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Isaiah 38 Commentary

Hezekiah’s sickness, prayer, and recovery

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KEY THOUGHT: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” [Isaiah 38:1b NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Isaiah 38 NKJV
Hezekiah’s Life Extended

38 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a [a]loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ’ 7 And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.

9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10 I said,
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
11 I said,
“I shall not see [b]Yah,
The Lord in the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more [c]among the inhabitants of [d]the world.
12 My life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.
13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
I mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O [e]Lord, I am oppressed;
[f]Undertake for me!

15 “What shall I say?
[g]He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
In the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.
17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
The father shall make known Your truth to the children.

20 “The Lord was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”

21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”

22 And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 38:3 whole or peaceful
b. Isaiah 38:11 Heb. YAH, YAH
c. Isaiah 38:11 LXX omits among the inhabitants of the world
d. Isaiah 38:11 So with some Heb. mss.; MT, Vg. rest; Tg. land
e. Isaiah 38:14 So with Bg.; MT, DSS Lord
f. Isaiah 38:14 Be my surety
g. Isaiah 38:15 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Tg. And shall I say to Him; LXX omits first half of this verse

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 38 Commentary

Know what you are fighting. This chapter offers an important lesson. Far too often we fight diseases or even death itself. And when we die, the world says we have lost the battle to cancer, or whatever disease we were fighting. It reflects the understanding of the world.

Hezekiah knew better. The battle must be won in prayer; on your knees in the War Room. Death is always a decision from the LORD. Sickness is simply a faith agent. Know where to take your battle.

Isaiah makes two trips to the palace. The first trip comes with the bad news of death for Hezekiah. The second trip announces Hezekiah’s recovery. In between these two trips is Hezekiah’s prayer. He battles in prayer. And his weapon? He has walked faithfully with wholehearted devotion and has done what is good in the eyes of the LORD. This is powerful!

Probably the LORD checks Hezekiah’s file and 15 more years are added to his life. That is all his righteousness can achieve! Behind these lines is a deeper frustration at what human righteousness can achieve. So little and so limited. You would appreciate the LORD’s special gift of righteousness through the Son. A similar prayer, but with the righteousness of the LORD Jesus Christ, an individual can achieve eternity!

And those that have said this prayer no longer fear death. It’s not 15 years of life but eternity!

Why not? They can join King Hezekiah in praising the LORD. But unlike Hezekiah’s praise, theirs is deeper. It comes from the knowledge that they will forever be with the LORD, as promised. He will never leave them nor forsake them.

Yes, Isaiah-cum-doctor prescribed some medication for the king. But we all know the mechanics behind the scenes. If only believers knew how to handle similar battles! We can worry and fear, but we always know where to turn.

Whatever is in the mind of the LORD! You always know there is something somewhere when the LORD mentions something outside your immediate interest. The elephant in the room is the king’s health, but the LORD mentions the life of the city in response to Hezekiah’s prayer.

Just like Hezekiah’s physical life, Jerusalem would enjoy more life, but only for a fixed number of years. Wickedness has an expiry date! Another day means more grace and more time to say yes to obedience under the rule of the Son – the LORD Jesus Christ.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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