Isaiah 38

Isaiah 38:1

B. Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery (Chap. 38)38:1-8 Chapter 38 does not follow chapter 37 chronologically because in verse 6 Hezekiah is promised deliverance from the Assyrian threat, whereas, at the end of the previous chapter, that threat has already ended. When Hezekiah is taken seriously ill, he earnestly prays for lengthened life, and the God of David his father grants him fifteen more years. As a sign that he will recover and that Sennacherib will be repulsed, God promises to make the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz go ten degrees backward. The Hebrew of verse 8 is difficult, but it seems probable that Ahaz had built an obelisk with steps leading up to it for telling time, and that God miraculously caused the shadow to decline ten degrees while Hezekiah watched. 38:9-15 To celebrate his recovery, Hezekiah wrote a poem or psalm. This is the unique part of the historical section; it has no parallel in 2 Kings. It opens with the sadness that filled him when he heard that he was going to die in the prime of his life. He will not see YAH, the LORD, that is, experience the goodness of the Lord, and he will be cut off from the rest of mankind. His life is ending as if a shepherd’s tent is being taken down, or a finished fabric cut off from the loom. He describes his sense of desolation, his bitterness, his earnest supplication, and his helplessness under the stroke of God. 38:16-20 But a change comes in verse 16. Hezekiah acknowledges that by these afflictions men live, and that they have a beneficial influence on man’s character. Now God has delivered him from dying, an indication to the king that the Lord has forgiven his sins. Verse 18 reflects the indistinct view of the disembodied state which OT saints had. Now, because he is alive, he can give thanks to the Lord and tell his children of the faithfulness of God. He is determined to praise Jehovah all the days of his life. 38:21, 22 These two verses fit chronologically between verses 6 and 7. By placing them here, writes Kelly, “God shows His interest in His own, whatever their infirmity, and explains the means employed, and why the sign was given.” Matthew Henry draws two good lessons on healing from this passage:

1. That God’s promises are intended not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage, the use of means. Hezekiah is sure to recover, and yet he must take a lump of figs and lay it on the boil, v. 21. We do not trust God, but tempt him, if, when we pray to him for help, we do not second our prayers with our endeavours. . . . 2. That the chief end we should aim at, in desiring life and health, is that we may glorify God, and do good, and improve ourselves in knowledge, and grace, and meetness for heaven.