Context for Isaiah 38-39
These passages tell us of Hezekiah’s illness sometime after the end of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. This account parallels the accounts found in 1 Kings 20:1-11 and 2 Chronicles 32:24. As a result of his prayer for mercy, God extended Hezekiah’s life.
Sometimes the answers to our prayers are subtle, but sometimes they are spectacular. Hezekiah seems to have experienced a large share of God’s spectacular answers during his reign as king of Judah, including the sparing of his life as he was about to die.
Yet, like all sinful humans, Hezekiah did not fully understand or appreciate the blessings he received from his God. In fact, 2 Chronicles 32:25 tells us that God had to humble Hezekiah again, even after he had spared his life.
We are no different than Hezekiah in that respect. Whether we receive the subtle or the spectacular answers to our prayers, we soon forget the source of those answers, and as a result too often return to the consequences of our actions our prayers just freed us from.
Yet, we can be thankful that God continues to show us grace and mercy by continuing to hear us. In spite of our sinfulness and faithlessness, He continues to answer us and to guide us toward our final destination of Heaven, and that answer is the one we should pray for most fervently.
(Note: Our study of Isaiah will resume on 8 January 2007 after a brief pause to study the Epistles of John)
DLH
