Isaiah 38:5

September 24, 2023

“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.”

This particular passage of Scripture out of the Old Testament is the Lord giving the prophet Isaiah a word to give to Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a king of Judah in the time that the prophet Isaiah lived. One interesting thing to understand about Hezekiah is that he was the son of a very wicked king by the name of Ahaz. The days Hezekiah was king, he reversed all of the wickedness that was done at the hands of his father.

He got rid of all of the ungodly altars and idols that were an abomination in the sight of the Lord. The difference between Hezekiah and his father is that he put God first in everything that he did and his integrity of heart was greatly rewarded by the Lord. Hezekiah truly had a deep love for the Lord and wanted to make sure to reign over the land of Judah in a way that was pleasing to God.

Understanding Hezekiah’s character when it came to the things of the Lord is important so that we can put the primary verse of Scripture into proper context. The fact was that he understood the importance of having a true relationship with the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. When the word of the Lord was brought forth, it wasn’t something that he took lightly.

The chapter begins with the prophet Isaiah giving him a message directly from the Lord. Isaiah 38:1 reveals, “In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” Here we can see that the prophet is not delivering Hezekiah a good report, in fact he lets him know that he should get all his affairs in order in preparation for his death.

Hezekiah’s response is very telling and we can see it revealed in Isaiah 38:2 “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

Instead of him becoming resentful or bitter towards God because of his circumstance, he pleaded to the Lord for mercy and grace. How many of us blame the Lord when we go through trials and tribulations instead of leaning on Him for strength and guidance. Hezekiah did not have a perfect heart, but he had a heart that was dedicated to the Lord.

You can see exactly what he was feeling during the time of his sickness, Isaiah 38:10-12 reveals:

“I said,
“In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” I said, “I shall not see Yah, the Lord in the land of the living; I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world. My life span is gone, taken from me like a shepherd’s tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.”

By these words that were said by Hezekiah we can gain an understanding of how he was feeling. He is recognizing that his life was going to be shortened revealed to him by the prophet Isaiah. As hard as it was to have that realization, he is being completely transparent about the condition of his heart at the time of his sickness.

Then he shows his extreme gratitude to the Lord for extending the years of his life. We can see this revealed in Isaiah 38:17:

“Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

Now let’s take a look at the primary passage of Scripture that I want to highlight, Isaiah 38:5. Hezekiah had a close relationship with the Lord and God heard his prayers and saw the tears that he shed because his life was in jeopardy. The thing is that the Lord can examine the state of one’s heart. So, He can see beyond what comes out of a person’s mouth and looks at the genuineness of their heart.

One lesson that we can learn out of this writing of Hezekiah king of Judah is that God is faithful. If you come to Him with an honest and contrite heart, He will hear your prayers. Isaiah reveals the result of Hezekiah’s prayers, “…surely I will add to your days fifteen years.”

God states that He will “surely” or certainly add fifteen years to his life. God’s Word in Isaiah 38:21 discloses, “Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” Here we can see again that there is a guarantee that he “shall” not might or maybe, but that he shall recover.

There is so much that we can grasp from this story of Hezekiah out of the book of Isaiah. His persistence prevented him from just agreeing with his death sentence but instead he came to the Lord in prayer which changed the entire trajectory of his life. The Holy Bible is saturated with the Lord’s promises and guarantees.

Isaiah 53:5 is one of those passages of Scripture, it states, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” The word that God uses here is the word “are” healed not might be or maybe but He states “are healed.”

We need to get into the habit of taking the Word of God at face value. He says what He means and He means exactly what He says! That is why it is crucial for us to study the Lord’s Word daily. That is the only way that we are going to know what God’s guarantees actually are, we have to read His Word.

Below I am going to list more Scriptures that you can meditate on pertaining to healing.

Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.”

Psalm 6:2 “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.”

1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

Psalm 41:3 “The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.”

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

These are just some examples of verses of Scripture from both the Old Testament and the New Testament that you can reflect on. Remember the Lord makes it clear when He tells us that we perish because we lack knowledge, Hosea 4:6. Make God’s Word a priority: study it, dissect it, and apply it to your daily life. When you are in the need of healing like Hezekiah did, don’t just accept the bad report; take it to the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the only One that can make a way where there seems to be no way.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Who is the Prophet Isaiah

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing