Categories: Isaiah

Isaiah 38

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Isaiah 38 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

Let’s review what’s happened thus far and what will happen in the future.

Assyria has built the strongest military the world has ever seen and has destroyed both Aram as well as Israel. Judah and Hezekiah are next on the list. Furthermore, Isaiah prophesied Judah’s punishment in captivity during the earlier chapters, so it would make sense that Assyria could be their captor.

In chapter 37, Hezekiah faces the onslaught of Assyria but strengthens himself on Isaiah’s words from the Lord and refuses to surrender. Hezekiah repents. In the middle of the night, an angel from God slays 185,000 from the Assyrian army. It was the night of Passover. The people of Judah went to sleep wondering how many hours they had left on Earth and woke up to find that the threat had been demolished.

We pick up here in Chapter 38 with Hezekiah praying for his health. The Lord hears him and grants him 15 additional years to his life. When you look at everything that has transpired, it’s easy to see why the people of Judah speculated that Hezekiah might have been the Messiah. This is especially true considering they were looking for a military leader to free them from their enemies. Although he was a great leader, most of this chapter is dedicated to illustrating his mortality. Hezekiah was a faithful man for most of his life, but he was still human – as we will see in the next chapter.

So, the real question is, when will Judah be taken captive? We know God delivered from Assyria but did not deliver from Babylon. What will happen with Hezekiah in his remaining years? Will Judah turn back to God or continue in rebellion? I think in the coming chapters we will see some interesting twists and turns.

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