2 Kings 20:1-7:
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
Notes on 2 Kings 20:1-7:
This disproves the notion that all real healings from God must be instantaneous. Hezekiah’s healing was gradual enough that it was the third day before he was able to go up to the house of the Lord.
This also shows that even something God has prophesied about can change if men make changes on their end. The same happened in Nineveh. Jonah prophesied doom in forty days, but when the Ninevites changed, God changed the outcome (Jonah 3:4, Jonah 3:10).
The lump of figs was not medicine to cure Hezekiah. If figs could have cured him, they would have figured that out already and used them, and people today would be making fortunes setting up chains of special fig stores to sell figs for medicinal purposes.
Isaiah’s version of this story is found in Isaiah 38:1-39:1.
See also:
Objection: God Told Hezekiah to Use Medicine (a Poultice of Figs)