1 IN THOSE days Hezekiah became deadly ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover. [II Chron. 32:24-26; Isa. 38:1-8.] 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 I beseech You, O Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 I will add to your life fifteen years and deliver you and this city [Jerusalem] out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. 7 And Isaiah said, Bring a cake of figs. Let them lay it on the burning inflammation, that he may recover. 8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord on the third day? 9 And Isaiah said, This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do the thing He has promised: shall the shadow [denoting the time of day] go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? 2 Kings 20:1-9 AMPC
The Kings of Israel and Judah are an often forgotten and overlooked group of individuals in the Bible. We will specifically look at King Hezekiah who ruled Judah during a time of great opposition from Assyria, and Israel amongst other enemies. I would dare to say that even greater than Judah’s issues from external opposition, was its internal issues with unbelief and idol worship. Judah since the split of Israel in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was challenged with serving foreign, pagan gods that led them away from the one true God. Throughout the history of Judah they experienced kings who led them into pagan and idol worship that mimicked Israel, and surrounding nations. Hezekiah was an exception, not the only exception, but scripture says this about Hezekiah earlier:
3 Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his [forefather] had done. 4 He removed the high places, broke the images, cut down the Asherim, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until then the Israelites had burned incense to it; but he called it Nehushtan [a bronze trifle]. 5 Hezekiah trusted in, leaned on, and was confident in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that neither after him nor before him was any one of all the kings of Judah like him.6 For he clung and held fast to the Lord and ceased not to follow Him, but kept His commandments, as the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with Hezekiah; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him. 2 Kings 18:3-7 AMPC
These verses are important to help us see who Hezekiah is, and provide background/context for the scene that we see in the topic verses. Hezekiah had walked faithfully before God throughout his life despite moments of fear, doubt, and sometimes without the support of others. This post in the series is different from others because the previous posts typically involved a scene where satan or someone being used by him was acting in opposition to God’s plan or children. In this scene it is: Hezekiah, Isaiah, and God. Isaiah the prophet delivers a message from God to Hezekiah that he needed to set his household in order because he was about to die due to his illness. Upon receiving this unfavorable word, Hezekiah did what he had done on numerous occasions before; he humbled his heart before God in prayer. This is important because we are able to see from Hezekiah’s history, prayer was his response to all situations, especially matters that he knew only God could solve. He heard a word from a trusted prophet who spoke the word of God, yet Hezekiah had the faith to believe that the same God who had heard his prayers before, and moved in miraculous ways, would perform a miracle for him now. Hezekiah calls to God asking that God would remember his earlier faithfulness. Notice something important, Hezekiah doesn’t list off his previous faithfulness, he doesn’t compare himself to others, he doesn’t even ask God to spare his life, he simply asks God to remember. Really reflect on that. When you serve God faithfully, walk in obedience, and fully believe in his word, you don’t have to justify or validate yourself; your actions, heart, and above all else God will JUSTIFY you before others. Multiple times before, God had shown up on Hezekiah’s behalf when he humbled himself in prayer. Because God had shown himself faithful in Hezekiah’s past, Hezekiah was able to trust that God would hear his prayer. I want you to pay attention to something from this scene, God uses the same messenger who delivered the unfavorable news to Hezekiah, to turn around and deliver the blessing to him. God allowed Hezekiah to get ill, he allowed Hezekiah’s servants, friends, family, AND enemies to observe him decline in health; BUT most importantly God answered Hezekiah’s prayer in a way that EVERYONE witnessed the miraculous power of God, and the favor upon Hezekiah’s life.
Reflection Time
Do you believe that God cares about your concerns? Do you believe that God listens to your prayers? Do you still pray believing that your prayer will be answered by God? I want to challenge you to walk after God wholeheartedly, to follow his commands, and trust his word in ALL areas. Like Hezekiah, humble yourselves before God and trust him with your fears, concerns, and struggles, and believe that he WILL answer you; because we serve a God who hears your prayers and sees your tears.
