Isaiah 37 Devotional

Rage That God Already Knew

“But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.”Isaiah 37:28 (BSB)

Sennacherib thinks he is writing the story. His letter mocks Hezekiah's trust, and his boasts are grand: chariots on the highest mountains, the tallest cedars cut down, Egypt's streams dried up under his feet (37:10-13, 37:24-25). Hezekiah prays, and God answers, addressing much of his reply to the boaster himself (37:21-23).

All of Sennacherib's conquests were planned by God long ago (37:26). God knows where he stays and where he goes, and he knows his rage against God too (37:28). So God will put a hook in his nose and lead him back the way he came (37:29). Not one arrow is fired into Jerusalem, and a remnant will take root again, because the LORD is zealous to do it (37:31-35). The early church prayed this way when rulers turned against Jesus, confessing that they had done only what God's hand had decided beforehand (Acts 4:27-28). The powers that rage at God's people are never outside his knowledge or reach, and that is a place to rest when threats are loud.

To think about: What threatening power feels out of control to you, and how does it help to know God already knows its every move?