Isaiah 38:9

Isaiah 38:9 says, The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:  Hezekiah wrote an account of what had happened to him and of God’s mercy on him.  Our witness to the world today should not be of what we have done for God, but it should be of what He has done for us.  This should start with the fact that we were condemned to everlasting punishment but that He delivered us to everlasting victory if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. 

Verse ten adds, I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. Hezekiah said he asked if he was going to the grave and have the rest of his years that a person would normally live cut off.  He wasn’t saying he was due these years according to Matthew Henry.  We may believe that someone has died too soon, but if they are a Christian, they are just beginning to experience the real joy of their salvation.

Verse eleven continues, I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.   Hezekiah said that he would no longer see the Lord in the land of the living or see the people there.  Of course, as long as we are in the land of the living, we are never going to see God clearly. 

Verse twelve states, Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.  Hezekiah said he was going to be cut off, or die, from a sickness that lasted all day long.  He compared this to a shepherd moving his tent or to a weaver stopping weaving because the garment being made was complete, I believe would be the analogy.  If we are in continual pain, we may think that God has forgotten us, and if we are still young, that our life is going to end too soon.  We just need to remember that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that if we die, we are just moving on to our heavenly home.  

Verse thirteen adds, I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.  Hezekiah then compared his condition to being killed by a lion.  He was powerless to stop his physical death, and so are we, but he was not powerless to live forever with God if he just remained faithful to Him, even as he was dying.  We may be unable to stop our physical death, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will live with Him forever in the world to come, and this is all that is important. 

Verse fourteen continues, Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.  Hezekiah said he didn’t stop appealing to God, which he compared to the chatter of a crane or swallow.  We can only ask God to heal us if we are suffering from some illness that is going to kill us, but we must accept the fact that He may not heal us, but as Christians, that is okay.