2 Kings 20:1-11
A second trial, still more terrible than the first, now afflicts the unhappy king. Death knocks at his door. In his distress, this time also he turns to the LORD. No doubt he cannot go up into the sanctuary in accordance with his usual custom, but is it not always possible to find God even on a sick bed? How many bed-ridden invalids have this blessed experience every day!
Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, had refused the sign which the LORD wanted to give him (Isaiah 7:10-12). And, on the sun dial which he had made, the hour of judgment was rapidly approaching. But here the faithful and godly king receives, in addition to his healing, a most extraordinary sign. By the turning backwards of the shadow, God shows him that He accepts the plea to delay the chastisement.
Several details of this beautiful story make us think, by way of contrast, of the Lord Jesus. In Psalms 102 we have the prayer: "O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days". Then His Father’s reply: "Thy years are throughout all generations" (v. 24). Isaiah announced that the king would be healed by the third day. Christ actually entered into death, and likewise came out of it on the third day.