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Hezekiah Gets Sick
(2 Kings 20.1-11; Isaiah 38.1-8)
24About this same time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. He prayed, and the Lord gave him a sign that he would recover. 25But Hezekiah was so proud that he refused to thank the Lord for everything he had done for him. This made the Lord angry, and he punished Hezekiah and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 26Hezekiah and the people later felt sorry and asked the Lord to forgive them. So the Lord did not punish them as long as Hezekiah was king.
Hezekiah's Wealth
(2 Kings 20.12-19; Isaiah 39.1-8)
27Hezekiah was very rich, and everyone respected him. He built special rooms to store the silver, the gold, the precious stones and spices, the shields, and the other valuable possessions. 28Storehouses were also built for his supply of grain, wine, and olive oil; barns were built for his cattle, and pens were put up for his sheep. 29God made Hezekiah extremely rich, so he bought even more sheep, goats, and cattle. And he built towns where he could keep all these animals.
30It was Hezekiah who built a tunnel that carried the water from Gihon Spring into the city of Jerusalem. In fact, everything he did was successful! 31Even when the leaders of Babylonia sent messengers to ask Hezekiah about the sign God had given him, God let Hezekiah give his own answer to test him and to see if he would remain faithful.
Hezekiah Dies
(2 Kings 20.20,21)
32Everything else Hezekiah did while he was king, including how faithful he was to the Lord, is included in the records kept by Isaiah the prophet. These are written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the section of the royal tombs that was reserved for the most respected kings, and everyone in Judah and Jerusalem honored him. His son Manasseh then became king.
Reflect
Answered prayers, healing, health, wealth and fame. God made Hezekiah extremely rich (v 29a) and a resounding success – “In fact, everything he did was successful!” (v 30b) Hezekiah ‘had it all,’ it seems. So everyone thought; but God doesn’t stop there.
For God, ‘the matter of the heart is the heart of the matter.’ We tend to think in total reverse. So the Babylonian visit was God’s test to ascertain the real (heart) condition of Hezekiah – and he failed; his heart was full of pride. And that pride was the root cause of his ingratitude – “Hezekiah was so proud that he refused to thank the Lord for everything he had done for him” (v 25).
We don’t “have it all” – no matter how much our world acclaims health, wealth and ‘success’ – unless God deems the state of our heart right as well. Even the prophet Samuel who started hearing God’s voice at the tender age of twelve (when no one else, including the high priest, was getting messages from God) almost anointed the wrong king because of the external “success factors.” God made his marking scheme clear, “People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts” (1 Samuel 16:7b).
The good news is when we are quick to recognize our inward failings and repent, God is gracious enough to pardon and restore (v 26), just as he did for Hezekiah.
Respond
Benevolent Father, giver of all good things, often I have judged how well I or others are doing by outward factors; please forgive me. Because what you care about most is the heart, cleanse and heal me of anything in me that upsets you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Yaw Perbi
Dr. Yaw Perbi is a physician, pastor and president of International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC). He is the founder and Global CEO of The HuD Group and has ministered in 45 countries on five continents. Yaw is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative and a Lausanne Movement Catalyst. Dr. Perbi currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his dear wife Anyele and six delightful children. He owes all this to Christ Jesus.