30 More Days... Day 19

2Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”
2Kings 20:2  Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying,
2Kings 20:3 “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
2Kings 20:4  And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
2Kings 20:5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.
2Kings 20:6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ”

Hezekiah is one of those kings that you get confused with minor prophets. Who hasn’t fallen for the one about turning to the “book of Hezekiah” only as you turn pages furiously to hear “just kidding”. Sometimes this story sounds a little bit like that. Isaiah the prophet goes to Hezekiah. “You are going to die.” Just what I want to hear from a prophet. Um-mm, are you sure you have the right person? Maybe you meant one of those minor prophet guys?

No, there is no mistake here. Isaiah is a prophet and a prolific one at that. He had a lot to say (well God had a lot to say through him) and he has a way of always being right. That was the mark of a prophet. He was always right. At least he had to be when he said “thus saith the Lord...” So seeing who is bringing the message and seeing what the message is, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for Hezekiah.

Hezekiah, you have been a good king. You made a lot of good reforms. You celebrated the passover for the first time in years. You restored the right worship of God in Judah and even beyond your kingdom into Israel. Revival has come as a result of your actions. Thanks. This is the end. Sayonara!

That’s it. That’s the message. Put your house in order. Death is coming.

This is one of those Moses like situations. God has spoken and spoken through His prophet whose word is sure. Even so, He is not beyond listening to Hezekiah’s prayer. He is not beyond being entreated. Hezekiah shows great hope in the mercy of God. He shows great importunity. He is not afraid to call out to God. He will still plead with Him. We see Hezekiah turning toward the wall. He cries out to God in his sadness. He is sad and he shows it but he doesn’t let that sadness or bitterness keep him from crying to God. He cries out to God asking Him to reconsider. He cries and weeps bitterly.

God loves us. We are His children. Just as we are not unaffected by the tears of our children He is not unaffected by our tears either. I hate to see my children cry. It happens. Sometimes it is necessary or unavoidable, but I don’t like it. I love to be able (if love permits) to dry those tears away and the remove cause of them. I love to provide for them the desires of their hearts. God is no different with us. It is not Hezekiah’s plea that he has been good that moves God’s heart any more than such a cry from our little ones is likely to move ours. We know better than they how good they have been. It is his tears and that they are directed to God alone that move the heart of the Father. In verse 5 we see part of Isaiah’s message was that God had seen Hezekiah’s tears. God is quick to answer. Isaiah hears from God before he leaves. Go back! Tell Hezekiah I have listened to his prayer. In fact, God gives him more than just an answer for the sickness, but also for the nation. I will deliver it from Assyria. It must have been on Hezekiah’s heart even if it wasn’t on his lips and God sees that as well.

It is always incredible that God loves us so much. He is moved to compassion by the tears of His children. He is merciful and gracious. He hears and answers. He gives more than we ask or expect.

There is one caveat. There is one problem. God had come to Hezekiah before he died, warned him and told him to put his house in order. It was also an act of mercy and grace. He was pointing out something to Hezekiah and it would have been good had he perhaps paid a little more attention. Instead of only having several days, God warned Hezekiah that he had 15 years. God had added that much to him. However, we have some verses that suggest that Hezekiah wavered a bit.

2Chr. 32:25 But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up...

His remarkable recovery and the blessing of God hearing him blocked out the message that God had given him. Instead of being humbled, he was lifted up with pride. Instead of putting his house in order he put it on display... an example of a “blessed” man. It is the danger of God answering our prayers or the prayers of another. The person can come to think that they carry some kind of special favor with God. God must be pleased with them. They become lifted up in what was given as a gift of grace. In the end when God confronts him with his pride, Hezekiah does humble himself before God. It is, however also interesting to note that Hezekiah’s son went on to reign longer than any other king in Judah. Manasseh reigned 55 years! However, we are told that he was also one of the most evil kings of Judah. He undid all of Hezekiah’s reforms. He re-instituted the worship of idols. He practiced sorcery. He probably killed Isaiah. Isaiah, according to tradition, was sawn in half. It took a trip to Babylon in chains to turn him to God and then God had mercy on him. Hezekiah had been told to out his house in order. Yet, Manasseh goes his own way. We can’t blame it all on Hezekiah, but we can wonder why and how it happened. God listened to Hezekiah. Did Hezekiah listen to God? We entreat God. Can we be entreated by Him?

Prayer Request
*Pray for Borut, Petra and their daughter Ana. We have enjoyed wonderful times with the family. Olya especially enjoys her friendship with Petra. They have been hurt by some past “religious” experiences. Pray for their healing in these things and that we would be able to be Godly friends to them. That love & friendship (especially God’s love) would overcome the legalism they have known from their years in the Adventist Church.