Bell's Commentary on the Bible

FIGHTING OUR ENEMY! (ch.37:1-20)
1. Not all victories are as dramatic as this one, but this does show you what to do when you are attacked by the enemy!
2. [1^st Step] Get Alone with God! (1)
3. Only the Lord can work in your heart & turn your fears into faith!
  1. Kierkegaard, “Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”
  2. By faith take everything to him in prayer!
  3. Story: Joseph Scriven in the early 1800’s was to be married in the morning, when his fiancé accidentally drowned the night before their scheduled wedding.
    1. Later…upon learning of his mothers serious illness & unable to be w/her I far-off Dublin, he wrote her a letter of comfort enclosing the words…
  4. What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins & grief’s to bear! What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!
    O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!
  5. This was never intended to be a hymn.
4. [2^nd Step] Call on Prayer Support! (2-4)
5. Calling in backup doesn’t mean you leave!
  1. No they back You up.
6. Hezekiah considered God’s glorious name to have been insulted & profaned by the pagan nation. (Shepherd’s Notes; pg.52)
7. (4) He asks simply for Isaiah the prophet to pray for the remnant in Judah.
8. [3^rd Step] Do not be Afraid! (5-13)
9. (5-7) In every battle, His word to you is, “Do not be afraid of”!
  1. Why? He has everything under control! – Do you believe that saint?
  2. What an encouragement when your prayer partner reminds you, “God will answer!”
10. (8,9) Side tracked just for a little while.
11. (10-13) Sennachereb send sword to Hezekiah.
12. [4^th Step] Get Passionate in Prayer! (14,15)
13. I love how he shows God what he wrote about Him!
  1. Q: Can we do the same today? – I think we should!
    1. Nasty letter…show it to God! – Unjust Lawsuit against you/ your company…Lord?
14. [William Cowper] “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”
15. [5^th Step] Be Concerned w/God’s Glory & Reputation! (16-20)
16. More than anything else Hezekiah was concerned for the Glory & Reputation of God!
  1. Q: How is God’s reputation in your life?
  2. Q: Is our 1^st prayer…“Hallowed be thy name!”
    1. “Glory in His holy name!” 1 Chron.16:10
17. Q: What fact did Rabshakeh’s ignore which invalidated the basic assumption of his argument?
  1. He didn’t’ realize the difference between “god” & “God”!
DEFEATING OUR ENEMY! (ch.37:21-38)
1. Answered Prayer! (21-29)
2. (21) The words of the enemy will discourage you, but Gods Word will encourage you.
3. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, & the Lord immediately answered through Isaiah!
4. Q: Have you ever had God answer your prayer via a friend giving you counsel?
5. (22) Now the Assyrian’s will be mocked!
6. Judah’s Blessings! (30-32)
7. The Assyrian’s devastated the countryside.
  1. The next 2 years would be difficult; but in the 3^rd year, they would sow & reap crops as in normal times.
8. (31) I’ve always loved the spiritual principle/application here!
  1. Spiritually if we take root downward(digging deep into God’s word), we will then bear fruit upward!
9. Jerusalem Remains! (33-35)
10. You will continue as a people, as a city, as a nation…for my sake!
11. Sennacherib’s Defeat! (36-37)
12. 1 angel 185,000 dead. And he probably didn’t break an angelic sweat!
  1. Jesus said in Gethsemane, “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”(about 78,000)
    1. What could they have done??? [that’s 14,430,000,000]
13. Sennacherib’s Death! (38)
14. Irony: Sennacherib defied the God of Israel, & yet he died in the house of his god who could not protect him!
15. Oswald Chambers, “Trustfulness is based on confidence in God, whose ways I do not understand. If I did, there would be no need for trust.”
16. William Carey, “The future is as bright as the promises of God!”

Isaiah 37

Verses 1–38