Hezekiah's prayer during his illness is comparable to the most expressive psalms and testifies to the sincerity of his hope in the Lord. It is all the more important to note...
Hezekiah's prayer during his illness is comparable to the most expressive psalms and testifies to the sincerity of his hope in the Lord. It is all the more important to note that Hezekiah asks for an extension of earthly life; he is not counting on the Resurrection. Then Isaiah pronounces a prophecy about the coming Babylonian conquest. Hezekiah's simple trust before the envoys was not the only reason; repayment lies ahead for the many sins that had accumulated.
The change in the prophecy in response to the king's contrite prayer shows that the Lord receives what we bring to Him, and much of what He first announced can be canceled. Still, this gives no one the right to hope that His will can be manipulated; He Himself decides in which direction to change the original decision.
Here lies the mystery of the relationship between His will and ours, the mystery of the interaction between the way He governs the universe and what we bring into the world by our deeds.
38 Hezekiah in his sickness receives from Isaiah a message of death, Isa 38:1.
By prayer, Isa 38:2-3.
hath his life lengthened; the sun goeth backward for a sign thereof, Isa 38:4-8.
His song of praise to God, Isa 38:9-20.