Isaiah 37:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Look, I will send a spirit of confusion upon him, and he will hear the message and return to his homeland, where I will strike him down with the sword. He refers to the ultimate punishment without describing all the continuous, lasting strikes. It appears to me that this punishment would not have been imposed had he not continued in his wrongdoing. Through these words, God simultaneously uplifted the spirit of Hezekiah; had He stated that he would perish by the sword in your land, He would have surely cast doubt upon him, suggesting that even if he fell by the sword, it could still inflict harm. However, since he fell in his own territory, Hezekiah's land remained unharmed.

God acts promptly to encourage those who place their faith in Him, revealing to them a hopeful promise of assistance. It was not in vain that he approached the Lord’s house, shedding tears of grief alongside his pleas. In this manner, the compassionate God of all humanity is moved. When Rabshekah stripped the Israelites of any hope for salvation, despite Almighty God’s intention to save them, he maliciously proclaimed, “Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver Jerusalem from my hand.’ Have the gods of the other nations rescued their people from my power?” Therefore, the Lord rightly dispels fear and does not permit them to be shaken by vain and contemptuous threats from a proud foe.

The young men serving King Hezekiah approached Isaiah, who conveyed the message from the Lord. He declared that He would instill a spirit within Sennacherib, so that upon hearing the news, he would return to his homeland. This is the same Sennacherib who not long ago took great pride in his conquests and the renown of his empire, boasting, “What I achieve today, I shall accomplish tomorrow.” Nevertheless, Solomon cautioned against such arrogance, advising not to glory in the dawn or to measure what the future may hold (Proverbs 27:1). This resonates with the teaching that the troubles of today should be faced in the moment (Matt. 6:34).