Trouble ahead
2 Kings Chapters 20 – 21
The reign of King Hezekiah is a good time for Jerusalem and all of Judah, but even during his lifetime there are rumblings of disaster to come.
Today’s reading opens with an unusual story of a changed outcome to prophecy.
Hezekiah is ill; Isaiah urges him to put his house in order as he is about to die.
Hezekiah, though, turns to God with prayer and weeping, asking God to remember his faith and devotion and spare his life. God then tells Isaiah that Hezekiah’s prayer has been heard and he will be healed and live for another 15 years.
For us, this is a story of hope and the affirmation of the power of prayer. Theologically it’s a reminder that God interacts with his people, listening to our pleas and being willing to be influenced. It’s a difficult passage for anyone who is convinced that God has predestined all of the outcomes of our life.
The king of Babylon, having heard of Hezekiah’s illness, sends letters and gifts by way of messengers. Hezekiah welcomes the messengers, and shows them the wealth of the kingdom.
Isaiah then prophesies that one day Babylon will carry off that wealth and even some of Hezekiah’s descendants. The good news for Hezekiah, though, is that it will not take place during his lifetime.
Unfortunately, Hezekiah’s son and grandson do not follow his ways and they are disobedient to God and restore the worship of foreign gods to the land.
Friday meditation
Proverbs 24:30-34
I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
Prayer focus
God, we thank you that you hear our prayers and that you take heed of our lives.
-Rev. Mark Fleming