In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. “ ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down. (Isa.38:1-8)
This is the final blog in this series on Hezekiah. He is another man in scripture who begins well but then slips toward the end of his life. From the text above, you see that the favor of the Lord was still with him. Again, severe trouble had come to Hezekiah in the form of illness and it seems that his appointed time to die had come from the Lord. When a notable prophet comes to you and says, “Get your house in order, you are going to die,” it is usually time to get your house in order. But Hezekiah cried out and God changed the very word he had sent through the prophet. If Hezekiah had simply accepted his death and not cried out to God, there would have been no extension. Prayer matters even when it seems that something is inevitable.
Can we change the mind of God even when a prophet has declared set times and events? Apparently we can. We never change God’s purposes or his character but we can change his timetable because God has all the time in the world. He owns time. If Hezekiah had not prayed I’m certain he would have died within days or weeks of the prophets announcement but he did pray and God shifted his timetable by 15 years. Not only did he shift the timetable but he also gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign to confirm the words of Isaiah.
What a blessing! But after that blessing a shift occurred. “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah” (2 Chr. 32:24-36, emphasis added).
The blessings of God can be a reminder of how amazing He is or a stumbling block when we believe that the blessings are evidence of how amazing we are. If you search the accounts of Hezekiah in Isaiah 39 and 2 Kings 20, you will see that envoys from Babylon came to see Hezekiah. These were ambassadors from a powerful nation and a powerful king. Hezekiah was flattered and took them on a tour of his palace. He eagerly displayed all of his riches to them. He didn’t take them on a tour to demonstrate God’s greatness but his own greatness and his own pride became a snare.
God rebuked him for that pride and he repented. However, his pride had set something in motion that would impact his children. Not only were the Babylonians impressed with his riches but they were also impressed with how much they would like to have those riches in their own vaults. In time, Nebuchadnezzar would come and take not only the king’s riches from Jerusalem but also every valuable item from the Temple as well. The sins of the father were certainly visited on the children (Ex.20). Hezekiah lived the final years of his life with that hanging over him but the smallness of his heart was revealed when he expressed gladness that the troubles he released would come on his children rather than on himself.
In all things, we must guard out hearts. The accumulation of God’s goodness and blessings in our lives can lead to pride if we loose perspective. As we evaluate our lives we should always take inventory of what God has done for us rather than taking inventory of what we think we have accomplished in our own strength and with our own amazing abilities. Of course, young men can fall into the same trap but those who have displayed humility and wisdom in their past seem vulnerable in their later years. Solomon succumbed to idolatry. David succumbed to lust. Hezekiah was overtaken by pride. Satan never took his crosshairs off these men and as they became careless in their later years, the enemy pulled the trigger.
In the great days of the Roman Empire, generals who had won great victories were given a “triumph” or a parade in their honor. As the generals rode through the streets of Rome in their lavish chariots, we are told that a lowly, unnamed slave was appointed to ride with them and whisper repeatedly in the ear of the celebrated general that he was only a lowly mortal and not a god.
In our own lives, we need people around us who will remind us that what we have has come from the goodness of God and not because we are so awesome. We need people around us who love God enough and us enough to tell us the truth and we should always invite that truth. We cannot guard our hearts alone. Our hearts are too prone to deception.
Those of us who are wise will invite a few trusted people who are spiritual to speak to us when they sense that something is amiss. The more powerful you are or the more successful you are, people will be less likely to tell you the truth so you must insist on it and when it comes, receive it. The wise man says, “Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you” (Prov.9:8). If you don’t have those people in your life ask God to provide some. Be blessed.
