Isaiah 38:1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
God is fully engaged in the lives of His people. We have seen over the last several months that He is the God Who sees, hears, and speaks. Here He shows and tells that to Hezekiah. He gives Hezekiah advanced notice of his death, something many do not experience. He responds specifically to Hezekiah's plea for more days so that he can see God work out the prophecies which had been given about his kingdom: the Assyrian threat would be thwarted. God made it very clear that He was doing to do it all. Hezekiah would simply sit back and watch. God kept His promise, but He did not protect Hezekiah from further damage he would do to himself. Length of days can be a good thing to see what God will do in answer to our prayers, but we will also see and do other things that break our hearts we could have done without seeing.
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