2 Kings - Chapter 20

This is a transcription of a podcast where the host, Julie Callio, talks about the end of King Hezekiah's life. She discusses how Hezekiah was a righteous king and how he trusted in the Lord. She mentions how the king of Assyria tried to overtake Jerusalem but failed because of Hezekiah's prayers. She also talks about Hezekiah's illness and how he prayed to the Lord and was healed. She mentions a story about Babylon sending letters to Hezekiah and how Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would eventually take everything from Jerusalem. She ends by urging listeners to live faithfully to the Lord and make a godly impact on future generations. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so very much for taking time out of your busy, busy, busy, busy schedules to tune in with me today. By chance you want to contact me, you can do that at zab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today's story brings us to the end of King Hezekiah's life. As a reminder, in chapter 18, verse 3, it says, He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. And then chapter 18, verse 5 says, Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. The rest of chapter 18, and then chapter 19, tells the story of how the king of Assyria came to overtake Jerusalem. But the Assyrians blasphemed the name of the Lord. And because Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord and sought God's prophet Isaiah, the Lord said in chapter 19, verse 34, I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant. One thing I continued to ponder since reading is a quote from Paul R. House's commentary about this verse. He said, In a way, then, David still serves his city, even from the grave. So great is the measure of his relationship with the Lord. We never know what kind of impact our life will leave on those that come after us. The Lord fought for Jerusalem, and the angel of the Lord went out against the Assyrians and killed 185,000 men. The next morning, they took up camp and went home to Nineveh. Assyria never came to Jerusalem again. Now chapter 20, verse 1a says, In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. There is debate as to when those days are. Some think Hezekiah's illness came before the Assyrian attack. Because in verse 6, the Lord told King Hezekiah that he will deliver him and the city from the hand of the king of Assyria. And then we see that phrase again, I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David. Others believe it came after the attack with Assyria. For me, it does not matter. And technically, with the wording, it could be either way. But the writer did write it in this order to build upon what he has already told us. The rest of verse 1 says, Prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, 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. I know I've mentioned to you a book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. But ladies, there is power when we realize that our life has an end date. It helps us to appreciate what we have. And it helps us to focus on what do we want our lives to accomplish while we have breath. And this book points that out. Well, here Hezekiah does what he has always done. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. Verse 2. Ladies, there is power in prayer. Hezekiah reminded the Lord that he had walked faithfully with the Lord. He had wholehearted devotion to the Lord. And all he has done was good in the eyes of the Lord. And all of these things he said were true. Then it says, and Hezekiah wept bitterly. Verses 4 to 6a read, Before Isaiah had left the building. No, before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him. Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people. This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says. I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you. On the third day from now, you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add 15 years to your life. Isaiah told them to use figs and make a poultice, which means they make a soft, moist mass. And many times it was heated and placed on the wound. And oftentimes it was wrapped over the wound. They made it, put it on the boil and he recovered. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof that he would not die. And I like what Paul, our house said. Rather than an indication of unbelief, his request should be viewed against the background of Ahaz's refusal of a sign in Isaiah chapter 7, verse 12. Ahaz was the king before Hezekiah. And since he refused to ask the Lord for a sign, the Lord gave him one instead. And that is where we get the verse Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. And ladies, most of us know that Emmanuel means God with us. We also know because of the New Testament that that prophecy was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In the telling of the story of second Kings, Isaiah gave the king a choice. Either the shadow will go forward 10 steps or backward 10 steps. Hezekiah chose backward because that would be harder. And verse 11 says, then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord and the Lord made the shadow go back the 10 steps. It had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. Here the writer mentioned King Ahaz. And again, it may be a way of comparing the ungodly kingship of Ahaz to the godly kingship of Hezekiah. Then we have one last story about King Hezekiah. Chapter 20, verse 12 says, at that time, Meradoc Baladon, son of Baladon, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah letters and a gift because he had heard of Hezekiah's illness. One thing to note is that during this time, Babylon, which was located east of Assyria, close to the Persian Gulf, was becoming stronger. And they were fighting against Assyria as well. Hezekiah felt honored that they came and he showed them everything. Verse 13b says, there was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. Off they went and in came Isaiah, who asked, who were these guys and what did they say? Hezekiah responded, they came from a distant land, Babylon. Since he said the word distant, it seems that Hezekiah did not perceive them as a threat. Isaiah asked, what did they see? And the king said, everything. To this, Isaiah declared a word from the Lord. The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood that will be born to you will be taken away and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Verses 17 and 18. To this, King Hezekiah said, good. Then it adds in verse 19b, for he thought, will there not be peace and security in my lifetime? What? Why didn't he pray to the Lord? Why did he not plead for that next generation? It seems that in his wealth and in his victory against Assyria also came some pride, which is easy to slip in if we are not careful. As we get older, sometimes that desire to fight goes by the wayside and a spirit of laissez-faire takes over. In other words, what will be will be. It shows us that even though he was a great king, the best since King David, he too was not perfect. It also gives us a clue of what will happen to Jerusalem someday about 100 years later. However, the writer does not end at this story. He reminds us of Hezekiah's achievements, such as making a tunnel out of solid rock through a mountain in order to bring water to the city of Jerusalem. Verse 21 says, Hezekiah rested with his fathers and Manasseh, his son, succeeded him as king. Life. Few people are given the gift of knowing how long they will live. If I had 15 more years, I might be able to see at least two of my grandkids graduate from high school. I'm at the age where some of my friends have died, and I'm sure many more would by that time. Yet I have not gotten a word from the Lord about my lifespan. So what do I, what do we do? We live faithfully to the Lord, to the best of our ability. It's always good to have our affairs in order, just in case. And we live in such a way that we make a godly impact on that next generation. So they too can know the Lord. If only our relationship with the Lord was like King David and continued to be a blessing to the generations after him. If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart. Instead, let us pray to the Lord, seek his face, lay out our request, our fears, our praises, our worries, and above all, ladies, let's obey. Until next time, and thanks so very much for listening.