Would you turn to 2 Kings chapter
20. 2 Kings chapter 20. In those days was Hezekiah sick
unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son
of Amos, came to him and said unto him, thus saith the Lord,
set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Then he turned his face to the
wall and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord,
Remember now 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. And it came to pass before Isaiah
was gone out into the middle court that the word of the Lord
came to him saying, turn again and tell Hezekiah The captain
of my people, thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father,
I have heard thy prayer. I've seen thy tears. Behold,
I will heal thee. On the third day, thou shalt
go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days
15 years. And I will deliver thee and this
city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And I will defend
this city for mine own sake and for my servant, David's sake. And Isaiah said, take a lump
of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil and he recovered. 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, the sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will
do the thing that he has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward 10
degrees or go back 10 degrees? And Hezekiah answered and said,
it's a light thing for the shadow to go down 10 degrees. Nay, but
let the shadow return backward 10 degrees. The earth would have
to start spinning on its axis and go backwards. 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. Let's pray. Lord, we have come into your
presence in Christ's name and we're so very grateful that all
you require of us do you look to your son for and we pray that
we might hear him preached. We pray that we might be taught
by him. We pray that we might be found
in him and we pray that we might be enabled to worship him. Lord, forgive us of our sins
for his sake, but grant us your presence, walk in our midst,
speak to each heart here according to your will. In Christ's name
we pray, amen. In those days, Hezekiah was sick
unto death. It's going to happen to me. It's
going to happen to you. Sickness is going to come. It's
part of life. And we're going to die of something. I think the emphasis that religion
makes of healing, you're going to die of something. And Hezekiah
heard, it's time for you to die. And the prophet Isaiah, the son
of Amos, came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord,
set thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Now put yourself in his place.
God's prophet comes to you and says, get your house ready. You're
going to die. Now, how did Hezekiah respond
to this? Verse two, then he turned his
face to the wall. That is saying that he is concentrating
only on this. He's forgetting everything else.
He's turning his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord. Now, isn't it a blessing that
we're allowed to pray? Whatever the Lord says to us,
we're still allowed to pray. And that is exactly what he did
at this time. He prayed and listened to his
prayer, verse three. I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember
now 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. Can you imagine being able to
pray like that? He is praying with regard to how good he's
been. He's had a perfect heart. He's only done that which is
pleasing in the sight of God. Now, there's only one way that
that can be understood. The gospel. Justification. Because if you go on reading,
if you read Isaiah's account, he's confessing his sin and his
need and so on. But the only way this can be
understood is in light of justification. When he's saying, I've served
thee with a perfect heart and I've done that which is pleasing
in thy sight, that's the true testimony of every believer that's
been justified. I think of the publican in the
temple. God be merciful to me, thee,
sinner. That was his confession about
himself. And the Lord said, I say unto you, that man went down
to his house. What? Justified. Not forgiven. Not shown mercy, but justified. Turn with me to Psalm 15. Psalm 15. Lord, who shall abide in thy
tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
Now look at this description of who will. He that walketh
uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his
heart, he that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil
to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor,
in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honors them
that fears the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt
and changes not, He that puteth not out his money to usury, nor
taketh reward against the innocent. He that do these things shall
never be moved. Now that is the description of
every believer because of the righteousness. This describes
Christ. And this is my personal righteousness before God. Look
in Psalm 24. Verse three, who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted
up his soul into vanity nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive
the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of
his salvation. Now see this thing of justification
is not, I repeat, is not simply a legal standing before God where
the books have been changed. I have served God perfectly with
an upright heart and I have never sinned. Now that is what Hezekiah
is praying. Back to our text in second verse
four. And it came to pass before Isaiah
was gone out of the house, remember he's already said, set your house
in order, you're dying and he's left. And before he gets out
of the temple, And it came to pass before Isaiah was gone out
of the middle court that the word of the Lord came to him
saying, turn again and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, thus
saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I've heard thy prayer. I've seen thy tears. Behold,
I will heal thee. On the third day thou shalt go
up into the house of the Lord and I will add unto thy days
15 years. And I will deliver thee and this
city out of the hand of the king of Syria. And I will defend this
city for mine own sake and for my servant, David's sake. And
Isaiah said, take a lump of figs. And they took it and laid it
on the boil and he recovered. Now, did the Lord change his
mind? He said, set your house in order. And all of a sudden
he says, I'm going to give you another 15 years. Did the Lord
change his mind? No. You see, when the Lord says this,
Manasseh had not yet been born. Manasseh wouldn't be born until
about three years after this. And Manasseh is in the genealogy
of Christ. He's one of the people through
whom the Lord would come. And the Lord knew this all along,
but the Lord brought this into Hezekiah's life as a blessing
to cause him to call upon the name of the Lord. Now, anything
that causes me or you to cry out to the Lord is a blessing,
isn't it? And that's exactly what it was for Hezekiah. He
was made to cry out to the Lord. The use of means, the lump of
figs was to be put on the boil, and then he asked for a sign.
And I think this sign is amazing. He wants the earth to stop, the
sundial to go back 10 degrees. Time travel actually takes place.
The axis of the earth stops, turns back around to a time in
the past. Now somebody says, how could
that happen? I don't know, but nothing's too hard for the Lord.
He, uh, the laws of physics are his laws and he can suspend them
when he wants. He did walk on the water, didn't
he? He suspended the law of physics. He's in control of everything. And the sign is that the earth
will stop spinning on its axis, go backwards. And there's actual
time travel to the past that takes place. Now, if this is
all we see, what I've talked about, well, it's impressive,
but it's not the gospel. If this is all we see, very impressive,
but it is not the gospel. Now verse one, once again, in
those days was Hezekiah sickened to death and the prophet Isaiah,
the son of Amos came to him and said unto him, thus saith the
Lord God set thine house in order for thou shall die and not live. Hezekiah is a type of Christ.
Set your house in order. And the way he set his house
in order was by his death. I wish I could sufficiently speak
of the glories of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the death
which he should accomplish in Jerusalem. And in his death,
he truly set his house in order, didn't he? Verses two and three. Then he
turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now. And who's the only one who
could truly say this about himself? I mean, it's said about us in
justification, but this is the Lord speaking directly. And he
could say this. When I say this, I know it's
his righteousness. It's my personal righteousness
before God. And it really is mine. It really is mine. But
it's more really his, isn't it? Look, I beseech thee, O Lord,
remember now how I've walked before thee in truth with a perfect
heart and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah
wept sore. You know, the scripture says
he cried with strong cryings and tears and what all the Lord
experienced as the sinner substitute. Verse four, and it came to pass
before Isaiah was gone out in the middle court, the word of
the Lord came into him saying, turn again. Tell Hezekiah, the
captain of my people, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, thus saith
the God of David, thy father, I've heard thy prayer, I've seen
thy tears, behold, I will heal thee, and on the third day, well,
you know what that's a reference to? The resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. What a type of the gospel. He
says, I've heard your prayers, on the third day thou shalt go
up into the house of the Lord. He was made sin, he put it away. He healed all those of his house,
setting his house in order. And on the third day, he went
back to the father. Verse six, and I will add unto
thy days 15 years. Now, why 15? Well, there's a
reason behind every number. Five is the number of grace. Somebody said, where do you get
that? Well, look at the tabernacle. Everything in there is a multiple
of five. That's what Arthur Pink said anyway, and I'll take it
as good. I like what he says. Five, the
number of grace. Three, the number of God. Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and that's pretty much accepted. Well, what's
three times five? 15. What comes out of this extra
15 years? Manasseh. Manasseh's name means
forgetting. Forgetting their sins and their
iniquities. I'll remember no more because
of the grace of God. That's the significance of this
15 years. I'm going to add 15 years to
my life and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand
of King of Assyria and I will defend this city for mine own
sake. And for my servant David's sake, that's why we have salvation. For Christ's sake, for Christ's
sake, no other reason is needed. And Isaiah said, take a lump
of figs and they took it and laid it on the boil and he recovered. Now, what do you think when you
think of figs? You think of a fig leaf righteousness,
don't you? That's the first thing that comes to our mind, a fig
leaf righteousness. What is our righteousness? Filthy
rags, sin. That was laid upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. As a matter of fact, that word
lay those figs on the boil is the same word used in Isaiah
53. Sin was laid upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. Yes, it's the use of means for
us. It could be medicinal. He didn't
just heal him, the lump of figs were put there as a medicine.
But in the spiritual significance, this is Christ taking on our
sin, being made sin for us. And what happened? And they took
and laid it on the boil and he recovered, the complete salvation
of God's people. Hezekiah is such a beautiful
type of Christ in this. Now look at this, this is so
significant. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, what shall be the
sign that the Lord will heal me and that I'll go up into the
house of the Lord on the third day? Hezekiah wanted a sign and
evidently it wasn't wrong for the Lord didn't rebuke him for
it. But he said, I want some kind of sign that gives me affirmation
that you're going to do what you said you're going to do.
And well, The Lord's word ought to be enough, but he wasn't rebuked
for this because it's giving us this very important information,
this sign of assurance. And Isaiah said, this sign shalt
thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he
had spoken. Shall the shadow go forward 10 degrees or go back
10 degrees? And Hezekiah answered, it's a
light thing for the shadow to go down 10 degrees, nay, but
to let the shadow return backward 10 degrees, and Isaiah the prophet
cried unto the Lord, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backwards,
by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz." Now, for this
to take place, the earth would have to start spinning, stop
spinning, and have to start spinning the other direction. You know,
if that would happen, we'd all get thrown off the planet, and
we'd all be dead. That's what would take place. But the thing
that is, is anything too hard for the Lord. The Lord is in
control of the law of physics. They're his laws. And this is
a glorious thing. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? But here is the point. And this is what's so important.
We're not allowed to have assurance from anything in the present.
Now what do I mean by that? Well, I must be saved because
my life has been changed. I see where the Lord really has
worked in me, and I see the evidence of the Lord's grace in my life
by what's going on right now with me and in me. Do you gain
assurance from that? Not if you're a believer. Any
assurance that's based upon something going on right now is a false
assurance. I'm only allowed to have assurance
and a sign from something that has already taken place, something
from the past. For him to have assurance, he
had to go back to the past. Now, what are you talking about?
Are you talking about when I was first saved? No. The only thing
I'm allowed to gain assurance of my salvation is what Christ
has done, period. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather. that is risen again,
who's even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. What gives me assurance that
God accepts me? What Christ did. That's it. That's it. There is nothing else. This sign is something that took
place in the past. And we can take it back further
than that if we want to. Christ is called the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. My assurance is that I was in
Him. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Don't have any assurance in anything
else. Now turn to Isaiah chapter 38. I want us to read what Hezekiah
said after this took place. Now Isaiah gives us some details
that are not in the Kings or the Chronicles account. And he
uses chapters 36, 37, 38, and 39 to talk about the events of
Hezekiah. Verse nine. The writing of Hezekiah, king
of Judah, when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness. Now he's telling us how he felt
during this time and what he experienced. Verse 10, I said
in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the
grave. I'm deprived of the residue of
my years. He was so upset. I said, I shall
not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living. I
shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
Mine age is departed and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent.
I have cut off like a weaver my life. He'll cut me off with
pining sickness. From day even to night, wilt
thou make an end of me? I reckon till morning that as
a lion, so will he break all my bones. And from the day even
to the night, wilt thou make an end of me? Like a crane or
a swallow, so did I chatter. I did mourn as a dove, mine eyes
fell with looking upward. I'm not even able to look upward.
Oh Lord, I'm oppressed. Undertake for me. Now he's saying,
I can't even look up. Undertake for me. That's the
same word that is translated in Genesis 43 verse 9, surety. When Judah said, I will be surety
for him, speaking of Benjamin, I will take full and complete
responsibility for his salvation. Everything you require of him.
look to me for." Now this is where Hezekiah was brought. We
were looking at it in light of justification when we're looking
in the king's account, but here we see what he was also thinking. And he was saying, Lord, I'm
in such a bad shape that all that can be done for me is for
you to take complete responsibility for my salvation. Undertake for
me. Be a surety for me. Take full
responsibility for my salvation. Because if you don't, there is
no hope for me. Can you identify with that prayer?
Take full response. If you're looking for anything
out of me, there's no hope for me. Take full responsibility
for my salvation. Verse 15. What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me and
himself hath done it. He's the one who accomplished
my salvation. He hath done it. And I shall
go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. Now he's
talking about those 15 years. He said, I'm going to walk softly.
I'm so aware of my sinfulness, my dependence upon him. I'm going
to walk softly, not in pride and arrogance, but softly in
bitterness of my soul. Oh Lord, verse 16. Oh Lord, by
these things men live. And in all these things is the
life of my spirit, what you do, you being an undertaker for me
and undertaking for me. This is how, this is the life
of my spirit. So without recover me and make
me to live. Behold, for peace, I had great
bitterness. You know, he was saying at this
time, I didn't have any peace. My peace was nothing but bitterness.
That's how I felt about myself. And you know, whenever you look
to yourself, that's, All that's going to be there, bitterness,
helplessness. But thou hast in love to my soul
delivered it from the pit of corruption. You think of his
love to your soul. I stand amazed in the presence.
of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me, a sinner
condemned, unclean. When with the ransomed in glory
his face at last I shall see, shall be my joy through the ages
to sing of his love to me. Not my love to him, but his love. to me. Thou hast in love delivered
it from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins
behind my back." Now there is what the Lord did on the cross.
He dealt with my sins. He put them away. He took care
of them. And Hezekiah understood this clearly, just like any other
believer does. The only thing that can be done
about your sins is what he does. He casts them behind his back. He put them away. He made them
to not be. Verse 18, for the grave cannot
praise thee. It can't do it. Death, he's talking
about death. Death cannot celebrate thee.
They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. Death cannot praise the Lord.
The living, the living, he shall praise thee. The life of Christ
shall praise thee and those alive in him. The living, the living,
he shall praise thee as I do this day. The father to the children
shall make known thy truth. The Lord was ready to save me. You know, everything we believe
is found right here. He saved us. Isn't that everything? He saved
us. That's our testimony. That's
our testimony. He saved. That's the only testimony
I have. Somebody says, tell me about
your experience. He saved me. He saved me. That's my testimony. He saved
me. The Lord It says it was ready,
you can see that's in italics, the Lord saved me. Therefore,
we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the
days of our life in the house of the Lord. For Isaiah had said,
let them take a lump of figs and lay it for a plaster upon
the boil and he shall recover. And Hezekiah also had said, what
is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? Once again, don't ever discount
the use of means in a physical sense. I just want the Lord to
heal me. Seems like we're glorifying more
if he didn't use means and he just healed me. I didn't even
have to go to the doctor. That's called foolishness. That's
all it's called, foolishness. God has given means, God has
given doctors, God has given medicine. Use the means. Whatever it is, ask the Lord
to heal you. He's the one who does it. Use
the means. The lump was placed on him. But once again, this
is the gospel, that figs of sin. was placed upon Christ and he
put that sin away by the death of himself. That's the main meaning.
So this is a really interesting story. The earth stops spinning. How impressive. But if that's
all we see, we've not seen the meaning. This is the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.