parallels 2 Kings 19. The parallel with 2 Kings 19 shows considerable verbal difference.
In the verse Hezekiah, through messengers to Isaiah, asks that God would hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master had sent to reproach the living God, and would reprove those heard words. He asks that prayer be lifted up for the remnant of Israel left in Jerusalem in a time of great trouble and threatened destruction. The appeal asks God to hear the insult, defend His honor, and act to vindicate His name.
The episode shows Hezekiah's humility in bringing the enemy's taunting letter and insults before the Lord. He received God's message through the prophet with assurance and comfort. God answered by delivering His people by His angel, striking the Assyrian army in the slaughter of Sennacherib's host with a loss of 185,000 men. He turned Rabshakeh back to his own land and brought judgment upon him for defying the Almighty. That deliverance left God not without witness to Assyria as the nation that next rose to world power and influence after Egypt, after it had grown corrupt and gone far from God.
The crisis teaches that a small, threatened people can rely on God rather than on military strength. Likewise Christians who retain the faith and the spiritual gifts given to the church can depend on God to subdue enemies and give victory.