Man in the hands of God!

Isaiah 38:8 Text;

Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

First reference to time or a clock! It was a clock that did not tick or tock.

It was a sun dial! Invented by King Ahaz

2 Kings 20:1-11

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

His Life was coming to the end. The shadow Darkness descending upon Hezekiah depressed, weak and unable to get out of bed he receives this news from Isaiah the prophet!

Psalm 102 prayer of the afflicted

My days are like a shadow that declineth;

And I am withered like grass.

2 Kings 20:2

2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, ( He could have just rolled over and died!)

Hezekiah did not want to die yet. His son had not yet been born and Hezekiah’s death would have been the death of the nation.

So he prays for recovery

Why did Hezekiah turn his face to the wall and pray?

Hezekiah knew something about the power of prayer!

Prayer changes things,

Prayer Can change a souls destiny

Prayer Can change the physical condition of the body

Prayer Can change the direction of a life

Prayer Can change your circumstances

Hezekiah reminds God of his walk with him as a King!

3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

(Has not made it out of the kings palace and God stops Isaiah)

5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

#1) I have heard your prayer!

#2) I have seen your tears!

#3) I will heal thee!

#4)On the third day thou shalt Go Up! Unto the house of the lord!

#5) I will add unto thy days 15 years

#6) I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of your enemy

7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. A pressed cake of figs!

Still weak !

8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

Usually when we read this story we say the sun went back in the sky 10 degrees but look at verse 9 again God says he will move the shadow!

Shadows are controlled by God! I want to talk a little bit about shadows this morning

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

David said:

Yea though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death!

Forward toward the sunset of life or

Backwards towards the rising sun of a new day!

Forward toward the darkness of night or

Backwards toward the sunlight of God grace

The choice is yours! Will you live your last days in the shadows of death? Or

will you live your last days in the dawning of a new day of gods grace?

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. looking for an Unusual outcome!

Psalm 144:4

4  Man is like to vanity: His days are as a shadow that passeth away.

2 Kings 20:11

11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

Psalm 91 (KJV 1900)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:

My God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,

And from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers,

And under his wings shalt thou trust:

His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;

Nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;

Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side,

And ten thousand at thy right hand;

But it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,

Even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee,

Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee,

To keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands,

Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:

The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him,

And shew him my salvation.

Psalm 63:7-8

7  Because thou hast been my help,

Therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

8  My soul followeth hard after thee:

Thy right hand upholdeth me.

Isa 9:2

2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:

They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Matt. 23:37 Jesus crying aloud said:

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Conclusion;

Even the shadows have become his blessing in our lives!