“In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life. And I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city. This is the sign to you from the Lord that he will do what he has promised: I am going to make the sun’s shadow that goes down on the stairway of Ahaz go back by ten steps.’” So the sun’s shadow went back the ten steps it had descended… At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Hezekiah was pleased with the letters, and he showed the envoys his treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil — and all his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say, and where did they come to you from?” Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.” Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of Armies: ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘Some of your descendants — who come from you, whom you father — will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.” (Isaiah 38-39 CSB)
Nobody, absolutely nobody, wants to find themselves in the situation in which we find Judah’s king Hezekiah in today’s focal passage. If you haven’t read the entire story (Isaiah 38 and 39), then I suggest you go do that and then come back here and join us. As a pastor, I’ve spent quite a bit of time next to the bed of people who are extremely ill or dying. Every time I’ve been with someone in Hezekiah’s situation, they often sound and act very much like the description Isaiah gives us of the king – distraught, desperate, tearful and pleading their case with God.
Let me begin by pointing out that scholars are divided on whether the events of chapters 38 & 39 are in or out of chronological sequence with the previous chapters. Some believe they are while others insist they are not. Let me simply state, while I believe the events of these two chapters are presented out of chronological sequence with the preceding chapters, I believe the reason why will be quite clear before we finish. Either way, I don’t believe it changes anything in what God is telling the king and the people of Judah or what He’s telling us through these things.
In these two chapters we have two historical narratives surrounding a poetic song. The song is king Hezekiah’s response the first narrative and God’s reply. The second narrative is what happens in the king’s decisions following the outcome of the first. Let me encourage you to pay close attention. Our understanding of the king’s response to God’s grace will shape our response to God’s grace in our lives.
Simple outline:
- Sin devastates us
- The world distracts us
- Satan deceives us
- Our desires dominate us
- Our God alone delivers us
Key verse: “Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.” (Isaiah 39:8 CSB)
As you can tell, the first historical narrative revolves around the king’s response to a health crisis in his life. The use of the words, “in those days”, is intentionally vague and, I believe, helps support the idea that these events are not given in chronological order with last week’s events. Hezekiah becomes critically ill and Isaiah is given a message from God that the illness is terminal – the king will not survive. Upon hearing the news, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and tearfully prays: “Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.”
At first glance, this seems to be a very abrupt change in light of last week’s display of life altering faith by the king. However, I would suggest to you that Isaiah uses these two chapters to lay the groundwork for what comes next. Revelations and insights that will flow out of his encounters with the LORD in the following chapters. Ideas that we’ve already encountered, but in limited ways. Hang onto that idea, we will come back to it. But let’s begin by considering an issue that most of us will face at some point in our lives, a health crisis that challenges our faith.
Sin Devastates Us: When Hezekiah gets the news that his illness is terminal, he turns his face towards the wall, away from God’s messenger. As the tears come, he begins to plead with God. Have you ever been there? Done that? I have! Notice how Hezekiah poses his plea: “Remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.” In other words, “God, I’ve been a faithful servant. Wholeheartedly devoted to you and to doing what pleases you. I don’t deserve this.”
I want to be very careful here because I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m about to say, so pay attention. Go back and reread this section, several time if you need to. While it doesn’t appear that Hezekiah’s personal sin is directly attributed to his terminal illness, sin is always the ultimate cause of all sickness, pain, suffering and death. Though there are instances in scripture where sinful actions are directly attributed to sickness and death, there are also instances where it is not. It is clear that the death of those who refused to believe the preaching of Noah died as a direct result of their sinful unbelief. However, when Jesus was asked about the sinful cause of a man born blind He assured the crowd that it was not the result of the man’s sin or his parents. Rather, the man’s blindness was intentional and purposeful so that God’s glory could be demonstrated through his healing. These are only two examples out of many in both the Old and New Testaments of scripture confirming these principles.
That leaves us with three basic truths regarding sickness, pain, suffering and death. 1) Some people are impacted with physical illness, suffering and even death due to personal sin. 2) Some people suffer with physical ailments and conditions as a means for God to demonstrate His grace and His glory through miraculous healing. 3) All illness, disease, suffering, pain and death are the result of the curse upon Adam and Eve because of their sinful rebellion against God’s rule over their lives. Also, this curse continues to plague mankind and will continue to plague him until God’s kingdom comes in its fullness at the second coming of Christ.
We’re left with the difficult issue of faith, grace, love and man’s frailty and mortality. To sum it up, if a loving God could heal man of any disease or condition then why wouldn’t He? Why doesn’t He? The prevailing argument from atheists is that God is either not capable, thus he’s not god. Or God refuses to heal and, thus, is not loving and kind. But I believe that answer ignores another possibility. It assumes that there’s no divine purpose in human frailty and mortality and that human existence is really all about this life. There’s nothing beyond this life so everything must be about this life and how we experience it, right here, right now!
The World Distracts Us: God hears Hezekiah’s pleas and sees his tears, and God has mercy upon the king of Judah. He grants king Hezekiah fifteen more years of life and promises to rescue the city from the grasp of the Assyrian king. God gives Hezekiah a sign, the sun’s shadow will “go back” ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. But notice, the promise is made and then fulfilled by “the LORD God of your ancestor David.” This is the God of Hezekiah’s forefathers, the one who has made and will keep His promise to David. This is not about Hezekiah being worthy of God’s mercy or deserving of this divine healing. This is not about the “faithful” leadership of Hezekiah in the midst of Assyria’s threats. This is all about God’s glory and the keeping of His divine promise of deliverance and salvation for all mankind.
But like king Hezekiah, our struggles, desires and dreams often distract us from the real purpose of our lives – God’s glory. We are consumed by our own importance, our own existence, our own glory and not God’s. While Hezekiah frames his poem (vs. 10-20) in terms that make it sound like it is about God and His glory, the king really misses the point and tends to focus on his own survival, his frail mortality, and his own well-being. Hezekiah makes it sound like there would be nobody left to praise God, if God didn’t allow him to live. In other words, the future of Jerusalem rests in the hands of Hezekiah.
Does the hope of Jerusalem and the fulfillment of God’s promise lie in the hands of Hezekiah? NEVER! You, I and Hezekiah are easily distracted by our own perceived importance while we overlook and neglect the glory of the Only One who can bring this promise to fruition and fulfillment – God and God Alone. When God heard Hezekiah’s cry for mercy and healing, God responded by granting him fifteen more years of life but Hezekiah seems to miss the point. He seems to think God did so because of Hezekiah’s importance, but God did so only for His own glory and purpose. We often make a similar mistake. We think we deserve God’s healing and blessings, but God always and only acts in ways that affirm His glory and further His purpose and plan.
Satan Deceives Us: Our congregation has been watching episodes of “The Chosen” season four on Sunday nights and then studying the scripture surrounding those stories on alternating weeks. Last week, we met to consider the biblical story of John the Baptist and his death at the hands of Herod. I was unable to be there to lead the discussion, but I asked them to consider whether John’s life had been a success or a failure. Does that sound like an odd question?
Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11 CSB) Read that verse, again. Among those born of women, no one greater than John has appeared. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. What does that even mean? It means that we think that what we achieve, humanly speaking, is more important than what God is achieving through His will and for His kingdom.
That is the mistake that Hezekiah makes and the same one we often make. Satan has deceived us into believing that our lives, our accomplishments, our goals, our plans are the things that make us and our lives important. Hezekiah desired life more than He desired God’s glory, God’s kingdom and God’s will for his life. On the other hand, John the Baptist desired God’s glory and God’s kingdom more than he desired life. If you listen to Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, you hear a similar theme. Satan’s suggestion was that Jesus could save Himself if He would just give into His human desires and seek His own self-preservation, power and glory. In other words, what YOU want Jesus is more important than what God wants.
What do you desire most? The preservation of your life, or the success of God’s purpose and plan? When Jesus told the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, die and then be raised the third day, He was rebuked by Peter: “Oh no, Lord! I will never let this happen to you.” Immediately, Jesus rebukes Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns (Matt. 16:21-23).” Jesus then tells His disciples that if they want to follow Him, they must be willing to die. If they want to find life, they must we be willing to give it up. Are we willing to die, so that God can be glorified?
Our Desires Dominate Us: Now that Hezekiah has recovered from His terminal disease, He receives messengers with letters from the king of Babylon. In Revelation, John tells us about two of Satan’s tools in his battle against the kingdom of God and His people, the BEAST and the WHORE. Hezekiah had survived the beast [Sennacherib], but now he faces the seduction of the whore. I know, that may be hard to hear but I need you to recognize the seductions that Satan uses to deceive, dominate and destroy us. In case you’ve missed it, the whore in John’s Revelation is Babylon (see Rev. 17-18). While the Babylonian whore in Revelation is not directly referencing the nation/state of Babylon, it is alluding to the seductive influence she held over God’s people.
Hezekiah shows the Babylonian king’s envoys all of his treasures – the silver, gold, spices, precious oil and his armory. Hezekiah’s ego is blossoming under the seductive attention of the Babylonian whore and he’s quickly losing control of his ability to make wise, godly choices. Isaiah makes it clear, Hezekiah showed them everything he treasured. Hezekiah, seduced by the attention of Babylonian envoys, had revealed everything to them. Completely ignoring his commitment to the LORD and everything he knew to be right, just and true, Hezekiah was ready to climb into bed with her.
Listen to the warning Isaiah gives to Hezekiah regarding his actions: “Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace… will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left. Some of your descendants – who come from you, whom you father – will be taken away, and will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Hezekiah believes that’s a good thing, because he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime. Oh my goodness! Go back and read that, again. Hezekiah was willing to sacrifice the future of his children and grandchildren so that he could enjoy “peace and security” in his lifetime.
We are still influenced today by the seductive allure of this same whore, the world and all of her power, influence, money and beauty. The destructive nature of our desires and the allure of the world may not be evident in our lives, but it will certainly impact future generations of our families. We’ve seen this over and over in recent years with Christian leaders who were seduced and led astray. Their children, both physical and spiritual, are living among ruins of their life choices. The hallways of their lives echo with: “Oh, this will be good. We’ll have peace and security during my lifetime.”
““Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 CSB)
God ALONE Delivers Us: I mentioned earlier that I believe Isaiah’s telling of this story out of chronological sequence is intentional. But why? Why would he go back and pull this story into his narrative now? Because the allure of success is intoxicating and, ultimately, destructive to our long term commitment and obedience to God. When Hezekiah was obedient and fell before God in contrition and humble repentance, then God responded and drove Sennacherib and his army away. But our tendency is to elevate ourselves and our actions and minimize God and His power. Isaiah is setting the stage to tell us, through the rest of his prophecies, that God ALONE is the one who is able to deliver us and not some earthly king.
We always default back to trusting, elevating and following the leader we can see instead of the One we can’t see. The people saw the victory of Assyria, but their tendency is to attribute those actions to their human king, Hezekiah, and not their God – the invisible king, the Holy One of Israel. Be careful, don’t go getting all “holier than thou” on me by thinking we don’t do this. We absolutely do! We do it with political leaders and spiritual leaders. But we shouldn’t because God ALONE is the One who is able to deliver us.
Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders in His day? Because He wasn’t the Messiah they wanted or expected. They had taken all of God’s promises (many of them in Isaiah) regarding His promised salvation and completely misunderstood their fulfillment and outcome. We often look for God’s deliverance in ways that are contrary to His Word and personally beneficial, much like Hezekiah. We want His deliverance, but we want it on our own terms. We want salvation, but we want it to be self-affirming, not humbling. We want it to be beneficial, not sacrificial. We want it to be uplifting, but not onto a cross. We really want God to save us through our own efforts and because of our own goodness and worth instead of through Jesus but He’s our only hope of salvation.
But Isaiah inserts this story at this point in the narrative because he needs us to understand, our ONLY hope for salvation is in what God is doing to save us! Why? Because we are too much like Hezekiah, only interested in what makes us look good, right here, right now – peace and security during my lifetime.
Come on, admit it. We are completely devastated by our sin, distracted by the things of this world, deceived by the lies of Satan, dominated by our personal desires and God ALONE is the only One capable of delivering us from this mess. Have you been missing the point?
Hilltop Baptist Church - Shawnee, OK 
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