Hezekiah’s Crisis with a Terminal Illness: The Power of Prayer (Isaiah 38:1–8)[1]
It was just before all this that Hezekiah became deathly sick, and Isaiah the prophet (Amoz’ son) went to visit him and gave him this message from the Lord:
“Set your affairs in order, for you are going
to die; you will not recover from this illness.”
2When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed:
3“O Lord, don’t you remember how true I’ve been to you and how I’ve always
tried to obey you in everything you said?” Then he broke down with great sobs.
4So the Lord sent another message to Isaiah:
5“Go and tell Hezekiah that the Lord God of your forefather David hears
you praying and sees your tears and will let you live fifteen more years. 6He
will deliver you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend you,
says the Lord, 7and here is my guarantee: 8I will send
the sun backward ten degrees as measured on Ahaz’s sundial!”
So the sun retraced ten degrees that it had gone down![2] Isaiah 38:1-8
Hezekiah’s Crisis with a Terminal Illness: The Power of Prayer[3](Isaiah 38:1–8)
Shockingly, right after the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah became deathly sick and was soon to die. The actual date of Hezekiah’s death was 686 b.c. Given that God extended his life for 15 years after his initial diagnosis, this means that his illness took place somewhere around 701 b.c., in the very year of Assyria’s invasion (see Is. 36:1–37:38).1 In facing his illness, Hezekiah shows us the power of prayer:
a. When Hezekiah was on his deathbed, the Lord sent Isaiah to the king with the message that he was to put his affairs in order. He was soon to die (v. 1).
b. But
note how Hezekiah received the fatal news: he immediately turned his face to
the wall away from Isaiah and began to pray to the Lord (vv. 2–3).
He reminded the Lord of three facts:
Ø
He was faithful in following the Lord.
Ø
He was loyal and wholly devoted to the Lord.
Ø He had behaved righteously before the Lord.
Then Hezekiah began to weep bitterly (v. 3). By weeping, he was indicating that his heart was broken, that he was submitting his life to the Lord’s will.
c. In compassion, the Lord immediately answered King Hezekiah’s prayer (vv. 4–7). Isaiah had obviously already left the room and was heading for home when the king began to pray, for before Isaiah even left the palace courtyard, a message came to him from the Lord (vv. 4–7). Isaiah was to return immediately to Hezekiah with a second message. God had heard his prayer and seen his brokenness; therefore the Lord would heal him. On the third day, he would arise, go up to the temple, and worship the Lord. In fact, the Lord would add 15 years to his life and would deliver him and Jerusalem from Assyria (v. 6). For God’s honor and for David’s sake, the Lord would defend the capital and not allow it to fall to the Assyrians. Note how this promise suggests that Hezekiah was struck with a terminal illness during the actual siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians.
Turning to the servants, Isaiah instructed them to prepare an ointment of fig leaves to place upon the king. In obedience to the prophet, they nursed the king and he soon recovered.
d. Hezekiah, needing assurance from the Lord, requested a sign from Isaiah that he would recover and worship in the temple on the third day (vv. 7–8, 22; 2 K. 20:8–11). The Lord proved His promise and granted the request of the sick king. He gave Hezekiah a choice that involved moving the sun’s shadow on the king’s sundial either 10 degrees backward or 10 degrees forward. Choosing the more difficult miracle, Hezekiah asked for the shadow to move backward 10 degrees. As requested, the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord and the miracle occurred. The shadow of the sundial actually moved back 10 degrees (see 2 K. 20:8–11).
Thought 1. There is no limit to the power of prayer, for there is no limit to God’s power. God is omnipotent, all-powerful, possessing perfect and boundless power to do anything He desires. But God is not only omnipotent, He is also omniscient, knowing all things. Nothing is hidden from God. God sees and knows all.
This message of God’s omnipotence and omniscience is wonderful news, for God knows when serious illnesses strike us or crises confront us. And God has the power to handle whatever we may face, no matter how severe or painful. When we face these mammoth problems, our responsibility is to pray, turning toward the Lord and crying out to Him. If we are sincere and willing to turn our lives totally over to Him, God will hear and answer our prayers. In some cases, He will miraculously heal us. In other cases, He will give us the strength to walk through the illness or crisis victoriously. Through prayer, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—that can defeat or overcome us, not even death itself. God’s knowledge is infinite. He knows everything about us, even the very number of hairs on our heads. Along with that God has the power to help us. Listen to what God’s Word says about the power of prayer.
V “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Mt. 7:7).
V “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever
ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”
(Mk. 11:24).
V “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn. 15:7).
V “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name:
ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:24).
V “For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice,
that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for
thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I
strong” (2 Co. 12:8–10).
V “Now unto Him, that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us” (Ep. 3:20).
V “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be
forgiven him. Confess your faults one
to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to
like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he
prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit”
(Js. 5:15–18).
V “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him,
because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His
sight” (1 Jn. 3:22).
V “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and
show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Je. 33:3).[4]
[1] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters
36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters
36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
1 John
F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Editors. The
Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament. (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot
Victor Publishing, 1985), p. 578.
[4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment