Isaiah 29 - 39

God's Promise

Note: This covers Monday and Tuesday's readings.

In chapters 36 - 29, the reign of Hezekiah is repeated.  I wrote about the miracle of the sun going backwards ten degrees when we read 2 Kings 16 - 20.  In this retelling, Judah is threatened by the King Sennacherib of Assyria in which he essentially demands that Hezekiah and the people of Judah immediately surrender to his rule. His envoys brag and boast about their previous conquests and how the gods of other nations could not save them. In true sinful form, they explain that the God of Israel Himself has ordered them to take over Judah.

Hezekiah is outraged and sends for the prophet, Isaiah.  Isaiah hears from the Lord, and in reality, the battle is already over.  The rest of the proceedings are just a confirmation of the truthfulness and accuracy of the prophecy of the Lord through Isaiah.  King Sennacherib will never fire so much as an arrow at Jerusalem.  He will return to his own country and be killed.  His army will be utterly defeated.

The impudence of Sennacherib is manifest when he masses his troops to lay siege to Jerusalem.  But during the night, 185,000 troops are killed by the angel of the Lord.  His army is terrified and flees.  Sennacherib returns to Assyria in defeat and is murdered by his own sons.  Thus, the prophecy is fulfilled to the letter.