2 Kings 20:1 says, 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. Hezekiah was sick, and Isaiah came to him with a message from God, though it probably wasn't one he wanted to hear. Isaiah told Hezekiah that God told him to set his house in order, because he was going to die. We likely won't be given that warning, but we should set our house in order every day, because it is a day we could die. Verse two adds, Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, Hezekiah then turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. Realizing that the end of life is uncertain, we should turn to God in prayer every day, starting when we first wake up. Verse three continues, 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. Hezekiah reminded God of his good works, but we can be sure that God never forgot them. Hezekiah then wept. If we as Christians realize that our life is almost over. is that really a reason to cry? Like Paul, we should know that our everlasting life is just beginning. Verse four states, And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Isaiah had delivered God's message to Hezekiah and left, without trying to get God to change His mind. When God gives us a message today, we need to deliver it and be on our way. I don't believe that if this is bad news for someone that we shouldn't pray for them, but it does mean that we must first be willing to accept what God tells us. As Isaiah was going, God spoke to him again. We may miss the message of God because we stop going when He delivers a message we don't want to hear. Verse five adds, 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. God told Isaiah to go back and tell Hezekiah that He had heard his prayers and would be healed and on the third day he was to go to the house of the Lord. Some people believe that everything in life is already determined and cannot be changed, but here as in many cases in the Bible, we see that prayer and often repentance with it change what God had pronounced. So, we should never downplay the importance and power of prayer, as long as we are praying for God's will to be done. Verse six continues, 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. The message this time was better news. God was not only going to heal Hezekiah, but He was going to deliver Jerusalem out of the hand of the king of Assyria, for David's sake and the promise that He had made to him. This promise was fulfilled forever when Jesus Christ came and died on the cross to redeem mankind. Of course, it is still necessary for each person to accept Him as their Savior and Lord in order to claim salvation. Verse seven says, And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. Isaiah was told to boil some figs give them to Hezakiah and this would heal him. God could have just healed Hezekiah without anything being done, but I believe that this was His way of seeing if Isaiah and Hezekiah were willing to do something that seemed so simple to show their faithfulness to Him. Though God will never tempt us, He will at times test our faith. Verse eight adds, 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? Hezakiah then asked for a sign that he was going to be healed and was supposed to go to the house of the Lord on the third day. He should have been willing to just obey God without any signs, and so must we today. We may miss God's answer to our prayers because we are waiting for a sign instead of just acting in obedience to His word. Verse nine continues, 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? Isaiah said that Hezekiah's shadow on the way to God's house would be the sign. He asked which direction the shadow should go. Again, this was nothing elaborate, but it did require Hezekiah to go as directed and also to pay attention to something that could easily be overlooked. We may be waiting for an elaborate sign from God that He can heal us from sin, but He did this when Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected the third day. This should be all the sign we ever need. Verse ten states, 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. Hezekiah said casting a shadow in accordance with the sun was an easy thing, but let his shadow go in the opposite direction than it should be a sign from God. I am not sure if Hezekiah had proposed this test himself or if Isaiah had led him to this conclusion with a message from God. However, we come to a conclusion about how God is working in our life, we must accept what He calls us to do in order to see Him at work in our lives. Verse eleven adds, 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. Isaiah asked God for this sign to Hezekiah and God answered His prayer. I can't help but wonder if we often miss God's work in our life because we aren't moving while waiting for a sign from Him.
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