Isaiah 38:1 - Meaning and Application

From this we may learn several good lessons.

One is that neither a person’s greatness nor their goodness can keep them from sickness and death. Hezekiah, a powerful king on earth and a special favorite of heaven, is struck with a disease that would surely be fatal unless God worked a miracle. This comes in the middle of his days, his comfort, and his usefulness. It was likely in the very time of his triumph over the ruined Assyrian army, a reminder that we should always rejoice with humility and fear.

We should also prepare when death seems near. We are told to “set your house in order,” and especially our hearts. We should put our feelings and our affairs in the best shape we can, so that when the Lord comes we may be found in peace with God, with our own conscience, and with other people. Then we will have nothing left to do but die. Being ready for death does not make it come any sooner, but it does make it much easier. Those who are fit to die are also the best fit to live.

If anyone is suffering from sickness, let him pray, as James 5:13 says. Prayer is a remedy for every wound, whether personal or public. When Hezekiah was troubled by enemies, he prayed. Now that he was sick, he prayed again. Where should a child go when anything hurts him, except to his Father? God sends afflictions to drive us to our Bibles and to our knees. When Hezekiah was healthy, he went up to the house of the Lord to pray, because that was the house of prayer. When he was sick in bed, he turned his face to the wall, likely toward the temple, which pointed ahead to Christ, the one we must look to by faith in every prayer.

The witness of a good conscience is also a great help when we face death. If, by God’s grace, we have lived well and walked closely and humbly with God, that will support and comfort us. We must not trust that as our righteousness to be made right with God. That is justification, being accepted by God as righteous, and that comes only through Christ. But we may humbly present it as proof that we belong to the righteousness of the Mediator, the one who brings us to God. Hezekiah does not ask for a reward as if he had earned it. He simply asks God to remember, not his reforms, his removal of the high places, his cleansing of the temple, or his restoring of neglected worship, but rather how he had walked before God in truth and sincerity, with an upright heart. That uprightness is our gospel perfection, meaning a sincere and whole-hearted devotion, not sinless flawlessness.

We also see that God listens graciously to the prayers of his afflicted people. The same prophet who came to Hezekiah with warning to prepare for death is sent back with a promise that he will recover, be restored to full health, and live fifteen more years. Jerusalem was in distress, and Hezekiah was in sickness, so God might receive glory for delivering both, and prayer might be honored as the means used in that deliverance. When we pray in sickness, and God does not answer us in exactly this way, we still must not say we prayed in vain. If by his Spirit he comforts us, assures us that our sins are forgiven, tells us that his grace will be enough for us, and makes us sure that whether we live or die we belong to him, then he has answered us. God answers us if he strengthens our souls, even when he does not strengthen our bodies (Psalm 138:3).

A good man cannot take much comfort in his own health and success unless he also sees the welfare of the church of God. God knew what lay close to Hezekiah’s heart, so he promised not only that Hezekiah would live, but that he would see the good of Jerusalem all his life (Psalm 128:5). Otherwise he could not live comfortably. Jerusalem, now delivered, would still be protected from the Assyrians, who may have been ready to gather again and attack once more. In this way God kindly provided for Hezekiah’s peace in every respect.

God is also willing to show those who inherit his promise that his purpose never changes, so they may have firm faith and strong comfort. He had already given Hezekiah repeated assurances of his favor. Yet, as though that were still too little, he gave him an unusual sign to confirm this unusual promise. We know of no one else who received an absolute promise of living a fixed number of years, as Hezekiah did, so God confirmed it with a miracle. The sign was the shadow moving backward on the sundial. The sun is a faithful measure of time and runs its course like a strong man in a race, but the one who set that clock in motion can turn it back whenever he pleases. The Father of all light directs them all.