Isaiah 38 reminds me of a sleepy morning drive to work a few days after our first son was born. I was running late for a meeting and driving a bit too fast through an industrial park cut-through. I heard the train horn blast just as I saw the track crossing the road ahead of me. Immediately I knew that I would not have time to stop. I gripped the steering wheel hard with both hands as my scream matched the deafening noise of the train. As I crossed over the track, I could see the train track that paralleled the road. The fog of drowsiness was gone as the scream trailed off into laughter. Our lives crisscross potential meetings with mortality more times than we know. I believe God has protected me and perhaps has plans for me beyond my understanding. In today’s chapter, we learn that Hezekiah, the king of Judah “became ill and was at the point of death“. Isaiah the prophet gave him this word from God, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover“. Hezekiah was one of the most faithful kings in the nation’s history, and was a very young man. He did not take the news well. “I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion. And Hezekiah wept bitterly“. The Bible gives many examples of God’s compassion when someone prays a prayer of repentance. We do not know the king’s prayer, but Isaiah returned with God’s response, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And… I will defend this city“. Death is not punishment for the godly. The question is; do you think you have a better plan than God?
Amazingly, God gave the king a sign of His promise, moving the sun backward on the sundial, “the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down“. Hezekiah has an odd reaction. Rather than praise and thanks, he writes of his reaction to the bad news. “In the prime of my life… robbed of the rest of my years… my house has been pulled down and taken from me… I cried… I moaned… I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid“. Right now we can recognize the blessings, or recall the difficulties. We can live with thankfulness, or hold onto things we think have been robbed from us. Hezekiah seems to hold onto bitterness, “I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul“. Have you been able to laugh after a scare?
Hezekiah’s notes continue, “You restored me to health and let me live“. After a near-miss, praise will multiply our joy. Instead, he seems to focus on the train track rather than the road ahead, “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish“. In his head he understands, “In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back“. But how did the experience affect his life? Did train whistles make him smile, or cause him to tremble? He writes, “The living they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness“. In a sad irony, we note that Hezekiah’s son, born after his life was extended, became one of the worst kings of Judah. Did Hezekiah talk to him of God’s faithfulness? The chapter ends with a clue. Hezekiah asks the prophet for another confirmation of God’s love. “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the LORD?” Friend, are you still looking for a sign? Jesus made a promise to you and me in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid“. How will you spend the remaining years of your life?