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Commentary on Isaiah 37 verses 1–7
We may observe here, 1. That the best way to baffle the malicious designs of our enemies against us is to be driven by them to God and to our duty and so to fetch meat out of the eater. Rabshakeh intended to frighten Hezekiah from the Lord, but it proves that he frightens him to the Lord. The wind, instead of forcing the traveller's coat from him, makes him wrap it the closer about him. The more Rabshakeh reproaches God the more Hezekiah studies to honour him, by rending his clothes for the dishonour done to him and attending in his sanctuary to know his mind. 2. That it well becomes great men to desire the prayers of good men and good ministers. Hezekiah sent messengers, and honourable ones, those of the first rank, to Isaiah, to desire his prayers, remembering how much his prophecies of late had plainly looked towards the events of the present day, in dependence upon which, it is probable, he doubted not but that the issue would be comfortable, yet he would have it to be so in answer to prayer: This is a day of trouble, therefore let it be a day of prayer. 3. When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest in prayer: Now that the children are brought to the birth, but there is not strength to bring forth, now let prayer come, and help at a dead lift. When pains are most strong let prayers be most lively; and, when we meet with the greatest difficulties, then is a time to stir up not ourselves only, but others also, to take hold on God. Prayer is the midwife of mercy, that helps to bring it forth. 4. It is an encouragement to pray though we have but some hopes of mercy (Isa 37:4): It may be the Lord thy God will hear; who knows but he will return and repent? The it may be of the prospect of the haven of blessings should quicken us with double diligence to ply the oar of prayer. 5. When there is a remnant left, and but a remnant, it concerns us to lift up a prayer for that remnant, Isa 37:4. The prayer that reaches heaven must be lifted up by a strong faith, earnest desires, and a direct intention to the glory of God, all which should be quickened when we come to the last stake. 6. Those that have made God their enemy we have no reason to be afraid of, for they are marked for ruin; and, though they may hiss, they cannot hurt. Rabshakeh has blasphemed God, and therefore let not Hezekiah be afraid of him, Isa 37:6. He has made God a party to the cause by his invectives, and therefore judgment will certainly be given against him. God will certainly plead his own cause. 7. Sinners' fears are but prefaces to their falls. He shall hear the rumour of the slaughter of his army, which shall oblige him to retire to his own land, and there he shall be slain, Isa 37:7. The terrors that pursue him shall bring him at last to the king of terrors, Job 18:11, Job 18:14. The curses that come upon sinners shall overtake them.
“And they said to him, ‘Thus says Hezekiah,’ ” not “thus says the king,” not swelling pridefully with political power. “This is a day of tribulation, of punishment, and a day of blasphemy,” of our tribulation, of God’s punishment, of the enemies’ blasphemy. And he drew an analogy to a woman suffering the pains of childbirth—who has come to the point of delivery but is unable to give birth—to say, “We have conceived from fear of you, Lord, and we suffered, and we gave birth to the spirit of salvation.” Hezekiah continues: “Perhaps the Lord your God heard the words of the Rabshakeh.” We do not dare to call the Lord of all “our Lord,” whereby we would suffer such wrath, but we say “your Lord.” And we have confidence in [God’s] punishment because the living God is being blasphemed by the worship of idols of the dead. “And they will chastise with the words which the Lord your God heard. Lift up a prayer, therefore, not for all the people who have already perished, but for the remnant who are besieged.”
(Chapter 37, Verse 1 and following) Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what the field commander had said. When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, 'This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.' If you want to know how the Lord your God heard the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, sent to blaspheme the living God and to reproach the words that the Lord your God heard, lift up a prayer for the remainder that have been found. Then the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them: 'Thus you shall say to your master: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria blasphemed me.' Behold, I will give to him the spirit, and he will hear the message, and he will return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his land. Leaving aside the clear things, let us discuss only those in which the hidden meaning is present. They tear their clothes because they hear Rabshekah blaspheming. The king himself tears his own clothes because he believed it to be his and the people's sins that Rabshekah has come all the way to the gate of Jerusalem and has spoken such things against the Lord. Whereupon, the high priest, because he believed that he had blasphemed the Savior, tore his garments (Matt. XXVI); and Paul and Barnabas, when the people of Lystra wanted to worship them as gods, tore their garments (Acts XIV). Therefore, he wrapped himself in sackcloth for the royal worship, and as he walked from the palace to the temple, he sent Eliakim the high priest, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests to Isaiah the son of Amos the prophet. In this, the humility and prudence of the king are worth considering. He himself proceeded to the Temple; the leaders of the people and the elders of the priests, not dressed in priestly garments but covered in sackcloth, sent to Isaiah son of Amos, the prophet. Concerning him, it is read in the Book of Kings: He himself was covered with a mantle, and entered the house of the Lord, Eliakim the steward of the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests sent covered in sacks to Isaiah the prophet, son of Amos (2 Kings 19:1-2). Here, because Isaiah himself was writing the history about himself, he did not call himself a Prophet, but the son of a Prophet; there, because another person was writing the history, he writes about him as a Prophet. Indeed, we read this also concerning the Evangelist Matthew, that Matthew himself said that he was a tax collector (Matt. IX); but the other Evangelists remained silent about the name tax collector, and only mentioned his apostolic dignity; and that in the ranks of the Apostles, he is second in his own account and first in the others'. And they said to him: Thus says Hezekiah, not a king, not swollen with the name of empire: The day of tribulation, and the day of corruption, and the day of blasphemy: the day of our tribulation, the day of God's correction, the day of the enemies' blasphemy. And the likeness of a woman in labor and in distress, that she has come to labor and cannot give birth, nor can she say: We have conceived, O Lord, from fear of you, and we have grieved and given birth to the spirit of salvation. It follows: As how should the Lord your God hear the words of Rabsaces (Isaiah XXVI, 18, according to the LXX). For we do not dare to say O Lord, Lord of all, when such great wrath is upon us; but we say, your Lord. And we have this confidence of vengeance: because the living God is blasphemed by the worshipper of dead idols. And they reproached with the words, which the Lord your God heard: Therefore, lift up our lying prayer: not for all the people who have already perished, but for the remnants that are besieged. And when the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, the name of the Prophet was silent again, so that he would preserve the humility that had been started. And Isaiah anticipated them: for with the same spirit with which he knew the future, he had also heard the absent king: and he said what they should respond to their Lord, humbled in this trust of conscience. He said, 'Say to your master, who is your Lord; for my Lord says these things: Do not fear the words by which not you, but I am blasphemed. Nor do I say that I am going to do all the things that the king of the Assyrians wishes, lest it seem that I am boasting of my power; but that a spirit, not of God, but an adversary, is to be given to him. And upon hearing the message, let him return to his own land, and let him fall by the sword in it, so that both things which Hezekiah desired equally, he would hear: that he would be freed from the siege and danger, and that the angry and hostile king would die in his own land.' If someone asks why the book of Prophecies, which is written in the volumes of Kings and Chronicles, seems mixed, let them consider that the prophecy of history is linked, both concerning the liberation of the city and the destruction of Assyria, and concerning the return of the sun with ten and fifteen years elapsed, which is both prophecy and history.
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SUMMARY
King Hezekiah's urgent message to the prophet Isaiah profoundly captures Judah's national crisis during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. It articulates a moment of overwhelming distress, divine judgment, and blatant blasphemy against God, likening the nation's predicament to a woman in labor who lacks the strength to bring forth her child. This vivid metaphor symbolizes Judah's utter helplessness and inability to deliver itself from imminent destruction, underscoring the kingdom's complete dependence on divine intervention in the face of an insurmountable threat.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse serves as a pivotal moment within the narrative of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah. It immediately follows the Assyrian field commander Rabshakeh's audacious and blasphemous taunts against Jerusalem and its God, detailed in Isaiah 36. Hezekiah's initial response to this grave threat was one of profound spiritual humility and mourning, as he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord, as recounted in Isaiah 37:1. The message conveyed in Isaiah 37:3 is Hezekiah's direct communication to Isaiah, setting the stage for the prophet's divine response and the subsequent miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem, which culminates in Isaiah 37:36-38. This verse marks the crucial transition from human despair and acknowledgment of powerlessness to the promise of divine intervention.
Historical & Cultural Context: The events of Isaiah 37 are firmly situated in the late 8th century BCE, specifically around 701 BCE, during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. At this time, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, under Sennacherib, was the dominant superpower in the ancient Near East, renowned for its brutal military campaigns, including the conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria fell in 722 BCE) and numerous fortified cities in Judah. Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem represented the ultimate threat to Judah's existence. Culturally, it was common practice for kings facing dire national crises to send messengers to prophets for divine guidance, reflecting a deep-seated belief in the prophet's unique access to God's will. The metaphor of childbirth, particularly a difficult one, was a universally understood image for extreme pain, danger, and a critical moment requiring a "delivery" or breakthrough, making Hezekiah's plea culturally resonant and emotionally potent.
Key Themes: Isaiah 37:3 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes in the book of Isaiah. Firstly, it highlights the theme of God's Sovereignty and Faithfulness even in the face of overwhelming human opposition and blatant blasphemy. Hezekiah's plea acknowledges Judah's utter helplessness, emphasizing that only God can deliver them from this impossible situation. Secondly, the verse underscores the theme of Divine Judgment and Rebuke, as the "rebuke" can refer to both the humiliating taunts of the Assyrians and a sense of divine displeasure or testing upon Judah. Thirdly, the vivid imagery portrays the Futility of Human Strength when confronted with forces beyond human control, compelling a complete reliance on God alone. This moment of profound vulnerability and desperate prayer sets the stage for the theme of God's Deliverance and Salvation, demonstrating that God's power is most evident when His people are at their weakest, leading to the miraculous outcome described in Isaiah 37:36.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several potent literary devices to convey the depth of Judah's crisis and Hezekiah's desperate plea. The most prominent is Metaphor, comparing the nation's plight to a woman in labor who lacks the strength for delivery ("for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth"). This vivid and culturally resonant image powerfully communicates extreme pain, urgency, and utter helplessness, suggesting that Judah is at a critical juncture where a "birth" (deliverance or resolution) is imminent but impossible through their own power. The use of a Tricolon ("trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy") emphasizes the comprehensive and multifaceted nature of their suffering, escalating from general distress to divine condemnation or humiliation, and finally to direct affront against God. The phrase "This day [is] a day" uses Repetition (specifically Polyptoton, where different forms of the same root word are used) to underscore the immediate and pressing nature of the crisis, highlighting its unique and critical significance as a moment of ultimate decision or turning point.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 37:3 serves as a profound theological statement on human weakness and divine omnipotence. It teaches that true deliverance often begins with the honest acknowledgment of utter helplessness. When human strength, wisdom, and resources are exhausted, it creates the necessary space for God to act in ways that highlight His glory alone. The "day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy" is not merely a historical event but a timeless archetype of the overwhelming trials that drive humanity to the end of themselves, forcing a complete reliance on the sovereign God who alone can "bring forth" salvation from impossible situations. This moment of desperate prayer and reliance on God's prophet foreshadows the ultimate demonstration of God's power in delivering Jerusalem, proving His supremacy over all earthly powers and false gods.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Hezekiah's cry in Isaiah 37:3 resonates deeply with the human experience of facing overwhelming, seemingly insurmountable challenges. It invites us to consider how we respond when we reach the limits of our own strength and resources, when circumstances feel like a painful, unavoidable labor that we are powerless to complete. The king's humility in acknowledging Judah's desperate state, coupled with his immediate turning to God's prophet for intercession, provides a powerful model for spiritual resilience. It teaches us that true strength is found not in self-reliance, but in recognizing our utter dependence on God. In moments of "trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy"—whether personal crises, spiritual attacks, or societal upheavals—our most effective response is to lay bare our helplessness before God and seek His divine intervention, trusting that His power is perfected in our weakness, and He alone can bring forth deliverance.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "children are come to the birth" metaphor?
Answer: The metaphor "for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth" is profoundly significant. It vividly portrays Judah's situation as one of extreme, agonizing, and unavoidable crisis, akin to a woman in labor. The "children" represent the nation of Judah, and "come to the birth" signifies that they are at the very point of a critical breakthrough or delivery. However, the crucial part is "there is not strength to bring forth," meaning they lack the power, ability, or resources to achieve the necessary "birth" of deliverance from the Assyrian threat. This metaphor powerfully communicates utter helplessness, demonstrating that human effort alone is insufficient, and only divine intervention can bring about salvation. It highlights the desperate need for God's miraculous power to "deliver" them from their impossible predicament, as ultimately seen in Isaiah 37:36.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 37:3, with its depiction of a people at the brink of destruction, utterly devoid of strength to save themselves, finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hezekiah's desperate plea for a "birth" of deliverance, when human strength had failed, foreshadows humanity's universal need for a spiritual "birth" that only God can accomplish. Just as Judah was powerless to overcome the Assyrian threat, so too is humanity powerless to overcome the bondage of sin and death. The "day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy" finds its deepest echo in the cross, where Christ bore the ultimate "trouble" of God's wrath against sin, endured the "rebuke" of a fallen world, and suffered the "blasphemy" of those who mocked His divine claims. Yet, unlike Judah, who lacked strength, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, possessed the divine power to "bring forth" salvation. Through His death and resurrection, He delivered humanity from the impossible situation of sin, offering new birth and eternal life to all who believe, as profoundly stated in John 3:3-5. He is the true strength of God, who, when we are at our weakest, perfectly accomplishes our deliverance, demonstrating that His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).