The Prophecy of Isaiah - Lesson 30: “Hezekiah’s Illness and Foolishness” (Isaiah 38-39)

The Prophecy of Isaiah: A Bible Study
Lesson 30: “Hezekiah’s Illness and Foolishness” (Isaiah 38-39)

Isaiah 38–39 (NIV)

38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

⁷ “ ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: ⁸ I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

⁹ A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

¹⁰ I said, “In the prime of my life

must I go through the gates of death

and be robbed of the rest of my years?”

¹¹ I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself

in the land of the living;

no longer will I look on my fellow man,

or be with those who now dwell in this world.

¹² Like a shepherd’s tent my house

has been pulled down and taken from me.

Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,

and he has cut me off from the loom;

day and night you made an end of me.

¹³ I waited patiently till dawn,

but like a lion he broke all my bones;

day and night you made an end of me.

¹⁴ I cried like a swift or thrush,

I moaned like a mourning dove.

My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.

I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”

¹⁵ But what can I say?

He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.

I will walk humbly all my years

because of this anguish of my soul.

¹⁶ Lord, by such things people live;

and my spirit finds life in them too.

You restored me to health

and let me live.

¹⁷ Surely it was for my benefit

that I suffered such anguish.

In your love you kept me

from the pit of destruction;

you have put all my sins

behind your back.

¹⁸ For the grave cannot praise you,

death cannot sing your praise;

those who go down to the pit

cannot hope for your faithfulness.

¹⁹ The living, the living—they praise you,

as I am doing today;

parents tell their children

about your faithfulness.

²⁰ The Lord will save me,

and we will sing with stringed instruments

all the days of our lives

in the temple of the Lord.

²¹ Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

²² Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”

 

39 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. ² Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

³ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

⁴ The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: ⁶ The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ⁷ And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

⁸ “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

1. Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery (Isaiah 38:1-22)
   
   • Isaiah Announces Hezekiah’s Impending Death (Isaiah 38:1)
   • Hezekiah Prays to the Lord (Isaiah 38:2-3)
   • Isaiah’s Reply to Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:4-8)
   • Hezekiah’s “Psalm” (Isaiah 38:9-20)
     
     • Hezekiah’s Describes His Anguish (Isaiah 38:9-15)
     • Hezekiah Reflects on Lessons Learned (Isaiah 38:16-20)
   • Hezekiah’s Recovery (Isaiah 38:21-22)
2. Hezekiah’s Visit with a Babylonian Delegation (Isaiah 39:1-8)
   
   • Merodach-Baladan’s Messengers Visit Hezekiah (Isaiah 39:1-2)
     
     • Merodach-Baladan’s Initiative (Isaiah 39:1)
     • Hezekiah’s Foolish Response (Isaiah 39:2)
   • Isaiah Speaks with Hezekiah (Isaiah 39:3-8)