2 Kings 20

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.