Isaiah 38
Notes
Transcript
Hezekiah’s Healing
Hezekiah’s Healing
Man, last week we had a great lesson from the book of Isaiah as we saw a change in the Kings heart. Hezekiah upon hearing the news of Sennacherib’s letter, he turned to the Lord.
And in turning back to the Lord, the Lord honored his prayer and spared the nation a defeat from the Assyrian army.
In fact as they were around the city, the Lord sent an angel who just stepped out and 185,000 men were killed and the King of Assyria returned to his own city and was murdered by his son’s.
So today we begin a new portion of Hezekiah’s life as we open the chapter. Lets look ....
1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”
Wow, Hezekiah has seen the hand of God move around the nation as the nation has been delivered by God from their enemy.
And now, he has become sick, ill and the Scriptures tells us that he has at the point of death. And it is during this time that we find Isaiah comes to him.
Now remember Isaiah is a prophet, but also we know that he was related to Uzziah the king, so most likely he was connected to the royal family and this may have given him a little bit more freedom and access in the palace.
Or maybe just being the prophet, Hezekiah has given the access to come...
And look at the word of the Lord, Hezekiah, get your affairs in order, you are going to die, settle everything.
Wow, pretty harsh information but at least the Lord has given him warning that illness is fatal.
Now lets look at verses 2-3 Isa 38:2-3
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
What is interesting here is that Hezekiah doesn’t question or object to Isaiah’s statement. But it is clear he just doesn’t accept it.
The Scripture says that he turned his face to the wall and prayed.
Turning his face away indicates that he is in shock, devastated by the news. But he doesn’t argue or get angry with God.
He calls out to God in prayer.... He asks God to remember the past, (This is a method of reasoning if you will, seeking God’s grace.) Be merciful because of the way I walked in front of you. He says that He walked in faithfulness before God, and he did this with his whole heart.
He is saying that he followed completely, mind, body and soul. He did only what was good in front of God’s eyes.
It is similar to another prayer in the book of Psalms and we are just using it as comparsion Ps 26:1-3
1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.
Hezekiah is broken, and he is asking God for help. He wept bitterly knowing that his life hangs in the balance.
And with weeping bitterly, perhaps he knows his own unworthiness in front of God.
Now verses 4-6 Isa 38:4-6
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
Almost immediately God spoke to Isaiah, giving him a message to share with Hezekiah.
Now God doesn’t say anything about his merit being honored but God does say I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears...
Who says God isn’t involved in our world today? Here we see He heard and saw and brought an answer to Hezekiah.
And here God says he will add fifteen years to the King’s life, ut not only that, God says he will deliver the King and the people, the city out of the hands of of the Assyrians, namely Sennacherib.
What we see here is God knows the bigger picture that can happen to the people through his hand and help.
And I think it is fair to point out, Hezekiah trusted God, even with his own life.
The question that always falls to us is simple, Are we trusting God in our trial or with the burden we carry.
Vv7-8 Isa 38:7-8
7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.
Now here is where is gets really exciting, God will offer Hezekiah a sign to ensure the king knows God is at work in Him.
Here God is going to do something that the world would say is scientifically impossible, the sun dial of his father, Ahaz, God says that he will turn in back ten steps of literally it seems to indicated 10 hours.
Now there is speculation as to what happened that day, but it isn’t important, God turned back time to ensure Hezekiah that God was at work in His life and the life of His people.
Now lets look at verse 9 Isa 38:9
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
So Hezekiah writes a poem , a letter that starts while he is sick and we see the praises toward God for his healing.
Now verses 10-13 Isa 38:10-13
10 I said, In the middle of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;
13 I calmed myself until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
Now I am not sure why, but before God’s word of his healing and deliverance, Hezekiah records his thoughts about dying, He has come to terms with it, but still not happy about it so to speak, it seems that he thinks this is a premature death… he says it was in the middle of his days.
Hezekiah seems to share some regrets of what is he is not able to do because his time has been cut short....In some ways it sounds like the lament of Job, as he went through great trouble.
One might think that Hezekiah things he is in the prime of his life, but the rest of his years will soon be gone.
In verses 12 -13 Hezekiah describes several metaphors for dying.
First the process of dying is compared to pulling up a tent and moving it. The tent like life is a temporary dwelling place. like a nomadic shepherd who takes his tent up and moves from one place to another
Like a person’s life, it is temporary and is taken up upon death and placed in another place, taken for burial.
3. What of the weaver, who weaves and designs his fabric to his liking, and when it is done the weaver cuts it off the loom and rolls it up to be stored until the appropriate time.
Hezekiah compares God to a lion that breaks all his bones, kinda of harsh, but he is upset that life is leaving him and God has made the end of his day is near.
Now lets go to verse 14 Isa 38:14
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
But in the midst of his plight,, Hezekiah is determined to speak to God, to put his request, his petition and prayer before Him.
When he speaks of the birds, the chirp or moan, he is not saying he as a beautiful voice or tone, he is saying he is weak, his voice almost gone if you will ...
But because he can chirp and moan, he is determined to speak to God. He knows that God is the only source of his strength, the only one who can help him.
He said I am oppressed....and this really communicates his urgent need, he is helpless in his present condition. And thankfully, Hezekiah goes to the only one who can help, His prayer might be short, but it is exactly what he needs to tell God.
I love this last line, he calls for God to be his pledge of safety.. The picture here is God as the one who stands up for a friend or family member in a court setting and guarantees to support the accused.
Verses 15-17 Isa 38:15-17
15 What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
17 Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
When you look at verse 15, we see the time has changed, it appears to be the time after the healing now. God has answered his prayer and is teaching him new things through the experience.
Hezekiah is amazed, dumbfounded at what has happened… he is not even sure what to say.
So what does he say next… He speaks about how his life will change… He says he will walk slowly, this is not an indication that he cannot walk fast paced or anything.. he is say he will be more deliberate in his actions. He will value each day and appreciate the rest of his life because he has had a near death experience.
He says that he had great bitterness facing death bit now he can express a greater appreciation for life, for the well being he is enjoying simply because God has been at work
He now has greater faith in God and the assurance that he will live longer, in fact God will give him a sign.
He accredits all glory to God, for he has kept him from falling into the pit and dying. And even more importantly God has forgiven Hezekiah by putting all his sins behind him, his back literally so that they are not seen anymore.
We are not sure what those sins were, but that is not important.
Verses 18-20 Isa 38:18-20
18 For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.
More praise offered by the king, here Hezekiah knows the love and care God provides.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
So while the dead cannot praise you, the living can and they will...
I heard a preacher share the other day, what if we carried God’s word like we carried our phone… what would that say about our devotion or love for God.
The Lord does not delite in death, but he does in life. And we praise him for His saving grace.
The salvation of God brings forth not only praise but the song of our hearts.
When we call the church his house, we mean that it is the place we go to be with him. IN the OT the Lord’s house was the place where He has come to be with us, The Lord’s house was the place where the sacrifice was made to redeem men from their sin.
Redeemed we are blessed and we cannot help but tell of the glory and goodness of the Lord.
verses 21-22 Isa 38:21-22
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
These last two verses speak to the plan of God to bring his hhealing, they are told to apply a politesse, a fig cake to boil he has so that he might recover.
God promised that after that he would recover....
The sign that Hezekiah requested is motivated by his desire to group to the temple to worship God.
Since this skin disease would make him unclean, and unable to enter the Temple, He would have to wait for a sign that the sickness was past ..
We are not told of what that would be.... yet the Lord would heal him, and extend 15 years of his life…
This is a tremendous story of God’s deliverance and Hezekiah’s commitment to praise God.
How has God delivered you… maybe not physical but most certainly He has spiritually...
Can you give him praise for all that He has done for you.