Isa. 38:1–39:8 Man at his best cannot be trusted; as seen in these chapters, he is often self-centered and short-sighted. God himself is the only hope of his people. (See note on 36:1–39:8.)
Isa. 38:1 In those days. The events of chs. 38–39 take place near the time of the deliverance from Assyria in chs. 36–37. Isaiah 38:6 clarifies that Hezekiah’s illness occurred prior to chs. 36–37. Isaiah locates these events here in order to establish the context for chs. 40–55. Hezekiah became sick. Hezekiah began his reign at 25 years of age and reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:2). With 15 years added to his life after this illness (Isa. 38:5), he would have been only 39 when this illness struck him (“In the middle of my days,” v. 10).
Isa. 38:3 Unlike Hezekiah’s God-centered prayer in 37:15–20, now his thoughts withdraw into himself, perhaps even implying that he thinks God is being unfair to him. The faithfulness, wholeheartedness, and good that Hezekiah claims for himself were real (2 Kings 18:5–6), but they were not the whole story (2 Chron. 32:24–31).
Isa. 38:5 the God of David your father. God emphasizes his own covenant faithfulness to David as the basis for his answer to Hezekiah’s prayer.
Isa. 38:6 God looks beyond Hezekiah’s personal crisis to what matters more—the defense of the city of God.
Isa. 38:9–20 Hezekiah’s psalm is clear about this truth: God alone has the power of life and death, and he prefers life.
Isa. 38:22 What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? Hezekiah is unwilling to believe the promise without a sign.
The ESV Global Study Bible
Copyright © 2012 by Crossway.
All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Loading
Loading
Interlinear |
Bibles |
Cross-Refs |
Commentaries |
Dictionaries |
Miscellaneous |