What is the meaning of Isaiah 38:4? And • This small conjunction links Hezekiah’s intense prayer (Isaiah 38:2–3) with the divine response that follows. The story does not pause; God is already moving. See the same swift transition in 2 Kings 20:4, where “before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him.” • Scripture often uses “and” to signal God’s ongoing, uninterrupted involvement (cf. 1 Kings 17:8; Ezekiel 1:3). The flow reminds us that our cries and God’s answers are woven tightly together. the word of the LORD • What arrives is not mere insight but “the word of the LORD”—authoritative, flawless, unfailing (Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 19:7). • This phrase underscores that the message originates in God’s eternal counsel, not in Isaiah’s imagination (2 Peter 1:21; 1 Samuel 3:1). • Because it is God’s own word, it carries the power to accomplish what it declares, just as in creation: “He spoke, and it came to be” (Psalm 33:9). came • The verb paints motion from heaven to earth; revelation is God’s initiative. He is never passive, especially when His covenant people cry out (Jeremiah 1:2; Jonah 1:1). • In Hezekiah’s crisis, the arrival of God’s word is as certain as sunrise—a reminder that no circumstance can block divine communication (Isaiah 55:10–11). to Isaiah • God directs His word to a specific, prepared servant (Isaiah 1:1). Isaiah’s proven faithfulness shows why the Lord entrusts him again (Amos 3:7). • Personal address highlights relationship: God knows His messenger by name, just as He knows ours (Exodus 33:17). • Isaiah stands as mediator, foreshadowing the greater Prophet, Christ, through whom God speaks “in these last days” (Hebrews 1:1–2). saying • The word arrives in articulated speech—clear, intelligible, actionable (Genesis 1:3; Matthew 4:4). • God’s speaking nature assures believers that He is not silent or distant; He communicates truth we can grasp and obey (John 12:49). • What follows (Isaiah 38:5–8) proves that when God speaks, events align: fifteen more years for Hezekiah, deliverance from Assyria, and even the shadow’s reversal as a sign. summary Isaiah 38:4 shows the seamless link between human prayer and divine response. God’s authoritative word, actively moving toward a chosen messenger, arrives in crystal-clear speech. The verse reassures every believer that the Lord hears, initiates, and speaks with power, making His purposes unbreakably certain. |
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