2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I was delighted when I began reading about King Hezekiah of Judah how much wonderful information on him the Lord wanted us to have. He was a very obedient man who trusted God in the things he did. Isaiah had a very difficult job, being God’s prophet during Hezekiah’s reign in times when a lot people didn’t want to hear his messages. When he told Hezekiah not to be afraid when the Assyrians were camped outside Jerusalem ready to attack, a king with less faith would have panicked or immediately sent his troops on the attack. However, Isaiah told Hezekiah to do nothing and not to worry. The next morning, 185, 000 Assyrian troops lay dead at God’s hand outside the city.
God gifted Hezekiah with intelligence. We can make this assumption because of the story of the water channel he had built. There is a spring at Gihon just outside the old city of David, which is close to the top of a hill. The water runs down the hill southward to the pool at Siloam where it collects. Before the Assyrians arrived Hezekiah took steps to make it difficult for them. 2 CH 32: 2-4, “When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib [the Emperor of Assyria] intended to attack Jerusalem also, he and his officials decided to cut off the supply of water outside the city in order to keep the Assyrians from having any water when they got near Jerusalem. The officials led a large number of people out and stopped up all the springs, so that no more water flowed out of them.” This was one of several tactical changes, including strengthening Jerusalem’s walls, that King Hezekiah made. 2 CH 32: 30, “It was King Hezekiah who blocked the outlet for Gihon Spring and channeled the water flow through a tunnel to a point inside the walls of Jerusalem. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.” This action became pivotal in dealing with the threat the Assyrians presented as we can see from IS 36: 1-2, “In the fourteenth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Then he ordered his chief official to go from Lachish to Jerusalem with a large military force to demand that King Hezekiah surrender. The official occupied the road where the cloth makers work, by the ditch that brings water from the upper pool.” While the previous citations showed us the eventual outcome, this one allows us to better understand the threat that Hezekiah and the Judeans were under. That also allows us to appreciate the level of trust in God that Hezekiah had to have had to obey Isaiah’s advice about not taking any action when the Assyrians were just outside Jerusalem.
The heart for God that Hezekiah had is revealed in 2 CH 29: 1-11. In this passage we read about the purification of the Temple. His predecessor, King Ahaz, had sinned against the Lord. As a part of this the gates to the Temple had been closed, and the ner tamid (eternal light) had been allowed to go out. Once Hezekiah was king, he reopened the gates of the Temple and had them repaired (3). He then told the Levites to consecrate themselves and purify the Temple by removing everything from it that defiled it (5). Hezekiah in (10) made a covenant with the Lord, so that He would no longer be angry with the Israelites. The priesthood was re-established, and the Temple was rededicated. The sacrificial system was once again put in place, and the people were led to worship God. In 2 CH 29: 18-31: 21, we can read about how Passover was celebrated, including adding an extra seven days to it that year, about the reforms Hezekiah made in the religious life, and how Hezekiah “did what was right and what was pleasing to the Lord his God.” 2 CH 31: 21, “He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.”
It is on this backdrop that Hezekiah took ill around the time of Sennacherib’s defeat and murder. Initially, Isaiah told him to put his affairs in order as he would not recover [2 K 20: 1]. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and began praying and crying bitterly. 2 K 20: 4-6, “Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace, the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, the ruler of the Lord’s people, and say to him, ‘I, the Lord God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and in three days you will got to the Temple. I will let you live fifteen years longer. I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria. I will defend this city for the sake of My own honor and because of the promise I made to My servant David.’ “ 2 CH 32: 25-26 demonstrate to all of us how the Lord not only hears our prayers, but reacts to our response to the blessings He gives us. “but Hezekiah was too proud to show gratitude for what the Lord had done for him, and Judah and Jerusalem suffered for it. Finally, however, Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem humbled themselves, and so the Lord did not punish the people until after Hezekiah’s death.” This is a reference to the timing of the Babylonian captivity.
Isaiah adds more detail to the events and Hezekiah’s responses in the face of the king’s illness in IS 38. Isaiah told the king to put a paste made of figs on his boil, and he would get well. Then King Hezekiah asked, “What is a sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?” Isaiah replied, “The Lord will give you a sign to prove that He will keep His promise. On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the Lord will make the shadow go back ten steps.” [This was a sundial which would go back ten degrees] (21-22). Once Hezekiah recovered, he offered a song of praise to God, which I encourage you to read, IS 38: 10-20. In it, he expresses what happened to him and how he will set the tone for his own relationship with God. “I will live for You, for You alone….my bitterness will turn into peace…You save my life from danger and forgive all my sins…as I praise You, fathers will tell their children how faithful You are…I will play harps and sing Your praise-sing Your praise in the Temple as long as we live” (16-20). It is significant that in (18), Hezekiah sings, “No one in the world of the dead can praise You; the dead cannot trust in Your faithfulness.” What an important reminder to us that is!
PRAYER: O Lord, by the example of Hezekiah’s life, You once again show us that you do hear our prayers and reward our faithfulness. We too often forget You are so willing to protect, defend, provide for, and love Your children when we trust and obey You. Your ways are not our ways. It is true that we often need to feel fear and to suffer before we recognize that coming to You is what You want us to do. You have given us the means to demonstrate courage in our faith, but we don’t always do that. Hezekiah showed great courage of faith when he had the pagan altars in Israel destroyed, repaired the Temple, re-established the priesthood with reforms, rededicated the Temple, and led his people back to worshipping You. He would have never done these things if You hadn’t equipped him to carry them out. We need to remember that because You are a loving Abba, You have also equipped us to have courage of faith and meet the challenges of our lives. We offer You our loyalty, worship, thanks, adoration, glory, honor, and praise, Dear Lord. We dedicate ourselves to putting You first in our lives, in other words, to trust and obey You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at Judah’s King Josiah for another example of a man who trusted God. When we are willing to trust God, He can do wonderful things through us. Josiah’s life shows this. Your Father in heaven loves You more than you know. Join Him in His work, and it will be made known to you in the most satisfying ways. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You,
Lynn