In this message and in the following message, we will consider chapters thirty-six through thirty-nine. First, in this message, we need to see some crucial matters regarding the person of King Hezekiah. Then in the next message we will consider the details of these four chapters, including Hezekiah's seeking after Jehovah for his situation, Hezekiah's seeking after Jehovah for his health, and Hezekiah's failure in the enjoyment of the peaceful situation and sound health.
As we read the book of Isaiah, we may wonder why Isaiah inserted chapters thirty-six through thirty-nine. The first thirty-five chapters to this book cover God's loving chastisement on His beloved Israel and His righteous judgment on the nations, in order that His elect might have a turn to Him so that the created things might be restored and that the all-inclusive Christ might be brought in. At this point, everyone and everything has been fired by God, and Christ, the only one who is qualified, is here. Why, after covering these matters, does Isaiah spend four chapters to speak of a small part of the life of one person? After spending much time to consider this matter, I believe that the Lord has shown me the reason. In chapters thirty-six through thirty-nine, Isaiah gives us an example in the person of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. We may say that in the first thirty-five chapters of his prophecy Isaiah gives us the principle and that in the next four chapters he gives us an example.
After reading these chapters, it is good to consider what kind of person Hezekiah was. Hezekiah was a godly man, but I would not say that he was a man of God, a God-man. When he was threatened by Sennacherib king of Assyria and was insulted by the word of the king's servant, Hezekiah, in his suffering, brought the trouble to the Lord and offered to Him a very good prayer (36:1-20; 37:9-20). Since Hezekiah was the king appointed by God and since he was a godly person, God did something for him. God answered his prayer and performed one of the greatest miracles in human history, killing one hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrians in one night (37:22-38).