By Paul Reading the account of Hezekiah over the last few days made me realise again how mixed he was. He finds himself under siege from the army of Sennacherib and does the thing that seems to natural and so right.
Isaiah 37v14-17
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : 16 “O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
For many Christians this has been a great encouragement to bring the things that trouble us and “spread them out before the Lord”. In other words I pray and I tell God exactly what it is I am facing and what it is that I need him for. It’s not some sort of genie in the lamp moment, but rather the trusting cry for help when everything turns pear shaped. Hezekiah reminds me of me when I am in trouble.
But then at the end of his life he is going to die from some illness and God very kindly extends his life by fifteen years. Another great example of God hearing and answering prayer, but then what does Hezekiah do with it? Well he blows it by putting his trust somewhere other than in God. And then when God confronts him about it and tells him he is going to bring judgement on his descendants he says this:
“The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
I can hardly get my head round it. It seems that Hezekiah is saying “Phew, I’m alright Jack!”
And again that reminds me of me. I pray for help, I ask God for intervention and deliverance and then when I am ok I rejoice no matter what the fallout on other people.
What a mixed up bunch of people we are.
You can read the whole thing here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2037-39&version=NIV