[38, 39] King Hezekiah became very ill.
God had sentenced Hezekiah to death and Isaiah told the King, “Set your
affairs in order, for you are going to die…”
Whenever Hezekiah heard this he cried out to God and prayed to the
Lord. God told Isaiah to go back to
Hezekiah and tell him, “…I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will
rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.” In order to prove that God would do as he
promised; God made the shadow of the sundial move backward ten steps.
Whenever God extended Hezekiah’s life, Hezekiah became very proud. 2 Chronicles 32:25 says, “But Hezekiah did
not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So, the Lord’s anger came against him and
against Judah and Jerusalem.”
Whenever Merodach-baladan heard that Hezekiah was sick, he used flattery
by sending Hezekiah gifts. Hezekiah
enjoyed the flattery and gave Merodach-baladan the grand tour of the kingdom. Hezekiah was foolish to let these men into
the kingdom and show them everything. Isaiah
came to Hezekiah in verse 6 saying, “…The time is coming when everything in
your palace – all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now – will be
carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be
left.” Hezekiah asked Isaiah when this
will happen, and Isaiah told him that it would happen in the generations after
him. Hezekiah was happy that it wouldn’t
happen while he was still living. He said
in verse 8, “…at least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
