The Lord Strengthens Part 4

Isaiah 38:1–8 ESV

1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city. 7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

Sad News

The dating of the events and life of Hezekiah can be a little tricky, but chapter 38 occurs after the 14th year of his reign. He is around 39 years old when he became ill and near death. So God sent Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to get his affairs in order because he would not recover but die. News like this can challenge the faith even of the most committed people. What do you do when life hits you hard? The verses tell us that Hezekiah faced the wall and prayed. The term “faced the wall” describes a distressing response. Yet, he chose to pray to God and express himself honestly to God. God is able to hear our prayers even when they are made with bitter tears. Hezekiah appears to emphasize his past acts as if to make a deal with God, but we can also conclude that Hezekiah is expressing a desire to continue the good work of reconciliation and reform that were part of his reign as king. So often, our prayers are a mixture of motives and emotions, yet God is able to discern the heart and respond with the right words that we need. We can often wander in the motives of our prayers, yet we ought to desire, above all else, that God's will be done. When you pray, express your feelings to God and trust that God will answer according to His good and gracious will.

A Merciful God

God heard the prayer and saw the tears. God showed mercy once again to Hezekiah and sent Isaiah with a new message. And God chose to give two promises. The first is that Hezekiah will have fifteen more years of life. The second promise is that God will continue to protect Judah from Assyria.

We must be careful to not assume that the goal of prayer is to get what we want. We should anticipate that God will hear our requests and answer them according to his good and glorious sovereign will. We don't always have the right perspective toward the outcome that God will allow. We can impose our will as the best choice for a prayer, but we are not the best. Only God is holy, righteous, and just. We can be assured that God will hear our prayer and answer in the way He seems best. In this instance, God chose to give Hezekiah more time to live and see God's protection for Judah.

God is faithful to hear our prayers and answer. We must submit our requests to God in faith. Faith is required in offering the prayer and faith is required as we wait upon God for His answer. God will answer with "Yes," "No," or "Not now." We must not assume that faith is only effective when the answer is "Yes." It takes faith to continue to trust God when He says, "No" or "Wait". We must trust God with whatever answer He chooses to give.

Scripture tells us that God also gave Hezekiah a sign of his choosing, 2 Kings 20:8-11. God offered to prove once again that He was the only One True God. He could move the immovable sun or earth to create a change in shadow on the “steps of Ahaz”. God answered Hezekiah's request by moving the shadow backward from its normal trajectory. God was merciful once again to prove to Hezekiah that he should trust only in God.

Prideful Sin

2 Chronicles 32:24–26 ESV

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Scripture also shows that Hezekiah had a proud heart. The Hebrew term for pride carries the idea of elevating something higher physically or in importance. Hezekiah lifted himself up to a position of importance and potential that was reserved for God alone. God's throne has only enough room for Himself. What was the sin of pride? Although scripture does not give us a simple statement of the action, we can better understand it by looking at the verses in chapter 39 of Isaiah.

Meeting with Babylon

Isaiah 39:1–8 ESV

1 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

Many people heard of the miraculous recovery and blessings upon Hezekiah. The king of Babylon came to visit and congratulate Hezekiah. Babylon was not yet the great power that we read in the book of Daniel. Our first clue to Hezekiah's sinful action is with the gifts and letters that he received from Babylon. The gifts make sense to give to another king, but what was in those letters? It appears that their content is part of the problem for Hezekiah.

God sent Isaiah to constantly remind the kings of Judah God knew what Hezekiah was thinking and saying in that meeting with Babylon, and so He sent Isaiah once again to deliver a message of conviction. Isaiah asked three questions, but Hezekiah only gave answers to two of them. This is our second clue. Hezekiah never shared the content of the discussion with Babylon. What was he hiding? From the context, it appears that Hezekiah and the King of Babylon most likely discussed their potential for future negotiations and alliances should they ever have to deal with Assyria. Hezekiah showed off the power of Judah to defend herself should they ever need to. Hezekiah shared confidence in his things and ability rather in His God. Instead of holding to a committed trust in God, Hezekiah flirted with the options of his ability rather than remaining steadfast God's ability and faithfulness.

Hezekiah’s Repentance

Isaiah spoke a severe consequence for Hezekiah's pride. All the wealth that he showed off would one day end up in the hands of Babylon along with some of his descendants. What do you say to God when He points out your sin and gives you a picture of your consequences? Some may cry because of their failure. Some may get angry with God. Some may try to cover up their sin. And some may even reject God altogether. Hezekiah chose to repent. His first statement is to declare that the Word of the Lord is good. The term "good" implies more than just "OK." It includes the concept of admitting that God is correct, just, and righteous, and we are sinful. It is to declare that God's judgment is of moral excellence and precious to receive. In this moment, he declared the concept that "God is God, and I am not." And he concluded that that there would be safety in his days. We must be careful not to read too much into his thoughts so that we consider him to only be self-centered.

Hezekiah concluded that God was faithful to keep his promise for more time and more protection from Assyria. Even though God's judgment was unpleasant, Hezekiah recognized God's sovereign power to be the True King. He exalted God to the proper place. He would no longer plead with the Lord, he chose to rest in His Word. The judgment of plunder and exile would be the next generation's responsibility to reject God or trust in Him.

Repentance is Life-Giving

So far, we have looked at three important theological concepts from the life of Hezekiah.

Grace

Reconciliation

Trials and Testing

And now we will look at another important concept, repentance. Let's take a fresh look at a familiar term. The Hebrew words used to describe repentance denote turning around from one direction to move in another. In the Old Testament, repentance is demonstrated with:

a public display of mourning/crying over the sin

making restitution

humbling one’self before the wronged person

In the New Testament, this concept is consistent with the Hebrew, but the Greek term emphasizes changing one's thinking.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Repentance in Greek

“Repentance” refers to an event in which an individual attains a divinely provided new understanding of their behavior and feels compelled to change that behavior and begin a new relationship with God (Heb 6:1; Acts 20:21). While the Greek language can represent the concept of repentance as an independent action, the Semitic background of the New Testament writers demanded that appropriate actions follow the event of repentance (Matt 3:8; Acts 26:20).

From these concepts, we can see that repentance is:

Lexham Theological Wordbook Repentance

Repentance is an act of acknowledging past wrongdoing, expressing regret or contrition, and committing to right behavior and obedience to God. It is a transformative process that involves turning away from sin or transgression and turning back to God.

When we consider what repentance is, we must not assume that it is the same as feeling sorry. Sorrow can be part of repentance but it is not repentance until the person takes action to return to God. Stopping the sin is not repentance until one chooses to return to God. We see that repentance is God-centered. If God is not part of it, then it is not biblical repentance. Repentance is rooted in restoring the relationship with God that is broken because of sin.

Emotions can be a valid part of our repentance, as demonstrated by the act of weeping and sackcloth. We ought to feel the sting of sin as we recognize the need to repent. Too often, some may conclude that "feeling the power of God" or "feeling God" is to be a joyful, peaceful, or ecstatic moment. While this can be true, is it not also true that we can feel the power of God of conviction toward our sin so that we are full of sorrow?

How does God respond to repentance? Scripture tells us that God responds positively to the repentant heart. Those who respond in repentance receive the amazing grace and mercy of God. They receive the opportunity for a renewed and restored relationship with God. Consider the emphasis of Jesus in the parables concerning lost things. When the prodigal son returns home (repents), the father is found waiting and runs to the son with rejoicing over his return. The woman who lost a gold coin searches the house, and when she finds it, she rejoices and invites her friends to rejoice with her. When one sheep from the fold goes astray, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to look for the lost sheep. When he finds it, he rejoices and calls others to rejoice. We can safely conclude that God rejoices when we repent. It brings joy to the heart of God to see us humble ourselves and exalt Him in recognizing our sin and turning to faith and obedience in Christ.

To Repent or Not?

Hezekiah repented, and scripture reminds us that he acted like his father, David. David was not a perfect man. He committed terrible sins of lust, adultery, murder, and deception. Yet, he repented when confronted with his sin. What will you choose when God reveals your need to repent? Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven. We will not experience God's forgiveness unless we repent. Repentance will be the mark of the believer who properly lives to exalt God and not themselves.