Isaiah 38-39: Sovereign God and Forgetful King

For more context before you begin studying, read this introduction to the book of Isaiah.

It was a miracle. Hezekiah's life was extended by fifteen years! We might expect that he would live those fifteen years in unforgettable gratitude and trustfulness, but the Bible, with its usual dogged realism, records that it was not so. In the chapter which follows we will see how Hezekiah ignored the warnings he had been given and invited a treacherous enemy into his home.

Warming Up to God

Which do you believe is more dangerous to faith—adversity or prosperity? Why?

Read Isaiah 38-39

Discovering the Word

• What do you learn about prayer from the events in 38:1-8? How do you reconcile the Lord's word in verse 1 that Hezekiah would not recover and his promise in verse 5 that Hezekiah would live fifteen more years?
• With what vivid metaphors does Hezekiah describe his deathly sickness (38:10-14)?
• What reassurance does Hezekiah find in God's love in 38:15-20?
• What punishment did Isaiah announce for Hezekiah's disloyalty (39:5-7)?
• How do you interpret Hezekiah's response—his words and his thoughts (39:8)?

Applying the Word

• What abiding truths do you find in chapter 38 to hold on to firmly in times of sickness and misfortune?
• In what ways does this passage expand or change your understanding of who God is and how he answers our prayers?

Responding in Prayer

Tell the Lord your heart's desires with confidence that he answers prayer.