Isaiah 37:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men 's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

NIV: They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.

NASB: and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

CSB: They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made from wood and stone by human hands. So they have destroyed them.

NLT: And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all — only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.

KJV: And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

NKJV: and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.

Hezekiah is appealing to the Lord for help after receiving a letter from Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:14–16). The king of Assyria has warned Hezekiah not to trust the Lord to save Judah. Sennacherib's argument was simple: All the nations that Assyria has conquered and destroyed also had gods that they trusted. Not one of those gods saved their people from Assyria's previous kings. Based on that logic, Hezekiah should not believe Israel's God will save them from Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:11–13).

Sennacherib is not wrong about Assyria's successes. The Assyrians have laid waste to all the nations and their lands. Hezekiah agrees with Sennacherib that the gods of those nations were helpless to save the people. But Hezekiah notes a key difference: idols are handmade hunks of wood and stone. They are not gods, at all. The Assyrians burned those idols in the fire, and that was where they belonged.

Hezekiah's theology of idols is clear: They are powerless because the gods they represent do not exist. Those who believe in and worship them are trusting their own creations for divine power (Deuteronomy 4:8; Psalm 115:4–8; Habakkuk 2:18–19). But the Lord (Exodus 3:14–15) is the living God who possesses limitless power (Isaiah 37:16). Hezekiah is asking the Lord to use that power to save His own people and glorify His own name.

Isaiah 37:14–20 records Hezekiah's perfect response to recent Assyrian threats (Isaiah 37:10). With no other options, Judah's King Hezekiah falls entirely on God's mercy in prayer and humility. He asks the Lord to respond to King Sennacherib's blasphemy. Hezekiah begs the Lord to save Judah from the Assyrians so that the entire world will see that Israel's God is the only true Lord.

Hezekiah is overcome with grief at news that Sennacherib has mocked the Lord and is coming to destroy Jerusalem. God reassures Hezekiah that the Asyrian king will return home to be killed there. Hezekiah prays in the temple, asking the Lord to defend His name and save Judah. Through Isaiah, the Lord reveals to Hezekiah that Jerusalem will not be touched. Assyria's army won't even have the chance to attack. Responding to their aggression and blasphemy, the "angel of the Lord" virtually wipes out the gigantic Assyrian army overnight. Sennacherib returns home and is later killed by his sons.

Isaiah 37 continues the narrative started in Isaiah 36. Assyrian messengers threaten to bring their enormous, nearby army to take Jerusalem. Hezekiah seeks God in response and is reassured that Jerusalem will not see so much as a single Assyrian arrow. The Lord promises to save the city and make the survivors prosper. The angel of the Lord kills an overwhelming number of Assyrian soldiers overnight. Sennacherib returns home and is eventually killed by his own sons. Hezekiah will then face a serious illness and be granted a brief reprieve by God (Isaiah 38).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).