Isaiah was not a historian, but a prophet. He arranged his material to warn Israel, and telling the story was merely a device for that warning. Thus, the narrative material for this chapter precedes chronologically the previous two chapters. We have no way of knowing the exact time frame, but it seems safe to guess the Assyrian siege was at least ten years after this narrative.
Some physical affliction took Hezekiah, and it was apparent this would be fatal. Isaiah confirmed those fears. This was surprisingly early for a righteous king to die, and Hezekiah said so. Notice he does not claim to be perfect, but to have cared deeply what Jehovah thought about things. The most important point in that culture and time was for Hezekiah to be loyal to his Lord. This would have been his sole basis for such an appeal.
The Lord grants this request. He sends Isaiah back with the message which reminds Hezekiah the grant is tied to the king's effort to replicate the service of his ancestor, King David. That fifteen years guarantees he would see the Assyrian siege, and would see it end. This was a package deal, since saving Jerusalem did not necessarily require Hezekiah's safety.
It's a waste of time trying to analyze the sign God granted to indicate Isaiah was not speaking out of turn. We have no idea what the Sundial of Ahaz was, nor how it worked in terms of the gradations. The words are ambiguous, as is typical of Hebrew language. People living when Isaiah published this would know, but that wasn't what really mattered. Nor does it help to debate how it might have happened, whether was an atmospheric effect or the earth slipping retrograde for a period. A God who can create all things can surely do as He pleases with that creation without any disasters. All we need to know is Hezekiah and those near him at the time saw it, the intended audience.
Equally difficult is the poetic praise response of Hezekiah. He uses various images we can recognize. Sheol is not Hell, but simply Death. This is not a theological statement, but a hymn of praise. It starts out very sad: no longer seeing living men, like a piece of fabric folded or rolled up, painful as being eaten by a lion, crooning and moaning like any number of animals. He can't claim anything, but rejoices in the grace of God. All men live by that grace. Whatever sin (perhaps his alliance with Egypt) he committed was forgiven, according to the Law. He notes dead people cannot praise God on the earth, a statement which continues to have powerful meaning today, if we remember this is under the Law of Moses, not a spiritual assessment.
Finally, it would do little good to theorize how the fig poultice might indicate the nature of the illness. In this case, it was surely symbolic, since we know of no medicinal quality, even in alternative medicine, for such a thing. Rather, it is best to see this as pointing out the fruitfulness of Israel being extended just a while longer. The fig tree symbolized Israel. Since it was his son, Manasseh, who succeeded Hezekiah, and whose 55 year reign was the last straw in idolatry, this grant from God put off that evil time for a while. After Manasseh, Judah's doom was sealed, and Josiah's life cut short so the Exile could commence on schedule. It was the Exile which Isaiah sets up in this narrative, which continues in the next chapter.
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By Ed Hurst
18 March 2009
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