Chapter 38

     In the previous two chapters we have Sennacherib the king of
Assyria coming up against Jerusalem to raze it ( a typical covenant
curse per Lev. 26).  Hezekiah appeals to Isaiah to plead with the
Lord and then he personally pleads with the Lord himself in the
Temple.  The Lord agrees to spare Jerusalem so as to keep his name
sacred from the profanations of Sennacherib as well as to maintain
the Abrahamic covenant.  However, the Lord does not acquit
Jerusalem of her sins.  As Jerusalem was spared the wrath of the
king of Assyria as a result of the events of ch. 36-37, the wicked
at Jerusalem were not expunged.  Thus, as is the theme of ch. 34,
the Lord is coming to Jerusalem to slay the wicked among her and
the formerly rebellious Hezekiah is addressed.  

     Hezekiah, who had rebelled against the word of Isaiah by
covenanting with Egypt instead of the Lord (ch. 22, 30), is
consigned to death.  But, his repentance detailed in ch. 37 and the
plea for his own life in this chapter result in the Lord sparing
his life.  Thus, Hezekiah is a particular type of the leaders among
the righteous remnant of Judah who start out rebellious (ch. 34)
but end up repenting (ch. 35) and are thus spared.

v1  Considering the distance Isaiah kept during the events of the
previous two chapters, the force of the very personal statement in
this verse must have been powerful.  Particularly so after the
miraculous defeat of the Assyrian army according to Isaiah's words
(37:36).

v2-3  Hezekiah immediately accepts the words of Isaiah as good and
then begs the Lord to spare him.  This shows the level of
Hezekiah's repentance and humility after the events of the previous
two chapters.  Contrast this with the relationship Jehoiakim (the
king of Judah at the time 39:5-7 refers to) has with Jeremiah and
Ezekiel.

v4-6  The Lord accepts Hezekiah's plea and grants him recovery from
his illness.  He is granted 15 additional years to his life and
will thus have to be personally spared from any Assyrian attacks. 
The protection of invasion is also extended to Jerusalem in general
showing the intercessory relationship between the king of Judah and
his people.

v7-8 seems to be a rather odd symbol of Hezekiah's recovery until
one cross references it with Josh. 10:8-14 and Hab. 3:8-15 and
considers the context of imminent warfare of ch. 36-37.  Note the
JPS footnote on v. 8 with regard to the steps on the dial.

     Another interpretation could be the symbolism of the Lord's
power over His creation where just as He has the ability to turn
back the sun, He also has the ability to spare people's lives. 
This particular symbolism is employed by Hezekiah in his recovery
psalm.

v9-20 is a psalm composed by Hezekiah upon his recovery.  That
Hezekiah did so can be seen as symbolic of his Davidic character as
David was a prolific psalm writer.  Thus, at this point in his
life, Hezekiah has achieved both a physical and spiritual recovery
from imminent death and becomes a type of the ideal anointed
Davidic king.

     The psalm appears to be loosely chiastic, but it is difficult
to arrange because the meaning of the Hebrew is obscure.  In any
case, the structure is something like:

  10-11  Individual consigned to death, excluded from the Temple
     12-14  Cast down to Sheol and mourning
        15  The Lord caused "bitterness"
           16  Even though the Lord caused bitterness, He
               has now restored and revived.
        17a-b  The "bitterness" was a necessary thing.
     17c-19c  Spared from Sheol and praising
  19d-20  Generations obtain life and congregate in the Temple

v10-11  Hezekiah laments his imminent death in what he feels is the
afternoon of his life.  He obviously isn't happy about dying.

v12-14  Hezekiah employs some dramatic imagery of a tent in the
desert being plucked up by a powerful desert wind, or a web cut
from its supports (possibly a ref. to a delicate silk being torn
from the loom) to describe how he feels about dying.  He recounts
his pleading with the Lord and poetically compares it with mourning
the doves (which would be the groans of his anguish) or song of a
swallow (which would be the high pitched staccato whines of
weeping).

v15-17b  He recounts the humbling circumstances he faces as ten
Lord has told him by His prophet that he is to die (v. 15a-b) and
is very much upset by it as a result (v. 15c-d).  But, despite the
Lord's anger with him, He has revived him anyway (v. 16), and thus
the "bitterness" was for his own good because it resulted in him
repenting (v. 17a-b).

v17c-19c  This section is largely derivative of a theme from the
other Psalms where the psalmist pleads with the Lord for his
physical/spiritual life because those in Sheol do not praise the
Lord and He is not glorified by them, cp. Ps. 6:5-6, 30:10.  Note
the blatant implication of spiritual death being the issue in v.
17e-f where Hezekiah sins are referenced.

     Also compare 28:15, 18 where Isaiah accuses the leaders at
Jerusalem of rebelling with the Lord by covenanting with Death and
Sheol.  Here, Hezekiah states that he is drawn out of this covenant
to return to the Lord.

v19d-20  With the new lease on life Hezekiah may once again return
to the Temple to offer up praises to the Lord with his children and
grandchildren.

v21-22  Is an obscure passage that many commentators consider a
textual dislocation.  Most of them move these two verse to in
between v. 6 and 7.  And it seems to fit pretty well there. 
However, it is possible that Isaiah intended some spiritual
interpretation that is obscure to us now (I guess I will take a
stab at it and say that perhaps v. 21 is Isaiah speaking of a
physical healing, but in v. 22 Hezekiah is more interested in the
spiritual healing.  Thus, it would be indicative of Hezekiah's
complete repentance and reconciliation to the Lord.)