Thoughts for the Day

Hezekiah’s Illness

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah 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.’ Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord: ‘Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; 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 defend this city.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

If you read the whole of the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament you will discover monotonous phrases like "King ... reigned for .... years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." But just occasionally we get "He did what was right in the sight of the Lord." Such a man was Hezekiah King of Judah, that is, the Southern Kingdom. He tore down the pagan altars and restored worship of the Lord God. He reigned for some 40 years and saw the the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians.

This account of the healing of King Hezekiah (in today's reading above) seems to have occurred at the time of the Assyrian invasion of Judah and the attempted siege of Jerusalem. We are not told how Hezekiah became sick, but he immediately turns to God. If his prayer sounds strange to us today we should remember people were judged on how they kept the Law of Moses, so Hezekiah isn’t boasting but simply reminding God how he has kept the Law. Similarly we might wonder why he wept so bitterly, but at the time there was no confidence in a life beyond the present one other than "a pit" or a place of "darkness". Also under the Old Covenant Hezekiah would have regarded his sickness as evidence that God was very displeased with him. We might almost wonder if since seeing the destruction of the Northern Kingdom and now his Southern Kingdom threatened, that he had been attempting to negotiate with the Assyrians, rather than trust God.

Whatever the cause for his illness, however, God responds to Hezekiah’s prayer, and grants him 15 more years of life. Hezekiah’s prayer was important, for it seems that if the King had not made his passionate prayer then his life would not have been extended and the city kept safe. But even more importantly we read that God declares it is He who will defend the city! The nation is given another chance to put itself right with God.

Lord Jesus,
You have taught us to ask the Father
when we have a need for help
and that You will intercede for us.
Strengthen our faith and our trust -
that the answer given will be the best for us -
especially when we find it unacceptable.
Amen.