Bible Discussion Thread

This section brings the power of life and death to prominence. After Isaiah's prophecy about King Hezekiah's imminent death; the Lord chose to heed to his prayers and add 15 years to his life. He was also going to give deliverance from Assyria for His own purposes as well as "David's sake" (v. 6). Verses 9-11 show the sign asked for to confirm his healing at the Temple. That was a REVERSAL of the sun's position back to where it was before it was in the incident of Ahaz. That was when the sun AND moon were stopped; i.e. indicating the earth's rotation or a more complex reaction of various orbits or perhaps time itself being held back. Of course; now that the sun is back to where it was previously it takes some diligence searching the historical record for this; I believe some have done this. It surely would be as significant worldwide as the darkness for a few hours when Christ was dying.

The rest of the passage refers to Babylon being shown all the treasure. After the Assyrians eventually turned from appeasement to military foe; one would think such actions would be; as the Prophet Isaiah stated-be an unwise action. Hezekiah's character flaw also would be in not seeking God to delay further His diaspora predicted; instead of just being content that it wouldn't happen in his time. (v. 19). This shows short sightedness in general; especially in light of clear evidence of answered prayer. This is why we should always persevere in prayer and not grow weary in doing good. ( Galatians 6:9).