Show Me A Sign

  King Hezekiah lay in his bed-chamber, contemplating the visit he just received from Isaiah, the prophet who spoke God’s words.  He had been sick for a while and had not been getting better.  The initial news was not promising, not promising at all.  Isaiah told Hezekiah that this was the end, that there was little life left in him.  At the time of this news, Hezekiah was not ready to relinquish the throne.  He had only overseen the Kingdom of Judah for about fourteen years, not enough time to do all the things he wanted to do.  Although yet a young man, King Hezekiah knew that this short life expectancy had been the fate of many men.  Just 39 years old, Hezekiah was not just any man, and he had told the God of his people so.

     Isaiah was still in the room when he turned away, barely able to hear the devastating news that his visitor had brought to him.  He wondered if  it had better thinking he would recover, or now knowing that God only gave him a few more steps.  Although the lesions on his skin were painful, intensely painful, Hezekiah felt the need to turn away from the prophet when a tear escaped from the corner of his eye.  How much courage could he have considering this horrible news?  Wincing as the sheet touched the open and oozing wound, he fought the pain with bitterness welling in his heart.  King Hezekiah prayed in his mind, but wishing to shout; he said, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”  There was something that felt unusually cruel about the death sentence he has just received from his friend and confidant, Isaiah. 

     King Hezekiah expected a little favor from God.  After all, the King had opposed the wicked path of his ancestors and had turned the hearts of his people back toward God.  Not just the Judeans, Benjamites, and Levites, but also a few Ephramites, the Manasseh Clan and a few other remant believers from the Northern kingdom returned to God.  He had consecrated the priests and assigned duties.  They'd cleaned up the house of the LORD and had re-established the appointed times.  Their sacrifices intended to bring purity back to the nation of Judah was followed by deep gratitude.  The King offered oxen, lambs, rams, and goats from his own flock to support the desire of the people to stand righteous before the Almighty God.  Didn't that account for anything?  

     He wearied himself with the prayer, too weary to even say goodbye to his friend who had brought such terrible news, but he could not sleep.  His mind raced, and the bitterness burned in his belly.  “Haven’t I been good enough, God?” the only question that remained in the room.  Then unexpectedly, he heard the door to his chamber open again with the announcement, "Your highness, Isaiah seeks permission to speak with you again."  “Let him in,” Hezekiah attempted to roll over, but Isaiah told him to stay put as he walked to the far side of the bed.  Facing the King, he bowed his head, not wanting to appear irreverent.  “Your Lordship, God has spoken to me further.”  “Go on,” the King responded weakly.  He motioned for Isaiah to stand and address him but Isaiah decided against it.  He kept his eyes cast down toward the floor.  The King wondered if  Isaiah's body language revealed that there was more bad news.  Then Isaiah began to speak, “Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.”  King Hezekiah could barely believe his ears.  “God heard my prayers and answered me?” Relieved, he wiped the tears that remained on his left cheek with the sleeve of his tunic.   “How will I know that this is true?”  Hezekiah didn’t wish to imply his friend had misheard, but he was genuinely startled by the change of events and wanted to make sure this was God’s final word.   

     Isaiah shared that King Hezekiah would rise from his bed on the third day and go to the house of the LORD.  Under God’s command, your steps will be lengthened by fifteen years, and you will continue to have peace in the land.  Joy swelled in the heart of the King; nothing prepared his heart for the news of this deliverance.  It now reached every corner of his heart.  Isaiah then spoke to the servant guarding the King’s door, “Bring a cake of figs.”  Had King Hezekiah’s appetite suddenly returned?  The servant's face filled with questions, but he did not speak a word.  Turning to leave the room, Isaiah continued, his voice a little louder, “Lay the figs on the boil so that the King may recover from his illness.”  The servant moved with haste to retrieve the figs and returned quickly to follow all the instructions that Isaiah the prophet had spoken.   As the servant rested the cake of figs against King Hezekiah’s open wound, one would expect the King to wince in pain, but the corners of his mouth turned upward, and a slight twinkle returned to the King’s eye.  “Who knew the miracle cure would grow on trees?” the King’s voice sounded stronger.  
   

          As the servant stepped away from the bed, the conversation continued between King Hezekiah and the prophet.  The King asked, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me?”    The King also wondered when his strength to rise would return.  Hadn’t Isaiah said,’On the third day you will go to the house of the LORD?’  As much as King Hezekiah wanted to believe Isaiah and did not want to doubt, he had heard things correctly; he needed a sign. 

     The servant tried to appear uninvolved in the conversation going on between Isaiah and the King, but he could not help eavesdropping.  Isaiah remained quiet for only a moment, finger to his lower lip and nodding his head as if he were listening to a voice that only he could hear.  When he spoke, he didn’t answer with a statement, but asked the King a question, “Shall a shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”  King Hezekiah thought that was a strange question, but knowing the angle of the sun coming through the window and cascading across the floor, he knew that the shadow at this time of day, and this time of the year would grow, not shrink.  The answer was obvious. Of course, it would grow, and King Hezekiah told Isaiah so.  “Well, then,” Isaiah said with some boldness, “Let’s just ask the LORD what he might like to do with that shadow.”  As the two men watched, there was no doubt in either of their minds that the LORD was surely in this place.  He was shrinking the shadow right before their very eyes.  

     Isaiah and the King shared a good laugh as they saw the shadow retreat, a much heartier laugh than had crossed the King’s lips for weeks.  As laughter erupted in the room, the King appeared to get a boyish grin and looking at Isaiah and said, “Excuse me, brother,” as a pungent odor escaped from beneath the sheets.  Isaiah knew what the King was referring to as he placed his hand over his nose and stepped back a step or two.  Pointing to the floor, Isaiah said, “Now there’s your sign,” as the two men watched the shadow retreat even faster across the floor and out the door. 

     Imagine how you would feel if you were King Hezekiah.  Would you also expect God to look favorable on your life because you've made good choices and been obedient to His word?  What would your reaction be if you learned you only had a short time to live?  Would you be ready?  How would you respond to the turn of events, moving from a death sentence to a promise that you would live fifteen more years?  How might that change your life?  

     I hope you will forgive my attempts to take liberties with adding a little dialogue and a few assumed reponses from those who surrounded the King on the day he received this glorious news.  The actual account of this story can be found in 2 Kings 20 and Isaiah 38.