717_Forget not all His benefits (Isaiah 38-39)
Isaiah 38:16-20 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
17 Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.
A traveler once recounted how, after surviving a violent storm at sea, every passenger aboard the ship gathered on deck the next morning with tears of gratitude. They spoke of God’s mercy, promised to live differently, and thanked Him for preserving their lives. A few months later, most had returned to their old routines. With the fading of the memory of the storm, their sense of dependence on God faded too. Reflecting on that experience, someone wisely observed, “The greatest danger is not forgetting God in the storm, but forgetting Him after the storm.”
Isaiah 38–39 tells the story of a godly king whose prayer was answered with a miracle. Yet he struggled with a danger that confronts every believer: the temptation to forget the Lord’s benefits. Psalm 103:2 rightly reminds us, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
King Hezekiah was one of Judah’s most faithful kings. He trusted in the Lord, removed idols, restored true worship, and led the nation back to God. When the mighty Assyrian empire threatened Jerusalem, Hezekiah did not place his confidence in military strength or political alliances. Instead, he sought the Lord. God answered by sending back the Assyrian army and delivering Jerusalem. Hezekiah proved that no earthly power could stand against God’s purposes.
Isaiah 38 moves us from that national crisis to a deeply personal one. Hezekiah became gravely ill. Through the prophet Isaiah, God instructed him: “Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover” (Isaiah 38:1, ESV).
Those words remind us that even the most faithful believers are not exempt from suffering. Scripture does not teach us that godliness guarantees ease. Trials visit every life, even when one walks closely with God. There are always moments when plans collapse and the future seems uncertain.
Hezekiah’s response was one of shock and collapse. He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. In that moment, stripped of power and control, he cast himself entirely upon God’s mercy.
Before Isaiah even left the palace courtyard, the Lord sent him back with a new message. God had heard Hezekiah’s prayer and seen his tears. Fifteen additional years would be added to his life. As confirmation, God provided a miraculous sign by causing the shadow on the sundial to move backward.
In response, Hezekiah composed a song of thanksgiving. He reflected on how close he had come to death and how graciously God had restored him. With great gladness, he sings, in Isaiah 38:17: “You have cast all my sins behind your back.” He recognized that God’s gift of healing reflected divine forgiveness.
His gratitude overflowed when he declared, “The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day” (Isaiah 38:19).
At that moment, Hezekiah understood a truth every believer must learn. Life is a gift. Health is a gift. Forgiveness is a gift. Every breath we take is a gift from God. None of us are self-sustaining. We live daily on the mercy of our Creator.
Yet, sadly, the humble, wholehearted gratitude of chapter 38 gave way to the pride of chapter 39. The parallel account in 2 Chronicles offers a painful summary: “But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud” (2 Chronicles 32:25, ESV).
Scripture repeatedly reveals this danger. Trials are taxing but their fruit is sweet because they drive us to God. The real test comes with prosperity and ease, when prayer becomes just a duty. We begin to think we did something right, and rebuild our foolish self-confidence.
Israel faced the same danger. Before entering the Promised Land, Moses warned them that when they began to enjoy the riches of the land, living in houses they had not built and enjoying vineyards they had not planted, they might forget the Lord. Importantly, he reminds them that this is always accompanied by the evil thought, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17).
Isaiah 39 illustrates this danger vividly. Envoys arrived from Babylon to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery and inquire about the miraculous sign. Instead of giving God the glory, Hezekiah showed off his greatness. He displayed the temple treasures, his silver, gold, armories, and storehouses. Nothing was withheld.
The king who once fell down before the Lord with Sennacherib’s threatening letter now strutted before his foreign visitors.
And so, Isaiah prophesied that the very treasures he proudly displayed would one day be carried away to Babylon – and some of his descendants as well.
How different is Hezekiah’s response to this prophecy, compared to the humility of his earlier days. He neither repented nor asked for mercy. All he did was comfort himself with the thought that it would only happen after his death. He ignored the fact that he would nonetheless stand before God to be judged- death was no escape.
Spiritual decline is not a sudden event. It begins with ingratitude. Pride takes root. We are unimpressed by grace, impressed with ourselves.
And during those fifteen added years, Hezekiah’s son Manasseh was born. He had an heir through whom his line would continue. Yet this boy who was only 12 when he became king was to become notorious for his wickedness.
Manasseh promoted idolatry, practiced occultism, defiled the temple, and led the nation into deep rebellion against God.
Hezekiah had experienced God’s miraculous intervention, yet he failed to pass those lessons on to his son with the same passion that had once characterized his own life.
This reminds us that God’s blessings always come with responsibilities. The blessings we receive are not only to be enjoyed but cared for as faithful stewards. Every answered prayer should deepen our devotion. Every act of God’s kindness should increase our humility. Every additional day of life should inspire greater faithfulness.
The antidote to pride is continual and grateful remembrance. Thanksgiving is far more than polite acknowledgment. It keeps us reliant upon God. It reminds us that every good gift comes from His hand. It keeps us from taking credit for his gracious gifts.
These benefits include his sustaining hand in a difficult illness, provision when resources were scarce. Perhaps a broken relationship was restored. Always, the miracle of forgiveness through the suffering of our Lord.
Do not forget those benefits. Let us remember them, take time to thank him, bear witness to others. Let them draw us nearer to the Giver.
Hezekiah teaches us that beginning well is not enough. We must also finish well. We must remain loyal, humble, grateful, passionately devoted, to the God who hears our prayers in the night, even when we are in the light. The God who delivers us from trouble deserves our trust even after we have received his comfort.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Let us remember His mercy when pride tempts us, His faithfulness amidst success, and His grace every day we live, so that our lives continually point not to ourselves, but to the goodness of God. God bless.
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