This passage contains the incredible miracle of God turning back time. He literally reversed the direction of the earth ten degrees and then got it going in the right direction again. Incredible!
I love these verses.....
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 Chronicles 32:25-26
Hezekiah messed up. Just like we all do.
But he reacted appropriately to the correction of the Lord. He repented. Often when we start to go our own way it's pretty hard to repent - our pride kicks in and we try to justify our sin which just leads us further down the wrong path. But Hezekiah, though it was exactly the sin of pride, recognized his sinfulness and repented.
It's interesting to me that Hezekiah sinned after God provided such an amazing miracle for him. Another reminder that we need to be especially vigilant to spiritual attacks after a spiritual high or victory.
Another interesting thing - God allowed Hezekiah to live another 15 years during which time his son Manessah - the most evil king to ever live (but who, amazingly repented at the end of his life!) - was born. I wonder if Hezekiah would've regretted his prayer had he known what would've resulted from it. And yet, Manessah's birth also ensured the continuation of the Davidic line - necessary for the fulfilment of the prophecy that David's kingdom would last forever in the birth of Jesus.
Tomorrow's passage: Isaiah 40:1-44:5
3 comments:
Thanks, Tammy. The fact that God can spin the Earth back and forth like that is just incredible - to us, at least! Probably doesn't require much effort for Him! I don't think I've heard that story before.
It's also amazing to me how God can grant our prayerful requests, changing the outcome of everything from an illness to which side wins a battle, and still His perfect plan will come to pass. It seems like a contradiction at times, and yet somehow our omnipotent God can weave everything together for the fulfillment of His plan and His glory.
"Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish."
Well, that just struck me being deep in the "If God Is Good" Alcorn book.
One thing I noticed is the song (poem?) about the living not being able to praise God seems to be more about Hezekiah's salvation after repentance than just his healing.
For the grave [c] cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children
about your faithfulness.
For those dead do praise God in heaven and they are spiritually alive, truly alive. Yet it works for the present too as he talks about telling his children of God's faithfulness. That first stanza just seemed like someone more spiritually dead. One who had not repented. Just thoughts....random for sure:)
I thought about those extra 15 years too. I once heard/read (I don't remember) a story about parents that had a baby that was very sick and they prayed for healing and their prayers were answered. Later, when their baby was a teen. it was killed in a car accident. In the story, the parents felt that it may have been easier to say good bye to the infant, rather than the teen. I'm not sure if I agree with that or if the story is even true, but that story always stuck with me in a "don't question God's intentions" kind of way. If only we could see in the future, we may be more willing to submit to God's plan. Maybe. Maybe not.
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