God Intervenes

Introduction

Hezekiah’s Life Extended

It happens hundreds of times a day throughout America. Someone is very ill. Doctors have been trying medications and procedures in an effort to restore health. Finally, the doctor tells the family that there isn’t anything else to be done. All options have been exhausted. Knowledge only goes so far. And the patient is told to get things in order, they will not have much longer to live. Some of you have gone through that. You were there when the news was told and you were there as your loved one gave way to declining health and finally death. You know the heartache that comes from such an event. You may still live with that heartache.

Perhaps there is some comfort in knowing that what happens here also happened in days of those who have preceded us. Hezekiah is ill. As king of Judah he is given notice that he will not recover from this illness. He is going to die. He is told to get things together or “to put his house in order.” Just a quick side point—not all of us are given the blessing to set things right before we die. Tragically, many die without warning and without being able to set things in order. The point is make sure your house is in order while you are still living. Make sure people close to you know you love them. Don’t leave them wondering if you do. Make sure your life is right with God. Make sure your house is in order. We shall all die if the Lord delays and not all of us will be given the opportunity to set things in order before we die.

Hezekiah pleads with God to give him more time. His appeal is to remind God about his faith and what he has tried to do to make his life count for God. There is deep sorrow because he is dying. We are not told why God answers Hezekiah’s prayer. We are told that God will use this situation to exalt his name and to defend his honor. God is going to add fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life. Notice too the certainty of God’s promise. In three days, Hezekiah will go to the temple and offer his thanks to God. Also notice that God is still active based upon a promise made to David some three hundred years before.

Hezekiah finds this promise difficult to believe. He wants some proof that God will do what he says he will do. Hezekiah is even given a choice. God will make the shadow from the sun go forward ten steps or backward ten steps. Going forward was common. Hezekiah wants to see the shadow move backwards ten steps. And God causes the shadow to go backwards. Hezekiah is healed. He is given another fifteen years to live. There are several lessons we need to get from this text. While I don’t want to stretch the text, I do want us to notice some things.

First, Hezekiah was a man of prayer. Hezekiah turns to God when something comes up which is distressing. From the beginning of his reign he has sought God’s direction and will. In 2 Kings 18, the Bible says he was faithful to God just as David had been and that there was no king like Hezekiah before or after him. When Assyria attacked Jerusalem, Hezekiah sought God’s guidance and deliverance. And God is attentive to his prayers. It appears that prayer for Hezekiah is not just some spare tire mentality—the type that isn’t needed until there is a crisis. Hezekiah prays seeking God’s help and deliverance.

Second, God can change his mind. Hezekiah prays. God has already said that Hezekiah is going to die, but he changes his mind. We should not look at this as some kind of magical formula to get God’s attention. Fervent praying does not cause God to respond as we ask. Jesus in the Garden is enough to prove that point. But for whatever reason, God decides that Hezekiah’s living another fifteen years will not alter his ultimate plan and purpose. This is an area that we must step lightly. It is one of those areas that the ways and mind of God is far higher than our ways and our minds. But this is an intriguing area. We are given a glimpse that God’s plans can be carried out with Hezekiah being alive or dead. This says something about God’s thinking going far into the future. This speaks that God already knows the future long before we can even think about it.

Third, God wants to assure us. Isaiah does not rebuke Hezekiah for asking for a sign. Gideon back in Judges 6—8 is not rebuked either. It appears that God understands our uncertainty and he wants to reassure us about his presence and his promises. This is not to say that we should ask for signs as a way of forcing God to prove himself. Hezekiah gets to see the shadows move backwards. For us, we may get an encouraging word from a friend to move forward. There have been times of uncertainty in my life which were confirmed as God’s will. Nothing mystical here. And I am not suggesting that finding we turn to good luck charms to be assured. Far from it. I am saying that God’s desire is to have us confident of his presence and power working in our lives. The greatest sign of God’s proof and our confidence is seen in Jesus. Let’s take the Supper together.

Hezekiah’s Shift

It isn’t long that a group of well wishers comes from Babylon. They had heard of Hezekiah’s illness and came to visit and to bring good tidings. Hezekiah has recovered by the time they arrive. He welcomes them with open arms and shows them his palace and his treasures. While the Bible doesn’t tell us why he did this, from ancient documents we can piece together two good possibilities. One, he was being hospitable. But does hospitality mean showing your guest your wealth? Probably not. Two, it was a way of showing his trust and goodwill toward the king of Babylon. This makes more sense and also explains why God is so disappointed in his actions. God had said long ago that no treaties are to be made with opposing kings.

Isaiah tells Hezekiah that what he has shown will be taken away. Hezekiah’s descendants will be taken captive and all of his wealth will be taken from his household. Hezekiah’s thoughts recorded in verse nineteen reveal that he was thinking very selfishly at the moment. So how are we to summarize this section.

First, there is no room for pride. Hezekiah was given fifteen years to live. Maybe it was that assurance which resulted in his acting invincible. Perhaps he believed that the fifteen years meant that God was going to bless everything he did. Whatever thoughts were going through his head, Hezekiah became proud of his accomplishments. God’s pronouncement through Isaiah says that there is no room for pride. There is no room for boasting about wealth and treasures. There is no room for believing that God’s blessings give us a blank check to do whatever we want to do and to make alliances with whomever we wish and God is going to bless it. Life is God’s blessing. We use whatever time we have to honor him.

Second, our sin has consequences. Hezekiah’s sin resulted in his descendants suffering. While many sins certainly can affect us in our own lifetime, we must not be fooled—our sin has long term consequences as well. For Hezekiah those consequences affected his family. For us not only our family but our eternity. We cannot play with sin and hope that things just work out. Hezekiah was only worried about his lifetime. We cannot afford to think in such limited ways. For what we do today will affect later generations. If our thinking is so limited to just our lifetime, then God is reduced only to the present. As we have already seen, God thinks much further ahead than we do. Entrust your life to God who knows the present and the future. Trust the One who knows what your life means and how it can best be used by Him for his purposes.

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