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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
38:1-39:8 Human Inconstancy Sent into Exile. Man at his best, exposed now as self-centered and short-sighted, cannot be trusted. God himself is the only hope of his people.
38:1 In those days. The events of chs. 38-39 take place near the time of the deliverance from Assyria in chs. 36-37. But "in those days" is intentionally vague. Isaiah 38:6 clarifies that Hezekiah's illness occurred prior to chs. 36-37. Isaiah locates the events of chs. 38-39 here in order to establish the context for chs. 40-55. Hezekiah became sick. Unlike the crisis of chs. 36-37, which was national in scope, this crisis is only personal. at the point of death. Hezekiah began his reign at
38:3 Unlike Hezekiah's God-centered prayer in 37:15-20, now his thoughts withdraw into himself, perhaps even implying that he thinks God is being unfair to him. The faithfulness, wholeheartedness, and good that Hezekiah pleads were real (2 Kings 18:5-6) but not the whole story (2 Chron. 32:24-31). Moreover, his selfish thoughts in Isa. 39:8 reveal the state of his heart.
38:5 the God of David your father. God replaces Hezekiah's claims of merit with his own covenant faithfulness to David as the basis for his answer to the king's prayer.
38:6 God looks beyond Hezekiah's personal crisis to what matters more--the defense of the city of God.
38:7-8 God turns the clock back on Hezekiah's life, symbolized by this miracle. the sun turned back on the dial. See 7:11. Second Chronicles 32:31 implies that the sign was localized in Judah but known beyond. This appears to be a supernatural event, but the passage offers no explanation as to how it happened.
38:9-20 Hezekiah's psalm is clear about this truth: God alone has the power of life and death, and he prefers life. Therefore, Hezekiah's lack of spiritual awareness in ch. 39 is all the more inexcusable. The psalm divides into the anguish of death (38:10-15), the hope of deliverance (vv. 16-19), and a concluding confession of faith (v. 20).
38:10 To the gates of Sheol is matched in v. 20 by "at the house of the Lord." The crisis is death, and the resolution is endless worship. But Hezekiah's renewed sense of God-centered purpose in life will fade from view in ch. 39.
38:20 The Lord will save me. The statement implies the bias, as it were, of God's heart. Hezekiah's saving God should always be absolutely trusted and prized, which Hezekiah himself will fail to demonstrate in ch. 39.
38:21-22 That he may recover reverses "you shall not recover" in v. 1. In addition to the promise of v. 5, and in addition to the dramatic miracle of v. 8, Hezekiah also receives this medicinal application as a felt token of healing. But his faith wavers: What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? His father Ahaz refused a sign because of closed-minded unbelief (7:12). Now the son asks for a sign beyond what was already given because of double-minded unbelief.
39:1 At that time connects these events with ch. 38. Merodach-baladan was the ruler of Babylon, subject to the Assyrian Empire. Upon the death of Sargon II (), he tried to establish independence from Assyria; that is the likely time of this embassy, aimed at splitting Assyrian attention. The Assyrians quickly squelched the rebellion. In the Bible, Babylon is more than an ancient culture; it represents everything in this world that is humanly impressive but opposed to God (cf. Gen. 11:1-9; Isa. 13:19; 1 Pet. 5:13; Rev. 14:8; 18:2-3).
39:2 Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. The man whose faith stood firm against Assyrian intimidation now melts in the face of Babylonian flattery. He is foolish not to look for ulterior motives and is unguarded in his openness to their visit. he showed them his treasure house. Perhaps Hezekiah wants to be counted on to play a role in Babylon's plan to topple Assyria from power. In any case, Hezekiah is losing his sense of God. He foolishly reveals the extent of his wealth, thus inviting plunder by Babylon.
39:3 Isaiah's questions reveal his alertness to the danger. They have come to me from a far country. Hezekiah is dazzled--by a doomed culture (cf. 13:1-14:27; 21:1-10; 24:1-27:13).
39:6 Isaiah foretells the deportation to Babylon, which is due to Judah's unfaithfulness (cf. 2 Kings 23:26-27, referring to the deeds of Hezekiah's own son). This prepares the way for Isaiah 40-66, which envisions Jerusalem in captivity in Babylon and ready to return.
39:8 There will be peace and security in my days. Irresponsibly, Hezekiah thinks only of himself (and he was one of the good kings of Judah!). Hezekiah is disappointing as a man and father; but even more so as the steward of David's dynasty. He is not allowed to act solely for himself: for his sons to serve as eunuchs (v. 7) threatens their ability to continue the family line. He failed to learn the lesson of 38:1 (see note), and thus failed to prepare his descendants to avoid the disaster.
