“This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised:
7. And this shall be a sign to thee. The sacred history relates in the proper order that Hezekiah asked a sign from the Lord, (2 Kings 20:8,) and that it was granted to him; which the Prophet will likewise mention at the end of this chapter. But it is no new thing for Hebrew writers to reverse the order of the narrative.
We may hence observe, among others, these good lessons: - 1. That neither men's greatness nor their goodness will exempt them from the arrests of sickness and death. Hezekiah, a mighty potentate on earth and a mighty favourite of Heaven, is struck with a disease, which, without a miracle, will certainly be mortal; and this in the midst of his days, his comforts, and usefulness.
Commenting on Isaiah 38:1-8
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees,.... Or lines made on a dial plate, to show the progress of the sun, and what time of day it was. Some think only the shadow was brought back by the power of God, the sun keeping its course as usual; but in the next clause the sun is expressly said to return ten degrees...