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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second King's Chapter

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Speaker 1: twenty and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation.

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Speaker 1: About that time, Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah,

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Speaker 1: son of Amoz, went to visit him. He gave the

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Speaker 1: king this message, this is what the Lord says, set

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Speaker 1: your affairs in order, for you are going to die.

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Speaker 1: You will not recover from this illness. When Hezekiah heard this,

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Speaker 1: he turned his face to the wall and prayed to

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Speaker 1: the Lord, Remember, oh Lord, how I have always been

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Speaker 1: faithful to you and have served you single mindedly, always

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Speaker 1: doing what pleases you. Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

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Speaker 1: But before Isaiah had left the Middle courtyard, this message

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Speaker 1: came to him from the Lord. Go back to Hezekiah,

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Speaker 1: the leader of my people, Tell him, this is what

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Speaker 1: the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, says. I

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Speaker 1: have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will

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Speaker 1: heal you, and three days from now you will get

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Speaker 1: out of bed and go to the temple of the Lord.

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Speaker 1: I will add fifteen years to your life, and I

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Speaker 1: will rescue you and this city from the King of Assyria.

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Speaker 1: I will defend this city for my own honor and

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Speaker 1: for the sake of my servant David. Then Isaiah said,

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Speaker 1: make an ointment from figs. So Hezekiah's servant spread the

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Speaker 1: ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered. Meanwhile, Hezekiah had

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Speaker 1: said to Isaiah, what sign will the Lord give to

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Speaker 1: prove that he will heal and that I will go

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Speaker 1: to the temple of the Lord three days from now.

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Speaker 1: Isaiah replied, this is the sign from the Lord to

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Speaker 1: prove that he will do as he promised. Would you

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Speaker 1: like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten

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Speaker 1: steps or backward ten steps? The shadow always moves forward,

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Speaker 1: Hezekiah replied, so that would be easy. Make it go

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Speaker 1: ten steps backward instead. So Isaiah the prophet asked the

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Speaker 1: Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to

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Speaker 1: move ten steps backward on the sun dial of Ahaz.

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Speaker 1: Soon after this, Merodak Baladan, son of Baladan, King of Babylon,

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Speaker 1: sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift for he

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Speaker 1: had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. Hezekiah received

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Speaker 1: the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure houses,

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Speaker 1: the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils.

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Speaker 1: He also took them to see his armory and showed

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Speaker 1: them everything in his royal treasuries. There was nothing in

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Speaker 1: his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

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Speaker 1: Then Isaiah the Prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him,

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Speaker 1: what did those men want? Where were they from. Hezekiah replied,

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Speaker 1: they came from the distant land of Babylon. What did

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Speaker 1: they see in your palace? Isaiah asked, They saw everything.

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Speaker 1: Hezekiah replied, I showed them everything I own, all my

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Speaker 1: royal treasuries. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, listen to this

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Speaker 1: message from the Lord. The time is coming when everything

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Speaker 1: in your palace, all the treasures stored up by your

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Speaker 1: ancestors until now, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing

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Speaker 1: will be left, says the Lord. Some of you, your

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Speaker 1: very own sons, will be taken away into exile. They

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Speaker 1: will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of

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Speaker 1: Babylon's king. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, this message you

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Speaker 1: have given me from the Lord is good, for the

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Speaker 1: king was thinking, at least there will be peace and

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Speaker 1: security during my lifetime. The rest of the events in

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Speaker 1: Hezekiah's reign, including the extent of his power and how

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Speaker 1: he built a pool and dug a tunnel to bring

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Speaker 1: water into the city, are recorded in the book of

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Speaker 1: the History of the Kings of Judah. Hezekiah died and

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Speaker 1: his son Manassa became the next king. Let's pray, Lord,

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Speaker 1: we thank you for your word and for the privilege

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Speaker 1: of being able to look at it together today. And Lord,

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Speaker 1: as we look at Hezekiah's life, we could see that

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Speaker 1: he was a man who came before you in prayer,

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Speaker 1: and that he trusted you to do for him what

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Speaker 1: you had promised. Grateful that in the midst of so

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Speaker 1: many kings and leaders that are recorded in these books

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Speaker 1: that did evil and turn their hearts against you, that

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Speaker 1: we see Hezekiah in these passages being a man who

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Speaker 1: seeks to honor you. And Lord, we want that to

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Speaker 1: be the case in our lives as well, but we

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Speaker 1: know that that can't be done in our own strength.

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Speaker 1: We know it can't be done in our own wisdom

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Speaker 1: or our own power. It needs to be done by

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Speaker 1: the power of your son, Jesus Christ, who lives within

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Speaker 1: all who trust in him, and with the wisdom that

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Speaker 1: your Holy Spirit provides all who have faith in your son.

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Speaker 1: So Lord, we pray that you would accomplish that kind

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Speaker 1: of work in us and through us today, and we're

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Speaker 1: grateful Lord for your presence with us. We commit this

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Speaker 1: day to your care, and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.