Isaiah38

King Hezekiah fell mortally ill, and the prophet Isaiah delivered a divine message that he would die. Hezekiah prayed earnestly to the LORD, reminding Him of his faithful walk, and God heard his plea. The LORD then promised to add fifteen years to Hezekiah's life and deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians, confirming this with a miraculous sign of the sun's shadow receding ten degrees on a sundial. Following his recovery, Hezekiah composed a song of thanksgiving, praising God for his deliverance from death and the forgiveness of his sins.

Hezekiah's Illness and Prayer for Life

1
In those days was Hezekiah sick and near death. 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 will die, and not live.’” ​
2
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
3
and said, “Remember now, the LORD, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” Hezekiah wept bitterly. ​
4
Then the LORD’s word 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. 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 I will defend this city. ​
7
This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has spoken.
8
Behold, I will cause the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down on the sundial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the sundial on which it had gone down.”’” ​

Hezekiah's Song of Recovery

9
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered of his sickness. ​
10
I said, “In the middle of my life I go into the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the residue of my years.”
11
I said, “I won’t see the LORD, The LORD in the land of the living. I will see man no more with the inhabitants of the world. ​
12
My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up, like a weaver, my life. He will cut me off from the loom. From day even to night you will make an end of me. ​
13
I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me.
14
I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
15
What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
16
Lord, men live by these things; and my spirit finds life in all of them: you restore me, and cause me to live.
17
Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back. ​
18
For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth. ​
19
The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do this day. The father shall make known your truth to the children.
20
The LORD will save me. Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life in the LORD’s house.

Narrative Conclusion and Postscript

21
Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” ​
22
Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to the LORD’s house?” ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 38

Verse 1

This account is paralleled in 2 Kings 20:1-11. The phrase 'Set thine house in order' is a command to prepare for death, including appointing a successor, reflecting the gravity of the illness.

Verse 3

Hezekiah appeals to his righteous conduct, particularly his faithfulness in removing idols and restoring temple worship (2 Kings 18). This reflects the theology of retribution common in the Old Testament, where physical blessing often followed obedience.

Verse 5

God grants Hezekiah 15 additional years, demonstrating divine sovereignty over the span of human life. The reference to 'David thy father' anchors the promise in the unconditional covenant made with David.

Verse 6

The promise of personal recovery is immediately linked to the safety of Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat. God’s intervention addresses both the king’s personal crisis and the national political crisis simultaneously.

Verse 8

The sign involving the 'sun dial of Ahaz' (likely a series of steps or a stepped sundial) is a powerful cosmological miracle, demonstrating God’s absolute control over time and creation to confirm his word.

Verse 9

This psalm (or 'writing') is a hymn of thanksgiving, reflecting the typical structure of laments in which the writer moves from despair and fear of death (vv. 10-14) to praise and commitment to worship (vv. 15-20).

Verse 11

This verse reflects the traditional Hebrew understanding of Sheol (the grave), where the dead are cut off from the active presence of God and the joy of worship 'in the land of the living.'

Verse 12

Hezekiah uses vivid metaphors for the suddenness and fragility of life: the temporary nature of a shepherd’s tent and a weaver’s thread being abruptly cut off before its intended length.

Verse 17

This verse presents a crucial theological insight: the suffering (bitterness) was used by God for good (peace). Hezekiah connects his physical healing to the forgiveness of sins, suggesting that his illness may have been perceived as divine chastisement.

Verse 18

The primary focus of religious life is defined by active praise and witness while alive. Since the dead cannot actively praise God, it reinforces the urgency and value of the life God restored.

Verse 21

This detail, often viewed as a narrative appendix, shows that divine healing does not preclude the use of natural means (medical treatment). The fig poultice was likely used to draw out the infection from the boil or tumor.

Verse 22

Hezekiah’s concern for the sign was specifically tied to his ability to return to public worship in the Temple ('go up to the house of the LORD'), underscoring the importance of communal praise.

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