Isaiah 38:1-39:7

And turn your Bibles to Psalm 38, sorry, Isaiah 38 and 39.

! It's on page 598 and 599.

!

In a story that takes the narrative back to the point before the story is reached.

If you've any idea, what on earth is he talking about?

It just means flashback.

It's just a posh word for flashback.

Flashback, it's common, isn't it?

You see films or TV programs and it's a common theme.

In the middle of one episode there's a flashback.

And Isaiah 38 and 39 is a flashback.

Last week, 36 and 37, we saw the Assyrian ruler, Sennacherib, standing on the doorstep of Jerusalem.

And King Hezekiah prays to God and he's amazingly delivered.

But when we turn to chapter 38, verse 1, this is how it begins.

In those days, notice it's not specific, Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death.

And the vagueness of those days is such that we don't actually know exactly when Isaiah is writing about here.

However, a few days later, a few verses later, without getting ahead of ourselves, we find that Hezekiah prays again.

And Isaiah is told by God, go and tell Hezekiah.

Hezekiah, the Lord, the God of your father David, has heard your prayer.

He's seen your tears and He will give 15 more years of life to Hezekiah.

I'll deliver you and the city from the hand of King Assyria.

And I will defend the city.

And as a result of God's mercy and Hezekiah's prayer, God promises, I will not only extend your life to Hezekiah,

but I will also rescue Jerusalem from the King Assyria.

And the rescue that you read about in chapter 39, 38, is what you read about also in chapter 36, 37.

So here's a flashback.

And I want us to come back right at the end of today's sermon and say, why?

Why has Isaiah done it like this?

Why has he not followed it chronologically?

But before that, what I want us to see is an example from, really, 2 Corinthians,

where the Apostle Paul talks about walking by faith and not by sight.

Paul writes that Christians are those who walk by faith and not by sight.

And I want us to look at this story and see what does faith look like.

Because Hezekiah, in these two chapters, gives us an example of both things.

We're going to look, first of all, at the King walking by faith,

and then we will look at the King walking by sight.

And then we'll think about why he presents it as a flashback.

So first of all, the King walking by faith.

Let's pick it up in verse 1.

In those days, Hezekiah became sick and he was at the point of death.

And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Abor, came to him and said to him,

Thus says the Lord, set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.

It's not great bedside manner, is it?

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and he prayed to the Lord and he said,

Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart

and have done what is good in your sight.

And Hezekiah went bitterly.

It looks like, doesn't it, the grim reaper,

well, his side is about to get Hezekiah before Sennacherib will.

Because God tells the King, the King is probably in his mid-thirties at this point,

that you're going to die.

And you can tell from Hezekiah's response that he doesn't think it terribly well.

He turns his face to the wall and he prays and he weeps uncontrollably.

And in one sense we know, because this is a flashback, this is going to be a training ground, isn't it?

For Hezekiah to turn to God in prayer.

We know that he turned to God in prayer when the Assyrians were on the doorstep.

In a little bit of time.

But I think what we see in Hezekiah's life is a reminder that it can be harder to trust God

and be strong in a personal crisis than in a public one.

Or in Hezekiah's case a national one.

Now look at his prayer.

Unlike Hezekiah's prayer last week, which was such a great prayer,

there's no praise, is there?

It's a short prayer.

There's no explicit submission to God's will.

There's no explicit desire that God would be glorified.

It's just a muted cry.

A cry for help on the basis of having lived a life of covenant obedience.

Hezekiah prays here.

And he gets a response that he wasn't expecting.

Look at verse 4.

And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah.

Go and say to Hezekiah,

And thus says the Lord, the God of your father,

the God of David, your father,

I've heard your prayer.

I've seen your tears.

Behold, I will add 15 years to your life.

I will deliver you with the city out of your hand of the king of Assyria,

and I will defend the city.

Now I want you to see that grace is seeping out of this paragraph everywhere.

Hezekiah in the midst of despair and despondency.

And God says to Hezekiah,

I've heard your prayer.

And not only that,

He says to Hezekiah,

I've not only heard your prayer,

I've seen your tears.

God knows every tear that you and I shed.

In fact, we've already seen Isaiah 25.

God says one day I'm going to wipe away every single tear.

And God has heard Hezekiah's prayer.

He's seen the tears,

and he tells the king,

I'm going to add 15 years to your life.

But you see,

God is not just a God that comes along and He gives us the minimum,

and leaves it like that.

No, God is not only a God who hears and sees,

and a God who adds,

but He's a God who promises to defend.

And Hezekiah had not said anything in this prayer,

about God's deliverance in Jerusalem.

But God is a God who delights to give beyond what we ask for.

Paul says in Ephesians chapter 3,

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

that God is able to do immeasurably,

immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.

Do you understand that?

That the God we worship today,

the God we have worshipped today,

is able to do immeasurably more,

not only than what you can ask,

but what you can dream of.

And so here in Hezekiah,

walking by faith,

it is not huge faith by any means,

is it?

But it is faith nonetheless.

And God hears,

and God defends,

and then God confirms it with a sign.

Look at verses 7 and 8.

This shall be the sign to you from the Lord,

that the Lord will do the same for what he's promised.

Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun

on the dial of Ahaz,

turn back ten steps.

So the sun turned back on the dial of ten steps,

by which it declines.

It's there, isn't it?

It's an obvious sign.

It's to assure Hezekiah that God can turn back time.

And therefore he adds 15 years in his life.

God makes a shadow go backwards on the stairway of Ahaz.

How does he do that?

Well, I don't know.

What's the point with miracles?

A miracle is persuasive as a sign from God,

precisely because you cannot explain it.

It can't be a human stunt, can it?

It has to be from God.

God, in this case,

somehow temporarily bends the sunlight.

It's not hard for him.

I hope you are unashamed of miracles.

God created the sun.

He controls it.

He can do whatever he wants from it.

And he does so here.

And with that, God therefore not only says to Hezekiah,

but he shows to Hezekiah,

let's see, I'm turning the clock back on your life.

Hezekiah, I've heard your prayer.

Now I think from this passage,

there is one question that we should be asking

before we move on,

and I hope that it's in some of your minds.

And it's the question of this.

Has God changed his mind here?

Was God actually planning to bring Hezekiah to death,

and then Hezekiah prayed,

and he says,

oh, has he?

Okay, you can have 15 more years.

Is that what's going on?

Is God being like the father

whose son is wanting to play outside

for another 10 minutes,

but it's bedtime.

And the son says,

please, please, please, dad.

And the dad says,

oh, okay, go on.

Is that what God is doing here?

There is a smooth thought.

There's a movement of theologians

called open theists.

And they would argue that God does change his mind.

And they would say,

at times God's intention is to go down

that route,

but then something happens,

circumstances change,

and he goes down another route.

But God doesn't know the future.

And so God has to wait for you and I

to decide what we're going to do,

and then he will react.

And if necessary,

God will change his plans.

And that might feel attractive to you.

It might feel that your relationship

with God will be more dynamic.

Because his actions

and your plans will interact.

But the main problem with that

is the Bible expressly forbids it.

Let me give you one clear objection.

In 1 Samuel 15 verse 29,

1 Samuel 15:29

we read the glory of Israel.

It's referring to God.

And it says,

the glory of Israel will not lie.

God will not lie,

and he will not change his mind,

for he's not a man

that he should change his mind.

And I don't know why,

that seems, doesn't it,

pretty categorical.

God does not change his mind.

So the question is,

if that's the case,

well, what is going on in the Bible

when it appears that God does change his mind?

The Bible calls it often,

God relents.

You see that in the Old Testament particularly.

And I want to suggest to you

that the reason why this is presented to us

is actually a lesson for you and I

about the role of prayer.

That while God is in complete control of history,

and God has ordained from eternity past

everything that is going to happen,

much that is going to happen,

comes to pass because of his people's prayers.

By means of our prayer,

to encourage our faith.

You think about this.

God did not have to tell Hezekiah,

did he, about his impending death.

He could have just done it.

So why does God tell him?

Well, in part, God tells him,

I want you to set your things in order.

But as you go through the Old Testament,

you find that God occasionally tells people

what he's intending to do,

precisely as an invitation to pray.

He does it with Abraham.

Regarding Sodom in Genesis 18.

He does it with Moses,

right after the incidence of the golden calf

in Exodus 32.

He does it with the prophet Amos in Amos 7.

And here God seems to be doing it with Hezekiah.

God is inviting Hezekiah to pray.

So as one person has put it,

God's prayer is suggested by God,

moves God,

the ruler of all,

God is the one who suggests prayer.

He works through our prayers.

But He is sovereign over everything in the end.

So God here comes out,

He condescends to our level,

to allow us to be part of His attainable purposes.

Through our prayers.

Why?

Because God wants to build our faith.

He wants it to be a strengthener of our faith.

Prayer matters to God

as we seek to walk by faith

as Hezekiah is here.

Now that is unlikely, isn't it?

It is unlikely that any of us would have expected

at the end of the chapter

that by the time we get to verses 5 and 6

we would hear these gracious words from God.

Coming out of the sad wrapping of verse 1.

Hezekiah didn't expect it either.

But in verses 9 to 20,

Isaiah gives us the king's prayer,

or the king's writing as it's called.

About this experience of walking by faith.

And the verses,

I don't know if you picked them up as I read them,

they read like a psalm in many ways.

I think there are a number of parallels.

I think Hezekiah plagiarized David

at numerous times in this prayer.

I don't have time to look at it in detail,

but just look at a few things

and what it means to walk by faith.

First of all,

walking by faith does not gloss over reality.

Look at verse 12 to 14.

Hezekiah acknowledges

some very stark realities about life.

Number one,

he recognizes that life is fragile.

He talks about life being like a shepherd's tent.

He says,

my life has got no more permanence than a tent.

He talks about the decisiveness of death.

He uses the picture of tapestry.

That once the pole pattern has been woven,

the thread is slipped.

The tapestry is rolled off.

And that is like our lives.

And God is the one who brings that moment.

But when the tapestry is rolled up,

it is His decision.

He talks about that stark reality.

He talks about that in the midst of suffering,

it sometimes feels that God is against us.

It sometimes feels that God is hostile to us.

So he describes here feeling that God is like a devouring lion.

He also talks about the reality that our prayer feels feeble.

Absolutely feeble.

Hezekiah feels here that he's praying.

He's doing absolutely nothing.

Hezekiah is unafraid to deal with the stark reality of how he feels.

And that's a good reminder, isn't it?

That when we come to God in prayer,

He expects us to come as we are.

He wants us to come as a little child comes to their parents.

Tells them what they're thinking and what they want.

That's the picture that the Bible has of us coming to God in prayer.

And so by walking by faith does not mean you cleaning up your prayers beforehand.

Because you think that God only wants to hear the sanitized version of your prayers.

God already knows the messy version of your life, doesn't He?

He knows how much mess you and I are in,

so we should tell Him.

And Hezekiah gets that here.

He points to the stark reality of how he feels,

but then he moves on from that to his perception of God's mysterious ways in his life.

Look at verses 15 and 17.

He says, what can I say, God?

You've spoken to me.

You've done these things,

and now I understand that the suffering that I went through,

it had a purpose in my life.

It's been an incredibly intense thing,

but he recognizes it's been for his benefit.

Actually, he uses the word shalom there.

But this suffering is for my overall peace.

It feels completely counterintuitive.

But he says, now I understand that you are doing all these things

because I've come to a new awareness of your love, Lord.

Does that connect with you?

That in the midst of your suffering,

or even after your suffering,

that you sense that you know God.

And you sense,

God, I know how much you love me

because of what I went through.

It's hard to see it in the midst of it, isn't it?

But in hindsight,

I think we can often look and see God's grace

and his love are apparent in so many ways.

Even in the valley of the shadow of death,

I will not fear.

Why? Because you are with me.

But I think the most important insight

that Hezekiah gets

comes in verse 17.

In verse 13,

he feels God's hostility towards him.

But in verse 17,

he says,

now I understand that I am a recipient of God's love.

It was my welfare.

And so,

the question is,

what brought the change?

How do you move from being a recipient of God's wrath

to being a recipient of God's love?

And the answer to that question

comes in the last line of verse 17.

You see what it says?

For you have cast all my sins

behind your back.

You've put all my sins behind your back.

The only way for God

to move from being a God of wrath towards us

to being a God of love towards us

is by having our sin dealt with.

Hezekiah doesn't explain how that happens.

But he knows that his sin

no longer stands between him and God.

Because God has taken that sin

and He's thrown it behind His back.

Lose your sin,

plunge right in.

He's thrown it behind His back.

He's taken care of it.

And so Hezekiah goes from the stark acknowledgement

of how he felt

to understanding the mysterious ways

of God's grace.

And then he says,

I'm going to tell everyone about it.

He wants to tell his offspring.

He doesn't actually have a son at this point.

But he knows that he's in the land of the living.

But he's really alive now.

And he needs to tell everyone

how great God is.

Here is a testimony

of what it looks

for a life

to walk by faith.

It's not clean, is it?

It's certainly messy.

But it acknowledges,

yes, there is mess in my life,

but God, you are at work.

And what a difference a chapter makes.

Because chapter 39 appears

as if 38 might well never have happened.

Because in chapter 39,

Hezekiah begins to walk by sight.

Look at the opening two verses

of chapter 59.

At the time,

Meridot Baladan,

the son of Baladan,

king of Babylon,

sent envoys with letters

and a present to Hezekiah,

for he assured

that he had been sick and had recovered.

Hezekiah welcomed them gladly.

And he showed them his treasure house,

the silver, the gold,

the spices, the precious isle,

his whole armoury,

all that was found

in his storehouses.

There was nothing in his house

and all his remnant

that Hezekiah did not show them.

Now, if you've been with us

through the series of Isaiah,

if you know the book at all,

you will know

that there are two superpowers

in the world.

There is Babylon

and there is Assyria.

And they were vying supremacy

at this time.

And when I told you

that the king of Babylon

now was Meridot Baladan.

You think that that name is bad,

his friends actually called him

Marduk Aplah Adina II.

We get the shorter version.

But to the Assyrians,

this man was a terrorist.

In his own mind,

Meridot Baladan was a freedom fighter.

He was a freedom fighter,

devoting his life

to the freedom

and the liberation of Babylon

from the Assyrian army.

And Meridot Baladan

cheers through the grapevine

that Hezekiah is becoming home.

So being the caring and concerned

king of years,

he sends Hezekiah letters

and a gift.

We're not exactly told

what the contents of the letters were,

but we can see from Hezekiah's reaction

that it wasn't kind of

sorry to hear you've been here

let's do lunch sometime

when you're better.

That wasn't the letter.

In fact, the letter led

Hezekiah

to display

all his resources.

and all the arm strength

of Judah

to a ruler

like Meridot Baladan.

It probably means

that the letter

could only mean one thing.

It means

that the letter said

will you join me

in rebellion

against Assyria?

And Hezekiah

falls for it.

The choice

could not have been more clear.

Walk by faith

in the Lord

or walk by sight.

Have the promises

of God

or the promises

of man.

And Hezekiah

falls into a new sickness.

But this sickness

is spiritual amnesia.

And he forgets

God's promises.

And it's not just

forgetfulness

it is huge pride.

Look at Hezekiah's response

to Isaiah's question

in verse 3.

Then Isaiah the prophet

came to Hezekiah

and said

what did these men say?

And from where

did they come to you?

And Hezekiah said

they have come to me

from a far country

from Babylon.

And he said

what have they seen

in your house?

Hezekiah answered

they have seen it all

that's in my house.

There's nothing

in my store or houses

that I could not show them.

Isaiah asked

three questions

interestingly

Hezekiah doesn't answer

the first one

about what the

Babylonian delegation

had said.

But look at his answer

to the question

of where they come from.

It's quite weak

in our English translation.

It basically says

they came from

the far country

to see

little old me.

Little old me.

There's two points

of emphasis.

They came

from such

a far country

to see

me.

Imagine them

coming all this way

to see poor little me.

Imagine

Merodec

Baladon

the mighty

king of Babylon

wanting little

old me

as an ally.

If he'd

battered his eyelids

at the end

of verse 4

it wouldn't have

been out of place.

It's totally pathetic.

It's as if

chapter 38

does not take place.

And he demonstrates

in all of our lives

what does it mean

to go from

faith in the

real crisis

to unbelief

when you're back

in the mundane

and your ego

gets struck.

All of us

we know

don't we

there's something

really gratifying

when someone

important

takes an interest

in us.

For all of us

it's really

heartwarming

when you matter

to important

people.

And he assures

Hezekiah's downfall

his forgetfulness

of God's word

and his pride.

Alec Mateo

puts it

forgetfulness

of the word

of God

is the prime

enemy of faith.

Pride in one's

importance

runs in a close

second.

Isaiah's response

could not be more

bleak

could it in

verses 5 to 7

hear the word

of the Lord

of hosts

behold the days

are coming

when all that

is in your

house

all that your

fathers have

stored up

to this day

will be carried

off to Babylon

nothing will be

left.

Some of your

own sons

who come from

you and whom

you will

father will be

taken away

and they shall

be eunuchs

in the place

of the kings

of Babylon.

It couldn't be

more clear

defeat is coming

captivity is coming

exile is coming

and notice

Isaiah's impeccable

logic here

Hezekiah

okay you want

to commit all

that you have

to Hezekiah

that all that

you have

well it will

go to Babylon

here's what

Hezekiah

happened when

Hezekiah refused

to walk by

faith

and instead

he decided

he could walk

by sight

let me finish

let me conclude

why the flashback

why the flashback

this all happened

didn't it

to Hezekiah

before his

finest hour

when he trusted

God

to defeat

Sennacherib

and the Assyrians

and so the question

is why would

why would

Isaiah

change the order

wouldn't it have

been better

a better ending

to finish the

narrative section

with Jerusalem

saved

and 185,000

of those pesky

Assyrians

wiped out

and Hezekiah

trusting God

wouldn't that

have been

the natural

end

well it might

have been

if it was

even I

but not

for Isaiah

because Isaiah

places these

two chapters

next to chapter

40 for a reason

chapter 40

is a major

new section

of the book

but when

chapter 40

begins

can you guess

where Judah

is

Judah is in

exile

in Babylon

it's going to

pick up the story

sometimes after

chapter 39

but the point

is clear

God made a

promise here

and He will

bring it to

fulfilment

but there's

another reason

why Isaiah

inserts the

flashback here

and the reason

why I think

that he puts it

here is because

Hezekiah was

one of the best

he was one of

the best

let me read you

what it says

in 2 Kings

2 Kings 18:5

chapter 18

verse 5

it says

Hezekiah trusted

in the Lord

the God of

Israel

so that there

was none

like him

among all

the kings

of Judah

after him

nor among

those who

were before

him

Hezekiah

was the

great king

and it was

after his

pride and

his forgetfulness

of God's

word

that that

precipitated

the exiles

of Babylon

Isaiah's point

is this

it's only a long

while I've

got there

is that

Hezekiah

is not the

king who

is going to

save Jerusalem

don't put

your trust

in Hezekiah

that even

the best

of kings

is mortal

and fallible

I've needed

an illustration

all week

of if we

can't trust

in dot dot

dot

who can we

trust in

the best

illustration I

can think of

is Ryan

Giggs

Ryan Giggs

is a Welsh

footballer

he's a hero

to boys

of my

generation

he only

retired

playing

to me

about 2

years

at the age

of 38

or 39

he's a

hero

and he

was so

clean living

he didn't

go to all

the parties

he wasn't

like Lee

Sharp

and the

other

man

united

players

he wasn't

allowed to

do an

interview

for years

he was

everybody's

hero

mothers

liked their

boys to

like Ryan

Giggs

older sisters

thought that

he was

gorgeous

boys wanted

to be like

him

everybody

loved Ryan

Giggs

he was a

national

hero

and then it

turned out

didn't it

about 4 years

ago that he

had been

sleeping with

his brother's

wife

and numerous

others

and the

behind this

incredible

facade

was actually

a pretty

immorally

bankrupt

man

and so there

was a blog

post I remember

reading it

that said

if we can't

trust in

Ryan Giggs

who can we

trust in

Isaiah in

chapter 39

is leaving us

with that same

question

he's saying

if you can't

trust in

Hezekiah

who can you

trust in

and Isaiah

is going to

help you

answer that

question

in chapter

40

but let me

give you

the answer

now

you look at

the last

temptation

of the

Lord Jesus

when the

devil came

to him

took him

to a high

mountain

and he

said

he showed

him all

the kingdoms

of the

world

and he

said

I'll give

them to

you

if you

bow down

and worship

me

and Jesus

said to him

away from me

Satan

for it is

written

worship the

Lord your

God

and save

him only

and Satan

dives down

to find

if he can

see any

pride in

Jesus

that might

make Jesus

grasp for

control of

the kingdoms

of the world

and he says

all this is

for you

Jesus

if you

will only

bow down

to me

but there

was no

pride in

Jesus

and in

addition

Jesus

was not

quick to

forget

God's

word

was he

instead

he quotes

it back

at Satan

in this

case

Deuteronomy

6.13

and he says

worship the

Lord your

God

and save

him only

Jesus

resists

temptation

because he

wasn't

proud

and he

didn't

forget

the word

of the

Lord

and he

understood

that he

was the

answer

to Isaiah's

implicit

question

that if you

can't trust

in Hezekiah

who can you

trust in

and the

answer is

only Jesus

and it's

the message

of the Old

New Testament

again and

again

and it's

the message

of the New

Testament

over and

again

because Jesus

is the

true king

and all

the kingdoms

that Satan

offered Jesus

were his

already

because he's

the true

king

but Jesus

understood

to secure

the crown

of being

king

meant first

he would

go to the

cross

why

because Jesus

is the

missing piece

of Isaiah

Isaiah 38:17

38 verse

17

that we

refer to

by Hezekiah

that how

could Hezekiah

go from

being a

recipient of

God's

wrath

to be a

recipient of

God's

grace

why

because he

says God

has thrown

all my

sins behind

his back

but he

doesn't

explain how

he doesn't

explain why

and we're

not certain

he understood

why

and how

but we do

because the

answer is

Jesus

because the

king is also

what we saw

last week

the servant

and this

king is also

the saviour

and he had

to come and

go to the

cross

and there on

the cross

he bore the

wrath that

you and I

deserve

because you

and I have

spiritual amnesia

and over and

over and over

again you

and I

are proud

little people

over and over

again

and he bore

it all

so that you

and I would

not be

recipients of

God's wrath

but recipients

of his wrath

so that all

that God

would pour

into our

lives is

grace and

mercy

and the

problem is

without

Jesus

this morning

your sins

have not

been hurled

behind God's

back

you are still

under the

weight of

them

you carry

them everywhere

you go

and the penalty

for those sins

you will carry

into eternity

unless you can

find someone

to bear them

for you

and so who

are you going

to trust

who are you

going to trust

not the

Hezekiahs of

this world

not the

Brian Gibbs

of this

world

whoever else

you want

to put

into that

little

blank

but say

I am going

to trust

Jesus

because only

Jesus can

deliver me

from sin

only Jesus

can rescue

you and me

from exile

because He

is the

true king

He is the

true king

He is the

one

brothers