Hezekiah by Howard Diehl & Stephen Coffin ''Isaiah 37 & 38

Today we're looking at the character of Hezekiah. Let's listen to Isaiah'a account of what King Hezekiah did when his country was being attacked by the Assyrians. He's just received a threatening letter.

Bible:Isaiah+37:14-20

This is what the writer of 2Kings says about Hezekiah:

Bible:2Kings+18:3-5

This writer seems to see King Hezekiah as the perfect king. Is that a fair assesment?
Before the passage we heard read today the bible recounts various reforms the King brought it when he bacame ruler after wicked king Ahaz.

• He destroyed pagan places of worship
• He smashed the bronze serpent made by Moses, which had become an idol
• He reopened the temple at Jerusalem & re-established regular services there
• He restarted celebrations of the annual passover festival

The writer of 2 Chronicles who gives a detailed account of all this sees it very positively, but I wonder what motivated Hezekiah in these reforms.
Was it for outward show, without a heartfelt turning to God? You certainly have to wonder if the people of Judah were heartfelt in their response.
Was it a political move, making everyone come to Jerusalem for worship, and so centralising his power? We don't know, but I wonder.
Following this there's something else that makes me doubt Hezekiah's motives. The writer of 2 Kings tells us that the Assyrians captured the northern Israel's capital, Samaria, early in Hezekiah's reign, and exiled the inhabitants. He then moved to attack the towns of Judah, north of Jerusalem. Hezekiah's response was to strip all the silver & gold from the temple and send it as tribute to the Asyrians to try to buy them off.
So we see Hezekiah following the usual human strategy of the day, relying on his own resources & ideas.
That failed and the Assyrians continued their advance towards Jerusalem, sending a message, as we heard, calling on Hezekiah to surrender.
So I don't think we can see Hezekiah as always responding in the most godly ways to the challenges he faced.

What is there in this that's relevant to our lives today then?
I think we can helpfully ask ourselves What motivates us in our Christian practices?

• Why do we pray, read the bible, join in Church activities, receive communion, and so on?
• Is it because we love God & want to show that? Or because we're seeking truth & reality? Is it to please God, or other people, or ourselves?
• Is it because we enjoy these things for themselves? or enjoy the friendship or the food?....

The bible tells us that "Man look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1Samuel 16v7)

So what is different in the way he reacts in the reading we heard, that leads the bible writers to view Hezekiah so positively.

• He comes to the end of his own resources
• He realises that God's honour is involved & that changes how he prays. It's not just about him.
• There's a deeper personal engagement with God in this prayer

So, what's the outcome of this prayer of Hezekiah's? There's a plague or something in the Assyrian army camp which kills a large number of soldiers, so the army withdraws. The Assyrian king is assinated back home.

So what lessons can we see for ourselves in this story of Hezekiah's prayer & deliverence?

• We must learn to rely on God, rather than on our own resources
• We must pray for God to be honoured in our concerns, not just for our own desires.
• We should be grappling personally with God in prayer.

You might wonder when I mention relying on God if that means we shouldn't make plans for the future - save for retirement, put ourselves forward for promotion at work, take steps to preserve the environment, call for medical help when we're sick?
No! God has given us intelligence, and calls us to run the world and use our resources wisely. But perhaps we do need to think what motivates us in how we do this. Do we become reliant on our own efforts, or are we still relying on God? If he told us to spend our retirement money on some project of his, for example, would we be free enought to do so, believing he could look after us on other ways?

Let's go on with Hezekiah's stroy & hear about the other major event in Isaiah'a account. Its in Bible:Isaiah+38:1-8

What are we to think about this story, about Hezekaih's prayer? It strikes me as a prayer which is

• Self-centred, focused on himself.

Don't I deserve better, he asks, Can't I enjoy some reward from our victory? What more could I do to please you, etc;

• There's no thought of what will best glorify God here.
• Remember too that he's going against God's expressed will. Isaiah had been sent to tell him to get ready to die.
• So the personal involvement with God continues, a lesson from the previous prayer, but he's not thinking about what God wants.

You might think about the consequences of his life being extended by 15 years.

• His son Manasseh is conceived after this time, and becomes the worst king of all. Would it have made any difference if Hezekiah had died & Manasseh not be born?
• Hezekiah becomes complacent & proud, it seems to me. We can see this from the next bible story. Hezekiah subsequently receives a visit from a Babylonian delegation, to whom he proudly shows off his wealth. Isaiah askes him about this, and then prophesies that the Babylonians will invade and take all the wealth of Judah away as plunder. Hezekiah replies
• "The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," for he thought, "There will be peace & security in my lifetime."

You have to wonder whether this healing did Hezekiah or Judah good, or whether he'd have done better to accept God's will.

So what does that say to us, especially as we have a special time of prayer for healing this morning? How should we pray?

• We must learn to balance fervent, passionate, personal, persistent prayer, with seeking and asking for God's will to be done.
• Jesus in Gethsemane is our example (Luke 22v41-44) (develop this verbally)
• Paul's prayers that God would remove "a thorn in his flesh" (2 Corinthians 12v7-10) is also helpful

So how should we pray for healing today?

• Be honest with God. Tell God what you really feel & think.
• Believe God wants the best for us
• Desire to know God's will, and ask him to reveal it.
• Listen, as much as you talk to God! & ask others to listen for God's will too.
• When we've heard God's will, accept it, and ask for joy in doing so.