By Adam Winn, Ph. D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Samford University
From Problems to Praise
Isaiah 38:9-20
When despondent, look to God. (9-14)
This text is the conclusion of a story in the life of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. The story is also in 2 Kings 20. In this story, Hezekiah falls ill and through the prophet Isaiah, God tells him that he will die. In response, Hezekiah pleads with God for his life. God responds to Hezekiah’s prayers by granting him 15 more years of life as well as deliverance from the Assyrians. The text we are considering here is Hezekiah’s song of response to God’s gracious healing and the extension of his life.
In the opening lines of the song, Hezekiah is conveying the grief over his sickness that God has told him will result in death. “In the prime of my life I must go to the gates of Sheol” is a reference to an early and untimely death. Sheol is the place of the dead.
Hezekiah notes that there he will no longer see mortals or God. It is noteworthy that we do not see any hope of resurrection here or a restored life in a new creation. Such thinking about the afterlife is sparse in the Old Testament, and hopes of restored life are more pronounced through later promises of God in books like Ezekiel and Daniel. Thus, without such hope, Hezekiah’s promised death is all the more hopeless. In verse 12 it seems Hezekiah is blaming God for ending his life so quickly, yet in verses 13–14 he recounts his plea to God for deliverance and prolonged life.
Acknowledge how God responds out of His love. (15-17)
We see the continuing swing of emotions that Hezekiah experiences, including resignation to his fate, the bitterness that God’s sentence of death has brought him, the lack of sleep it has caused and a renewed call for God’s restoration and prolonging of life. But things shift in verse 17, and the song seems to reflect God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayers.
Hezekiah concludes that in some way, this experience was ultimately for his goodness, though precisely how (e.g., as a test of faith) is not stated. Hezekiah then sings of God’s deliverance and holding back his life from the pit — a common reference to Sheol. He also seems to associate this experience with his own sin and failings because he claims that God has — in His decision to heal him — cast all of Hezekiah’s sins behind His back.
Express your thanks to God publicly. (18-20)
The last three verses are verses of praise. In verse 18, Hezekiah declares that only the living can thank and praise God. It is only the living who can hope for God’s faithfulness.
Again, the hope of resurrection does not seem present in Hezekiah’s thinking. In verse 19, Hezekiah declares that with the living — with whom he is now assured to belong — he too will thank and praise God. He then exhorts fathers to tell their children of God’s faithfulness, which is itself likely understood as an act of praise and thanks to God. In verse 20, Hezekiah boldly declares his confidence in God’s restoration of his life.
The praise to God also becomes corporate, as he declares, “We will play stringed instruments.” God’s salvation of Hezekiah is made public, and the people of Israel are invited to celebrate in the prolonged life of their king. Hezekiah concludes by claiming that this public praise of God will not be short-lived but will be ongoing all the days of their lives.
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