Isaiah – The fifth Hebrew gospel – Chapter 38

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38:1 In those days Hizqiyahu was sick and near death. And Yeshayahu the navi the son of Amotz came to him, and said to him, This says vuvh, Set your bayit in order: for you shall die, and not live. 2 Then Hizqiyahu turned his face toward the wall, and made tefillah to vuvh, 3 And said, Remember now, O vuvh, I beg You, how I have had my halacha before You in emet and with a perfect lev, and have done that which is tov in Your sight. And Hizqiyahu wept heavily. 4 Then came the word of vuvh to Yeshayahu, saying, 5 Go, and tell Hizqiyahu, This says vuvh, the Elohim of Dawid your abba, I have heard your tefillah, I have seen your tears: see, I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the melech of Ashshur: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be an ot to you from vuvh, that vuvh will do this thing that He has spoken; 8 See, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down on the sundial of Achaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial, by the same degrees that it had gone down. 9 This then is the writing of Hizqiyahu melech of Yahudah, when he had been sick, and had later recovered from his sickness: 

Jn 11:9 Yahusha answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world. So we have 12 hours of daylight. 

• 360 degree circle (on a sundial) divided by 12 hours of sunlight (average day) = 30 degrees per hour (360 divided by 30=12)
• 1/3rd of an hour (60 minutes) = 20 minutes.
• 1/3rd of thirty degrees = ten degrees
• Ten degrees would therefore = 20 minutes.

So when the shadow moved backwards 10 degrees, this added an extra 20 minutes per day. 

• 20 minutes per day x 360 days = 7200 extra minutes per year.
• 7200 extra minutes per year divided by 60 minutes in an hour = 120 hours per year.
• 120 extra hours per year divided by 24 hours in a day = 5 days per year.

So over a year around 5 extra days had been added to the original 360 day year which now results in a year with 365.2422 days. 

V.10 Hezekiah’s Hymn of Lament is a spiritual reflection on mortality

10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of Sheol: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see Yah, Yah, in the land of the living: I shall see man no more with the inhabitants of the olam. 12 My chayim is departed, and is taken from me as a shepherd’s tent: My chayim was shrunk like a weaver’s web: He will cut me off with sickness: from one day to the next night You make an end of me. 13 I soothed myself until morning, but as a lion, so will He break all my bones: from one day to the next night will You make an end of me. 14 Like a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a yonah: my eyes became weary with looking upward: O vuvh, I am oppressed; take hold of this for me! 

The Sting of Death – Hezekiah’s hymn begins with the acknowledgment of the bitter reality of mortality. The metaphorical “sting of death” is Hezekiah grappling with the inevitable separation from the earthly life in which he served יהוה. 

This sting, this piercing awareness of life’s transient nature, is the introduction to Hezekiah’s anguish.

The metaphor of a lion breaking all his bones reflects the intensity of Hezekiah’s inner turmoil. It shows a deep vulnerability in the face of mortality, as the mighty are brought low by the inevitability of death. 

He actually sees יהוה as an adversary – a satan, an enemy who’s cut short the thread of his days! This isn’t an accusation, but a raw and honest expression of the pain that stems from the realization that his earthly journey may be concluding.

In his anguish, Hezekiah grapples with the seeming contradiction between a life devoted to divine service and the harsh reality of mortality. 

Even through it all Hezekiah’s hymn reveals his unwavering determination to remain faithful. He acknowledges the bitterness of the cup he must drink but surrenders himself to the will of יהוה . 

15 What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, and Himself has done it: I shall go humbly all my years in the bitterness of my being. 16 O vuvh, by these things men live, and in all these things is the chayim of my ruach: so restore me, and make me live. 17 See, for shalom I had great bitterness: but You have in Your ahava for my being delivered it from the pit of corruption: for You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For Sheol cannot hallel You, death cannot celebrate You: they that go down into the pit cannot tikvah forYour emet.

We come to the pit of corruption (Sheol) which is juxtaposed with the resounding praises offered only in the land of the living. 

19 The living, yes, the living, shall hallel You, even as I do this day: the abba to their children shall make known Your emet. 20 vuvh came to save me: therefore we will shir my shirim with the stringed instruments all the days of our chayim in the Bayit of vuvh. 21 For Yeshayahu had said, Let them take a fig-plaster, and apply it upon the boil, and he shall recover: 22 Because Hizqiyahu asked, What is the ot that I shall be able to go up to the Bayit of vuvh?

Hezekiah’s portrayal of the pit of corruption – Sheol, paints a picture of the profound darkness and despair that pervades the realm of the departed. 

V.21 King Hezekiah’s plea for healing leads to a divinely prescribed poultice of figs being applied to his boil. 

Figs are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, rich nutrient content, and potential wound-healing capabilities. The poultice, when applied, would have served as a medicinal agent addressing both the physical symptoms and promoting an overall sense of well-being and relief. 

This alignment is a form of vibrational harmony, where the healing process is not only physical but resonates with the frequencies of divine restoration and renewal.

The act of applying the poultice transforms into a sacred ritual, a moment of divine alignment, acceptance and surrender. As the physical and spiritual realms converge, the healing frequencies unlock a supernatural response. 

If we look at five words from the text that are paramount to our understanding of the context I would say they would be: 

תְּפִלָּה (Tefillah) – Prayer: Isaiah 38:2 – “Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to יהוה.”

חֶסֶד (Chesed) – Grace: Isaiah 38:17 – “Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”

סֶלַע (Selah) – Rock: Isaiah 38:2 – “Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to יהוה.”

תְּשׁוּעָה (Teshuah) – Salvation: Isaiah 38:20 – “ יהוהwill save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of יהוה.”

שְׁאוֹל (Sheol) – Pit/Grave: Isaiah 38:10 – “I said, In the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the  gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.”

Translation: Prayer and grace upon the Rock, salvation from the pit.

These words weave a conclusion that echoes the essence of Isaiah 38, where prayer, grace, the Rock, salvation, and the pit intertwine in the divine tapestry of hope, healing, and the triumph of life over death.

Ends the boundaries of the physical and the spiritual. There’s a definite synergy between the medicinal properties of the poultice and the supernatural frequencies associated with coming into divine alignment and acceptance.