"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.
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
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.
Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,
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.
And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;
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."
Isaiah 38:1-8
This is an interesting story that teaches several lessons. One of them is that God is listening to us, and that he cares. Hezekiah pleaded with the Lord for his life, and the Lord granted him more time. I think God wanted to bolster Hezekiah's confidence, because coming out of this he knows he has 15 years to work with, he knows that they don't have to fear Assyria, and he can focus on doing good in his kingdom. Nothing like a near-death scare to make you think about your life, right?
The sun returning 10 degrees is a pretty amazing sign. Not really sure how that one worked, but being able to predict that sounds like solid prophecy. Interestingly, in the next chapter Hezekiah shows his wealth to a visiting king who wrote and was kind to him when he was sick, and Isaiah predicts that that nation will carry away his wealth and make his sons eunuchs. That's a scary prophecy, but Hezekiah says that it is okay, that in his days there will be peace and truth... leaving it in turn to his sons to plead with the Lord to turn away their own disaster, as needed. Which might sound harsh I suppose, but also seems like part of the lesson of these verses. We each individually have to face disasters, plead with God, and work out our salvation with the Lord. It's like a "good friend" thing with God, not just a parent-child or master-servant thing, right? He might be (read: is, definitely) the boss, but that doesn't mean that we can't also be best friends. :)
Today, let's plead with the Lord about the things that are hard. He won't always take them away, but he can always help. Let's talk to God about our lives and what we're working on and who we are trying to be. God wants to help us and support our good efforts. Let's trust him and work with him to find our way and to do better.
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
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.
Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,
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.
And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;
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."
Isaiah 38:1-8
This is an interesting story that teaches several lessons. One of them is that God is listening to us, and that he cares. Hezekiah pleaded with the Lord for his life, and the Lord granted him more time. I think God wanted to bolster Hezekiah's confidence, because coming out of this he knows he has 15 years to work with, he knows that they don't have to fear Assyria, and he can focus on doing good in his kingdom. Nothing like a near-death scare to make you think about your life, right?
The sun returning 10 degrees is a pretty amazing sign. Not really sure how that one worked, but being able to predict that sounds like solid prophecy. Interestingly, in the next chapter Hezekiah shows his wealth to a visiting king who wrote and was kind to him when he was sick, and Isaiah predicts that that nation will carry away his wealth and make his sons eunuchs. That's a scary prophecy, but Hezekiah says that it is okay, that in his days there will be peace and truth... leaving it in turn to his sons to plead with the Lord to turn away their own disaster, as needed. Which might sound harsh I suppose, but also seems like part of the lesson of these verses. We each individually have to face disasters, plead with God, and work out our salvation with the Lord. It's like a "good friend" thing with God, not just a parent-child or master-servant thing, right? He might be (read: is, definitely) the boss, but that doesn't mean that we can't also be best friends. :)
Today, let's plead with the Lord about the things that are hard. He won't always take them away, but he can always help. Let's talk to God about our lives and what we're working on and who we are trying to be. God wants to help us and support our good efforts. Let's trust him and work with him to find our way and to do better.
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