What role does faith play in God's response in Isaiah 37:21? The historical backdrop - 701 B.C. — Sennacherib’s army overruns every fortified city of Judah except Jerusalem (Isaiah 36:1). - Hezekiah’s earlier attempt to buy peace fails (2 Kings 18:14-16). - Humanly speaking, Jerusalem’s walls, water supply, and manpower are no match for Assyria. - Hezekiah receives Sennacherib’s blasphemous letter and “spread it before the LORD” in the temple (Isaiah 37:14). - Isaiah’s message in 37:21 is God’s first word after that act of prayer: “Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria…”. Hezekiah’s faith-filled prayer - Looked upward, not outward. “O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel… You alone are God” (37:16). - Acknowledged reality. “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these lands” (37:18). - Anchored in covenant promises. “Now, O LORD our God, save us… so that all kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God” (37:20). - Relinquished self-reliance. Hezekiah does nothing militarily at this point; he waits for God. God’s explicit affirmation of faith - The phrase “Because you have prayed to Me” makes faith the stated reason for divine intervention. - No mention of fortifications, treasury, or alliances—only prayer that trusts God. - Prayer becomes the covenant hinge by which national deliverance swings. What faith accomplished 1. Shifted the battle. God, not Judah, now takes responsibility (37:29). 2. Secured prophetic assurance. Isaiah unfolds a detailed oracle of deliverance (37:22-35). 3. Produced tangible salvation. “Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians” (37:36). 4. Preserved the remnant for Messiah’s lineage (37:31-32). Faith’s consistent pattern across Scripture - 2 Chronicles 32:20-22 shows the same episode: “King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah… cried out in prayer to heaven, and the LORD sent an angel…” - Psalm 50:15 — “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” - Hebrews 11:6 — “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” - James 5:16b-18 — “The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail,” illustrated by Elijah’s nation-shaping petitions. - Luke 18:7-8 — “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? … When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Practical takeaways for believers today - Faith approaches God first, before resorting to human schemes. - Faith prays specifically; God’s answer in Isaiah 37 addresses Hezekiah’s exact concern. - Faith rests on God’s character and promises, not on odds or optics. - God hears collective as well as individual cries; one man’s faith can secure national mercy. - Deliverance may come through unseen means (an angelic strike) rather than the methods we expect. - The same Lord who literally intervened for Judah remains ready to act when His people pray in confident trust (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). So, in Isaiah 37:21, faith—expressed through earnest, God-centered prayer—is the decisive factor that moves the Almighty to rise, speak, and save. |
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