ISAIAH LESSON 43


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 38:1 "In those days was
Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came
unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in
order: for thou shalt die, and not live."

     The very same statement is found in 2 Kings chapter 20. It
appears that in the fourteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah, he
becomes very sick, even unto death. Sick unto death means a person
could die with the sickness, and probably would have, if the Lord had
not extended his life. The prophet, Isaiah, brings the news to
Hezekiah that he is about to die. Prophets do not always bring good
news. They bring the message God has sent. This type of message would
be a shock to anyone.

     Isaiah 38:2 "Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and
prayed unto the LORD,"

     Hezekiah was not looking to the world for answers to his problem.
He turned his face from the world. The only place there could be help
was from the LORD. Prayer changes things, as we will see in the
following verses.

     Isaiah 38:3 "And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how
I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have
done [that which is] good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore."

     Hezekiah is like so many of us would be, if we knew we were about
to die. He wanted to live a little longer. His plea includes a
reminder to God that he has tried to live the way God would have him
to live. Notice, that Hezekiah says his heart has been right with God.
Hezekiah is about 39 years of age when this happens to him.  He feels
he is too young to die. It was not thought of as weakness for a man to
cry at the time of this writing.  Even Jesus wept at the loss of his
friend. The crying just shows the sincerity of the prayer.

     Isaiah 38:4  "Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,"
Isaiah 38:5 "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."

     It seems that the Lord spoke immediately to Isaiah to go and stop
the fear of Hezekiah. The Lord always hears our prayer. We do not
always hear directly back from God. God spoke back to Hezekiah through
Isaiah. Notice, Hezekiah would have died had not God intervened. It
was a sickness unto death. This fifteen years represented the grace of
God toward Hezekiah. This lengthening of Hezekiah's life would
lengthen his reign as king of Judah, as well. It would, also, give him
time to have a son to follow after him as king.

     Isaiah 38:6 "And I will deliver thee and this city out of the
hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city."
     The blessing was not just of long life, but was, also, a blessing
of life in freedom. God will stop the Assyrians, and not let them take
the Holy city or take Hezekiah. God will protect the city of
Jerusalem, because it is His, and because it was David's city.

     Isaiah 38:7 "And this [shall be] a sign unto thee from the LORD,
that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;"

     In the book of Kings, there is a more detailed account of this
same story. Very seldom does God give a sign, but he wanted there to
be no doubt where the extra 15 years of life came from. Hezekiah had
been sick with boils. The application of figs on the boils caused them
to go away. God uses medicine and doctors to heal many times. Just
because the doctor operates on you, and you are healed, does not mean
that God was not the healer. God is good for His Word. Whatever He
says He will do, He does.

     Isaiah 38:8 "Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the
degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees
backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was
gone down."

     There is a little more on this in II Kings 20:8  "And Hezekiah
said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me,
and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?"
II Kings 20:9 "And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD,
that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow
go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?"  II Kings 20:10 "And
Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten
degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees."
II Kings 20:11 "And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he
brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in
the dial of Ahaz." You see, this would be an impossibility with man,
but nothing is impossible for God.

     Isaiah 38:9  "The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had
been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:"

     It seems that Hezekiah wrote all of this down for future
reference. The following verses is what he recorded.

     Isaiah 38:10 "I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to
the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years."

     Hezekiah would have died in his early adulthood, if the Lord had
not increased his days. Hezekiah is explaining that he would have been
cut down in his early years, before he could have a family.

     Isaiah 38:11 "I said, I shall not see the LORD, [even] the LORD,
in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the
inhabitants of the world."

     When a person dies, they are no longer involved with the
happenings in the earth. At death, we all vacate the house of flesh
which we lived in on this earth. We are no longer an inhabitant of
earth. We will spend eternity in heaven, or hell.

     Isaiah 38:12 "Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a
shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me
off with pining sickness: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an
end of me."

     I believe most people who are near death, are aware of it.  This
is exactly what Hezekiah is saying here. The sickness was boils, as we
read earlier. This type of boils was as serious as cancer would be
today. We are tabernacled in a body of flesh upon this earth. Hezekiah
is just saying, that the tabernacle is to be removed like a tent.
Hezekiah is aware that the earthly house is a temporary dwelling
place.

     Isaiah 38:13 "I reckoned till morning, [that], as a lion, so will
he break all my bones: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an end
of me."

     Hezekiah is explaining the pain. It is as if a lion has broken
his bones. To die this way, would be a lingering death. He is saying
he was dying by degrees.

     Isaiah 38:14 "Like a crane [or] a swallow, so did I chatter: I
did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail [with looking] upward: O LORD, I
am oppressed; undertake for me."

     This is saying, the pain was so great from the illness that
Hezekiah cried out with pain. He compares the cry to that of a crane,
or a swallow. The dove makes it appear how helpless he is in the
onslaught of this illness. The only answer to this type of oppression
is to cry out to God. That is just what Hezekiah is doing here.

     Isaiah 38:15 "What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and
himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years in the
bitterness of my soul."

     Hezekiah is aware that God has answered his prayer. He leaves no
doubt at all who healed him. He speaks of living the rest of his life
peaceably knowing that God is his very present help. He will be
grateful for each day. This has removed him from bitterness to
thankfulness. He is saying, also, that his soul shall rest in God.

     Isaiah 38:16 "O Lord, by these [things men] live, and in all
these [things is] the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and
make me to live."

     Hezekiah expands on his thankfulness to make all aware that their
help, and in fact, even their lives are in God's hands. Another way to
express this is in the following Scripture.  Acts 17:28 "For in him we
live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring."  It is the breath of God
that gives each of us life. Our life is in the breath God gave us.
     Isaiah 38:17 "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."

     Bitterness was dangerous for Hezekiah to have and is dangerous
for us, as well. In this particular instance, it probably is speaking
of the pain he had with his illness. God healed his body and his
spirit. Now, Hezekiah has perfect peace. He knows God has heard his
prayer and answered it. We, also, see a repentant man who knows God
has forgiven his sins. God took care of them for Hezekiah, as Jesus
took care of all of our sins on the cross. His sins are not before God
anymore.  They are behind Him.

     Isaiah 38:18 "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can [not]
celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy
truth."

     Those who have already left this earth cannot praise God. This
seems to be speaking of the lost who die {they that go down into the
pit}.

     Isaiah 38:19 "The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I
[do] this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth."

     It seems to me, this is speaking of those who have been forgiven
and have inherited eternal life. Living has to do with those who
continually live. It appears from this, that the greatest joy Hezekiah
was feeling was for the assurance of his eternal life. He is, also,
saying that those who follow after him will know of the goodness of
God, because he will tell his offspring.

     Isaiah 38:20 "The LORD [was ready] to save me: therefore we will
sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in
the house of the LORD."

     This reminds me of the Scripture in Psalms which says, "Let
everything that has breath, praise the Lord". There is great joy with
Hezekiah now. He will sing praises, accompanied by stringed
instruments, to the LORD as long as he lives. We have just as much as
Hezekiah to praise God for. He sent us a Saviour. We too, should
praise the LORD all the days of our lives.

     Isaiah 38:21 "For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs,
and lay [it] for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover."
Isaiah 38:22 "Hezekiah also had said, What [is] the sign that I shall
go up to the house of the LORD?"

     This seems to be such a simple remedy for such a serious illness.
God could have healed him without the figs, had He wanted to. The
putting on of the figs was an act of faith in the recovery. Hezekiah,
in putting the figs on the boil, was saying I believe that God will
heal me, when I do as He said. His faith in God would make him able to
go to the house of the LORD.

                          Isaiah 43 Questions

1.  Hezekiah was sick unto __________.
2.  Who had told Hezekiah how sick he was?
3.  What other part of the Bible covers the same thing as Isaiah
    chapter 38 about Hezekiah's illness?
4.  What is the message a prophet brings?
5.  What did it show, when Hezekiah turned his head to the wall to
    pray?
6.  What did Hezekiah ask God to remember?
7.  Hezekiah's ________ has been right with God.
8.  Why did Hezekiah weep?
9.  God gave the answer to Hezekiah's prayer to ________.
10. How many years did God add to Hezekiah's life?
11. What did the number of the years signify?
12. What would the lengthening of Hezekiah's life allow him to do?
13. Who did God deliver, besides Hezekiah?
14. Why did God give him a sign?
15. What was the illness Hezekiah had?
16. How would God heal him?
17. What would happen to the sun dial as a sign of his healing?
18. Why did Hezekiah keep a record of what happened to him?
19. If Hezekiah had died of this illness, he could not have had
    ____________.
20. His age departed as what, in verse 12.
21. How does Hezekiah explain the depth of the pain with the boils?
22. His mourning was like a ______.
23. What kind of life will Hezekiah live after his healing?
24. Quote Acts chapter 17 verse 28.
25. In verse 18 we see, what cannot praise God.
26. Who does verse 19 say will praise God?
27. Let everything that has breath __________ the Lord.
28. What does verse 20 say, that Hezekiah will do all the days of his
    life?
29. How were the boils healed?