Devotional Commentary on Isaiah 39

 

Isaiah had a specific agenda in mind when he cited from his diary the event of the illness of Hezekiah and especially the hymn of Hezekiah at the end of chapter 38. The hymn is only mentioned by Isaiah. The later historiographer of 2 Kings 20 did not select the hymn.

 

To cite Delitzsch Volume II 1890: 114 can give us a nice analysis of how different the Book of Kings ' scribe later cited Isaiah: Isaiah 39:1, “’At that time Merodach Baladan [K. Berodach Baladan], son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent a letter and present to Hezekiah, and heard [K. /or he had heard] that he [K. Hezekiah] had been sick, and had recovered’ [K. omits].” It was difficult times during the Exile and they could not see the texts, only heard it by dictation since library robbing was at the order of the day, so good text were hidden. The reader said “Merodach Baladan” but the listening copyist heard with a slip of the ear “Berodach” instead of “Merodach”. Delitzsch did not say it but in Akkadian script it was easy to misread bu and mu. It is not the only slip and Delitzsch mentioned only about three of them. Doublets are placed in the Bible by the Holy Spirit exactly for this purpose: sin brings exile and exile has dire consequences for religion, also the Xerox process of the Word of God.” It serves only as a window of warning. The Word of God was very well preserved, these slips as well. It does not change the truth to misspell or to have difficult syntax or a strange grammatical form. There is such a thing as bilingualism and even geographical dialectics. It has nothing to do with “corruption” and that the text should be “emended” or “glossed out” to socalled “correct” the text. The scholar A. Speiser one time lamented that puritanic grammarians too readily wants to “correct” the text. My professor, Charles Fensham was complaining about the same thing in class.

 

The orthography or script shapes of the sixth century BCE in Hebrew could easily caused a misreading of a mem /m/ and a kaph /k/ and as a Hebrew reader will admit, kaph /k/ and beth /b/ are close also. This is the reason for the misreading of Merodach as Berodach. There is also evidence of the slip of the ear where an heth in Isaiah 39:2 is misheard by the later exilic scribe as an ayin in verse 13 of 2 Kings. 

 

Why did Isaiah enter into history in these chapters? The answer is twofold: peace and truth. In fact, Isaiah cited the words of Hezekiah thinking that there will be peace and truth in his days (39:8) and also the reason why Hezekiah did not want to die but wanted to live, is to raise his children with spiritual education by singing on harps and lyre in the house of the Lord with them and to teach them truth and about God’s truth (38:19b-20a-c).

 

Manasseh was only 12 when Hezekiah died in 687 BCE and he was a product of this promise of Hezekiah to God. The mother of Manasseh was Heph-Ziba (2 Kings 21:1) and the Heph part of her name could have been Egyptian since many words are either ep or eb with meanings connected to festivals, (ruler) staff, or the Aphis bull of Memphis. We are trying to see why a religious upbringing for 12 years in a child’s life is suddenly turned upside down by the spouse and who surrounded him, nullifying all what he has been taught by his father Hezekiah.

 

Isaiah did not survive to life in the days of Manasseh. The godless approach of the priesthood over Manasseh would need a reminder from Isaiah about truth and peace promised to God by Hezekiah to his offspring.

 

At the same time Hezekiah became sick in 702/701 BCE, a Babylonian rebel took interest in his illness and recovery (v. 1). He was Merodach-baladan the king of Babylon. It was probably the Babylonian rebel with the name of Marduk-apal-iddina “the god Marduk has given a son”. Delitzsch mentioned that he paid homage to Tiglath-Pilezer III in 731 BCE, that Merodach was probably the king of southern land (šar mât tâmtȋm) in Sargon II first year in 721 BCE. Merodach was the ruler of Bit-Iakin and with Elamite help he conquered Babylon for a short time and was driven out by Sargon II in his 12th year, which was according to K. 3044 in the eponym of šamaš-bêla-uur, in the year of the month of Nisan 710 BCE (K. van Wyk, Squatters in Moab [1996]: 150). According to another text O., 1141 the 12th year was in the eponym of man-nu-ki-aš-šur-le of Nisan 709 BCE. Scholars view this text as an error but the scribes of that area started their counting system different than the scribes of another area. It is two different counting systems, not an error. Text K. 3044 counted 710 BCE extending into 709 BCE. It is the eye of the beholder that makes the difference.

 

Again Merodach rebelled and drove out the other ruler and Sennacherib took Babylon from him in 704 BCE. Merodach was thus sitting on the edges of Babylon wishing to reclaim the city when he contacted Hezekiah. About taking the treasures of Babylon, Sennacherib said in the Taylor Prism: “I entered his palace at Babylon as victor and opened his treasure-house”. Dictators and conquerers cannot keep their hands off other people’s possessions.

 

Hezekiah was very pleased and flattered by his men coming to see him and he showed them all his treasures, silver, gold, spices, precious oil, weapons. This was a big mistake of Hezekiah. To host a known rebel with a long history of skeletons in the closet and a shadowy character, is like raising a snake: the feeder always runs the risk to get bitten himself. Political chess is a spiritual mess.

R. Gane in his 2004 Sabbath School Quarterly page 61 brings an insightful connection between solar shift, Babylonian astrology and Hezekiah’s illness to play here: “The Babylonians studied movements of heavenly bodies and recorded them accurately. Thus, they would have noticed the sun's strange behavior and wondered what it meant. The fact that King Merodach-baladan sent envoys at this time is no accident. The Babylonians had learned of the connection between Hezekiah's recovery and the miraculous sign. Now we know why God chose this particular sign. Just as He later used the star of Bethlehem to bring wise men from the East, he used a solar shift to bring messengers from Babylon. This was a unique opportunity for them to learn about the true God. Merodach-baladan spent his entire career trying to win lasting independence from Assyria. He needed powerful allies, which explains his motivation for contacting Hezekiah. If the sun itself moved at Hezekiah's request, what could he do to Assyria?” It is very true that they were very superstitious as the Hemerological texts indicate, which was whole year of 360 days with every month 30 days in which the kings should or should not do things to avoid evil from trapping him. There is the example of a Hemerological text V R 48-49 (R. Labat 1948: 13-40 et al). In month VIII or APIN which is Arahsamma, day 19 it reads on the Hemerological text to help the king against the evil-bringing gods: “The crisis of the disease will be swerved”. If their Hemerological text is saying that it is unfavorable days for the king but he heard of Hezekiah’s healing, then obviously Merodach-Baladan would be curious why his own gods are cracy but Hezekiah’s not.

Actually, Ellen White already said it in Prophets and Kings: “In the fertile valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates there dwelt an ancient race which, though at that time subject to Assyria, was destined to rule the world. Among its people were wise men who gave much attention to the study of astronomy; and when they noticed that the shadow on the sundial had been turned back ten degrees, they marveled greatly. Their king, Merodach-baladan, upon learning that this miracle had been wrought as a sign to the king of Judah that the God of heaven had granted him a new lease of life, sent ambassadors to Hezekiah to congratulate him .on his recovery, and to learn, if possible, more of the God who was able to perform so great a wonder.”— Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, page 344 cited by M. L. Andreasen in his 1928 Sabbath-School on Isaiah page 36. The online Sabbath-School Quarterlies are available at Sabbath-School.net under archive.

Ellen White pointed out the spiritual fall of Hezekiah here: “The visit of the ambassadors to Hezekiah was a test of his gratitude and devotion.. . . Had Hezekiah improved the opportunity given him to bear witness to the power, the goodness, the compassion, of the God of Israel, the report of the ambassadors would have been as light piercing darkness. But he magnified himself above the Lord of hosts. He ‘rendered not again according .to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up.’“ Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, page 346.

 

“There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show him” (v. 2). Isaiah heard of this visit by the officials of the palace of Babylon and wanted to know what the men said (v. 3). Hezekiah said that they came from Babylon to him. Isaiah wanted to know what Hezekiah showed them in the house (v. 4). Hezekiah said that he showed them all that is in the house and that there was nothing that he did not show to them (v. 4). Isaiah then said the Word of the Lord of hosts to Hezekiah (v. 5). The Lord predicted the 605; 597 and 586 onslaught against Jerusalem by Babylon to Hezekiah by the word of the prophet Isaiah (v. 6).

 

All that is the house of Hezekiah will go to Babylon and his sons and offspring “shall be taken away and they shall become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon” (v. 7).

 

Ellen White said: “The story of Hezekiah's failure to prove true to his trust at the time of the visit of the ambassadors, is fraught with an important , lesson for all. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience, of the mercy and loving-kindness of God, of the matchless depths of the Saviour's love. When mind and heart are filled with the love of God, it will not be difficult to impart that which enters into the spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for, piety and holiness, will find expression in words that reveal the character of the heart treasure. "Those with whom we associate day by day need our help, our guidance. They may be in such a condition of mind that a word spoken in season will be as a nail in a sure place. To-morrow some of these souls many be where we can never reach them again. What is our influence over these fellow travelers?”— Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, pages 347, 348.

 

Isaiah had insight into the dreadfulness of the single coded situation revealed by God but for Hezekiah it was a double-coded message that gave him the impression that it would be wonderful if his offspring can be ambassadors in Babylon for there will be peace and truth in those days (v. 8). He chose to believe his own deception.

Ellen White said: “Filled with remorse, ‘Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.’ But the evil seed had been sown, and in time was to spring up and yield a harvest of desolation and woe. During his remaining years, the king of Judah was to have much prosperity because of his steadfast purpose .o redeem the past and to bring honor to the name of the God whom he served; yet his faith was to be severely tried, and he was to learn that only by putting his trust fully in Jehovah could he hope to triumph over the powers of darkness that were plotting his ruin and the utter destruction of his people.”—Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, page 347 cited by M. L. Andreasen in the Sabbath School Quarterly of 1928, page 37.

 

Dear God

Hezekiah chose to believe himself and his own deception making a single coded reality outlined by God double-coded realities ending in a fake dream. Guard us from our own fake dreams and obstinacy to accept and follow Your clear Word. Amen.