What does 2 Kings 20:2 Mean?

Context Summary

What a contrast between Hezekiah and the Apostle Paul! To the great Christian hero, death seemed infinitely desirable. He was ready to be offered; it would be gain to depart and be with Christ. But Hezekiah, who had walked before God in truth and with a perfect heart, turned his face to the wall and wept sore as the shadow of death fell upon him. Could anything prove more conclusively how much we owe to the Lord Jesus, who abolished death for those who trust Him?

Who does not know what it is to turn the face to the wall in unutterable anguish? There are moments when we are face to face with a blank wall, and only God can open a door in it. But He did for Hezekiah and He will for you. Only have faith and reckon on God's faithfulness. Has the shadow gone down on your dial? Has the day of your earnest zeal for God begun to wane? Have the bright promises of the morning become overcast? Then turn to God with true repentance! Let Him see thy tears of heart-sorrow, and He will restore the years that the cankerworm has eaten. It shall be with thee as in the past. The shadow shall return on the dial and the days of thy youth shall be renewed. There is a sense in which our sun never goes down, but leads our days forward, when the Lord becomes our Everlasting Light. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 20

¹  Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened
⁸  The sun goes ten degrees backward for a sign of that promise
¹²  Berodach-baladan sending to visit Hezekiah has notice of his treasures
¹⁴  Isaiah understanding thereof, foretells the Babylonian captivity
²⁰  Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah