II Kings 20
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, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please 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 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.
12 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 Hezekiah had been sick.13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his 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. 14 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?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 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. 18 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.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Prayer: O Lord, grant us humility and faith, so that our houses might be in good order for the day in which You call us into Your everlasting kingdom, which You have prepared for us, through Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
Setting Our House in Order
In Christ Jesus, our victor over sin and death, dear fellow redeemed!
How often do you think about death? Specifically, how often do you think about your own? It’s very natural for us to not want to talk about death, after all death is the consequence of sin—its penalty. On the one hand, Christians should have no fear of death because we know that Jesus has defeated death for our sakes. His resurrection on the third day is proof! On the other hand, we are still flesh and blood and can have doubts and fears about it. We don’t know what to expect and the unknown often appears daunting, even for believers.
This why Martin Luther encouraged people to think about death throughout their whole life, especially while they are in good health. The best time for us to think about death is when it seems far away. Conversely, when we are close to death we shouldn’t stare at death, but focus on Jesus—and his promises, forgiveness, and resurrection. However, this tends to be the exact opposite of how most Christians act. No wonder the Lord shares this wisdom with us through the pen of Moses who wrote, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
In our lesson for today, King Hezekiah isn’t given a choice. Through the prophet Isaiah he is given information which very few are privy to—the time of his death. The prophet Isaiah said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’”
I. Hezekiah’s Despair, God’s Power
Only a person made of stone would not be taken back by this sudden news. It would alarm us just as it did King Hezekiah. He was in the prime of his life. This news brought him to despair, but he did not forget who to turn to in his distress. The one who numbers our days is the same one who gives them to us. And so, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. It might sound strange to us that he would ask God to remember him because of his faithfulness and all that he had done. Hezekiah wasn’t being work righteous but rather pleading before God to help him because God promised to be faithful to those who were faithful to him. He prayed and he wept. He entrusted himself to the Lord.
Before the Prophet Isaiah left the King’s court, he received the word of the Lord which told him that he would not only heal Hezekiah and add fifteen years to his life, but he was also going to deliver him from the king of Assyria—not because of Hezekiah’s faithfulness, but because of the Lord’s—“for my own sake.” The Lord gave Hezekiah far more than he asked. He gave him deliverance—from all his enemies—sin, death, and the world.
This teaches us two important things. First, God hears our prayers. When we go to him, we are not going to a person who can’t help. We are going to the Lord of all creation. The Lord who takes and gives; the Lord who raises up kings and can bring them to nothing. We need to be reminded of who our God is all the time. It’s easy for us to forget in our moments of despair—great and small, that we have a powerful God who wants us to come to him. Secondly, God answers our prayers just as he did with Hezekiah. In fact, he often gives us more than we ask or think as Scripture says, “[God] is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). Our problem is that we often fail to even ask. While we know God will not always answer our prayers according to our desire, that should never prevent us from going to him. He commands us to! He promises to hear us! And we know he will bring about that which is best for us. He works all things for good to those who love him.
To confirm his promise to Hezekiah the Lord gave him a sign. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz had built a sort of sundial to measure the time. The Lord caused the shadow to go back ten steps, indicating the time added to Hezekiah’s life. God not only shows power to give life and overthrow the nations, but he has power over all creation! As the Psalmist said, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9).
After Hezekiah was delivered from his infectious boil and the Assyrian army, we are told that an embassy from Babylon came to Hezekiah. The motives of this envoy are clear. They wanted to establish relations with Hezekiah for military support against the vast Assyrian empire. Hezekiah warmly welcomes this flattering group, showing them his kingdom and all his possessions, which might be used against the Assyrians.
II. Hezekiah’s Pride, Our Longing for a Greater King
Now Isaiah again came to visit the King to bring to light a different problem. He asks him three probing questions: “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?… What have they seen in your house?” It may seem like a small, maybe foolish, thing for Hezekiah to let an embassy from another country see his kingdom. But Isaiah was aware of the issue behind the issue. Despite the miraculous sign and deliverance from God, Hezekiah did not honor him as God. When he was put to the test, instead of honoring, trusting, and giving glory to God, his sinful nature sprang to life.
By welcoming this group from Babylon, Hezekiah was putting his trust in alliances, in the arm of the flesh, instead of the arm of the Lord. What’s more, this flattering group puffed up his pride as he showed them all he had acquired. Instead of giving glory to God and seeing him as the giver and sustainer of these earthly riches, he credits himself. The irony is that Babylon, not Assyria, would be the one to carry all these riches away in hundred years.
Hezekiah stands out as one of the most faithful kings in Israel’s history but even he falls short. Why does God record this event for us? Why is this important for you and me to hear today? It’s to warn us of one of the most dangerous sins: pride. Pride is dangerous because it turns us away from God to ourselves. When we give credit to ourselves, we rob God from his glory. I think it is helpful that Hezekiah’s welcoming of the Babylonians and his showing of his kingdom seems so harmless at first sight. However, God brings about a great judgement because of it. In a similar way, our pride seems so harmless. But it is offensive to God!
Pride can show itself in our lives in different ways, which is why it is somewhat hard to see. No wonder the Apostle Paul warns all of us, “Ye who thinks he stand, take heed lest he fall.” It’s the little Pharisee or monk as Luther would say that lives inside each of us, that tempts us saying: “Look at all you’ve done and sacrificed! You deserve some credit. People need to give you more recognition for what you have done.” “They aren’t as spiritual and committed as you!” “Look how prideful that person is!” “You wouldn’t have said that!” “You are so humble!” “They don’t deserve to be forgiven after what they did to you!”
Augustine once said, “If you scold me, it is bad; but if you praise me, this is worse.” He was aware of how often you and I are tempted to become prideful. Our ego, our little Pharisee inside all of us, happily cheers us on. To lift up ourselves, to look down on others, and forget to give glory to God.
Our Lord gives us this warning to show us how easily we can forget God’s benefits. Hezekiah forgot to glorify God and when he heard about the coming judgement of Judah, he is glad that at least he wouldn’t have to see the ruin of his kingdom. That’s why this account also pointed the people of Israel to their need of another king, a righteous King who would never fail and who would never disappoint either God or man by falling into sin. Hezekiah was, at best, a shadow of him, a shadow whose imperfections were meant to stir in his people a longing for a greater King. A King who glorified God the Father, who would be more concerned about his citizens than his own personal well-being. A King who sought to serve his people rather than to be served. A King who would be willing to sacrifice his life for his people, rather than sending them to destruction. A King who was not ruined by pride or sin. A King who was righteous, just, and merciful who could at last free us from all our enemies!
By God’s grace, this King has come. Our Lord Jesus, the King of heaven and earth, humbled himself to be born of a virgin, born under the law, so that we could become children of God and heirs of heaven. His battle was not against Pontius Pilate, the Jewish leaders, or King Herod, but against the devil who accuses us of our sins, and death which loomed over us. Jesus knew the type of people he came to redeem—prideful, weak, boastful, angry, fretful, ungrateful, sinners. But he came anyway, because of his love for the world. He lived a holy life and died an innocent death, so that death would have no more power over us.
Scripture states, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). You and I do not need to fear death. Jesus is the one who states in Revelation, “I hold the keys of death and hell” (Rev. 1:18). As a pastor I have stood near the casket when the funeral director comes near the casket to close it before the service. He takes from his pocket that little tool, he inserts it in the casket lid and turns it. I’ve thought that when Jesus says, “I hold the keys of death and hell,” that if he was here today speaking, he might say, “I hold that little tool! And I am going to loosen that casket lid and I am going to let you out on judgement day! Because I live, you will live also. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me so that where I am, there you may be also.”
The Lord warns us of pride because he wants us to live. He wants us to repent of our sins and put our trust in him, not ourselves. He wants us to know that he is the God who will be with us every day of our lives, who hears our prayers, and who will one day take you to be with him forever in heaven.
When Martin Luther died, they found a note in his pocket which read: “We are beggars, this is true.” Luther knew that despite all the great things the Lord had accomplished through him, he was still just a beggar before the throne of God. A beggar in need of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. My hope is that this can not only be a note written in each of our pockets, but more importantly upon our hearts. For then, no matter when God calls us home, we will have our hearts and homes in good order to meet our Lord, our Savior, our King. Amen.