The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 105. Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-Two

Hezekiah is ill with what he's been told is a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah gave him this bad news in yesterday's text. There is a clue in 2 Chronicles that may relate to the reason behind Hezekiah's illness. "In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord's wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah." (2 Chronicles 32:24-26)

The verses above indicate that there was pride in Hezekiah's heart both before and even after he received miraculous healing. Yesterday we talked about how we have moved back in time a bit to study Hezekiah's illness because when the authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles say "in those days" they are speaking of the days when Judah was experiencing the Assyrian invasion. Hezekiah fell sick sometime after the Assyrian army began invading the land and attacking its cities but before the Lord delivered Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 20:6 we will see that the Lord's miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem has not yet happened, although we studied it in the previous chapter. The verses regarding Hezekiah's pride appear to be closely linked with the account of his illness and with the Lord's deliverance of Jerusalem; these events took place close together in time. If Hezekiah was struggling with the sin of pride, what was the reason for it? I think perhaps it is because his reign was so successful. The author of 2 Chronicles describes some of his successes below.

"Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches." (2 Chronicles 32:27-29) Did Hezekiah lose sight of the fact that God had given him all these things? Did he allow his enormous wealth and his fame as a king to make him forget that he owes all his success to the Lord? If so, he's not the first king of the Bible to begin thinking he's a really big deal. But every time a king of the Bible begins thinking he's a really big deal, he messes up in a really big way! Hezekiah's illness and the Assyrian threat serve to remind him that without the Lord he can do nothing. He can't heal his own body and he can't defeat the mighty forces of Assyria. These two dreadful circumstances can only be turned around by the Lord.

Yesterday we found Hezekiah weeping and calling out to God for help. The Lord hears his sincere and humble and repentant prayer and sends Isaiah back to tell him that he will not die of his current illness. "Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of My people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.'" (2 Kings 20:4-6) 

I've seen some commentators saying that the knowledge that he had fifteen years left was both a blessing and a curse. Fifteen years likely seemed like a long time to a man who thought he was going to die within just a few days. But as each year went by, this period of time must have seemed shorter and shorter. Knowing the approximate year of his death must have weighed on his mind. But other commentators state that this knowledge should be considered a blessing only, for knowing approximately when he would die should have encouraged Hezekiah to live wisely. This should have prompted him to work as hard as possible during those years to set an example for his family and for his nation so that after his demise they would continue to receive the gracious bounty and protection of the Lord. Some indications that Hezekiah did not always live wisely during the additional fifteen years are that he still had some pride after he was healed and that his son and successor (whom he fathered during those fifteen years) will be one of the most idolatrous kings Judah ever had. Whatever influence Hezekiah had on his son during the first twelve years of his son's life did nothing to cause him to want to serve and love the Lord. This makes us wonder whether Hezekiah lived in front of his son in a manner which was humble and reverent to the Lord or whether Hezekiah made a bigger deal of himself than he made of God. 

But for now, the news is good. Isaiah gives the good news to Hezekiah and then orders the king's servants to make a poultice for the boil that threatens the king's life. As we discussed yesterday, we don't know precisely what this boil was. It could have been some type of skin wound that became severely infected and caused sepsis. Or, as has been suggested by many scholars and historians and medical experts, he could have been suffering from the bubonic plague because some sort of plague seems to have befallen the Assyrian army around the same time, resulting in 185,000 deaths. "Then Isaiah said, 'Prepare a poultice of figs.' They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered." (2 Kings 20:7)

Verse 7 begs the question: If a poultice of figs was capable of healing the boil, why had they not already done that? Well, this is just my opinion and I could very well be wrong, but I don't think the poultice of figs was capable---in itself---of healing the boil. I'll explain why I believe this. Earlier in the Bible we found the prophet Elisha, for example, using ordinary things as part of his miracles. Those ordinary things did not have the power---in themselves---to bring about miraculous changes. But Elisha used those things as visual aids for the people when performing acts of faith, such as casting a bowl full of salt into a spring of bad water to turn it into drinkable water. Under normal circumstances, casting salt into unsafe drinking water would not have changed what was wrong with it. Likewise, under normal circumstances, applying a poultice of figs to a boil so infected that it must have caused systemic blood poisoning would not have been enough to bring Hezekiah back from the brink of death. But applying the poultice provides a visual aid for the act of faith that is taking place. By faith Isaiah believes the word of the Lord that Hezekiah will be healed, so he tells the servants to prepare the poultice. By faith the servants obey Isaiah's instructions to prepare and apply the poultice. By faith Hezekiah allows the poultice to be applied even though I have no doubt that the physicians of Judah had already tried every cure known to man in those days. Something as simple as applying a poultice probably seemed ridiculous, considering that more sophisticated cures have been attempted. But Hezekiah has enough faith to give it a try. 

Another example of using a simple thing as an act of faith can be found in 2 Kings 5. You may recall from earlier in our study of the Old Testament that a leprous man named Naaman, who was a top commander of the army of Aram, came to see the prophet Elisha in hopes that he could do something to heal him. Elisha instructed him to go down to the Jordan River and dip himself in it seven times. At first Naaman scoffed at the idea, not only because he felt such an act was incapable of producing any change in his condition, but also because he considered the oft-muddy waters of the Jordan to be inferior to the waters of the rivers of his own land. Naaman was about to go back to Aram in a rage until his servants reasoned with him that if Elisha had instructed him to do something very complicated, he would have done it, so why not try this simple thing? Naaman dipped himself seven times in the Jordan and was completely healed of leprosy. So we see that it was not really the waters themselves that healed Naaman but the faith it took for him to believe that the God of Israel could heal him.

Today's text reminds me of how often I've tried to solve problems by myself and have put myself through all sorts of complicated research or expensive efforts only to realize later that what I should have done was simply to go to God first. Many times, after I've gone to God, He has turned my circumstances completely around without my "help" at all. I haven't even had to lift a finger! There have been other times when I've had to participate in the turning around of my circumstances but His instructions have been quite simple to follow. In our text today we find Isaiah, the servants, and Hezekiah being wise enough to consult the Lord and follow His simple instructions. As a result, in our next study session we will find them witnessing not just one miracle but two miracles!