Isaiah 37:24

"Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel."

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 37:24, the Assyrian king Sennacherib is addressing his own officials and the people of Judah, challenging them to acknowledge who they are rebelling against. The original audience would have recognized that the phrase "Holy One of Israel" refers directly to Yahweh, emphasizing the gravity of defying the God of the Hebrews. This rhetorical question highlights Sennacherib's arrogance and underscores the divine judgment he faces for underestimating the power of a god who had already proven His strength in previous events such as the destruction of Samaria and the defeat of Moab.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

By thy servants -Hebrew, ‘By the hand of thy servants.’ That is, by RabshakehIsaiah 36:0, and by those whom he had now sent to Hezekiah with lettersIsaiah 37:9,Isaiah 37:14. And hast said -Isaiah does not here quote the precise words which Rabshakeh or the other messengers had used, but quotes the substance of what had been uttered, and expresses the real feelings and intentions of Sennacherib. By the multitude of my chariots -The word ‘chariots’ here denotes war-chariois (see the notes atIsaiah 2:7;Isaiah 66:20). To the height of the mountains -Lebanon is here particularly referred to. Chariots were commonly used, as cavalry was, in plains.

More from Isaiah 37

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