What is the meaning of Isaiah 36:20?

Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand?

- Sennacherib’s field commander brags that every nation the Assyrians have met has fallen, and none of their deities stopped him (2 Kings 18:33–35).

- The boast lumps the LORD in with mute idols that “have mouths but cannot speak” (Psalm 115:4–7).

- Earlier, Assyria compared the God of Israel to the powerless gods of Samaria and other conquered peoples (Isaiah 10:10–11).

- Scripture repeatedly shows idols are “worthless, a work of delusion” (Jeremiah 10:11,14).

- The challenge sets the stage for God to display that He alone is the living, sovereign King—unlike Dagon who toppled before the ark (1 Samuel 5:1–5).

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How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?

- The taunt questions God’s ability, treating Him as just another local deity (2 Chronicles 32:15).

- By asking “How then…?” the commander claims his victories prove the LORD’s impotence, forgetting that victories come only by God’s permission (Isaiah 37:26).

- God answers such arrogance: “I will defend this city and save it” (Isaiah 37:35), just as He once parted the Red Sea—“The LORD will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14).

- David’s words to Goliath echo here: “The battle is the LORD’s” (1 Samuel 17:45–47).

- Later empires repeat the same challenge—Nebuchadnezzar asks, “Who is the god who can deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15)—and the LORD again proves supreme.

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summary

Assyria’s boast equates the LORD with powerless idols and denies His ability to rescue Jerusalem. Scripture answers by contrasting dead gods with the living God who rules history, fights for His people, and cannot be mocked. Isaiah 36:20 exposes human pride and highlights the certainty that the LORD alone saves, a truth God soon confirms by miraculously destroying the Assyrian army and preserving Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:36).