2 Kings 20:1 - Meaning and Application

The historian has shown us blaspheming Sennacherib destroyed while he was still full of life. Now he shows us praying Hezekiah delivered while death seemed near. The days of the first were cut short, and the days of the second were extended.

Here is Hezekiah’s sickness. “In those days” means in the same year when the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem. Hezekiah reigned twenty-nine years, and he lived fifteen years after this event, so this must have been in his fourteenth year (2 Kings 18:13). Some think this sickness came while the Assyrian army was still surrounding the city, or getting ready to do so, because God later promised, “I will defend this city” (2 Kings 20:6). That promise was repeated when the danger became most urgent (2 Kings 19:34).

Others think this sickness came soon after Sennacherib was defeated. If so, it shows how uncertain all earthly comforts are. Hezekiah, just after God had favored him and given him victory over his enemies, is struck by illness and put under the sentence of death. We should always rejoice with caution. It seems he had the plague, since a boil or plague sore is mentioned later (2 Kings 20:7). The same disease that was killing the Assyrians was now testing him. God took it from Hezekiah and sent it on his enemies.

Neither rank nor goodness keeps us from sickness, even from severe and deadly sickness. Hezekiah, who had lately been favored above most men, is still sick unto death. He was still in the middle of life, probably under forty, yet dying. He may have feared it was fatal because his father died when he was about that age, or a little younger. Truly, “in the middle of life we are in death.”

Warning was sent to him so he could prepare for death. It came by Isaiah, who had already been twice a messenger of good news to him in the previous chapter. We should not expect God’s prophets to bring us anything other than what they have received from the Lord, and we must welcome it, whether it pleases us or not. The prophet told Hezekiah two things. First, his disease was mortal, and unless God healed him by mercy, he would certainly die, “You shall die, and not live.” Second, he must prepare quickly for death: “Set your house in order.”

We should all do this while we are healthy, but we are especially called to do it when we become sick. We should set our hearts in order through renewed repentance, faith, and surrender to God, with ready farewells to this world and welcome to the next. If we have not done it before, and that is the wiser course, we should at least set our house in order, make a will, settle our estate, and arrange our affairs as well as we can for those who come after us. Isaiah speaks to Hezekiah about his house, not his kingdom. David, as a prophet, could appoint his successor, but other kings did not treat their crowns as if they were ordinary property to give away.

Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord (2 Kings 20:2). Is anyone sick? Let him be prayed for, prayed with, and let him pray. Hezekiah had learned in the previous chapter that waiting on God was not useless, and that the prayers of faith bring peaceful answers. So he would keep calling on God as long as he lived. Good experiences of prayer’s power are strong reasons to keep praying.

He had now heard the sentence of death within himself, and if it was to be changed, prayer would be the means. When God plans to show mercy, he still calls for prayer, (Ezekiel 36:37). We do not have because we do not ask, or because we ask wrongly. Even if the sentence could not be changed, prayer was still one of the best ways to prepare for death, because it brings strength and grace from God to help us finish well.

Notice the setting of this prayer. He turned his face to the wall, likely while lying in bed. Perhaps he did this for privacy. He could not go to his closet as usual, but he withdrew as well as he could, turning away from those around him to speak with God. When we cannot be as private or as formal as we would like in devotion, we should not leave it off. We should still settle ourselves for prayer as well as we can.

Some think he turned toward the temple, showing how gladly he would have gone there to pray, as he had done before (2 Kings 19:1, 2 Kings 19:14), if he had been able. He may also have remembered the promises made to prayers offered in or toward that house. Christ is our true temple, and in all our prayers we must look to him, for no one and no service comes to the Father except through him.

He wept bitterly. Some take this to mean he did not want to die. That is natural in human beings, since the soul’s separation from the body is frightening. It was not strange if Old Testament believers, who saw the next world more dimly, were not as ready to leave this life as Paul and other New Testament believers were. Hezekiah’s situation also had special weight. He was in the middle of a good work of reform, and he feared it might collapse if he died, because the people were so corrupt. If this happened before the Assyrian defeat, as some think, he may also have feared that his kingdom would be ruined.

Still, it does not seem he had a son at this point. Manasseh, who succeeded him, was not born until three years later. If he died without a child, both the peace of his kingdom and the promise to David would seem in danger. Yet these tears may simply have shown urgency and deep feeling in prayer. Jacob wept and pleaded with God, and our Lord Jesus, though fully willing to die, offered up strong cries and tears to the one who could save him from death (Hebrews 5:7). We should read Hezekiah’s tears in light of his prayer, and in that prayer there is nothing that suggests a fear of death filled with bondage or torment.

Here is the prayer itself: “Remember now, O Lord, how I have walked before you in truth.” He is really saying, “Spare me to live, so I may keep walking this way. Or, if my work is finished, receive me into the glory you have prepared for those who have walked before you like this.” His piety is described in three ways. He had lived in the world with right motives, walking before God, always with God’s eye in view. He had done so from a right heart, “in truth,” with sincerity. And he had followed a right rule, doing what was good in God’s sight.

He now found comfort in looking back on that life. It made his sickbed easier. The witness of conscience, telling us that we have walked with God in integrity, will support us greatly when we face death (2 Corinthians 1:12). Hezekiah also mentions this humbly before God.

Lord, remember me now. That does not mean God needs to be reminded of anything by us, for he is greater than our hearts and knows all things. It does not mean we can claim a reward as something God owes us either, for it is Christ’s righteousness alone that buys mercy and grace.

Hezekiah is really pleading his own sincerity as the condition of the covenant that God has worked in him. In effect, he says, “Lord, own what you have made.” He does not pray, “Spare me,” or, “Take me, let your will be done.” He simply says, “Lord, remember me,” whether I live or die, let me be yours.

God answered this prayer at once. The prophet Isaiah had only gone as far as the middle court when he was sent back with another message for Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:4, 5). He was told that he would recover. This does not mean God changes his mind or ever says one thing and then another. Rather, God had already foreseen Hezekiah’s prayer and, by his Spirit, moved him to pray it. Then God did for him what he would not have done otherwise.

God calls Hezekiah “the captain of my people” to show that he would spare him for the sake of his people. In this time of war, they could not easily do without such a leader. He also calls himself “the God of David” to show that he would spare Hezekiah because of the covenant with David and the promise to keep a lamp burning for him.

God honored Hezekiah’s prayer by noticing it and mentioning it in the answer: “I have heard your prayers, I have seen your tears.” Prayers that are full of life and deep feeling are especially pleasing to God. God also gave more than Hezekiah asked. He only asked that God would remember his integrity, but God promised much more.

First, God promised to heal him from his sickness. Diseases are God’s servants. They go where he sends them, and they leave when he calls them back. As Jesus said, God can heal by his word alone (Matthew 8:8, 9). He is the Lord who heals his people (Exodus 15:26).

Second, God promised to restore him so fully that on the third day he would go up to the house of the Lord to give thanks. God knew how deeply Hezekiah loved God’s house and the place where God’s honor lived. While he was sick, he turned his face toward that place, and once recovered he would turn his feet toward it. Since nothing would please him more, God promised him that joy. “Let my soul live, and it will praise you.” The man whom Christ healed was soon found in the temple (John 5:14).

Third, God added fifteen years to his life. That would not make him old, since it would only bring him to about fifty-four or fifty-five. But it was longer than he had expected to live. His lease on life, which he thought was ending, was renewed. Scripture does not give us another example of anyone told ahead of time exactly how long he would live. Hezekiah likely made good use of that knowledge, but God wisely keeps us uncertain so that we stay ready.

Fourth, God promised to deliver Jerusalem from the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 20:6. This was very close to Hezekiah’s heart, as much as his own recovery. So the promise is repeated here. Even if the siege had already been lifted, there was still reason to fear that Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, might attack again. God answered, “I will defend this city.”

Next, we see the means used for Hezekiah’s recovery, 2 Kings 20:7. Isaiah served as his physician. He ordered a simple outward treatment, a cheap and common one: “Put a lump of figs on the boil.” The figs would help bring the sore to a head so the disease could drain out that way. It may have helped in some degree, but given how severe the sickness was and how suddenly it stopped, the healing was clearly miraculous.

This teaches us that when we are sick, we should use proper means to help nature. If we refuse all means, we are not trusting God, but testing him. It also reminds us not to despise plain and ordinary medicines, for God has often made them useful to people, especially to the poor. Whatever God appoints, he will bless and make effective.

Then God gave Hezekiah a sign to strengthen his faith. He asked for it, not because he doubted God’s power or promise, but because the promise was great and worthy of confirmation. He also knew it had often pleased God to confirm his word this way, and he remembered how displeased God was with his father for refusing to ask for a sign (Isaiah 7:10-12). Notice that Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?” He wanted recovery so that he could glorify God in the gates of Zion’s daughter. It is not worth living for any other purpose than serving God.

The choice was given to him whether the sun should go backward or forward, since either was equally possible for Almighty God. It would also confirm his faith more if he chose what seemed harder. This may be what the prophet meant when he said, “Ask me about things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command me” (Isaiah 45:11). The steps were likely half-hours, and it was about noon when the offer was made. So the question was whether the sun should go back to its position at seven in the morning or move forward to its position at five in the evening.

Hezekiah humbly asked that the sun go back ten steps. Either direction would have been a great miracle, but going backward would seem more strange because the sun naturally moves forward. It would also better picture Hezekiah being brought back to the days of his youth (Job 33:25) and his life being lengthened. God granted it through Isaiah’s prayer (2 Kings 20:11). Isaiah called on the Lord by special instruction, and God brought the sun back ten degrees. Hezekiah saw this sign by the shadow moving backward on the dial of Ahaz, likely visible through his chamber window. The same was observed on other dials too, even in Babylon (2 Chronicles 32:31).

We are not told whether the sun’s movement backward was gradual or sudden, or whether the day was made ten hours longer than usual. We are also not told whether the motion happened in a way that left the rest of the heavens unchanged, as Bishop Patrick thought. But this wonder showed God’s power in heaven as well as on earth, his care for prayer, and his favor toward his chosen people. It also exposed the foolishness of the heathen’s most respectable idolatry, the worship of the sun, because it showed that their supposed god was under the command of the God of Israel.

Lightfoot suggests that the fifteen Songs of Degrees, such as Psalm 120, may have been given that name because Hezekiah chose them to be sung with his stringed instruments (Isaiah 38:20). This may have been in memory of the steps, or degrees, on the sundial, where the sun moved back, and of the fifteen extra years added to his life. He also notes how much in these psalms fits Jerusalem’s trouble and rescue, as well as Hezekiah’s sickness and recovery.