Slices
Prepare
What items sit at the top of your to-do list right now? Prayerfully reflect on whether you have prioritised the right things.
Bible passage
Hezekiah’s illness
38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 ‘Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 ‘Go and tell Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
7 ‘“This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.”’ So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10 I said, ‘In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death
and be robbed of the rest of my years?’
11 I said, ‘I will not again see the Lord himself
in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!’
15 But what can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things people live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
behind your back.
18 For the grave cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living – they praise you,
as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the temple of the Lord.
21 Isaiah had said, ‘Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.’
22 Hezekiah had asked, ‘What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?’
Explore
One of the most perplexing questions in life is why God allows some people to suffer and die while others experience his miraculous intervention. Seldom do we get even a glimpse of the divine purposes at work.
But in Hezekiah’s case, we can take an educated guess. As a king in a lineage notable for its horrific idolatry, pagan practices and God-shaming leadership, Hezekiah stands out for his – albeit patchy – record of devotion and doing what is good in God’s eyes (38:3). His father, Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1–4), and his son, Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:1–6), were complete and utter blighters. In giving him an additional 15 years (vs 4–6), God is extending the period during which his wrath is not incurred, and all can live in the light of his favour. 2 Chronicles 32:26–33 records this as an era of peace, prosperity and spiritual devotion.
It is quite understandable that we plead with God to extend our lives and those of our loved ones. Sometimes he will grant an extension; often he won’t. All we can do is accept his gift of time, however much of it we are given, and use it as well as we can.
Respond
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.’ How does this line up with how you see your life’s main purpose?
Deeper Bible study
Jesus said, ‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’.1 In what way does your life reflect this truth?
I’ve found that doctors are most comfortable when I ask about statistics. If I say, ‘What’s going to happen to me in the future?’, they wince, but if I ask, ‘What percentage of people with this illness live for at least 10 years?’ they light up. God here tells Hezekiah he has a 100 per cent chance of living another 15 years (v 5). How would your life change if God said that to you? Even more encouraging is his statement, ‘I have heard your prayer and seen your tears’ (v 5). How would your prayer life change if God said that to you?
The bulk of today’s passage, however, seems like an excerpt from Hezekiah’s private journal (v 9). Of course, he is filled with praise and thanks to the God who saved him (v 19). Taking time to remember the ways God has intervened in the past is a good way to keep our walk with him alive in the present. Writing in a journal, too, often helps us to recognise the deeper significance of what God is doing in our lives. After describing how he felt about the illness (vs 10–16), Hezekiah reaches the moment of insight when he says to God, ‘It was for my own good that I had such hard times’ (v 17, CEV).
Like Hezekiah, we assume that a life of faithfulness and wholehearted devotion is what God wants and therefore it’s the pathway to growing in our walk with him (vs 2,3). That’s true. Often, however, it’s the time of crisis that helps us grow the most: when we have no other choice than to call out to him and surrender to whatever he decides is best. That’s when we learn that the promise, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’2 is all we need.
What things would you stop doing and start doing if God gave you 15 years to live?
1 Matt 28:20 2 Heb 13:5; Deut 31:6
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Joel 3; Revelation 5
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for churches and organisations who will use our new booklet The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas; pray that the children they make contact with will glimpse something of who Jesus is.
