Isa 38:8 | KingComments | STEP | Isaiah may convey to Hezekiah the answer of the LORD to his prayer ( ). It is an answer of grace ( ). The LORD says nothing about the faithfulness and wholeheartedness to which Hezekiah appealed. There is also no reproach. The LORD answers as “the LORD, the God of your father David”. All compassion for anyone who calls upon Him is based on the Lord Jesus, the true David. The reference that the LORD is the God of David recalls the promise that the lineage of David will never cease. At that moment Hezekiah does not yet have a son to succeed him. Manasseh is only born three years later. The promise of God of the announcement of the death and, as it were, resurrection of Hezekiah, of which the third day speaks ( ; ), are a wonderful illustration of how God will soon restore Israel. It will be life from the dead ( ), the resurrection of their dead, the dead body will rise ( ; ; ). God also lets Hezekiah know that He has seen His tears ( ). He even collects them and records them in His register, His Divine library ( ). He does not write them down because He could forget them, but to show us how important they are to Him. Hezekiah gets fifteen extra years. The LORD also confirms the promise that the king of Assyria will not get hold of the city ( ). Here it appears that the illness of Hezekiah, his prayer and the answer to it chronologically precede the deliverance of Jerusalem described in the previous chapter. The Holy Spirit is therefore concerned here with the moral order and not with the historical one. Hezekiah asks the LORD for a sign, in contrast with Ahaz ( ). Ahaz has refused to believe, Hezekiah has the desire to trust the LORD. The LORD promises a sign as proof that He will do what He has said ( ). This sign consists of an intervention in the course of nature ( ; cf. ). Just as the return of the sun goes against the natural laws given by God, so the LORD will heal the illness of Hezekiah against nature. The healing of Hezekiah is connected with God’s power over the sun. The sun is a picture of a ruler. Powers must give way when the LORD stands up for His people, His remnant. God triumphs over the illness of Hezekiah and also over the rulers who made His people suffer so much. By letting the sun go back, the LORD makes that day last longer than normal. As wonderful as this operation is, so wonderful will the extension of Hezekiah’s lifespan be. To make this sign visible the LORD uses the stairway of Ahaz, the idolatrous and ungodly king, who made this stairway as an idolatrous object. The stairway indicates that time progresses in the direction of judgment. By God’s power, the stairway makes it clear that He makes the time of grace last longer, thus delaying the judgment and allowing grace to overcome the judgment.

‏ Isaiah 38:8

Promise of Healing and Deliverance

Isaiah may convey to Hezekiah the answer of the LORD to his prayer (Isa 38:4). It is an answer of grace (Isa 38:5). The LORD says nothing about the faithfulness and wholeheartedness to which Hezekiah appealed. There is also no reproach. The LORD answers as “the LORD, the God of your father David”. All compassion for anyone who calls upon Him is based on the Lord Jesus, the true David.

The reference that the LORD is the God of David recalls the promise that the lineage of David will never cease. At that moment Hezekiah does not yet have a son to succeed him. Manasseh is only born three years later. The promise of God of the announcement of the death and, as it were, resurrection of Hezekiah, of which the third day speaks (2Kgs 20:5; Hos 6:2), are a wonderful illustration of how God will soon restore Israel. It will be life from the dead (Rom 11:15), the resurrection of their dead, the dead body will rise (Isa 26:19; Eze 37:1-14; Dan 12:1-3).

God also lets Hezekiah know that He has seen His tears (Isa 38:5). He even collects them and records them in His register, His Divine library (Psa 56:8). He does not write them down because He could forget them, but to show us how important they are to Him.

Hezekiah gets fifteen extra years. The LORD also confirms the promise that the king of Assyria will not get hold of the city (Isa 38:6). Here it appears that the illness of Hezekiah, his prayer and the answer to it chronologically precede the deliverance of Jerusalem described in the previous chapter. The Holy Spirit is therefore concerned here with the moral order and not with the historical one.

Hezekiah asks the LORD for a sign, in contrast with Ahaz (Isa 7:10-14). Ahaz has refused to believe, Hezekiah has the desire to trust the LORD. The LORD promises a sign as proof that He will do what He has said (Isa 38:7). This sign consists of an intervention in the course of nature (Isa 38:8; cf. Jos 10:12-13). Just as the return of the sun goes against the natural laws given by God, so the LORD will heal the illness of Hezekiah against nature. The healing of Hezekiah is connected with God’s power over the sun. The sun is a picture of a ruler. Powers must give way when the LORD stands up for His people, His remnant. God triumphs over the illness of Hezekiah and also over the rulers who made His people suffer so much.

By letting the sun go back, the LORD makes that day last longer than normal. As wonderful as this operation is, so wonderful will the extension of Hezekiah’s lifespan be. To make this sign visible the LORD uses the stairway of Ahaz, the idolatrous and ungodly king, who made this stairway as an idolatrous object. The stairway indicates that time progresses in the direction of judgment. By God’s power, the stairway makes it clear that He makes the time of grace last longer, thus delaying the judgment and allowing grace to overcome the judgment.