7 “Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” (Isaiah 37:7, ESV)
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” 36 And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. (Isaiah 37:33–38, ESV)
This long passage of Scripture tells of the conclusion of the Lord’s sovereign program in dealing with the Assyrians and Hezekiah’s prayer. Remember that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, threatened Hezekiah by stating that his army would conquer Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The menacing threat drove Hezekiah to pray and the Lord assured Hezekiah that He would protect them. This section at the end of chapter 37 shows the miraculous way in which the Lord fulfilled His promise.
The Lord said that Assyria would not send one arrow into the city. He said that not one warrior would come against it. That is exactly what happened. The angel of the Lord entered the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 warriors. The inhabitants of Jerusalem did not have to do a thing. When Sennacherib realized what happened, he returned to Nineveh where his own sons struck him down with the sword. The point is that the Lord does exactly what He says He will do.
There are several lessons from this event. First, we learn that the Lord keeps His word. What He says, He will do. It behooves us to read and study His word, because in it we find many precious promises on which we can stand.
Second, we understand the omnipotence of God to enact His sovereign program. The Lord works powerfully in the unseen realm to work His program in the physical realm in which we do see.
Third, the Lord is our shield and defense. He works powerfully to protect us from our adversaries. The Lord assures us of this protection in the spiritual realm as our opposing spiritual forces are no match for the power of God.
Even in the physical realm, the Lord protects us for His purposes. While we are not immune to the attacks of people, the Lord does providentially protect us as we are accomplishing what He has called us to do. A well-known preacher once said we are indestructible until God has accomplished his purposes in our lives and then he calls us home.
Last, this means we have no need to avenge ourselves. He says that vengeance is His. He knows everything and works to avenge His faithful when they are mistreated.
Therefore, walk confidently in Christ. Stay on mission with His program. Pray continuously. Be courageous. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Renewing the Heart 