30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [o]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant and out of Mount Zion [p]survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”’
33 “Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, or throw up a siege ramp against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Assyrians Destroyed
36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [q]men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were [r]dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and [s]returned home and lived at Nineveh. 38 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
To be clear, the king of Assyria and his messenger Rabshakeh had not gone very far away. They were still in the territory of Judah, with their very large army–greater than 185,000, since all those died, and presumably there was someone left to go back with the king. In any case, God reassures Hezekiah, not only that they will once more plant and eat of their own vineyards, but that the king of Assyria will never attack Jerusalem.
Sometimes we don’t see the fulfillment of prophecies, and we certainly don’t know what God is going to do in the future. Yet Isaiah recorded for us the result of this prediction. The Assyrian army was decimated, and the king with whoever remained went back to Nineveh in disgrace. For some reason, two of his sons murder him and then flee to Ararat, leaving another brother to take the throne–the strange part being that they fled, rather than try to take the throne themselves, since the disgrace in Judah could have been reason enough for the attack.
Either way, when God spoke these words, one could have said, “Umm, Isaiah? You know the Assyrians are right over there, just a few towns away, right?” There was plenty of room for doubt, and yet God overcame the odds. Now think about that, the odds are always stacked in God’s favor, how else could it go down?
We would probably more accurately say the odds seem to be stacked against us sometimes. Don’t fret, God isn’t wringing His hands, wondering what to do now. God had a plan yesterday, He still has the same plan today, and He will see it completed. The same God that vanquished the entire Assyrian army is by your side, and He never changes. Don’t be impatient or get distracted. Wait on the Lord, and see what He has for you today (and tomorrow, and the day after that).