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Isaiah 38:6 – Hezekiah a Type of Christ
Although there is not scholarly consensus, and contrary to my previous conclusion, I now consider Hezekiah’s illness to be during the Assyrian siege, and not after the Deliverance of Jerusalem. When praying for his personal recovery, God’s answer is, “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city” (Isa.38:6). It is as if there is a symbiotic relationship between the ancestral son of David and the city of David, possibly even foreshadowing the ultimate Son of David’s death and the ultimate destruction of the city (Luke 19:41-44). Both were dying. Both will live. Eight hundred years later both will die, and both will be reborn (Rev.21:2). This makes the actions of Hezekiah even more heroic and selfless, and even more Christlike. When he flees to the temple, he is leaving his sickbed, even his death bed, all for the sake of others. Concerns for self are outweighed by responsibility for others. Foreshadowing Jesus again, Hezekiah and Jerusalem portray a death and resurrection much like Isaac (Gen.22). The city, the people and the nation are certainly “dead.” By God’s grace, the gates of Sheol (Isa.38:10) and the gates of Hades (Mt.16:18) will not overpower and prevail. Hezekiah and the Deliverance are resurrection stories.
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