In Isaiah, chapter thirty-eight, verse eight, “Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.” The exact nature of the sun’s shadow being reversed on the stairway is not explained; what is clear is that it did occur by the word of the Lord as a prophetic sign to Hezekiah that God had heard his prayer and seen his tears, and would heal him.
When we pray in our sickness, though God send not to us such an answer as he here sent to Hezekiah, yet, if by his Spirit he bids us be of good cheer, assures us that our sins are forgiven, and that, whether we live or die, we shall be his, we do not pray in vain. Hezekiah’s account reminds us that prayer is powerful and that God’s promises are sure. However, Hezekiah’s story also serves as a warning. While he saw great miracles and received incredible blessings, his later pride led to the prophecy of Babylon’s invasion.
Hezekiah was the king of Judah, known for his faithfulness to God. The shadow of the degrees – Or, the shadow made on the degrees; or indicated by the degrees on the dial means properly an ascent; a going up from a lower to a higher region; then a step by which one ascends, applied to the steps on a staircase. Therefore, it may be applied to the ascending or descending figures or marks on a dial designating the ascent or descent of the sun, or the ascent or descent of the shadow going up or down by steps or hours marked on its face. This is how the sun returned ten degrees.