What is the meaning of Isaiah 37:26? Have you not heard? – This opening question jolts Sennacherib (and anyone listening) into realizing that God’s actions are not random. – Scripture had repeatedly announced that the LORD directs the rise and fall of nations (2 Kings 19:25, the parallel account; Isaiah 14:24). – Even pagan rulers occasionally recognized this truth—Pharaoh in Exodus 9:27; King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:34–35. – The tone is corrective: what Assyria boasts about, God had already broadcast through His prophets. Long ago I ordained it – “Ordained” underscores deliberate, sovereign decision. God is not reacting; He is executing a settled decree (Isaiah 46:9-10; Psalm 33:10-11). – The Assyrian war machine was therefore no self-made marvel; it existed because God set it in motion (Isaiah 10:5-15). – This comforts the faithful: world events, however intimidating, unroll under divine authority (Romans 8:28; Proverbs 21:1). In days of old I planned it – Repetition deepens the point: the plan predates Assyria itself. – God’s story line began before Abraham (Genesis 15:13-16 predicted judgment on Canaan through later invaders). – Such ancient planning is also seen in redemption, “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). – History is therefore theological history—each chapter fulfills earlier counsel (Isaiah 25:1). Now I have brought it to pass – The prophetic perfect: what God decides, He performs (Isaiah 42:9; 55:11). – Assyria’s current victories are the visible stage of God’s invisible hand (2 Kings 18:13). – Timing matters: “now” signals a specific season for judgment, just as later He will decree a season for Assyria’s fall (Nahum 3:19). – The believer learns patience; God’s calendar differs from ours (2 Peter 3:8-9). That you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble – The purpose clause explains why Assyria was permitted such success: divine judgment on rebellious Judah’s cities (Isaiah 36:1; Micah 1:6). – Assyria is called “the rod of My anger” (Isaiah 10:5-6), an instrument, not an autonomous power. – Yet instruments answer for their pride; God will later humble the same empire (Isaiah 37:29, 33-38). – The phrase “piles of rubble” portrays complete desolation, matching earlier covenant warnings (Deuteronomy 28:49-52). summary Isaiah 37:26 unveils God’s sovereign script: ages ago He designed Assyria’s rise, ordained its conquests, and timed their execution, all to discipline His people. Assyria’s battering-rams were merely tools in the LORD’s hand. The verse reassures that nothing—not even a ruthless superpower—operates outside God’s long-planned, perfectly executed purposes. |
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