Isaiah 37:23

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. WHOM HAST THOU REPROACHED? - Not an idol....

23._Whom hast thou reproached? _In the former verse he describes the fact, such as it might be seen and beheld by all; but now he raises their minds higher, by shewing that this tyrant insults not only Jerusalem but God himself. Let this passage be brought to our remembrance, whenever we see ourselves exposed to the taunts and insolence of wicked men; for, though we have no armor, and though no one undertakes our defense, and though our weakness prompts our enemies to growing insolence, yet the Lord is near and will defend us as with an ample shield, for they who fight against us wage war with the living God. Nor were these words spoken merely for the sake of a single age, but on the contrary, as this promise is perpetual, “I will be thy God and thy shield,” (Genesis 15:1,) “I w

Verse Isaiah 37:23. _AGAINST THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL._] For אל _el, to_, the other copy has על _al, against_, rather more properly....

WHEN HAST THOU REPROACHED? - Not an idol. Not one who has no power to take vengeance, or to defend the city under his protection, but the living God. EXALTED THY VOICE - That is, by thy messenger. Thou hast spoken in a loud, confident tone; in the language of reproach and threatening. AND LIFTED UP THINE EYES ON HIGH - To lift up the eyes is an indication of haughtiness and pride. He had evinced arrogance in his manner, and he was yet to learn that it was against the living and true God....

EXPOSITION This chapter is the sequel of the preceding, and is so closely connected with it that the two really constitute but one narrative. Isaiah 37:22 of Isaiah 36:1. is more closely connected with Isaiah 37:1, than with the position of the narrative to which it is attached. ISAIAH 37:1 WHEN KING HEZEKIAH HEARD IT; rather, _heard them_;_ i.e._ the "words of Rabshakeh," which his officials reported to him. HE RENT HIS CLOTHES. He did as they had done (Isaiah 36:22

WHOM HAST THOU REPROACHED AND BLASPHEMED?.... A creature like thyself? no, but a God, and not one like the gods of the nations, the idols of wood and stone, but the living God: AND AGAINST WHOM HAST THOU EXALTED THY VOICE? alluding to Rabshakeh's crying with a loud voice, Isaiah 36:13: AND LIFTED UP THINE EYES ON HIGH? as proud and haughty persons do, disdaining to look upon those they treat with contempt: EVEN AGAINST THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL; that is, Israel's God, and will protect him; "a Holy One", and of purer eyes than to behold with pleasure such a proud blaspheming creature, and cannot look upon him but with indignation; for against such he sets himself; these he resists, pulls down, and destroys....

CHAPTER 37 Hezekiah in the House of the Lord and Sennacherib's Second Attempt 1. _Hezekiah's humiliation and Isaiah sent for (Isaiah 37:1)_ 2. _The message from the prophet (Isaiah 37:6)_ 3. _Rabshakeh's letter (Isaiah 37:8)_ 4. _Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 37:14)_ 5. _The prayer answered (Isaiah 37:21)_ 6. _The army of Sennacherib judged (Isaiah 37:36)_ 7. The judgment upon Sennacherib ...

ISAIAH 36-39. This section has been extracted from 2 Kings 18:13 to 2 Kings 20:19, and the Song of Hezekiah has been added. For an exposition see the notes on 2 K.; here we have simply to deal with the Song of Hezekiah. ISAIAH 38:10. THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM IMMINENT DEATH. This is now generally regarded as a post-exilic psalm. Its absence in the parallel narratine in Kings is significant. Apparently it was inserted here by an editor who thought it suitable to Hezekiah's circumstances. If, as seems likely, it has been influenced by the Book of Job, it must be post-exilic. The title cannot, any more than the Psalm titles, weigh against internal evidence. Hezekiah's writing after his recov

THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL. See note on Isaiah 1:4....

The answer to the prayer comes in the form of a message from Isaiah. The message as here given really consists of two distinct oracles: (1) a poem, on the pride and the approaching humiliation of Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:22); to which is appended a short passage in a different rhythm addressed to Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:30); (2) a definite prediction, in a less elevated style, of the deliverance of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:33). The lyrical passage (Isaiah 37:22) appears to have been inserted in the narrative from some independent source. Although probably a genuine work of Isaiah, the recitation of a somewhat elaborate poem is hardly a natural form for a