Isaiah 38:1-8 Meaning & Commentary: Do Not Ever Doubt ItLord's Library

Lord’s Library contributor Lonetta Key offers an Isaiah 38:1-8 meaning in the Bible with commentary on never doubting. Check out Lonetta’s blog: Living Before God’s Face. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.

Have you ever wondered, as you petition the Heavenly Father, if He is really paying attention? Have you ever felt like He turned a deaf ear to your pleas as you came before His throne? I feel pretty certain all of us have had that experience at one time or the other.

Today, I am offering a reminder that the exact opposite is true. An outstanding illustration is found in Isaiah 38:1-8: “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.”

Mind of Christ in the Bible: Meaning, Scripture & Commentary

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Isaiah 38:1-8 Meaning

King Hezekiah had become seriously ill and was at the point of death. God sent the Prophet Isaiah to tell him that he was going to die, and he needed to get his house in order. Pretty unpleasant news!

Now I am wondering how we would react to that pronouncement. Well, Hezekiah’s response certainly serves as an example. He was obviously a man of faith and prayer. Rather than waste time in self-pity or bemoan his fate to Isaiah, it appears that fairly quickly after receiving this message, he decided to take positive action and go directly to the source of this distressing announcement: “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”

With great emotion, he pleaded his case before God.

Here is where something spectacular occurs. In the two very next verses, we read: “Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.”

Wow! Talk about a blatant demonstration of our Heavenly Father’s listening skills, mercy, understanding, and compassion. Oh, but this is not all. To validate His promise, God continues: “And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.” Amazing.

Never doubt our God’s attentiveness to the cries and pleas, and petitions of His children. Our experiences may not perfectly imitate that of Hezekiah’s, but rest assured that in His own way, the Lord will come with a definitive answer. And He will back it up with signs of assurance. It could be something as simple as an overwhelming feeling of perfect peacefulness, bringing an appropriate Scripture to mind, or perhaps some more visible reinforcement. But remember, we must come before the Throne of Grace in faith, believing.

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Lonetta Key

Founder at Living Before God's Face

Lonetta's father was a Pastor so she grew up in church and become a Christian at a very early age. She has been active in Christ's ministry all her life in a variety of venues like keynote speaking for churches, woman's ministry, Sunday School teacher, and more. Lonetta also toured the US giving Gospel concerts for two years, and posts regularly to her Christian website. She has two wonderful sons and two lovely grandsons.