Community Bible Study -- Isaiah

Text of Presentation, Lesson 11, Isa 38:1-39:8

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The Human Limits of Trust
“How Quick Are We to Forget”

Our last session – chapters 36-37 – discussed the Assyrian threat to Jerusalem, and God’s deliverance with a miracle. King Hezekiah trusted God, and God demonstrated His power and trustworthiness. Because of Hezekiah’s faithfulness and godly leadership – restoring justice and proper worship of God – God grants continued life for the nation of Judah.

Yet if the last session led some to believe Hezekiah might be the Messiah, tonight’s session – chapters 38-39 – shows that is not the case. Hezekiah is a good man, but mortal and fallible like all men; when visited by Babylonian envoys, he tries to impress them with his wealth, rather than glorifying God, who delivered him from death (39:1-8). Isaiah may have reversed the chronological order of chapters 36-37 and 38-39, as we discussed last session, to emphasize Hezekiah’s imperfection. Trust is a way of life, not an affair of the moment. So as this session comes to an end, Isaiah prophesies Exile of the Jews to Babylon, with Hezekiah's descendants serving the Babylonian king; yet this opens the door to further revelation of the nature and character of the promised Messiah.

Chapter 38 begins with Hezekiah deathly ill. God's word from Isaiah is unequivocal: Hezekiah is "going to die." This is not judgment; it is fact. But the king knows God listens to and hears (cf 38:5) the cries of his people; so he turns to God. Such personal dependence on God – expressed in prayer – seems as natural for Hezekiah as it was foreign to his father Ahaz. His prayer in 38:3 is not as lofty and unselfish as the one in chapter 37, but it is still a model of the direction a trusting heart takes in time of crisis.

Hezekiah does not ask for longer life; he simply reminds God he has conducted his life ("walked before you") with faithfulness (lit, "truth") and "wholehearted devotion" (lit, "a perfect heart"). He has done as God commanded Abraham in Genesis 17:1: "Walk before me and be blameless" (lit, perfect). Hezekiah is only 39 years old, and by reminding God he has met God’s requirements for long life (cf Ps 34: 11-14), he asks by implication if it is fair to cut his life short as though he were wicked (cf Ps 37:35-36).

God responds by sending Isaiah back with a different word: 15 additional years. He also promises to "deliver you and this city" from the Assyrians . . . showing the event must have occurred before Sennacherib's attack in chapter 36. Like his father before him, Hezekiah is offered a sign to confirm God's promised deliverance. Ahaz refused God’s sign, but Hezekiah receives it gladly. Perhaps the reason for this particular sign, with the sun's shadow moving back up the steps, is to signify that God created and controls time . . . and can add days to our lives.

38:9-20 are largely a meditation on mortality. Hezekiah speaks in 38:10-14 of the untimeliness of his announced death: in "the prime of my life," "robbed of the rest of my years" (38:10). He hates to lose fellowship with God and other humans "in the land of the living" (38:11). But Hezekiah realizes life is transient, as he expresses with two metaphors: a "shepherd's tent" and cloth on the "loom" (38:12). The tent is never long in one place as the shepherd keeps moving to follow the flock; and although a cloth is attached to the loom, the day comes when it is "cut" loose. Life is like that.

In 38:12-13, Hezekiah repeats the phrase "day and night you made an end of me." Our lives are always in God's hands, and death at God's hands is inevitable. There is no place to get away from God, neither in light nor dark. Hezekiah thought things would be better when day came (38:13), but they were not. Life and death are both from the Lord. Hope is from "the heavens"; any "aid" is from the Lord (38:14).

The point of 38:15-17 seems to be that both the disease and its removal are the work of God . . . not Hezekiah. Hezekiah has come through great "anguish of . . . soul" and must now live in gratitude and humility, aware that each new day is a gift from God. He believes the "anguish" he went through is beneficial (38:17) . . . perhaps bringing a new realization of God's "love" and mercy. Although in 38:3 Hezekiah claims he has been completely loyal to God, the king is aware that if God treated him in total justice, his "sins" would merit death (cf Ps 130:3).

38:18-19 claim it is to God's benefit to keep the faithful alive since those in the "grave" (Heb Sheol, the underworld) "cannot praise" God for his "faithfulness." Only "the living" can do this . . . and pass this testimony along to their children (38:19).

38:20 expresses confidence in God's deliverance even before it takes place; Hezekiah promises as long as he lives, there will be joyful music to the saving God in his "temple."

As we seek to apply these verses in 21st century America, we first need to understand Hezekiah’s attitude; his claim to have lived a life of "truth" (NIV "faithfully") with a "perfect heart" (NIV "wholehearted devotion") seems arrogant. In a sense it reminds us of the parable of the Pharisee in the temple (cf Luke 18:9-14), who Jesus criticized for being proud of the righteousness he had achieved. We are rightfully suspicious of extravagant claims of righteousness.

But Hezekiah does not claim perfection; his mention of God's putting his sins away (38:17) is evidence of that. He is saying that on the conscious, intentional level, he has kept his promises to God ("walking in truth"). He has not willingly deceived God or others, and has been careful – through the grace of God – to keep his promises. Hezekiah is saying that as far as it is up to him, his life has been focused on serving, pleasing, and obeying God. This is consistent with Jeremiah’s later revelation – also preached by Jesus – that God wants an internal obedience that expresses itself in external behavior (cf Jer 31:33). By contrast, the righteousness of the Pharisees in Jesus’ parable was an external righteousness of following rules . . . not this heart attitude of belonging to God.

If such a life was possible for an Old Testament believer, it is certainly possible for modern Christians . . . who have the Holy Spirit within us (Rom 8:12-14; Gal 5:16-18). This does not mean we’ll always do everything right and never have to ask forgiveness . . . it means our failures, in general, should be out of ignorance, not defiance. Even if our performance is flawed, our hearts should be wholly God's (cf King Asa, 1 Kn 15). Every believer should aspire to give Hezekiah’s testimony on his deathbed. We may live in an increasingly fractured and corrupt society where it is not easy to be faithful and have undivided hearts – but Hezekiah’s society was also fractured and corrupt . . . so with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we ought to be able to achieve the standard of Hezekiah!

I wonder if we emphasize this enough today. Taking the example of popular Christian music . . . we rarely hear songs about the joy of living in unbroken fellowship with God, but about recurring sin and brokenness, with thanks for God's continuing forgiveness . . . as if we make Romans 7 a standalone gospel, and forget Jesus told his disciples their righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20). God promises a life of joy if we live according to his law . . . and like Hezekiah, we should sing of that!

Moving on to chapter 39 . . . "Merodach-Baladan" was a Babylonian leader who twice made himself king of Babylon in defiance of the Assyrians: from 721-710 BC and from 705-703. Even after he was ousted by Sennacherib in 703, he escaped to Elam (modern Iran), where he continued to plot against the Assyrians until his death. He was obviously interested in potential allies against the Assyrian Empire, and it is easy to understand why Hezekiah would be glad to receive the Babylonian "envoys" (39:2). The Assyrian empire is the nemesis of both nations . . . and it must be flattering to Hezekiah to receive attention from a world power.

Yet despite the total trust of God Hezekiah displays in chapters 36-37, here he seems to succumb to the human temptation to impress these envoys, and he misses a wonderful opportunity to declare the glory of God to the nations. Hezekiah could have used his illness and recovery to witness about what God did for him, but instead he tries to make himself look good. That "there was nothing. . . Hezekiah did not show them" (39:2) may emphasize how completely Hezekiah falls into the trap!

The dialogue between Hezekiah and Isaiah in 39:3-4 seems to emphasize Hezekiah's weakness – and that he knows better. The king does not appear to consult Isaiah . . . but Isaiah independently becomes aware of the visit, and appears – uninvited – with a blunt question: “what did the men say and where did they come from?” Hezekiah answers only the second question. He does say what was discussed; he would know Isaiah’s attitude toward political alliances! He only says they were from faraway Babylon.

Isaiah overlooks Hezekiah’s omission, and moves on to ask what they saw "in your palace"; he seems to know Hezekiah has been showing off! To Hezekiah's credit, he does not lie. Again, Isaiah does not respond directly; he but simply announces, on the authority of "the LORD Almighty" (39:5), that what they have seen – "everything in your palace" – will one day belong to the Babylonians (39:6). And furthermore, some of Hezekiah's “descendants" – the king's "own flesh and blood who will be born to (him)" (39:7) – will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Not only will Hezekiah’s possessions be carried off, but his family too. Nothing Hezekiah has will be left!

Now we see a “negative side” to Hezekiah. His reply, "the word of the LORD . . . is good" (39:8), sounds like humble submission to God's judgment, but it is actually short-sighted and pathetic: he gives thanks the judgment will fall on his progeny, not on him! This is not how we would like to remember such a good man . . . yet it is how Isaiah chooses for us to remember him. And when we recall that this event occurred before those of chapters 36-37 – when Hezekiah showed such exemplary trust in God when challenged by Sennacherib – we must ask why Isaiah presents the story this way?

Perhaps the key is to realize Isaiah’s life came to an end soon after the reign of Hezekiah. After Hezekiah, Isaiah’s prophesy moves from contemporary times to the future. As we’ve discussed, this requires scholars who do not believe predictive prophesy is possible to claim chapters 40-66 were not written by Isaiah, but by an unknown “theological historian.” But assuming chapters 40-66 were written by Isaiah – as “prophesy” before it happened – the issue is: what point(s) might Isaiah be making at the end of chapter 39 as he prepares to project his book into the future?

Through Hezekiah, God has shown He is completely trustworthy in regard to the Assyrians. But when Jerusalem is conquered by Babylon in 606 BC – a scant 100 years later – how should this lesson in trust be interpreted? If the book had ended with chapter 37, later readers might merely conclude Babylon was stronger than Assyria, and was able to overcome God's power . . . that the Messiah predicted by Isaiah was Hezekiah, but he only brought a delay in the conquest of Judah.

Yet by showing Hezekiah is both mortal and fallible, Isaiah does two things:

1. He emphasizes trust is intended to be a way of life, not a one-time experience . . . both for Hezekiah and the nation of Judah. Although the reward of trust was demonstrated, the nation did not turn to unreserved trust as a practice. Something more was necessary . . . as will be revealed in later chapters.

2. Isaiah shows there is no salvation through a human being, no matter how good he is. Humanity is imperfect. Our hope is in the perfect Messiah, God’s son.

It seems unlikely the Babylonian exile happened because Hezekiah failed to glorify God before the Babylonians. It probably occurred because the nation, like Hezekiah, saw trust as a one-time affair – not a way of life. Hezekiah was one of the best kings of Judah, but the fact that his successor, Manasseh, was the worst (cf 2 Kn 21:10-15) was in part a testimony to the character of the people. If the revival under Hezekiah had penetrated into the character of the people, their king might have behaved differently.

The same thing is true with Josiah, Hezekiah's great-grandson, possibly Judah’s best king. Josiah had a heart for God and led his nation in a remarkable revival (cf 2 Kn 23:1-3), but the revival disappeared after his untimely death. The people saw trusting God as a way to get out of a crisis . . . not the lifelong expression of a covenant relationship. They reduced trust to a manipulative device: a means to get their needs met . . . but trust used that way is bound to fail, because God cannot be manipulated, and to try to do so is a form of idolatry. The result is disastrous, and Judah and Israel serve as examples.

Hence the ultimate question raised by chapter 39 is: “Who gets the glory?” Hezekiah failed at this critical point; so did Moses before him, in the incident about bringing water out of a rock in the desert (cf Num 20:9-12). This paints a clear lesson to all believers. Faced with seemingly impossible situations, both Moses and Hezekiah did the right thing by turning to God in their distress: humbly and from the heart, not attempting to tell God what to do or manipulate Him with super-faith. In both cases God took immediate action. But the tragedy is that both Hezekiah and Moses tried to use God’s deliverance for self-aggrandizement, rather than to glorify God.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer and say the words "Hallowed be your name," what are we saying? We are asking that God will be seen in the world as he truly is: high and lifted up, both in power and in character. Yet how often do we take the credit for what goes right in our lives and blame God for what goes wrong? When we end up in an impossible situation and somehow get out of it, to whom do we give the credit: us or God?

And what do we show the world beyond that? Do we show our accomplishments . . . even our spirituality? I’ve seen people stand up in church and talk about great things God did for them – but in a way that showed how they really felt! Who gets the glory? The person who has cultivated a life of trust and humility, who knows everything he or she has is a gift from God, deflects the praise and honor to God. If such deflection is not occurring, perhaps we need to ask if we truly believe what we profess . . . or if – deep down inside – we believe we produced it, through physical effort or, worse, through spiritual effort. The achievements of Moses and Hezekiah could not save the world, and neither can ours. Only Christ can. So who is getting the glory?