It is wonderful to see how king Hezekiah wholeheartedly followed the Lord when he became king, inspite of his father king Ahaz being a compromiser and backslider, and the Lord prospered him for the same, 2 Kings 16:7-18; 2 Kings 18:1-8.

However, in the fourteenth year of his reign, the king of Assyria sent his officers and a great host to Jerusalem and threatened his men severely.

They alleged that neither their own strength or resources, nor Egypt, nor the Lord Himself would be able to deliver the people of Judah from the hands of the Assyrians, and that it was the Lord Himself who had told the Assyrians to war against Judah, vs vs 13-37!

At this point, king Hezekiah did the best thing that one could do under such situations, and that being, that He went into the Lord’s house and presented his case before the Lord, and sought an answer from the Lord through Isaiah the prophet, 2 Kings 19: 1-5. God answered him favourably through the prophet Isaiah, and sent him deliverance from the Assyrian king, not once but twice, and ultimately the angel of the Lord went out and smote 1,85,000 of the men of the Assyrian army. Eventually the Assyrian king was put to death by his own sons, vs 31-37! This was during a time when Hezekiah walked in obedience to the Lord.

Similarly, when we too walk in obedience to the Lord’s commandments, and yet, a severely calamity comes our way, we will receive grace to seek the Lord’s help, for our conscience is clear before Him, and as we go to God in faith and humility, He will surely deliver us through supernatural means!

Next, we see that it was time for Hezekiah to die, however, he pleaded for an extension of his life, which the Lord graciously permitted, and gave him an amazing miraclous sign, (because he asked for one) to prove that he would indeed recover, 2 Kings 20: 1-11. Nevertheless, during that period of time he had a son called Manasseh, 2 Kings 21: 1-10, who did more evil than the Amorites who lived in prior times, vs 11. As a result, God determined to send his people into exile in later years because they refused to repent of the sins of Manasseh, vs 12-16.

Further, when the Babylonians visited king Hezekiah on account of the sign and miraculous healing that he experienced, instead of giving the glory to God, He showed them all his treasures and was complacent when Isaiah told him that these very Babylonians, in later years, would take his sons as captives!

He was glad that during his reign he would enjoy the blessings of the Lord, and had no concern about what would happen to the future generations of God’s people, *2 kings 20:12-19!

This showed that his motivation for all the good that he did was selfish and not God glorifying! Let us take this opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts to find out what exactly is the motivation for all the good things that we do. Is it God’s glory and His kingdom or our own?

The only way that we can leave a godly legacy for others to follow is by repenting of being selfishly ambitious and seek to exalt the Lord Jesus alone through our lives and during our lifetime.

Let us also not seek to live one day more or less that God’s appointed time, for in desiring to do so, we may either give birth to that which is undesirable, or else, fail to fulfill our God-appointed destines!
Let him who has an ear, hear!
Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.