For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Why did God turn the sundial back ten degrees?
Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes indicate a Bible contradiction:
As a sign that he would heal Hezekiah’s boil
“‘Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” 9 Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” (2 Kings 20:7-11)
As a sign that he would defend the city against the Assyrians
“‘Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’ 7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.’” (Isaiah 38:4-8)
(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)
The Domain for Truth 