THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jun 28, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 26.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

LESSON 2.—JULY 9.—HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER.

Lesson Scripture.—Isa. 38:1-8, A. R. V.

(1) "IN those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. (2) Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, (3) and said, Remember now, O Jehovah, 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. (4) Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah, saying, (5) Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, 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. (6) And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city. (7) And this shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing that He hath spoken: (8) Behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon it was gone down."

Golden Text.—"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Ps. 46:1.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) What sad affliction came to King Hezekiah? Who came to him in his distress? What message did the prophet bring? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) How was the king affected by this announcement? Verse 2. (3) What was the burden of his petition? How was his great sorrow manifested? Verse 3. (4) Through whom did the Lord answer the king? Verse 4. (5) What message was sent through the prophet? Verse 5. Note 2. (6) What further promises were given to the king? Verse 6. Note 3. (7) How was the king assured that the Lord would surely heal him? Verse 7. (8) What was the sign? Verse 8. Note 4.

NOTES.

1. Hezekiah's generally good reign was largely owing to his close connection with the prophet Isaiah. Last week's lesson brought to view his marvelous deliverance from the Assyrians through his uniting with the prophet to commit the cause of his people and city to the care of the Lord. The history of the Jewish people shows that when they heeded the counsel of the prophets of God success always attended them. Their sad failures, politically and religiously, were due to their rejection of the prophets. See Jer. 44:2-6; Matt. 23:37. And this lesson is for us of to-day. See 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.

2. It was not Hezekiah's goodness, nor because what he asked was the best thing for him, that caused the Lord to grant his request. It was granted because of his importunity (Luke 11:5-8). Three years after his healing, a son was born to him, and this son, Manasseh, gave the people a terribly wicked administration for the greater part of his long reign. And Hezekiah himself became backslidden for a time, the results of which came upon the people a hundred years later. See 2 Chron. 32:24-36; Isaiah 39.

3. When Isaiah's prediction was reversed, he did not, as Jonah did under a like condition, become petulant and discouraged, when the Lord chose to grant the king's petition. He was just as ready and just as faithful in the matter of the second message as he had been in conveying the first one. He recognized that Jehovah is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God, and may do as He will with His own. The liberality of the Lord was emphasized in His giving to Hezekiah a promise of that which he had not asked—immunity from future oppressions by the Assyrians. Altho Hezekiah afterward became backslidden and proud of heart because of his prosperity (2 Chron. 32:25), this promise of the Lord was kept. The trouble that afterward came upon Judah came from Babylon, after that kingdom had conquered Assyria, and after Hezekiah's repentance had procured a postponement of judgment for about a hundred years, notwithstanding the long wicked reign of his son Manasseh, and the sad defalcations of Jehoiakim and others.

4. From the record in 2 Kings 20, we learn that, in addition to the Lord's promise to heal Hezekiah, "Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered." Verse 7. Thus the prophet did not assume that prayer for healing, or even the Lord's promise to heal, should preclude the use of rational remedies.

From the same record we find that Hezekiah had asked for a sign that the Lord would heal him, and that in three days he would be able to go up to the temple. Also that the prophet gave the king the privilege of choosing whether the shadow should "go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps," and Hezekiah said, "Let the shadow return backward ten steps." Then "Isaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah; and He brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz."