Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 20:1

Clarke's Commentary

CHAPTER XX

Hezekiah's sickness, and the message of the prophet to him, to

prepare for death, 1.

His distress and prayer to God, 2, 3.

The Lord hears, and promises to add fifteen years to his life,

and Isaiah prescribes a means of cure, 4-7.

Hezekiah seeks a sign; and to assure him of the truth of God's

promise, the shadow on the dial of Ahaz goes back ten degrees,

8-11.

The King of Babylon sends a friendly message to Hezekiah, to

congratulate him on his recovery; and to these messengers he

ostentatiously shows all his treasures, 12, 13.

Isaiah reproves him, and foretells that the Babylonians will

come and take away all those treasures, and take the people

into captivity; and degrade the royal family of Judah, 14-18.

Hezekiah bows to the Divine judgment, 19.

His acts and death, 20, 21.

NOTES ON CHAP. XX

Verse 2 Kings 20:1. Set thine house in order — It appears from the text that he was smitten with such a disorder as must terminate in death, without the miraculous interposition of God: and he is now commanded to set his house in order, or to give charge concerning his house; to dispose of his affairs, or in other words, to make his will; because his death was at hand. "This sickness," says Jarchi, "took place three days before the defeat of Sennacherib." That it must have been before this defeat, is evident. Hezekiah reigned only twenty-nine years, 2 Kings 18:2. He had reigned fourteen years when the war with Sennacherib began, 2 Kings 18:13, and he reigned fifteen years after this sickness, 2 Kings 20:6; therefore 14+15=29, the term of his reign. Nothing can be clearer than this, that Hezekiah had reigned fourteen years before this time; and that he did live the fifteen years here promised. That Hezekiah's sickness happened before the destruction of Sennacherib's army, is asserted by the text itself: see 2 Kings 20:6.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Warning concerning Babylon (20:1-21)

It seems that the events recorded in 20:1-19 occurred before those recorded in 18:13-19:37. Hezekiah was about to die, but, in answer to his prayer, God promised to extend his life. This was for the purpose of bringing Judah through the time of conflict with Assyria that has just been described (20:1-7). God gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign to prove that he would do what he had promised (8-11).

At this time Babylon was increasing in power and was looking for allies to help it overthrow Assyria. Hezekiah’s illness gave the Babylonian king an excuse to send representatives to Jerusalem, in the hope that they could encourage Hezekiah to join with Babylon against Assyria. Hezekiah was proud of the prosperity he had brought to his kingdom, and was willing to cooperate (12-13; 2 Chronicles 32:25,2 Chronicles 32:31). Again Isaiah condemned this willingness to enter into foreign alliances. He saw that it would result in conquest by the allied nation (14-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE RECOVERY OF HEZEKIAH FROM A FATAL ILLNESS

This chapter, along with its parallel in Isaiah 38 and Isaiah 39, is one of the most difficult in the O.T. "Due to the variations in the duplicate texts, and even more to the complex historical problems, no other section of Kings has produced more critical debate."International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 513. We cannot allow in a work of this kind sufficient space for a thorough discussion of all the questions. We shall note here a few of the problems that concern scholars.

Regarding the date of Hezekiah's fatal sickness, capable scholars have dated it at several points between 713 and 701 B.C.. Some say it connected with the invasion of Sargon, and some with that of Sennacherib, some with his alleged first invasion, and others with his so-called second invasion!

And then, there is the business of the shadow going backwards upon the sun-dial. What we get on that from many of the commentators is an anthology of why men do NOT believe it! We don't allow any explanations of unbelief, since our Lord has already explained "unbelief' as the result, not of education, nor of intelligence, but as appearing, "because their deeds are evil" (John 3:19).

This wonder is very similar to the great miracle at Beth-horon in the time of Joshua. We pray that some unbelievers will be shocked to know that there is a genuine, undeniable, and very reasonable scientific explanation of both wonders.

Another great fact in the chapter is that, although God Himself had diagnosed Hezekiah's illness as fatal, terminal, and "unto death," Hezekiah did NOT hesitate to pray God for his own recovery. What an admonition there is in this for Christians whose physicians have "given up on them," and who are confronted with what is called "a terminal illness." This writer knows of at least one person who fully recovered from such an illness.

(Now, for the further explanation of this writer's conviction regarding this chapter, the reader is referred to Vol. 1 of my series on the major prophets (Isaiah), pp. 347-354, also pp. 355-361, and Vol. 1 (Joshua) of my series on the historical books, pp. 110-113, where a recovery from inoperable cancer of the trachea is reported, and where the scientific explanation of the shadow's moving backwards on the sun-dial is included.)

One other thought which we wish to register here is that death is, by no means, the worst thing that can happen to a person! Hezekiah would have been much better to have meekly accepted the Divine verdict on his illness, because three years later, during the extension of his life, Manasseh was born to him, and that ruler was the very worst of all the kings of Judah!

The report in this chapter of the letter and present from Berodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12) to Hezekiah is more fully reported in Isaiah 39, where the name of the same Babylonian ruler is spelled Merodach-balladan. (See my comment there, Vol. 1 (Isaiah), pp. 355-361.)

The mention of this Babylonian king gives no help in determining the date of Hezekiah's sickness, because, "He was twice king, in 722-710 B.C. and again in 703-702 B.C."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 361.

Still another portion of this chapter is of very great importance, namely, the great prophecy of Isaiah that Babylon (not Assyria) would destroy Jerusalem, deport its people, and rob the treasures which Hezekiah had foolishly displayed for that embassy from Babylon. Of course, the radical critics who foolishly reject all prophecy, a priori, promptly refer to this prophecy as having been "added to the text not long after 597 B.C."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 510. Any evidence of such a thing? Certainly not!

As a matter of fact, there are a number of other prophecies that Israel would be "plucked off their land" and removed from Palestine, such as Deuteronomy 28:63-64; 1 Kings 14:15; Amos 5:27; and in every one of these, although not specifically stated, it is clear enough that only Babylon could have been intended in all of them as the place where God would punish Israel. From such facts as these, it is evident that getting rid of predictive prophecy cannot be achieved by canceling a single text here and there. The only way would be to remove the whole Bible. But of course, that is exactly the evil intention of those who would deny predictive prophecy.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

In those days - Hezekiah seems to have died 697 B.C.; and his illness must belong to 713 or 714 B.C. (compare 2 Kings 20:6), a date which falls early in the reign of Sargon. The true chronological place of this narrative is therefore prior to all the other facts related of Hezekiah except his religious reforms.

The prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz - This full description of Isaiah (compare 2 Kings 19:2), by the addition of his father’s name and of his office, marks the original independence of this narrative. The writer of Kings may have found it altogether separate from the other records of Hezekiah, and added it in the state in which he found it.

This history (compare Jonah 3:4-10) shows that the prophetic denunciations were often not absolute predictions of what was certainly about to happen, but designed primarily to prove, or to lead to repentance, those against whom they were uttered, and only obtaining accomplishment if this primary design failed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 20

Now in those days Hezekiah was very sick ( 2 Kings 20:1 ).

Actually he was dying.

And Isaiah came to him, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Set your house in order; for you're going to die, and not live ( 2 Kings 20:1 ).

The word of the Lord from Isaiah to Hezekiah. Set your house in order, you're going to die and not live.

And so Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and he prayed unto the LORD, and he said, I beseech you, O LORD, remember now how I have walked with you in truth, with a perfect heart, and I have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah just really wept before God. So it came to pass, when Isaiah was leaving, as he was going through the middle of the court, the LORD said, Go back and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you will go up unto the house of the LORD ( 2 Kings 20:2-5 ).

I've heard your prayer, see your tears. Okay, you'll be healed. In three days you'll be going up to the house of the Lord.

And I will add to your life fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And Isaiah said, [Now take a make a poultice from figs.] And lay it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What will be the sign that I'm going to be healed? And Isaiah said, Well, you want the sun to go back ten degrees on the sundial, or you want it to go ahead ten degrees? ( 2 Kings 20:6-9 )

Imagine asking for a sign for something and God working a sign with the sundial, either moving the sun backward or forward ten degrees for you. What would you like? He said, "Well, if it goes forward ten degrees, that wouldn't be too much." You'd think the earth is just tilting that much faster. "Let it go back ten degrees." And so the sun went back ten degrees on the sundial.

You say, "Impossible." Yes, if you've got a puny little God of your own creation. But if you can believe the first verse of Genesis, why would you have any problem with that? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" ( Genesis 1:1 ). That's how big our God is that we serve. It is important that we remember that especially when we pray over our little problems. "O Lord, thou art God, thou hast created the heaven, and the earth, all that in them is" ( Acts 4:24 ). That's the way the apostles began their prayer, and it's a good way to begin prayer. Just sort of reminding you who you're talking to.

Now there were emissaries that came from Babylon, when they heard that Hezekiah was recovered from his sickness, and they came in to Hezekiah and they said, "Oh, we're so glad that you're well." And Hezekiah said, "Oh, let me show you around." And he took them into the treasury. He showed them all the treasures, all of the gold and silver that was in the house of the Lord. All the treasures of the land. And so Isaiah came to Hezekiah and said, "Who were those fellows? Where they come from?" And he said, "Oh, they came from a long way out. They came from Babylon." "What they want?" "Oh, they wanted to tell me they were glad I was..." "What did you show them?" "Oh, I showed them the treasures." "What? How much?" "Oh, I showed them everything." He said, "Ah, that's foolish because all of those treasures that you showed to them will be carried away captive to Babylon."

Hezekiah said, "Well, that's good." He said, "What do you mean that's good?" He said, "Well, you said it won't happen in my days."

So the rest ( 2 Kings 20:20 )

Strange way to look at it, isn't it? The rest of the acts of Hezekiah are recorded in Second Chronicles and in Isaiah. An awful lot about Hezekiah in Isaiah. How he made this tunnel from the spring of Gihon to the pool of Siloam in order that they might have a fresh water supply when they were anticipating the attack from the Assyrians. And this conduit that he built, the tunnel...and I hiked through that tunnel on a few occasions, and you feel like you're hiking in history as you are walking through the water as the spring of Gihon flows through that and on out to the pool of Siloam. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

6. Hezekiah’s illness and recovery 20:1-11

"In those days" (2 Kings 20:1) refers to the year Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem (701 B.C.) since Hezekiah died 15 years later in 686 B.C. His response to his illness was proper. He sought help from Yahweh primarily (2 Kings 20:2). God had promised long life to the godly under the Mosaic Covenant, and that promise was the basis of Hezekiah’s appeal and God’s answer. Fig poultices were a common treatment in the ancient world as a remedy for boils. [Note: Cf. Keil, pp. 462-63; Wiseman, p. 287.] Hezekiah’s physicians apparently did not prescribe this treatment.

"Despite his recovery, Hezekiah asks for a sign that he will in fact go back to the temple in three days. Rather than an indication of unbelief, his request should be viewed against the background of Ahaz’s refusal of a sign in Isaiah 7:12. Isaiah gladly offers Hezekiah a choice of signs . . ." [Note: House, p. 373.]

God’s sign guaranteed what He had promised. This was evidently a local miracle as were some others involving sunlight (cf. Exodus 10:21-23; Joshua 10:12-13). [Note: See John Davis and John Whitcomb, A History of Israel, p. 464.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Ver. 1-3. In these days was Hezekiah sick unto death,.... Of this sickness of Hezekiah, the message of the prophet Isaiah to him, and his prayer upon it,

:-,

:-,

:-.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.   2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,   3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.   4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,   5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.   6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.   7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.   8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?   9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?   10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.   11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

      The historian, having shown us blaspheming Sennacherib destroyed in the midst of the prospects of life, here shows us praying Hezekiah delivered in the midst of the prospects of death--the days of the former shortened, of the latter prolonged.

      I. Here is Hezekiah's sickness. In those days, that is, in the same year in which the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem; for he reigning reigned? in all twenty-nine years, and surviving this fifteen years, this must be in his fourteenth year, and so was that, 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 18:13. Some think it was at the time that the Assyrian army was besieging the city or preparing for it, because God promises (2 Kings 20:6; 2 Kings 20:6): I will defend the city, which promise was afterwards repeated, when the danger came to be most imminent, 2 Kings 19:34; 2 Kings 19:34. Others think it was soon after the defeat of Sennacherib; and then it shows us the uncertainty of all our comforts in this world. Hezekiah, in the midst of his triumphs in the favour of God, and over the forces of his enemies, is seized with sickness, and under the arrest of death. We must therefore always rejoice with trembling. It should seem he was sick of the plague, for we read of the boil or plague-sore, 2 Kings 20:7; 2 Kings 20:7. The same disease which was killing to the Assyrians was trying to him; God took it from him, and put it upon his enemies. Neither greatness nor goodness can exempt us from sickness, from sore and mortal sicknesses. Hezekiah, lately favoured of heaven above most men, yet is sick unto death--in the midst of his days (under forty) and yet sick and dying; and perhaps he was the more apprehensive of its being fatal to him because his father died when he was about his age, two or three years younger. "In the midst of life we are in death."

      II. Warning brought him to prepare for death. It is brought by Isaiah, who had been twice, as stated in the former chapter, a messenger of good tidings to him. We cannot expect to receive from God's prophets any other than what they have received from the Lord, and we must welcome that, be it pleasing or unpleasing. The prophet tells him, 1. That his disease is mortal, and, if he be not recovered by a miracle of mercy, will certainly be fatal: Thou shalt die, and not live. 2. That therefore he must, with all speed, get ready for death: Set thy house in order. This we should feel highly concerned to do when we are in health, but are most loudly called to do when we come to be sick. Set the heart in order by renewed acts of repentance, and faith, and resignation to God, with cheerful farewells to this world and welcomes to another; and, if not done before (which is the best and wisest course), set the house in order, make thy will, settle thy estate, put thy affairs in the best posture thou canst, for the ease of those that shall come after thee. Isaiah speaks not to Hezekiah of his kingdom, only of his house. David, being a prophet, had authority to appoint who should reign after him, but other kings did not pretend to bequeath their crowns as part of their goods and chattels.

      III. His prayer hereupon: He prayed unto the Lord,2 Kings 20:2; 2 Kings 20:2. Is any sick? Let him be prayed for, let him be prayed with, and let him pray. Hezekiah had found, as recorded in the foregoing chapter, that it was not in vain to wait upon God, but that the prayers of faith bring in answers of peace; therefore will he call upon God as long as he lives. Happy experiences of the prevalency of prayer are engagements and encouragements to continue instant in prayer. He had now received the sentence of death within himself, and, if it was reversible, it must be reversed by prayer. When God purposes mercy he will, for this, be enquired of,Ezekiel 36:37. We have not if we ask not, or ask amiss. If the sentence was irreversible, yet prayer is one of the best preparations for death, because by it we fetch in strength and grace from God to enable us to finish well. Observe,

      1. The circumstances of this prayer. (1.) He turned his face to the wall, probably as he lay in his bed. This he did perhaps for privacy; he could not retire to his closet as he used to do, but he retired as well as he could, turned from the company that were about him, to converse with God. When we cannot be so private as we would be in our devotions, nor perform them with the usual outward expressions of reverence and solemnity, yet we must not therefore omit them, but compose ourselves to them as well as we can. Or, as some think, he turned his face towards the temple, to show how willingly he would have gone up thither, to pray this prayer (as he did, 2 Kings 19:1; 2 Kings 19:14), if he had been able, and remembering what encouragements were given to all the prayers that should be made in or towards that house. Christ is our temple; to him we must have an eye in all our prayers, for no man, no service, comes to the Father but by him. (2.) He wept sorely. Some gather from this that he was unwilling to die. It is in the nature of man to have some dread of the separation of soul and body, and it was not strange if the Old-Testament saints, to whom another world was but darkly revealed, were not so willing to leave this as Paul and other New-Testament saints were. There was also something peculiar in Hezekiah's case: he was now in the midst of his usefulness, had begun a good work of reformation, which he feared would, through the corruption of the people, fall to the ground, if he should die. If this was before the defeat of the Assyrian army, as some think, he might therefore be loth to die, because his kingdom was in imminent danger of being ruined. However, it does not appear that he had now any son: Manasseh, that succeeded him, was not born till three years after; and, if he should die childless, both the peace of his kingdom and the promise to David would be in danger. But perhaps these were only tears of importunity, and expressions of a lively affection in prayer. Jacob wept and made supplication; and our blessed Saviour, though most willing to die, yet offered up strong cries, with tears, to him whom he knew to be able to save him,Hebrews 5:7. Let Hezekiah's prayer interpret his tears, and in that we find nothing that intimates him to have been under any of that fear of death which has either bondage or torment.

      2. The prayer itself: "Remember now, O Lord! how I have walked before thee in truth; and either spare me to live, that I may continue thus to walk, if, if my work be done, receive me to that glory which thou hast prepared for those that have thus walked." Observe here, (1.) The description of Hezekiah's piety. He had had his conversation in the world with right intentions ("I have walked before thee, as under thy eye and with an eye ever towards thee"), from a right principle ("in truth, and with an upright heart"), and by a right rule--"I have done that which is good in thy sight." (2.) The comfort he now had in reflecting upon it; it made his sick-bed easy. Note, The testimony of conscience for us that we have walked with God in our integrity will be much our support and rejoicing when we come to look death in the face, 2 Corinthians 1:12. (3.) The humble mention he makes of it to God. Lord, remember it now; not as if God needed to be put in mind of any thing by us (he is greater than our hearts, and knows all things), or as if the reward were of debt, and might be demanded as due (it is Christ's righteousness only that is the purchase of mercy and grace); but our own sincerity may be pleaded as the condition of the covenant which God has wrought in us: "It is the work of thy own hands. Lord, own it." Hezekiah does not pray, "Lord, spare me," or, "Lord, take me; God's will be done;" but, Lord, remember me; whether I live or die, let me be thine.

      IV. The answer which God immediately gave to this prayer of Hezekiah. The prophet had got but to the middle court when he was sent back with another message to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:4; 2 Kings 20:5), to tell him that he should recover; not that there is with God yea and nay, or that he ever says and unsays; but upon Hezekiah's prayer, which he foresaw and which his Spirit inclined him to, God did that for him which otherwise he would not have done. God here calls Hezekiah the captain of his people, to intimate that he would reprieve him for his people's sake, because, in this time of war, they could ill spare such a captain: he calls himself the God of David, to intimate that he would reprieve him out of a regard to the covenant made with David and the promise that he would always ordain a lamp for him. In this answer, 1. God honours his prayers by the notice he takes of them and the reference he has to them in this message: I have heard thy prayers, I have seen thy tears. Prayers that have much life and affection in them are in a special manner pleasing to God. 2. God exceeds his prayers; he only begged that God would remember his integrity, but God here promises (1.) To restore him from his illness: I will heal thee. Diseases are his servants; as they go where he sends them, so they come when he remands them. Matthew 8:8; Matthew 8:9. I am the Lord that healeth thee,Exodus 15:26. (2.) To restore him to such a degree of health that on the third day he should go up to the house of the Lord, to return thanks. God knew Hezekiah's heart, how dearly he loved the habitation of God's house and the place where his honour dwelt, and that as soon as he was well he would go to attend on public ordinances; thitherward he turned his face when he was sick, and thitherward he would turn his feet when he was recovered; and therefore, because nothing would please him better, he promises him this, Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee. The man whom Christ healed was soon after found in the temple,John 5:14. (3.) To add fifteen years to his life. This would not bring him to be an old man; it would reach but to fifty-four or fifty-five; yet that was longer than he had lately expected to live. His lease was renewed, which he thought was expiring. We have not the instance of any other that was told before-hand just how long he should live; that good man no doubt made a good use of it; but God has wisely kept us at uncertainties, that we may be always ready. (4.) To deliver Jerusalem from the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 20:6; 2 Kings 20:6. This was the thing which Hezekiah's heart was upon a much as his own recovery, and therefore the promise of this is here repeated. If this was after the raising of the siege, yet there was cause to fear Sennacherib's rallying again. "No," says God, "I will defend this city."

      V. The means which were to be used for his recovery, 2 Kings 20:7; 2 Kings 20:7. Isaiah was his physician. He ordered an outward application, a very cheap and common thing: "Lay a lump of figs to the boil, to ripen it and bring it to a head, that the matter of the disease may be discharged that way." This might contribute something to the cure, and yet, considering to what a height the disease had come, and how suddenly it was checked, the cure was no less than miraculous. Note, 1. It is our duty, when we are sick, to make use of such means as are proper to help nature, else we do not trust God, but tempt him. 2. Plain and ordinary medicines must not be despised, for many such God has graciously made serviceable to man, in consideration of the poor. 3. What God appoints he will bless and make effectual.

      VI. The sign which was given for the encouragement of his faith. 1. He begged it, not in any distrust of the power or promise of God, or as if he staggered at that, but because he looked upon the things promised to be very great things and worthy to be so confirmed, and because it had been usual with God thus to glorify himself and favour his people; and he remembered how much God was displeased with his father for refusing to ask a sign, Isaiah 7:10-12. Observe, Hezekiah asked What is the sign, not that I shall go up to the thrones of judgment or up to the gate, but up to the house of the Lord? He desired to recover that he might glorify God in the gates of the daughter of Zion. It is not worth while to live for any other purpose than to serve God. 2. It was put to his choice whether the sun should go back or go forward; for it was equal to Omnipotence, and it would be the more likely to confirm his faith if he chose that which he thought the more difficult of the two. Perhaps to this that of this prophet may refer (Isaiah 45:11), Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command you me. It is supposed that the degrees were half hours, and that it was just noon when the proposal was made, and the question is, "Shall the sun go back to its place at seven in the morning or forward to its place at five in the evening?" 3. He humbly desired the sun might go back ten degrees, because, though either would be a great miracle, yet, it being the natural course of the sun to go forward, its going back would seem more strange, and would be more significant of Hezekiah's returning to the days of his youth (Job 33:25) and the lengthening out of the day of his life. It was accordingly done, upon the prayer of Isaiah (2 Kings 20:11; 2 Kings 20:11): He cried unto the Lord by special warrant and direction, and God brought the sun back ten degrees, which appeared to Hezekiah (for the sign was intended for him) by the going back of the shadow upon the dial of Ahaz, which, it is likely, he could see through his chamber-window; and the same was observed upon all other dials, even in Babylon, 2 Chronicles 32:31. Whether this retrograde motion of the sun was gradual or per saltum--suddenly--whether it went back at the same pace that it used to go forward, which would make the day ten hours longer than usual--or whether it darted back on a sudden, and, after continuing a little while, was restored again to its usual place, so that no change was made in the state of the heavenly bodies (as the learned bishop Patrick thinks)--we are not told; but this work of wonder shows the power of God in heaven as well as on earth, the great notice he takes of prayer, and the great favour he bears to his chosen. The most plausible idolatry of the heathen was theirs that worshipped the sun; yet that was hereby convicted of the most egregious folly and absurdity, for by this it appeared that their god was under the check of the God of Israel. Dr. Lightfoot suggests that the fifteen songs of degrees (Psalms 120:1-134, c.) might perhaps be so called because selected by Hezekiah to be sung to his stringed instruments (Isaiah 38:20) in remembrance of the degrees on the dial which the sun went back and the fifteen years added to his life and he observes how much of these psalms is applicable to Jerusalem's distress and deliverance and Hezekiah's sickness and recovery.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

"And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz" (2 Kings 19:1-37). He goes to Jehovah; they are sent to Jehovah's servant. This was right. He looks in prayer to God himself, and he expects an answer through His servant. "And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah." And the answer is immediate. "Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. "

What a humiliation, and yet how simple! First a rumour in his own land after the blast that Jehovah would send in His land, and last of all himself reserved for a fate incomparably more humiliating in presence of his own subjects in his own land. "So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah" a second, and, if possible, more insulting word. Hezekiah takes the letter and still goes to God. He "went up into the house of Jehovah and spread it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. O Jehovah, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, O Jehovah, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God."

And so the whole trial is cast into the bosom of Jehovah. Isaiah gives the answer: as before, so now. "Thus saith the Jehovah God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard." Trust in Jehovah is never in vain. Impossible to trust Him over much. "This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee." How blessed and yet what an extraordinary word it was for these trembling Jews to hear. "The virgin, the daughter of Zion." Was there not then fear? Was there not anguish of heart? How could it be truthfully said? Because God speaks according to His own thoughts. God looks at Zion as that which the Assyrian's foot had never defiled. It was a virgin daughter of Zion, and God never meant that the Assyrian should tread there. He had allowed him to ravage elsewhere, but Zion, even if Zion were ever so faithless, Zion was not reserved for the hand of the Assyrian. Zion might fall even under wars, but the Assyrian must fall himself.

Such was the decree of God, for even in the case of the enemies God is just as peremptory, and as thoroughly governs as among His friends. It is not man that governs in any case, but God. God is sovereign, and therefore does according to His own will. It is not a question of the party that has the most strength or the most wisdom. It is never so in the world, for God acts according to His own sovereignty. It was not because of their superior power that Babylon, or Persia, or Greece, or Rome achieved the empire of the world. Small beginnings in most of them. And in those too who made the longest and the most permanent conquest of the world, it was in no way a question of their own strength, but God was pleased so to work in His sovereignty. So here in this case this diminutive and reduced kingdom of Judah God meant to put honour upon, and now we may say Jerusalem scarcely had anything left. The fenced cities of Judah were taken, and here was Jerusalem, and it seemed as if a shovel of earth, so to speak, would be sufficient to bury Jerusalem in those days. But not so. The very fact that the Assyrian came full of his proud confidence was that which drew out the arm of Jehovah in defence of His despised city; but when He speaks by the prophet because of the Assyrian despising Zion, it is Zion that despises the Assyrian. For, as we have already observed, God speaks according to His thoughts.

"That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee." We know right well that the Assyrian shook his hand at Zion, and quite expected to have an easy conquest. But God retorts now for His despised city. "The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even again the Holy One of Israel." The Assyrian little knew that. I do not doubt that there was a certain uneasiness. There always is: I care not how simple the Christian may be; I care not how great the man of the world may be; you will never find a man of the world, let him be ever so bold, or ever so great in the presence of a genuine trial of God without a certain anxiety, a certain uneasiness. He may despise; he may see things that draw out his scorn and contempt; but he is conscious, in spite of his will, of something strange, something that baffles him, something that he cannot understand. I have no doubt then that so it was with this great Assyrian, in presence of this contemptible city which stood out against him in a manner so unexampled. And so the Lord appears, and the prophet brings out, in the most grand and sublime terms, the manner in which He would deal with this haughty conqueror; and as he closes, he says, "For I will defend this city." Jehovah would take it upon Himself: "I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." He must return by the way he came. "And he shall not come into this city, saith Jehovah."

Nor was the answer of God long delayed. "It came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." The consequence was that the king retreats in dismay returns and dwells in Nineveh but as Jehovah had sent a blast upon him in Palestine, so now he must fall in his own land. "And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." Thus every word of Jehovah was accomplished.

But now (2 Kings 20:1-21) we have the dealings of God, not with the Assyrian in defence of Jerusalem, but with Hezekiah. "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live." So, as his manner was, he bows; he turns his face to the wall. What had he now to do with anything outside? "He turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, saying, I beseech, O Jehovah, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore." Up to this time it could not be said that death was conquered, for indeed it was not. Even to a believer death was not without its terrors. Now it is stripped of its terrors, and death is no longer the king of terrors to a Christian, and for this simple reason, that death is now compelled to be the servant of the Christian, compelled to usher the departing Christian into the presence of the Lord. This is not loss, but gain. Who would weep sore at a great gain? Indeed, there might be some, but certainly they are souls who do not understand their privileges. However, it was not so then, and this is one of the great changes now effected by the mighty work of redemption. Hezekiah then wept sore.

"And it came to pass afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of Jehovah came to him saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer." There again it was not long; it was immediate. If in the previous instance, it was that same night there came the destroying angel, so now I may say, that same minute came the prophet, or at any rate the word of Jehovah to the prophet. The answer was immediate. "I have heard thy prayer; I have seen thy tears" for God did not despise them. "Behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Jehovah. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." And so a certain sign was given him a sign that Hezekiah takes in remarkable contrast with his father. When the same prophet asked Ahaz to search for a sign in heaven or earth, Ahaz pretended that he could not do such a thing that it was not for him to ask a sign. But there would have been far more real subjection of heart if he had asked. When God bids us ask; it is a serious thing to refuse. We ought to be bold in faith, and Hezekiah was; for whereas there was a double sign, either the dial going forward or going backward, he chooses the more difficult of the two. To advance the dial would be only, in a certain measure, natural, though it might be an extraordinary act of God, but to make the dial go back was a far more striking proof of the interference of Jehovah, and, accordingly, Hezekiah does ask; and Hezekiah was right. Hezekiah answers, "It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees." And so it was.

Immediately after this we find the Babylonian (ver. 12) "Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick." We know from elsewhere that it was not merely the sickness, but it was this very returning of the shadow ten degrees upon the dial that struck the Babylonians. They were great watchers of the heavens watchers of such a sign as this and they were quite right. It was traced to king Hezekiah; it was traced to a comparatively small kingdom and king, and this drew out the interest, more particularly as that king, it was well known, had resisted the proud king of Assyria, and in fact so effectually that he returned to his own land utterly frustrated in his purposes. Now, as the Babylonian wished to shake off the fetters of the king of Assyria, and in point of fact did did destroy the kingdom of Assyria by a junction with the Medes or Persians in early days, so we find that now this embassy comes to the king.

And it would be a great mistake to suppose that all these circumstances have only an historical aspect. This very part of the book is strongly typical. Anyone who is familiar with the prophets is aware that these two kingdoms which were then about to contend for the sovereignty of the world, will have their representatives in the last days. The Assyrian, strange as it may sound, will reappear. Not only will there be an Assyrian in the last days, but he is the last national enemy of the Jewish people. When God shall have accomplished His whole work in mount Zion and Jerusalem, He is to deal with the Assyrian. And Babylon too will have also its representative in the last days quite distinct. And it is of very great importance to distinguish; for Babylon was the beginning of the great imperial system. The Assyrian was the last leader of the national system. These are two distinct systems which we find in the word of God. As long as Israel was owned as a nation for God, the Assyrian had power. When Israel received its first great humiliation and Judah was about to be destroyed, Babylon was allowed to come into supremacy on the fall of Assyria. The Assyrian therefore was the last holder of the great national power of the Gentiles. The Babylonian was the first that was allowed to become the sovereign of the world to acquire an imperial authority. In the last days there will be the counterpart of these two powers, but in an inverse order. The Assyrian was before Babylon, viewed now in the manner which I have been describing. In the last days what answers to Babylon will be before the Assyrian. The reason is manifest. Babylon has to do with Judah, Assyrian with Israel. Now, in point of fact, Israel will only be brought back after God has dealt with Judah. It is the enemy of Judah that comes first in the last days, and the enemy of Israel will come up afterwards. That is the reason of the inverse order in the last days.

What then is the typical aspect of Hezekiah's sickness? And I answer, The great secret is that here we have, in type, the true Son of David, the One on whom depend the deliverance of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Assyrian. Who that will be in the last days I need not tell you. You know right well it is no mere king of man, but the true King, the great King, that is, the Lord Jesus; that it is the Messiah, that it is the true and ever-living Son of David not one that weeps sore to escape from death, but one who goes down into death and rises up again in power and glory, and that thus, and thus only, He will be the crusher of the Assyrian power after Babylon has been destroyed; for He, and He alone, will be the destroyer of what is represented by Babylon, as well as the destroyer of the Assyrian. It is the Lord Jesus, and His very first act when He comes from heaven, or in coming from heaven, is, He destroys antichrist. He has not come to the earth: it is a mere flash, so to speak, of lightning, and antichrist is destroyed cast into the lake of fire.

When dealing with the Assyrian it is different. He puts himself at the head of Israel. He is pleased to use them as his battleaxe. He comes as the head of the armies of Israel not as a mere human king, but nevertheless He is pleased to put honour upon them, and so He will fight for His people. So it is described in the fourteenth of Zechariah. There it is not the antichrist or the beast that is destroyed. It is not the Babylonish power, or the last holder of the Babylonish power. It is the Assyrian. The Assyrian is destroyed when the Lord is with Israel. The one that answers to Babylon is destroyed when the Lord is coming from heaven, before He is joined to His people Israel. It is then the inverse order. In the actual history the Assyrian was swept away first; but it will not be so when the Lord comes. The last holder of the image power of Babylon and that is the reason why I call it Babylon will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus coming from heaven; and then will remain the great Assyrian, the head of the nations who will make a conspiracy of the nations to destroy Israel, and the Lord will overthrow him for ever. Such is the order of events in the future, so that the dead and risen Son of David has a most important place in the last days as the instrument of the deliverance from both the power of Babylon and also from the power of Assyria.