Isaiah 38:21-22 – Ultimately, it is God who heals

The last two verses of Isaiah 38 are like the appendices to the account given in the first eight verses of the chapter. Isaiah, as we know, was sent with a message to Hezekiah telling him to set his house in order, for the illness that he was inflicted with was a terminal one and he would soon die. We were not told what his life-threatening illness was. Here in verse 21 reveals what he was suffering from. It was a boil, although which part of his body the boil was afflicting was not known. A boil ordinarily seems like a small growth that could hardly be life-threatening. Since this boil that Hezekiah suffered from was life-threatening, it was more likely to be a carbuncle. A carbuncle is a huge boil. It is a huge abscess, much like a tumor, which typically grows on a person’s buttock or the back of the neck.

Verse 21 recorded that Isaiah advised the king to apply a fig poultice over it. A fig poultice is like plaster made of crushed fig that could be applied like a dressing to the boil. Fig apparently had some medicinal value and could promote healing. The instruction given by Isaiah indicates that the healing the king experienced was not instant. It took a process of time to heal. This underscores for us that while we should pray for our sickness, we should not discount that God could use medicine as a means of healing. Pray, we must, but do not downplay the role of doctors and medical science.

In the earlier part of Isaiah 38, the sign God gave to prove that His promise of healing was sure to take place seemed unsolicited. But here in verse 22, Hezekiah was said to have asked for a sign. This is supported by the account given in 2 Kings 20. It could well be that Isaiah first announced that the Lord would give him a sign to assure him. It was then that Hezekiah asked, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” (2 Kings 20:8). Graciously Isaiah then asked him which he preferred: for the shadow of the sun to move forward ten steps or backward ten steps. The king then chose the latter and so it happened as he had preferred.

Healing is God’s gift. He does heal supernaturally as well as through medical science and doctors. Verse 21 suggests that God used medicine to bring about Hezekiah’s healing. Bear in mind that ultimately all healings come from God. Even if we see a doctor, and take the prescribed medication, the healing of that sickness is granted by the Lord. What the doctor does is only prescribing the means to help create a conducive condition so that God’s healing can then take effect. The tablets a person takes only alleviate his pain and allow him to rest, but the underlying condition remains there. Ultimately, it takes God to heal and bring wholeness. We must understand first of all that God is our real healer. So when we are inflicted with sickness, let Him be the first option we seek in prayer. Secondly, don’t discount the role of a doctor. They can help to promote the condition so that healing can take place. Thirdly, bear in mind also that sickness could be an invitation to seek God and find out which areas of our lives we need to amend to make right our relationship with Him. God is in the business of getting us whole: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, if we let Him.