Isaiah 37:16

37:16 God of Israel: Hezekiah was not taken in by the false claims of Sennacherib that the Lord was powerless. In his prayer, Hezekiah acknowledged that, because the Lord is the Creator, he is God of all the kingdoms of the earth. The Lord is sovereign over all kingdoms. • The mighty cherubim were located in the Temple atop the Ark of the Covenant, which was God’s throne in his Temple (see study note on Lev 16:2; see also Pss 80:1; 99:1).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He groundeth his prayer on God’s promise, who promised to hear them from between the Cherubims.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

dwellest--the Shekinah, or fiery symbol of God's presence, dwelling in the temple with His people, is from shachan, "to dwell" (Exo 25:22; Psa 80:1; Psa 99:1).

cherubim--derived by transposition from either a Hebrew root, rachab, to "ride"; or rather, barach, to "bless." They were formed out of the same mass of pure gold as the mercy seat itself (Exo 25:19, Margin). The phrase, "dwellest between the cherubim," arose from their position at each end of the mercy seat, while the Shekinah, and the awful name, JEHOVAH, in written letters, were in the intervening space. They are so inseparably associated with the manifestation of God's glory, that whether the Lord is at rest or in motion, they always are mentioned with Him (Num 7:89; Psa 18:10). (1) They are first mentioned (Gen 3:24) "on the edge of" (as "on the east" may be translated) Eden; the Hebrew for "placed" is properly to "place in a tabernacle," which implies that this was a local tabernacle in which the symbols of God's presence were manifested suitably to the altered circumstances in which man, after the fall, came before God. It was here that Cain and Abel, and the patriarchs down to the flood, presented their offerings: and it is called "the presence of the Lord" (Gen 4:16). When those symbols were removed at the close of that early patriarchal dispensation, small models of them were made for domestic use, called, in Chaldee, "seraphim" or "teraphim." (2) The cherubim, in the Mosaic tabernacle and Solomon's temple, were the same in form as those at the outskirts of Eden: compound figures, combining the distinguishing properties of several creatures: the ox, chief among the tame and useful animals; the lion among the wild ones; the eagle among birds; and man, the head of all (the original headship of man over the animal kingdom, about to be restored in Jesus Christ, Psa 8:4-8, is also implied in this combination). They are, throughout Scripture, represented as distinct from God; they could not be likenesses of Him which He forbade in any shape. (3) They are introduced in the third or gospel dispensation (Rev 4:6) as "living creatures" (not so well translated "beasts" in English Version), not angels, but beings closely connected with the redeemed Church. So also in Eze. 1:5-25; 10:1-22. Thus, throughout the three dispensations, they seem to be symbols of those who in every age should officially study and proclaim the manifold wisdom of God.

thou alone--literally, "Thou art He who alone art God of all the kingdoms"; whereas Sennacherib had classed Jehovah with the heathen gods, he asserts the nothingness of the latter and the sole lordship of the former.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(16) That dwellest between the cherubims.—A like phrase in Psa_18:10 refers, apparently, to the dark thunder-clouds of heaven. Here, probably, the reference is to the glory-cloud which was the symbol of the Divine presence, and which rested, when it manifested itself, between the cherubim of the ark (Num_7:89), those figures also symbolising the elemental forces of the heavens. (Comp. Psa_68:33.)

Thou art the God, even thou alone.—The absolute monotheism of the faith of Israel is placed in strong antithesis to the polytheism of Rabshakeh (Isa_37:12). (Comp. Jer_10:11, and Isaiah 40-42)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. The prayer opens with a solemn invocation of Jehovah, first as God of Israel, and second as the only true God and Creator of all things.

that dwellest between (or, art enthroned upon) the cherubims] Cf. 1Sa_4:4; 2Sa_6:2; Psa_80:1. The Cherubim may have been originally symbolic representations of the storm-cloud (see Psa_18:10) and hence bearers of the Divine Presence (Ezekiel 1); but the reference here is undoubtedly to the two figures over the ark in the Temple; Jehovah, therefore, is addressed as the God of the Temple.

thou art the God … alone] Thou art (He that is) God alone. The sole divinity of Jehovah is here presented as a theological consequence of the doctrine of creation, a fundamental idea in the teaching of ch. 40 ff. Although the doctrine of creation was held in Israel from the earliest times, it seems to have been by slow degrees that its full religious significance was apprehended.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of a truth Lord,.... This is a truth and will be readily owned what the king of Assyria has said that his ancestors have destroyed all lands, or at least have endeavoured to do it, and have had it in their hearts to do it:

the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries: or "all the lands and their land" (m); the Targum is,

"all provinces and their lands;''

the countries and town and villages in them, or the chief cities and villages round about them.

(m) "omnes terras, et terram eorum", Pagninus, Montanus; "vel terram inquam eorum", Vatablus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

O Lord of hosts - (See the note at Isa 1:9).

That dwellest between the cherubims - On the cherubim, see the note at Isa 14:13. The reference here is doubtless to the fact that the symbol of the divine presence in the temple the Shechinah (from שׁכן shâkan, to dwell, to inhabit; so called because it was the symbol of God’s dwelling with his people or inhabiting the temple) - rested on the cover of the ark in the temple. Hence, God is frequently represented as dwelling between the cherubim Exo 25:22; Psa 80:1; Psa 99:1. On the whole subject of the cherubim, the reader may consult an article in the Quarterly Christian Spectator for September 1836.

Thou art the God - The only God Isa 43:10-11.

Even thou alone - There is none besides thee - a truth which is often affirmed in the Scriptures Deu 32:39; Psa 86:10; 1Co 8:4.

Thou hast made heaven and earth - It was on the ground of this power and universal dominion that Hezekiah pleaded that God would interpose.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

O Lord... that dwellest between the cherubims; literally, that sittest upon the cherubim. The allusion is scarcely to the poetic imagery of God riding on the cherubim in the heavens, (Psa_18:10) as Mr. Cheyne suggests; but rather to his dwelling between the two cherubic forms in the holy of holies, and there manifesting himself. (comp. Num_7:89 1Sa_4:4 2Sa_6:2 Psa_80:1 Psa_99:1) Thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. It has been questioned whether Hezekiah was really as pronounced a monotheist as these expressions would imply, and suggested that his actual words received "a colouring" from a later writer. Hezekiah"s contemporaries, it is said, Isaiah and Micah, make no such strong statements of their belief in one only God as this (Kuenen, Cheyne). But it is difficult to see what can be a clearer revelation of monotheism Isa_6:1-5, or what truth more absolutely underlies the whole of Isaiah"s teaching than the unity of the Supreme Being. The same undercurrent is observable in Micah. (Mic_1:2, 3 4:5 6:6-9 7:17, 18) Sennacherib"s belief, that each country has its own god, (Isa_36:18-20) is not shared by the religious Jews of his time. They are well aware that the heathen gods are "vanity" (Isa_46:3 Hos_4:15; Amos Jon_2:8), "wind" and "confusion". (Isa_41:29, etc.) Thou hast made heaven and earth. (comp. Gen_1:1 Psa_102:25 Isa_40:26-28 Isa_42:5, etc.)

The God of all kingdoms.

This expression indicates Hezekiah"s conviction of the uniqueness of God. He is the one great Over-Lord. He cannot be classed with other gods or other kings. But Hezekiah surely went beyond himself in this hour of pressure and anxiety. The Jewish idea of the supremacy of Jehovah included the speciality of his relation to the Abrahamic race, and the Jew was in danger of making God to be a mere local deity. And we, in these latter days, find it difficult to admit that God"s rule over all kingdoms involves the moral training arid even the redemption of all the races. We limit all the best of God to ourselves, in just the spirit of exclusive Jews. Only our great thought-leaders seem able to see what is involved in recognizing God as the God of all the kingdoms of the earth.

I IF GOD IS GOD OF ALL KINGDOMS, HE HAS SUPREME CLAIMS ON US. Most distressing to men who can create an ideal, and want to put trust in one who is absolutely good, must be the division of their confidences among gods many and lords many. The unrest of pagan intellect and heart was unspeakably painful. With gods in every street, Athenians pined for something more, and more satisfying; so raised an altar to the "Unknown God." Here is rest from all rival claims we yield to one will; all who would command us must express that will.

II IF GOD IS GOD OF ALL KINGDOMS, HE MUST REVEAL HIMSELF TO ALL. To be unrevealed, in adapted relations to each kingdom, is not to be so far as each kingdom is concerned. St. Paul is firm in declaring God has revealed himself to all, at least in "rain from heaven and fruitful seasons." And we have yet to recognize that he has spoken in gracious adaptations, differing, it may be, from the voices that we have heard, in every age and every clime. Very probably on this point there is "yet more light and truth to break forth from his Word.

III IF GOD IS GOD OF ALL KINGDOMS, HE OVERRULES THEM. Their magistracies, and their so-called divinities, when they do not rival him, are his agencies, everywhere they are the "powers that be ordained of God under-rulers practically carrying out the will of the great Over-Ruler, who fits in together man"s obediences and wilfulnesses, guiding all towards the fulfilment of his gracious ends for the whole race.

IV IF GOD IS GOD OF ALL KINGDOMS, HE]PRESIDES OVER THE RELATIONS OF THE NATIONS TO EACH OTHER. This brings us to the case of Hezekiah. If God is the God of Assyria, he knows all the schemings and the ambitions of that nation. Assyria is not acting in any self-strength, or in the inspirations of any rival god. Jehovah presides over the relations between Israel and Assyria. For nations, as for individuals, it is true, but it is most perplexing truth, difficult to grasp; our God is working alike in what we call evil and what we call good. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

“Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, dwelling between (or sitting upon) the cherubim, Thou art He, the God (i.e., the only true God), Thou alone, to all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made the heavens and the earth.” The cherubim were symbolical representations of the superhuman orders of beings, or, as some suppose, of the perfection of the creature in its highest form. Whether Jehovah’s riding on the cherubim (Psa 18:10) or His being enthroned above the material cherubs in the temple, or His dwelling between the cherubim (Exo 25:22) be specifically meant, there is obvious allusion to His manifested presence over the mercy-seat, called by the later Jews shechinah, which word is itself used in the Chaldee Paraphrase of the verse before us.

‘The God of all the kingdoms of the earth’ is not an exact translation of the Hebrew words, in which the God stands by itself as an emphatic phrase, meaning the only God, the true God, and what follows is intended to suggest a contrast with the false gods of the nations. Not simply of all, in all, for all, or over all, but with respect to all. ‘Thou art the one true God, not only with respect to us, but with respect to all the nations of the earth.’ The reason follows: ‘because Thou hast made them all,’ and not the earth only, but the heavens also. All this is indirectly a reply to the Assyrian blasphemies, which questioned the almighty power of Jehovah, and put Him on a, level with the idols of the heathen. The same antithesis between the impotence of idols and the power of God, as shown in the creation of the world, occurs in Psa 96:5 and Jer 10:11.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.