38:1. “In
those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of
Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house
in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”
Hezekiah means
strengthened of Jehovah, and in the extension of his life we have a
symbolic picture of the salvation of a sinner.
Note first that he was
“sick unto death,” and in this is declared the state of every man born into
this world, for we are all born as sinners doomed to die because by natural
birth we have inherited Adam’s fallen sinful nature, hence the imperative of
being “born again” spiritually by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior, to have our lives extended, not just for a few years, but for ever;
nor to be continued in a state of sinfulness, but in perfect righteousness,
for the new nature received by faith is characterized by the perfect
righteousness of Christ. Faith in Him takes us into a sphere that isn’t
governed by the consequences of Adam’s rebellion, but by those of the Lord’s
perfect obedience, “... even unto death, the death of the cross,”
Philippians 2:8. Sin is inseparable from the old Adamic nature, as is
righteousness with the new nature, which is that of the Lord Himself.
It must be understood
however, that that new sinless nature exists in our bodies side by side with
the old sinful Adamic nature, there being a continuous state of war between
the two, relative to which Paul wailed, “Oh wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24. (“this body of
death” is also rendered this body doomed to death: this deadly lower
nature: my own sinful nature.”
His being commanded to set
his house in order, i.e., prepare for death, is the reminder that all of us
are under the same necessity, that preparation consisting of the admission
that I am a guilty sinner without one shred of righteousness, followed by
the faith to believe that when Christ died, it was in my place, as my
Substitute; and accompanied by the belief that His death has expiated all my
sin, and brought me God’s gift of eternal life, so that when I die He will
receive me into heaven to dwell there with Him for ever.
38:2. “Then
Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,”
In turning his face to the
wall he was literally turning away from the things of the world around him,
and this is exactly what we should do in every time of difficulty, for it is
the Lord alone Who can deliver us. The injunction given in the chorus line
of a well-known hymn applies in every such circumstance, “Take it to the
Lord in prayer.”
38:3. “And
said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, 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.”
This is also translated,
“... how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart,”
RHM; “... in faithfulness and in truth, with a whole heart
[absolutely devoted to You], AMP; “... how I have lived before thee,
faithful and loyal in thy service,” NEB; ... how I lived ever mindful
of thee, honestly and heartily,” MOFFATT; “... how I have always
tried to obey You in everything You said,”
The veracity of his words
is attested by the fact that God didn’t refute them, a fact which prompts
the question as to whether we could truthfully make the same assertion
without fear of His contradiction.
Why he “wept sore
(bitterly)” isn’t explained. Were his tears impelled by the remembrance of
much time relative to which he could not have made that assertion? Surely
it would indicate a healthier condition of soul were we also moved to tears
by the same realization.
38:4. “Then
came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,”
38:5. “Go, and
say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days
fifteen years.”
God’s favorable response
to his prayer was impelled by Hezekiah’s descent from David, and it is our
relationship with the true David, the Lord Jesus Christ, that secures His
favorable response to all our prayers, He Himself giving the assurance to
His own when He was here on earth, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son,” John 14:13.
Hezekiah’s experience may
be a type of what happens at conversion, the fifteen added years
representing the new spiritual life received the moment we trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ as Savior. Since three is the number of resurrection;
and five, the number of responsibility, the lesson being taught is
that conversion brings resurrection out of spiritual death, and also the
responsibility to walk in obedience before God.
38:6. “And I
will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and
I will defend this city.”
The promise of deliverance
has also spiritual significance, for it points to the truth that the
believer is freed from the power of Satan; while the deliverance of the city
foreshadows the truth that this world, over which Satan presently rules, is
also soon to be emancipated from that evil dominion during the arch fiend’s
thousand-year imprisonment in the bottomless pit during the Millennium, and
then eternally, after his brief release and final rebellion at the end of
that glorious era, following which he will be cast into eternal torment in
the lake of fire, together with the Beast and the False Prophet, he and they
constituting the trinity of evil which now works in opposition to the Holy
Trinity.
38:7. “And
this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord that the Lord will do this
thing that he hath spoken:”
38:8. “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.”
This was incontrovertible
proof that God would fulfill His word relative to the extension of
Hezekiah’s life, for nothing is impossible to Him Who can control the
movement of the sun.
38:9. “The
writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered
of his sickness:”
38:10. “I said
in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am
deprived of the residue of my years.”
This appears to have been
what Hezekiah was thinking during his sickness. Feeling that he was near
the end of his life, he bewailed the fact that God was about to cut him off
without permitting him to reach old age.
38:11. “I
said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I
shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.”
His lament continues with
the expression of regret that he would not be able to see either God or men
again here on earth, forgetting apparently that he would have something
better: he would see the Lord face to face in heaven. His attitude was very
different from that of Paul who expected with eagerness to see His Savior
face to face, as it is written, “For I am in a strait between two, having a
desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better,” Philippians
1:23.
Hezekiah’s attitude
however, is an accurate reflection of that of many professed believers today
who are so occupied with earthly things that the sadness accompanying their
thought of dying nullifies the joy that ought to attend anticipation of
seeing the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face in His heavenly glory.
38:12. “Mine
age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off
like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day
even to night wilt thou make an end of me.”
Believing, mistakenly,
that his life was about to end, he described it as having been like the
brief stay of a shepherd whose tent is set up only for a night or two until
it is time to move on to a place of new pasture; or as being like the thread
which is cut when the weaving is complete and the cloth removed from the
loom. He likened its duration to the equivalent of only one day.
38:13. “I
reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from
day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.”
The character of his
sufferings he described as being like those of one who had only a few hours
to live as the result of having been mauled by a lion.
38:14. “Like a
crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail
with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.”
“... chatter” means to
chirp: twitter: moan: mourn: utter shrill cries. The sounds he uttered
were those of unimaginable distress and physical suffering; and his eyes had
become weary with continuous looking toward heaven for deliverance which
hadn’t come. His being oppressed means that he was in anguish.
“... undertake for me”
means “be Thou my surety,” i.e., “secure my deliverance.”
No spiritual mind will
fail to see in his terrible distress the foreshadowing of that which
impelled the Lord’s cry of utter desolation from the cross, “My God, My God,
Why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.
38:15. “What
shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall
go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.”
Translators differ
slightly as to the rendering of this verse, but the general meaning seems
to be that Hezekiah was willing to accept God’s will for his life in spite
of his being saddened by it.
38:16. “O
Lord, by these things men live, and in all these thing is the life of my
spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.”
The AAT translation of
this verse reads, “O Lord, by these things men live, and through all of them
is the life of my spirit sustained; therefore do thou restore me to life
again,” and Taylor renders it, “O Lord, Your discipline is good and leads to
life and health. Oh heal me and make me live.” It is the OT equivalent of
the truth declared in Romans 12:2, which describes God’s will as being
“good, and acceptable, and perfect.” No matter how adverse it may seem, we
should never question His will, for He orders every circumstance of life for
His own glory, and our ultimate blessing.
38:17.
“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul
delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins
behind thy back.”
This confirms that the OT
believer had the same assurance of eternal life as does his NT peer, for
“the pit of corruption” refers not to the grave, but to hell itself; and
relative to our sins being cast behind God’s back, a fact we tend to forget
it that the moment we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, all
our sins - past, present, and those we will yet commit - are all forgiven
even before we commit them. As far as God is concerned the old “I”, where
all sin originates, is dead “crucified with Christ,” and He is now dealing
with us, not as unbelieving sinners, but as sons in His royal family as
declared in Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as
a father the son in whom he delighteth,” and 1 John 3:2 assures us,
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God ....”
38:18. “For
the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down
into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.”
Physical death ends for
ever the unbeliever’s hope of salvation, for it transports his body to the
grave, and his soul into hell (the pit), to await the resurrection of death
or damnation, following which both will be cast into eternal torment in the
lake of fire, as declared in John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour
is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and
shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
38:19. “The
living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to
the children shall make known thy truth.”
The repeated “the living,
the living” emphasizes that it is only the living who can praise God and
teach others His truth, for as death ends all possibility of the
unbeliever’s being saved, so does it also end the believer’s privilege of
proclaiming the gospel. “... behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation,” 2 Corinthians 6:2.
38:20. “The
Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed
instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.”
Taylor’s rendering of this
verse reads, “Think of it! The Lord healed me! Every day of my life from
now on I will sing my songs of praise in the Temple, accompanied by the
orchestra.” Were we less occupied with the things of the world, and more
with spiritual realities, this same exclamation of wonder and worship would
employ our lips more often during the course of each day.
The believer is to worship
as well as witness, the Scriptural order, in fact, being that we come in on
the first day of the week to worship, and then go out to witness to others
during the week. (Instrumental music led by a choir, was the God-ordained
order for the OT age, but the New Testament is instructively silent relative
to any such activity in connection with the worship of the church, the
admonition in Ephesians 5:18-19 being, “... be filled with the Spirit;
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in your heart to the Lord ....”).
38:21. “For
Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister
(poultice) upon the boil, and he shall recover.”
I’m convinced that there
is some spiritual significance connected with this fig poultice, but regret
being unable to discern what that teaching is, and would appreciate hearing
readers’ views on it.
38:22.
“Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of
the Lord?”
Hezekiah, upon being told
that God would grant him another fifteen years of life, had apparently asked
to be given some confirmatory sign, but it is not recorded that any such
sign was given. We are to have faith to accept and believe God’s promises
without first demanding proof that they will be fulfilled, for proof would
negate faith.
