Season 6, Podcast 93, Isaiah 38:1-22, “Set Thine House in Order.” Artwork

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Season 6, Podcast 93, Isaiah 38:1-22, “Set Thine House in Order.”

August 04, 2025 • Ronald • Season 6 • Episode 93

Season 6, Podcast 93, Isaiah 38:1-22, “Set Thine House in Order.”

Hezekiah, King of Judah, 715 to 686 BC, was a righteous king. He hearkened to the words of the prophet Isaiah. He reigned 29 years, half of which (15 years) was because of a miraculous gift from God. Hezekiah was stricken with boils. Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and announced that he would die.

Isaiah 38:1

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

Hezekiah, however, had tremendous faith in the Lord.

Isaiah 38:2-3

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Because of Hezekiah’s faith to God, he is miraculously spared.

Isaiah 38:4-5

Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

Furthermore, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord makes a wonderful promise to Hezekiah. During the time of Hezekiah’s illness, Assyria with at least 185,000 soldiers is threatening to destroy Judah. The Lord promises Hezikiah that Assyria, who was sweeping the earth with his great army, would fail.

Isaiah 38:6

And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

The Lord gives another sign to Hezekiah showing that he will spare his life.

Isaiah 38:7-8

And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

It is because Hezekiah’s life was in order that the Lord extended his life. One must ask the question, ‘If Hezekiah had been a wicked king, would the Lord have spared him fifteen years? furthermore, would he have spared Israel from the Assyrian army?

The message is that we must also set our house in order both temporally and spiritually for we never know the hour or the day when we die. The Lord did spare Hezekiah’s life and Hezekiah did many wonderful things. He restored the Temple and its ordinances. He tore down the idols. He built a conduit, nearly 2000 feet long, bringing fresh water into the city so that they could withstand a siege. Through his faith not only did the Lord extend his life, but he spared Jerusalem from the assault of the Assyrians. Hezekiah’s wicked father, Ahaz, paid tribute to the Assyrians; Hezekiah, however, refused to pay tribute and put his trust in the Lord, a thing his father failed to do against the advice of Isaiah.

We have a parallel account in the Book of Kings in which we get added detail.

2 Kings 20:8-11

And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.