CHAPTER 20

(713 B.C.)

HEZEKIAHS SICKNESS AND PROPHECY OF HEALING

¹In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. (This was about the fourteenth year of his reign, which would have made Hezekiah about 39 years old. These events transpired some time in the two-year period of the invasion of Judah by the Assyrians, and immediately preceding the miraculous deliverance of the Nineteenth Chapter. So, this Chapter is not in chronological order.) And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus says the LORD, Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live. (In this Passage, the reason is not given for Hezekiahs sickness; however, II Chron., Chpt. 32, in effect, says that Hezekiah, due to the Blessings of God, had become lifted up in pride. It seems that the people of Judah and Jerusalem had likewise gone into sin; therefore, the Assyrian invasion and Hezekiahs sickness, with threatened death, were the judgments of God because of sin. Hezekiah had begun his reign with one of the greatest spiritual reforms ever; consequently, God blessed him abundantly, and then the Blessing turned his head.)

²Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying (the monarch turned his face away from all the riches, glory, and grandeur of Judah and Jerusalem; as well, he saw himself as undone, helpless, and totally dependent on the Mercy of God),

³I beseech you, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before You in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. (It would seem here that the prayer of the king is somewhat prideful; however, he is merely saying to the Lord that he has tried to keep the Law of God to the very best of his ability. His weeping refers to the fact that he now understands that his diligent effort to keep the Law of God, as noble as it was, gained him no merit with God. Instead, he had allowed Justification by Faith to be turned into justification by works, which generated pride in his heart, which such always does.)

⁴And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the Word of the LORD came to him, saying (God will always respond to a broken heart),

⁵Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of My People, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up unto the House of the LORD. (The watchword of the Church once was, You need Jesus. Now, sadly, the watchword of the Church is, You need counseling. How so regrettably sad! Hezekiah could have been counseled forever, and there would have been no help from that source; however, he went to the Lord, and God turned an extremely ugly situation around. He is no respecter of persons. What he did for the monarch, He will, as well, do for you and for me.)

⁶And I will add unto your days fifteen years (Hezekiah was one of the few men in history who knew basically the exact day on which he would die fifteen years later); and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My Own sake, and for My servant Davids sake (for Jesus sake, the Greater Son of David).

⁷And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. (The critic may argue that if God healed him, why was the lump of figs needed as a poultice? Did God need the figs to complete the healing?

The truth is: God needs nothing! Everything He does is always done for purpose, and is generally to generate Faith in the heart and life of the individual in question. God does nothing to cater to the pride of our heart, only to Faith.

As well, what difference does it make if God heals instantly, or uses a doctor, medicine, or other means, to bring about His desired effect? Gods purposes are far greater than ours. Most of the time, we can only see the desired healing; God sees Spiritual Growth, as well, and will function accordingly.)

MIRACULOUS SIGNS OF HEZEKIAHS HEALING: THE SUNDIAL GOES BACKWARD

⁸And 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? (The third day refers to the coming of the Messiah, and that he would rise from the dead on the third day. Considering that this sign had to do with the Messiah, neither the Lord nor the Prophet was angry at the request of Hezekiah.)

⁹And Isaiah said, This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

¹⁰And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees (forward): no, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees (both, going forward or backward, were impossible; however, going backward was even more impossible!).

¹¹And 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. (This was a notable miracle and would make a long day; the event of this long day was known over the world of that day.

With the word of its origination having spread far and wide, inquiries came from Babylon to learn more about the God Who could not only stop the rotation of the Earth, but actually make it go backwards for a period of time. Several centuries later, Greek historians informed Alexander the Great that this was one of the great wonders recorded in their scientific books.)

HEZEKIAH RECEIVES ENVOYS FROM BABYLON; ISAIAHS PROPHECY OF JUDAHS CAPTIVITY

¹²At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. (Secular history relates that, at this moment in history, the king of Babylon was seeking allies to strengthen him against the king of Assyria; hence, this was one of his reasons for his embassage to Hezekiah.

At this time, Babylon was not nearly the power that Nineveh was. So, the Prophecy that Isaiah would shortly give concerning the coming supremacy of Babylon would certainly not seem practical at this particular time; however, as are all Prophecies given by the Lord, they always come to pass exactly as stated.)

¹³And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. (Although Hezekiahs object in showing the Babylonians the house of his armor and the house of his treasures was to convince these ambassadors of the power of Judah, he would have done far better to have related to them the Grace and Glory of Jehovah!)

¹⁴Then came Isaiah the Prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

¹⁵And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. (As stated, he did not show the ambassadors from Babylon the things of God, but rather the riches of Judah. He will be rebuked for it. The greatest treasure of all, the Glory of God, it seems he mentioned not at all.)

¹⁶And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the Word of the LORD.

¹⁷Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. (This refers to the coming time, when Judah would completely lose her way with God, and be taken in chains to Babylon. It would be fulfilled about 125 years later.)

¹⁸And of your sons who shall issue from you, which you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (The whole Prophecy of Verses 17-18 was very remarkable, because, at that time, Babylon was a feeble kingdom.)

¹⁹Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the Word of the LORD which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days? (Hezekiah accepts the rebuke, thereby acknowledging himself to have been in the wrong, and submits without remonstrance to his punishment. It is a relief, however, to hear that the blow will not fall during his lifetime.)

DEATH OF HEZEKIAH; ACCESSION OF MANASSEH

²⁰And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? (That conduit is still there. Up until 2003, it was claimed by some that Hezekiah was not the one who actually made this conduit underground; however, archaeologists discovered proof, in the latter part of 2003, which verifies the Scripture.

The truth is: the Scripture doesnt need anything to verify it, while all such discoveries must have the Scripture to verify them.)

²¹And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.