Isaiah 38:15 says, What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. Hezekiah starts by asking what could he say about God’s mercy. He said God had spoken, so he would go softly for the rest of his years, but then he added in the bitterness of his soul. This could seem to be saying that he was going to be bitter about what had happened to him before, but Matthew Henry says it refers to bitterness for having questioned God. Whichever way it is interpreted, I don’t believe we should have bitterness in our soul as Christians, either about things that have happened in the past or about how we may have reacted to them in times of destress. We should just put our faith in God and always come to Him in obedience and ask for forgiveness when we fail to, and then it shouldn’t cloud our relationship with Him or other Christians.
Verse sixteen adds, O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Hezekiah said he, and by extension the kingdom, would live by the understanding that God was the One Who had given him these extra years. We need to make sure that we always give God the credit for the good things that happen in life, as individuals and as a nation.
Verse seventeen continues, Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but 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 said before God restored him to health that he had bitterness in his soul. Too often, we as Christians allow what is going on in the world or in our life to determine how we feel about our relationship with God. If everything is not as we want it to, or if we are somehow suffering because of our relationship with God, we can become bitter toward God, but this should never happen. We already have everlasting life with God as followers of Christ, so nothing that happens in this lifetime should make us bitter toward Him.
Verse eighteen states, For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. Hezekiah said those that died could not praise God, but I would have to add in this lifetime. When Jesus Christ returns to claim His people, the church, we will praise God forever. I believe that those who are saved and die before then will already be praising Him. It is the lost people who will never be able to stand in God’s kingdom and praise Him.
Verse nineteen adds, The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. Hezekiah said that the living would praise God and make His truths known to their children as he was doing that day. I would once again say that I believe that this refers to those who are spiritually alive by faith in God doing this, and not that all people who are alive will. We can only give God praise if we have become a part of His people by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Verse twenty continues, The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. Hezekiah said since God was ready to save him that he would sing songs of praise accompanied by stringed instruments. This was a physical healing that Hezekiah was singing praises about, but as Christians, we should always sing praises ti God for our salvation no matter what is happening in our life today.
Verse twenty-one says, For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah said that Isaiah had told him how to recover from his illness and that it was God’s word that he spoke. God could have cured Hezekiah with just a word, but his making and applying the plaster showed Hezekiah's willingness to obey, just as we must obey God's word in order to be healed spiritually today. No matter who reaches out to us with the gospel when we are lost and spiritually sick, it is God’s word that they share, and the glory should go to Him alone.
Verse twenty-two adds, Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? Hezekiah then asked for a sign to tell him that it was time to go to the house of the Lord. He had been considered spiritually unclean evidently and now he wanted a sign to show that he no longer was. The only sign we will ever have that we are spiritually clean is the sign of the cross and the empty tomb. It is the only sign we should ever need. We must trust God at all times without the need for physical signs.
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