2 Kings 20

CHAPTER 20

Hezekiah’s Illness (20:1-11)

(Isaiah 38:1-8)

1 In those days-that is, sometime after Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah (2 Kings 18:13) but before his final siege of Jerusalem—Hezekiah became severely ill. Isaiah came to him with a word from the Lord: Hezekiah was going to die from his illness.

According to 2 Chronicles 32:25-26, one reason for Hezekiah’s illness may have been pride; and it appears that his pride continued even after the Lord had mercifully spared him. Because of his pride, the LORD’S wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem; only after Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem repented of their pride did the Lord withdraw His wrath for the remainder of Hezekiah’s life.

2-3 Pride is perhaps the most difficult sin to overcome—especially for righteous people; they are tempted to take pride in their righteousness. When Hezekiah was told by Isaiah that he would die, he prayed to God for healing on the basis of his own righteousness (verse 3). Indeed, Hezekiah was basically a righteous and godly man. God had promised that, as a general rule, righteous people would be blessed with a long life (Deuteronomy 6:1-2; 2 Samuel 22:21). So now, Hezekiah wanted to know, why was his life being cut short?

This is one of the commonest questions people ask when illness strikes. It is natural to ask God, “Why has this happened?” But He may not give the answer in this lifetime. What we do know, however, is that God has a preordained plan for each person’s life (see Psalm 139:16; Ephesians 1:11). We may not know the exact reason why something happens to us, but God has His reasons; He has purposes He wants to fulfill through each one of us.

Nothing happens apart from God’s sovereign will. It was God’s will that Hezekiah become ill; that seemed final. So why did Hezekiah pray? Why should we pray? The answer is that God wants us to pray; our prayersareincluded in His plan for our lives. He knows how He will answer our prayers, but we do not; therefore He wants us to pray, trusting in His wisdom and goodness. Our prayers testify to our faith in Him and our dependence upon Him. And so, although Hezekiah’s prayer was partly motivated by pride, God was willing to hear his prayer and even grant his request (verses 5-6).

Why did God grant Hezekiah’s request? Because it was God’s will that Hezekiah live longer. There was still work Hezekiah needed to do in Judah; his religious reforms were not yet complete. He had as yet produced no heir to the throne when his illness struck; how then was the line of David to be carried on? (2 Samuel 7:16). And it was during Hezekiah’s reign that God wanted to put Sennacherib and the Assyrians to shame.

Perhaps Hezekiah’s prayer for recovery included all these considerations; surely his prayer was motivated in part by a desire for God’s honor and glory (see 2 Kings 19:19). For us, this is the real lesson of Hezekiah’s prayer: when we, aided by the Holy Spirit and God’s word, earnestly try to align our prayers with God’s purposes, then our prayers will receive more positive answers. Of course, we can’t always discern God’s will in specific instances, and when our prayer is contrary to His will He will answer “No” (see Deuteronomy 3:23-26; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). But as we walk more and more closely with God and study His word, we will more and more be able to understand His will and pray in accordance with it. As this happens, Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7—“Ask and it will be given to you”—will become increasingly true in our experience.⁷⁸

4-6 The Lord’s answer to Hezekiah’s prayer came quickly; before Isaiah had even left the palace, the Lord sent him back again. The Lord had not only heard Hezekiah’s prayer but He had also seen his tears (verse 5). These must have been tears of repentance. The Lord promised to give Hezekiah fifteen more years of life and to deliver Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib (verse 6). He would do this for His own sake and for the sake of His servant David (see 2 Kings 19:34).

7-11 Then Isaiah instructed the king’s attendants to apply a poultice made from figs to his boil; this was a common remedy in ancient times. It wasn’t the poultice that cured Hezekiah; it was the Lord. The Lord simply chose to heal Hezekiah through the application of the poultice (see John 9:67). The Lord commonly uses ordinary means to accomplish His purposes.

Earlier Hezekiah had asked Isaiah for a sign that his healing would indeed take place (verse 8). Isaiah said the sign would involve the shadow created by sunlight striking a certain stairway—in this case, the stairway of Ahaz (verse 11); such stairways were used in ancient times for determining the time of day. The stairs were constructed so that the shadow on the steps moved forward as the sun passed overhead. But Hezekiah asked for a miraculous sign—that the shadow move backward! (verse 10). The Lord caused this to happen in response to Isaiah’s request.⁷⁹

Envoys From Babylon (20:12-21)

(Isaiah 39:1-8)

12-13 At that time-after Hezekiah had recovered from his illness-the king of Babylon sent messengers to Hezekiah bearing letters and a gift; he had heard about Hezekiah’s recovery and the miraculous sign that accompanied it (verse 11). The king of Babylon was seeking to form an alliance with Hezekiah against Assyria, and the Lord intended to test Hezekiah to see where he would put his trust—in Babylon or in the Lord (2 Chronicles 32:31).

In order to impress the messengers from Babylon, Hezekiah showed them all the treasures of his kingdom; he wanted to win the favor of Babylon’s king. This event took place before Hezekiah gave many of these treasures—especially the silver and gold—to Sennacherib as a bribe to dissuade him from attacking Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13-16).

14-19 WhenIsaiahheard what Hezekiah had done, instead of congratulating him for making friends with the Babylonians, he rebuked him for showing off his treasures. He then pronounced a word from the Lord: one day in the future those treasures would becarriedofftoBabylon,togetherwithsome of Hezekiah’s own descendants (verses 1618)—a prophecy that would come true about a hundred years later (2 Kings 24:10-12; 25:5-7). This was a remarkable prophecy because, at the time Isaiah uttered it, no one would have thought the Babylonians would be the ones to overcome Judah; in Hezekiah’s time, Assyria was theworld’smostpowerfulempireandhence the greatest threat.

Hezekiah thought that Isaiah’s word was good (verse 19), because it meant that he’d enjoy peace and security in his lifetime (Isaiah 39:8). It’s not clear whether Hezekiah repented of his behavior toward the Babylonians, which later would lead to such dire consequences for Judah and for his own descendants. Perhaps Hezekiah’s repentance described in 2 Chronicles 32:26 was a response to Isaiah’s words here.

20-21 Some other events of Hezekiah’s reign are described in 2 Chronicles Chapters 29-31. In 2 Chronicles 32:27-33, the writer gives a summary of Hezekiah’s great wealth and his various accomplishments, including the building of a tunnel to bring water into Jerusalem from outside the city wall. Archeological evidence of this tunnel exists today.