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Isaiah 38

Chapter Text

Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery

Hezekiah's Poem of Praise

Summary

Hezekiah falls seriously ill, and Isaiah tells him to set his house in order, for he shall die. The king turns his face to the wall and prays, weeping bitterly, reminding the Lord of his faithful service. Before Isaiah has left the middle court, God sends him back with a message: He has heard Hezekiah's prayer and seen his tears. Fifteen years will be added to his life, and Jerusalem will be delivered from Assyria. A sign is given as the sun's shadow retreats ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz.

Meaning

The healing of Hezekiah demonstrates that God hears the prayers of the afflicted and is moved by genuine faith. The reversal of the shadow on the sundial displays God's absolute sovereignty over creation itself, overruling the natural order in answer to prayer.

Hezekiah's song of thanksgiving reveals a man who has been brought through the valley of death and emerged with deepened trust. His experience teaches that the extension of life is a gift to be used for the glory of God and the proclamation of His faithfulness.

Background

Hezekiah's illness and recovery are dated to approximately 701 BC, around the time of Sennacherib's invasion. The fifteen additional years place his death around 686 BC. The dial of Ahaz was likely a stepped structure used as a sundial, possibly built during his father's reign.

The fig poultice prescribed for Hezekiah's boil reflects ancient Near Eastern medical practice, where God used natural means alongside supernatural power.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1Isaiah announces Hezekiah's death
  2. vv. 2-3Hezekiah's prayer and tears
  3. vv. 4-6God grants fifteen more years
  4. vv. 7-8The sign of the sundial
  5. vv. 9-14Hezekiah's lament in sickness
  6. vv. 15-20Thanksgiving for deliverance
  7. vv. 21-22The poultice and the sign

Key Verses

“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.”— 38:5

A striking testimony that God hears the prayers and sees the tears of His servants. This verse is often cited in pastoral care and intercessory prayer as evidence that God responds compassionately to earnest petition.

“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”— 38:17

A profound statement of divine forgiveness, anticipating the gospel imagery of sins removed from God's sight. The phrase 'cast all my sins behind thy back' became a touchstone for understanding God's mercy.

“The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.”— 38:19

Hezekiah affirms that praise belongs to the living and that faith is to be transmitted generationally. A key verse for understanding biblical worship and the duty of parents to teach God's truth.

People & Places

People

  • Hezekiah — King of Judah, struck with mortal illness, whose prayer moves God to extend his life by fifteen years.
  • Isaiah — The prophet, son of Amoz, who delivers both the death sentence and the reprieve from the LORD.
  • Amoz — Father of Isaiah, mentioned only in identifying the prophet's lineage.
  • David — Ancestral king of Judah, invoked here as 'David thy father' to underscore covenant continuity.
  • Ahaz — Hezekiah's father and predecessor, remembered here for the sundial that becomes the sign of healing.

Places

  • Jerusalem — The unnamed but clearly intended 'this city' that God promises to defend from Assyria.
  • House of the LORD — The Temple in Jerusalem, where Hezekiah longs to return and offer praise.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Isaiah delivers a conditional word of judgment in verse 1 that is reversed by prayer, showing the dynamic nature of prophetic speech. The promise in verse 6 to deliver Jerusalem from Assyria looks forward to the deliverance recounted in Isaiah 37, and the fifteen added years (v. 5) provide the historical window in which Manasseh would be born. The miraculous reversal of the sundial's shadow (v. 8) serves as a confirming sign, prefiguring later biblical signs given to authenticate God's word.

Devotional

Hezekiah's story reminds us that prayer is never wasted breath. When the worst news came, he turned his face to the wall and poured out his heart — and God listened. There is no formula here, only honesty: tears, memory, and trust.

We will all face seasons when our days feel cut short and our strength fails. In those moments, Hezekiah's psalm gives us language. God does not despise our weeping; He gathers it. And whatever years remain, however few or many, are meant to be spent making His truth known to those who come after us.

Literary Style

A blend of historical narrative (vv. 1-8, 21-22) and embedded Hebrew poetry (vv. 9-20), the latter being Hezekiah's miktab or written psalm. The poem features lament, vivid similes (shepherd's tent, weaver, lion, crane), and a thanksgiving turn characteristic of individual psalms.