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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second King's Chapter
Speaker 1: twenty and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation.
Speaker 1: About that time, Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah,
Speaker 1: son of Amoz, went to visit him. He gave the
Speaker 1: king this message, this is what the Lord says, set
Speaker 1: your affairs in order, for you are going to die.
Speaker 1: You will not recover from this illness. When Hezekiah heard this,
Speaker 1: he turned his face to the wall and prayed to
Speaker 1: the Lord, Remember, oh Lord, how I have always been
Speaker 1: faithful to you and have served you single mindedly, always
Speaker 1: doing what pleases you. Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
Speaker 1: But before Isaiah had left the Middle courtyard, this message
Speaker 1: came to him from the Lord. Go back to Hezekiah,
Speaker 1: the leader of my people, Tell him, this is what
Speaker 1: the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, says. I
Speaker 1: have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will
Speaker 1: heal you, and three days from now you will get
Speaker 1: out of bed and go to the temple of the Lord.
Speaker 1: I will add fifteen years to your life, and I
Speaker 1: will rescue you and this city from the King of Assyria.
Speaker 1: I will defend this city for my own honor and
Speaker 1: for the sake of my servant David. Then Isaiah said,
Speaker 1: make an ointment from figs. So Hezekiah's servant spread the
Speaker 1: ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered. Meanwhile, Hezekiah had
Speaker 1: said to Isaiah, what sign will the Lord give to
Speaker 1: prove that he will heal and that I will go
Speaker 1: to the temple of the Lord three days from now.
Speaker 1: Isaiah replied, this is the sign from the Lord to
Speaker 1: prove that he will do as he promised. Would you
Speaker 1: like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten
Speaker 1: steps or backward ten steps? The shadow always moves forward,
Speaker 1: Hezekiah replied, so that would be easy. Make it go
Speaker 1: ten steps backward instead. So Isaiah the prophet asked the
Speaker 1: Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to
Speaker 1: move ten steps backward on the sun dial of Ahaz.
Speaker 1: Soon after this, Merodak Baladan, son of Baladan, King of Babylon,
Speaker 1: sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift for he
Speaker 1: had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. Hezekiah received
Speaker 1: the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure houses,
Speaker 1: the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils.
Speaker 1: He also took them to see his armory and showed
Speaker 1: them everything in his royal treasuries. There was nothing in
Speaker 1: his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Speaker 1: Then Isaiah the Prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him,
Speaker 1: what did those men want? Where were they from. Hezekiah replied,
Speaker 1: they came from the distant land of Babylon. What did
Speaker 1: they see in your palace? Isaiah asked, They saw everything.
Speaker 1: Hezekiah replied, I showed them everything I own, all my
Speaker 1: royal treasuries. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, listen to this
Speaker 1: message from the Lord. The time is coming when everything
Speaker 1: in your palace, all the treasures stored up by your
Speaker 1: ancestors until now, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing
Speaker 1: will be left, says the Lord. Some of you, your
Speaker 1: very own sons, will be taken away into exile. They
Speaker 1: will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of
Speaker 1: Babylon's king. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, this message you
Speaker 1: have given me from the Lord is good, for the
Speaker 1: king was thinking, at least there will be peace and
Speaker 1: security during my lifetime. The rest of the events in
Speaker 1: Hezekiah's reign, including the extent of his power and how
Speaker 1: he built a pool and dug a tunnel to bring
Speaker 1: water into the city, are recorded in the book of
Speaker 1: the History of the Kings of Judah. Hezekiah died and
Speaker 1: his son Manassa became the next king. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word and for the privilege
Speaker 1: of being able to look at it together today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at Hezekiah's life, we could see that
Speaker 1: he was a man who came before you in prayer,
Speaker 1: and that he trusted you to do for him what
Speaker 1: you had promised. Grateful that in the midst of so
Speaker 1: many kings and leaders that are recorded in these books
Speaker 1: that did evil and turn their hearts against you, that
Speaker 1: we see Hezekiah in these passages being a man who
Speaker 1: seeks to honor you. And Lord, we want that to
Speaker 1: be the case in our lives as well, but we
Speaker 1: know that that can't be done in our own strength.
Speaker 1: We know it can't be done in our own wisdom
Speaker 1: or our own power. It needs to be done by
Speaker 1: the power of your son, Jesus Christ, who lives within
Speaker 1: all who trust in him, and with the wisdom that
Speaker 1: your Holy Spirit provides all who have faith in your son.
Speaker 1: So Lord, we pray that you would accomplish that kind
Speaker 1: of work in us and through us today, and we're
Speaker 1: grateful Lord for your presence with us. We commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care, and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.