11 - Bible Commentary | Karuna Sadan

In those days, Hezekiah became deadly ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover. (2 Kings 20:1)

We are not told what kind of sickness Hezekiah suffered from. The Lord was very gracious to Hezekiah, telling him that his death was near and that he needed to get his house in order; not many people get such an opportunity before they pass away.

And Isaiah said, Bring a cake of figs. Let them lay it on the burning inflammation, that he may recover. (2 Kings 20:7)

The healing of Hezekiah was brought about by God through medical treatment, in this case, the application of a paste of figs. In spite of the fact that God can and frequently does bring healing through the use of medical therapies, one should never refuse medical treatment in the name of faith until they are specifically directed to do so by God.

¹⁸ And some of your sons who shall be born to you shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of Babylon’s king. ¹⁹ Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, The word of the Lord you have spoken is good. For he thought, Is it not good, if [all this evil is meant for the future and] peace and security shall be in my days? (2 Kings 20-18-19)

Hezekiah should have capitalized on his relationship with the Lord and prayed for his future generations also. I believe this word could also have been changed. Hezekiah’s response was rather selfish in the sense he was only concerned about peace in his days and did not really care for what happened after him. Unlike Hezekiah, we should care very deeply about what happens to our children and future generations.

Hezekiah was a godly king, but his son Manasseh was a wicked king. How could this be? I believe it had to do with the word of the Lord to Hezekiah when he showed all his treasures to the emissaries of Babylon. Prophet Isaiah prophesied that all would be lost to Babylon. This was a working of this word. Had Hezekiah prayed, I believe things would have been different.

Chapter 20