Spreading It Out Before the Lord Text: Isaiah 37:14-20
Introduction: The Blasphemer's Ultimatum
We come now to one of the great hinge points in the history of redemption. The scene is Jerusalem. The year is 701 B.C. The northern kingdom of Israel has already been hauled off into exile by the Assyrian war machine, a fate they thoroughly deserved. Now that same machine, the unquestioned superpower of the age, has turned its attention south. The Assyrians were the ISIS of their day, masters of siege warfare, psychological terror, and unrestrained brutality. Their king, Sennacherib, has swept through Judah, conquering forty-six fortified cities, and now he stands at the gates of Jerusalem. He has sent his chief of staff, the Rabshakeh, to deliver an ultimatum, not just to King Hezekiah, but to every man on the wall.
The message, recorded in the previous chapter, is a masterpiece of godless propaganda. It is designed to demoralize, to terrify, and to sever the people's trust from their God. The Rabshakeh mocks their trust in Egypt. He mocks their trust in Hezekiah. And most importantly, he mocks their trust in Yahweh. His argument is brutally pragmatic and materialist: "Name one god who has delivered his people from the hand of Assyria. The gods of Hamath? Arpad? Sepharvaim? They are all gone. What makes you think your god, Yahweh, is any different?" He is arguing from a consistent track record of pagan god-smashing. He is, in effect, presenting a letter, an invoice of his victories, and demanding that Yahweh add His name to the list of defeated deities.
This is the context for our text. Hezekiah receives this letter, this written summary of Sennacherib's blasphemous ultimatum. The fate of the holy city, the Davidic line, and the honor of God's name all hang in the balance. What does a godly king do when the enemy is not just at the gates, but is attacking the very foundation of reality, the character of the living God? Hezekiah's response is a master class in theological warfare. It is a pattern for every Christian facing an impossible situation, whether it is a global threat, a cultural rot, or a personal crisis.
The Text
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh saying, "O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the countries and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. But now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Yahweh, You alone."
(Isaiah 37:14-20 LSB)
The Physical Act of Faith (v. 14)
We begin with Hezekiah's immediate, physical response.
"Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh." (Isaiah 37:14)
This is not mere political theater. This is a profound act of dependent faith. Hezekiah takes the tangible evidence of the threat, the enemy's own words filled with arrogance and blasphemy, and he physically lays it before the throne of the universe. He doesn't just think about it. He doesn't just summarize it in his own words. He takes the actual document into the Temple, into the symbolic presence of God, and unrolls it. The gesture says everything: "Lord, look at this. Read this. This is not primarily my problem. This is an assault on Your honor. This is an attack on Your name. My fight is Your fight."
This is what it means to cast your cares upon the Lord. It is not a vague, ethereal sentiment. It is a definite transaction. When you receive the doctor's report with the terrifying diagnosis, you are to metaphorically take that report and spread it out before the Lord. When you receive the email from your boss with the news of your termination, you spread it out before the Lord. When you are confronted with the cultural filth and blasphemy that is piped into your home, you are to take that filth and present it to God in prayer, saying, "Lord, this is a reproach to Your name in Your world. What are You going to do about it?" Hezekiah understands that the battle belongs to the Lord, and his first move is to deliver the enemy's declaration of war to the desk of the Commander-in-Chief.
The Theological Foundation of Prayer (v. 15-16)
Having presented the evidence, Hezekiah now begins to pray. And we must pay close attention to how he begins. He does not begin with the crisis. He begins with God.
"And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh saying, 'O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.'" (Isaiah 37:15-16 LSB)
This is a masterclass in crisis praying. Before he ever mentions Sennacherib by name, Hezekiah lays a foundation of high, robust, orthodox theology. Your doctrine is not an abstract luxury for peacetime; it is your essential weaponry in wartime. Hezekiah anchors his soul by reciting who God is.
First, He is "Yahweh of hosts." The Lord of armies. Sennacherib has a massive army, but Yahweh is the commander of all the armies of heaven and earth, seen and unseen. Hezekiah is reminding himself that no matter how big the enemy's battalions look, God's are bigger.
Second, He is "the God of Israel." This is a covenantal appeal. He is not just a generic deity; He is the God who has bound Himself to this people by solemn oath and promise. Hezekiah is appealing to God's covenant faithfulness.
Third, He is the one "who is enthroned above the cherubim." This points directly to the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat. God is not a distant emperor; He is the King who dwells in the midst of His people. His throne is right here, in Jerusalem. This is a declaration of God's immanent, ruling presence.
Fourth, "You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth." This is the central point of contention. Sennacherib believes in a world of many gods, a divine brawl where the strongest god wins. Hezekiah declares radical monotheism. There is no pantheon. There are no other contestants. There is Yahweh, and there is nothing. This demolishes the entire premise of the Assyrian's argument.
Finally, "You have made heaven and earth." This is the ultimate presupposition. This is the Creator/creature distinction. Sennacherib, his armies, and his gods of wood and stone are all part of the created order. Yahweh alone is uncreated, transcendent, and sovereign over all that He has made. Because He made everything, He owns everything and He governs everything. A creature shaking his fist at the Creator is the height of cosmic absurdity.
The Central Issue: God's Honor (v. 17)
Only after establishing this profound theological foundation does Hezekiah turn to the specifics of the crisis.
"Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God." (Isaiah 37:17 LSB)
Using the language of the courtroom, Hezekiah asks the judge of all the earth to pay attention to the evidence. "Lord, did you hear what he said? Are you seeing what he is doing?" But notice how he frames the offense. The central crime of Sennacherib is not his invasion of Judah. It is not the threat of rape and pillage. The central crime is that he has sent his words "to reproach the living God."
Hezekiah brilliantly and rightly makes God's honor the central issue. This is not just about saving Jerusalem. This is about vindicating the name of Yahweh against the arrogant blasphemies of a pagan king. By doing this, Hezekiah aligns his will perfectly with God's will. God is jealous for His own glory. His ultimate purpose in all things is the magnification of His own name. When we make His glory the central plea of our prayers, we are praying in a way that He is certain to answer.
Theological Takedown (v. 18-19)
Next, Hezekiah demonstrates that faith is not a blind leap in the dark. It is clear-eyed realism that is able to theologically interpret the facts on the ground.
"Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the countries and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them." (Isaiah 37:18-19 LSB)
Hezekiah does not deny the facts. He says, "Truly, O Yahweh." He agrees with the Rabshakeh's premise. Yes, Assyria has an undefeated record. Yes, they have steamrolled every nation in their path. Yes, they have burned every idol they have come across. Faith does not require you to deny reality. But faith insists on interpreting reality correctly.
Sennacherib looks at his string of victories and concludes that he is stronger than all the gods. Hezekiah looks at the same string of victories and provides the divine analysis. Why did Assyria win? Because the things they were fighting were "not gods." They were nothing but firewood, "the work of men's hands, wood and stone." Sennacherib has been playing in the minor leagues, beating up on imaginary deities. His victories are meaningless because his opponents were non-existent. He has made a fatal category error. He thinks he is fighting one more regional deity on a long list. He has no idea that he has just picked a fight with the Creator of the universe, the living God. He has mistaken a statue for the sculptor.
The Doxological Goal (v. 20)
"But now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Yahweh, You alone." (Isaiah 37:20 LSB)
The prayer concludes with a direct petition rooted in a glorious, God-centered purpose. The request is simple: "save us." But the reason is profound: "that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Yahweh, You alone."
Hezekiah's ultimate desire is not simply the physical safety of his people. It is the global proclamation of God's unique and absolute sovereignty. He wants the deliverance of Jerusalem to be a sermon preached to the nations. He wants the defeat of Assyria to be a divine object lesson for the entire world, demonstrating conclusively that Yahweh is God and there is no other. This is a prayer for the glory of God. This is a prayer for the evangelization of the nations through an act of divine judgment and salvation. It is not a selfish prayer; it is a doxological and missional prayer. And it is the kind of prayer God loves to answer.
Conclusion: Your Letter, God's Throne
The story, of course, does not end here. God responds to this prayer through the prophet Isaiah, delivering a blistering poetic takedown of Sennacherib. And then, that very night, the angel of Yahweh goes out to the Assyrian camp and puts to death 185,000 men. Sennacherib returns to Nineveh in disgrace, where he is murdered by his own sons while worshipping his god of wood and stone. God answers Hezekiah's prayer with terrifying precision.
The pattern for us is clear. We are all confronted with letters from Sennacherib. They are letters filled with threats, intimidation, and blasphemy against our God. It might be a cultural narrative that mocks biblical morality. It might be a personal crisis that seems overwhelming. It might be the internal whisper of doubt that says God is not able, or not willing, to save.
Our response must be that of Hezekiah. We must take that letter, whatever it is, and refuse to let it intimidate us in a corner. We are to march straight into the throne room of grace and spread it out before the Lord. We must begin our prayers not with our panic, but with His perfections. We must remind ourselves that He is the Lord of Hosts, the God of the covenant, the Creator of heaven and earth. We must frame the problem in terms of His honor. And we must ask for deliverance, not for our own comfort, but for the glory of His name, so that the world might know that our God, He is Yahweh, and He alone.
When we pray this way, we are not just hoping for the best. We are engaging in spiritual warfare on the terms set by the victor. We are aligning our cause with His, which is the only cause in the universe that cannot, and will not, fail.