King Hezekiah's staircase clock assured him of 15 more years of life. A few minutes earlier, the prophet Isaiah had told ailing Hezekiah to get ready to die. Really bad news from a prophet of God.
Excerpt from 2 Kings 20:2-11:
Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah and faced the wall. He started praying to the LORD.“Please LORD, I have lived my life devoted to you with all my heart. I’ve behaved myself and done what you wanted.” Hezekiah sobbed in grief.
On second thought: 15 more years
Isaiah hadn’t gotten any further than the middle of the palace courtyard before the LORD spoke to him.“Turn around,” the LORD said. “Go back to Hezekiah. Tell him the LORD, the God of your ancestor David has another message for him: I see you. I see the tears. I heard your words. I’m going to heal you. In three days you’ll be able to get up out of your bed and go to the Temple.And I’m adding 15 years to your life. I’m going to rescue the city, in honor of David. I’m not going to let the Assyrians have it.”Isaiah said, “Someone go and get a handful of figs. Then crush them into a paste and apply it to the king’s boil. He’ll get well then.”
God turns back Hezekiah's staircase clock
Hezekiah said, “Will the LORD give me a sign—evidence that he’ll heal me in three days and I’ll be able to go to the Temple?”9Isaiah told the king, “Yes, he will. He’s going to make the shadow on the Ahaz Staircase Sundial go 10 steps forward or backward. Your choice.” Hezekiah said, “Well, it’s normal for the shadow to move forward on the staircase. Let it move backward 10 steps.” Isaiah talked to God in a prayer, and the LORD made the shadow on the Ahaz Staircase retreat 10 steps.
Where to find more Bible maps
The Casual English Bible® has more than 900 Bible maps, many in 3D style. You can search for maps by place name, such as "Sea of Galilee."
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But you can also search for maps by Bible book, such as searching for all the maps in the book of Joshua. In addition, you can search by country, region, or era on a timeline, such as when Israel had kings or when Jesus was on earth. Here's a link to the dedicated Map Search Engine.
