Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”
Isaiah 38:22
Hezekiah was sick and “at the point of death” (38:1). It must have been hard to believe that God would heal him. So, God gave him a sign.
“Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined (38:8).
In the ancient world, people used sundials to tell time. It seems that Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, had built steps, and as the sun was setting, the shadows would creep down the steps.
God said to Hezekiah, “I will give you this sign. I will make the shadow move up the steps. I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.”
Imagine Hezekiah lying in his bed, at the point of death. And he looks out of the window… The shadows are lengthening, but then the shadow moves in the opposite direction. Only God could do such a thing, and Hezekiah thinks to himself, Maybe there is hope!
Why did God give this extraordinary sign? “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised” (38:7).
God is saying, “Hezekiah, I am going to heal you. And I want you to know that I am the One who did it. I don’t want you thinking it was the figs! So, I am going to give you a sign by doing something that only I could do.” There are some things only God can do, so trust what He has promised.
What promise of God do you need to trust today?
