Isaiah Chapter 38
Isaiah 38, King Hezekiah’s Life is Spared
Isaiah 38 records one of the most personal moments in Hezekiah’s life. After the great Assyrian crisis, the narrative turns to Hezekiah’s sickness, his prayer, God’s mercy, the extension of his life by fifteen years, and the sign of the sundial moving backward. The chapter also gives Hezekiah’s written reflection on death, suffering, healing, and praise. This passage is important because it shows the mercy of God, the reality that prayer matters, the difference between Old Testament uncertainty about death and New Testament clarity through Christ, and the fact that God may use ordinary medical means while still being the true healer. The notes provided cover Isaiah 38:1-22, including Hezekiah’s sickness, Isaiah’s announcement, Hezekiah’s prayer, God’s answer, the fifteen added years, the sign of the sundial, Hezekiah’s lament, his praise after healing, and the use of the lump of figs as a healing means.
Isaiah 38:1
Isaiah 38:1, KJV, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah prophet son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”
Isaiah begins, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.” This sickness came during the larger period of Assyrian threat, because verse 6 still includes the promise that the Lord would deliver Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the king of Assyria. Therefore, Isaiah 38 is not merely a private medical episode. It occurs in the middle of national crisis. Hezekiah is not only a man facing death. He is a king facing death while his nation is threatened.
Isaiah comes to him with a direct word from the Lord, “Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.” This was a severe message, but it was also a mercy. Not everyone is warned before death. Many men die suddenly and have no time to put affairs in order. God gave Hezekiah time to face reality, order his house, and seek the Lord.
The phrase “set thine house in order” includes practical, family, governmental, and spiritual concerns. Hezekiah was king. His death would affect his household, succession, administration, and the nation. But beyond earthly affairs, the command also pressed the deeper reality that a man must be ready to meet God.
Hebrews 9:27, KJV, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Every man has an appointment with death and judgment. Hezekiah’s warning was unusually direct, but the truth applies to all. A wise man lives prepared before God.
This word also shows that sickness is not outside God’s rule. We are not told the medical cause, but the sickness was permitted by the Lord. Hezekiah’s life, death, health, and days were all in God’s hands.
Psalm 31:15, KJV, “My times are in thy hand: deliver me from hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.”
Hezekiah’s times were in God’s hand, and so are ours.
Isaiah 38:2-3
Isaiah 38:2-3, KJV, “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward wall, and prayed unto LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with perfect heart, and have done good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”
Hezekiah turns his face toward the wall and prays to the Lord. This shows earnestness and privacy. He is not performing for men. He turns away from others and directs his anguish to God. The first right act of a man under death’s shadow is prayer.
Hezekiah says, “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee.” He appeals to God based on his faithful walk, truth, and sincere heart. To New Testament ears, this can sound strange because believers now come to God in the name and righteousness of Christ, not on the basis of personal merit. Yet under the Old Covenant, covenant blessing and curse were strongly connected to obedience and disobedience.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, KJV, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto voice of LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto voice of LORD thy God.”
Hezekiah’s prayer fits an Old Covenant framework. He had sought to walk before the Lord faithfully, remove idols, cleanse worship, and trust God. He asks the Lord to remember that.
Yet Christians must be careful not to make Hezekiah’s prayer the normal basis of New Covenant prayer. We come through Christ.
John 16:23-24, KJV, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may full.”
Hebrews 4:14-16, KJV, “Seeing then that we have great high priest, that is passed into heavens, Jesus Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not high priest which cannot touched with feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The believer comes boldly because Christ is High Priest, not because his own record is worthy.
Hezekiah “wept sore.” His grief was deep. This does not necessarily mean he lacked faith. He faced death before the fuller light of resurrection revealed through Christ. He also likely saw his impending death as a sign of divine displeasure and feared what it meant for Judah’s future. His tears were real, and God saw them.
Isaiah 38:4-6
Isaiah 38:4-6, KJV, “Then came word of LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith LORD, God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of hand of king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.”
The Lord answers Hezekiah’s prayer quickly. “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears.” God is not deaf to prayer and not blind to tears. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, but the Lord saw him. He prayed privately, but the Lord heard him.
This is deeply comforting. The Lord does not merely hear formal prayer in public worship. He hears the broken prayer of a man facing death.
Psalm 56:8, KJV, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
The Lord takes account of His people’s tears.
God identifies Himself as “the God of David thy father.” This reminds Hezekiah of covenant mercy. God’s answer is tied not only to Hezekiah’s prayer, but also to His covenant faithfulness to David. The Davidic promise still stands.
The Lord says, “I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” This is remarkable mercy. Hezekiah receives not only healing, but a specific measure of added time. He now knows that fifteen years have been given to him. If he is wise, this should make him walk carefully, order his house, and use his remaining years for God’s glory.
The chapter also teaches that prayer matters. If Hezekiah had not prayed, the text gives every reason to believe he would have died as first announced. God’s sovereign purposes include the prayers of His people.
James 5:16, KJV, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may healed. The effectual fervent prayer of righteous man availeth much.”
God then connects Hezekiah’s personal healing with national deliverance, “I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.” The same God who can restore the king’s body can defend the city from Assyria. Hezekiah’s healing becomes a personal confirmation of Jerusalem’s deliverance.
This promise also confirms that the events of this chapter occurred before the final destruction of the Assyrian army described in Isaiah 37:36. The Assyrian crisis still remains, but God has already spoken.
Isaiah 38:7-8
Isaiah 38:7-8, KJV, “And this shall be sign unto thee from LORD, that LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again shadow of degrees, which is gone down in sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.”
The Lord gives Hezekiah a sign. He was under no obligation to do so. God’s word alone is enough. Yet in mercy, He confirms His promise with a miraculous sign.
The sign involves the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz moving backward ten degrees. This was especially fitting. God gave Hezekiah more time in his life, and the sign involves time moving backward on the dial. The sign visibly confirms the invisible promise.
We are not told exactly how God performed this miracle. He could have altered the sun’s apparent movement, changed the shadow locally, or accomplished the sign through means beyond our understanding. The point is not the mechanism. The point is that the Lord rules creation. The One who made heaven and earth can command signs in heaven and earth.
Genesis 1:14-16, KJV, “And God said, Let there lights in firmament of heaven to divide day from night; and let them for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in firmament of heaven to give light upon earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; greater light to rule day, and lesser light to rule night: he made stars also.”
The God who made the lights can govern the sign of the shadow.
This sign also shows God’s kindness. Hezekiah was weak, fearful, and facing death. God stooped to strengthen his faith. The Lord often gives His people more mercy than they deserve, not because His word is insufficient, but because He is compassionate toward weakness.
Isaiah 38:9-14
Isaiah 38:9-14, KJV, “The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in cutting off of my days, I shall go to gates of grave: I am deprived of residue of my years. I said, I shall not see LORD, even LORD, in land of living: I shall behold man no more with inhabitants of world. Mine age departed, and removed from me as shepherd's tent: I have cut off like weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make end of me. I reckoned till morning, that, as lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make end of me. Like crane or swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I oppressed; undertake for me.”
This section is Hezekiah’s written reflection after sickness and recovery. It is not merely a medical report. It is a spiritual testimony. He remembers the fear, sorrow, weakness, and oppression he felt when death seemed near.
He says, “I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.” Hezekiah was in the prime of life. He was not an old man ready to die after a long reign. His life seemed cut off early. He grieved the years he expected but would not receive.
He also says, “I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living.” Hezekiah’s grief reflects the limited clarity Old Testament saints had concerning the afterlife before Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:10, KJV, “But is now made manifest by appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through gospel.”
The Old Testament gives real glimpses of resurrection and hope, but the New Testament brings greater clarity through Jesus Christ. Hezekiah knew the Lord, but death still appeared shadowed and uncertain to him.
Job had a strong glimpse of resurrection hope.
Job 19:25-27, KJV, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at latter day upon earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins consumed within me.”
But other Old Testament passages express the grave from the standpoint of earthly life ending.
Psalm 6:5, KJV, “For in death there no remembrance of thee: in grave who shall give thee thanks?”
Hezekiah’s lament belongs to that older, less fully revealed perspective.
He compares his life to a shepherd’s tent removed and a weaver’s work cut from the loom. These images show fragility. A tent can be taken down quickly. A woven life can be cut off suddenly. He feels that God is making an end of him from day to night.
He says God is like a lion breaking his bones. This is the language of severe suffering. Hezekiah does not pretend sickness feels gentle. He describes it honestly. Then he compares his cries to the sounds of birds, “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove.” His prayers came out in weakness, groaning, and mourning.
Finally, he cries, “O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.” This is a simple and powerful prayer. Hezekiah asks God to take up his cause. When a man has no strength, he needs the Lord to undertake for him.
Psalm 119:122, KJV, “Be surety for thy servant for good: let not proud oppress me.”
Hezekiah’s cry is the cry of a man who needs God to stand for him when he cannot stand for himself.
Isaiah 38, The World Beyond and the Clearer Hope Given in Christ
Hezekiah’s fear of death must be understood in its biblical setting. He lived before the finished work of Christ, before the resurrection of Christ, and before the fuller New Testament revelation of the believer’s immediate hope after death. The Old Testament saints had real faith, but the details of the world beyond were not as fully revealed as they are now.
The Old Testament often uses Sheol for the place of the dead, sometimes translated as the grave. The New Testament uses Hades in a similar way for the realm of the dead. This is not always identical to the final lake of fire. Scripture later distinguishes Hades from Gehenna, the final place of punishment.
Jesus gives a clear picture of conscious existence after death in Luke 16.
Luke 16:22-26, KJV, “And it came to pass, that beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom: rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he comforted, and thou tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”
Before Christ’s finished work, the righteous dead are pictured in comfort, and the wicked dead in torment, with a great gulf fixed.
Jesus also truly died and entered the realm of the dead, yet He was not abandoned there.
Acts 2:27, KJV, “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Acts 2:31-32, KJV, “He seeing this before spake of resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all witnesses.”
Christ entered death as victor, not victim. His atoning work was finished on the cross.
John 19:30, KJV, “When Jesus therefore had received vinegar, he said, It finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up ghost.”
Because Christ has died, risen, and ascended, the believer now has a clearer hope than Hezekiah expressed in his lament.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8, KJV, “Therefore always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in body, we are absent from Lord: For we walk by faith, not by sight: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to absent from body, and to present with Lord.”
Philippians 1:21-23, KJV, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die gain. But if I live in flesh, this fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I in strait betwixt two, having desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which far better.”
Paul can say that to die is gain and to depart is to be with Christ, which is far better. That is the fuller New Testament confidence. Hezekiah feared the grave because he did not yet have the same clarity that Christ later brought to light.
This matters doctrinally. The clearest teaching about the believer’s hope after death comes through Christ and the New Testament revelation. Unclear Old Testament laments should not override the clear New Testament teaching that believers who die are with the Lord.
Isaiah 38:15-20
Isaiah 38:15-20, KJV, “What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I this day: father to children shall make known thy truth. The LORD ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to stringed instruments all days of our life in house of LORD.”
Hezekiah now turns from lament to praise. “What shall I say?” He is overwhelmed by the mercy of God. The Lord had spoken, and the Lord had done it. God’s word and God’s action agree. He promised healing, and He performed it.
Hezekiah says, “I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.” The phrase suggests walking carefully, humbly, and reflectively. Having been spared, Hezekiah knows his remaining years should be lived with seriousness. A man who has faced death and received mercy should not waste his days.
This is a worthy response, though Hezekiah’s later life shows the danger of not fully living up to such a vow. The added fifteen years were mercy, but they also brought responsibility.
Hezekiah confesses, “for peace I had great bitterness.” He recognizes that his bitter experience was used for his good. God used suffering to deepen him. The bitterness was not meaningless. It became part of God’s merciful work.
Romans 8:28, KJV, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who called according to his purpose.”
For the believer, even bitterness is not outside God’s providence.
The strongest statement of mercy is, “thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Hezekiah understands his healing as more than physical. God has dealt mercifully with his soul. To cast sins behind His back means God no longer holds them before His face for judgment. He removes them from the place of accusation.
Psalm 103:10-12, KJV, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as heaven high above earth, so great his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as east from west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
The Lord’s mercy removes sin. Hezekiah rejoices that God has put his sins behind His back.
He then says, “For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee.” Again, this reflects the Old Testament perspective from earthly life. Hezekiah knows the living can praise God publicly in the congregation and teach the next generation. He emphasizes, “The living, the living, he shall praise thee.”
The father must make known God’s truth to the children. This is an important point. Hezekiah’s extended life gave him more time not merely to rule, but to teach. Mercy received should become testimony passed on.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7, KJV, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
God’s truth is to be taught from father to children.
Hezekiah closes, “The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.” The right response to deliverance is worship. Hezekiah’s healing becomes a song. God’s mercy should not be forgotten once the crisis passes. It should produce lasting praise.
Isaiah 38:21-22
Isaiah 38:21-22, KJV, “For Isaiah had said, Let them take lump of figs, and lay it for plaister upon boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What sign that I shall go up to house of LORD?”
The chapter ends by explaining the means used in Hezekiah’s healing. Isaiah instructed them to take a lump of figs and lay it as a plaster upon the boil, and Hezekiah would recover. God healed Hezekiah, but He used a physical treatment.
This is important. Faith in God does not require rejecting ordinary means. God can heal instantly without means, and He can heal through means. Medicine, treatment, poultices, surgery, nutrition, and skilled care are not enemies of faith when used rightly. They are part of God’s providential provision.
1 Timothy 5:23, KJV, “Drink no longer water, but use little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.”
Paul did not tell Timothy to reject practical treatment in the name of faith. He recommended a practical remedy.
The issue is not whether means are used, but whether the heart trusts the Lord above the means. Hezekiah was not healed because figs are sovereign. He was healed because God ordained healing and used the figs as the means.
A faithful principle is this, pray earnestly, seek the Lord, use lawful and wise means, and give God the glory.
Verse 22 recalls Hezekiah’s question, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?” Hezekiah wanted assurance that he would recover and worship again in the Lord’s house. His desire to go up to the house of the Lord connects healing with worship. The goal of restored health is not merely more years, more comfort, or more personal plans. The highest purpose of life spared is worship and faithful service before God.
