Read: Isaiah 37:1-38:22; Galatians 6:1-18;
Today we get to read the rest of the story. The Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem and were yelling out threats of what they were going to do to them. Hezekiah cried out out to the Lord and God send Isaiah to tell him not to be afraid of the king of Assyria. God would send him a report that would make him return to his own country and there he would be cut down with the sword.
It happened just as God said it would. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria heard that the king of Egypt was marching out to fight against him. Sennacherib left to meet him but he left with a promise that he would return and defeat Jerusalem. He added that the God they depended on would not be able to save them against him. God sent Isaiah with another word to Hezekiah reminding him of who He was and what He had done in the past. Then God sent his army from heaven out to fight the Assyrians. They killed 185,000 of them. Sennacherib returned home and was stabbed by his own sons.
Hezekiah became fatally ill and Isaiah came to him and told him to get his affairs in order. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord and reminded him of all he had done in God’s name. God repented and sent Isaiah back to tell him he could live 15 more years. To prove his words were true he made the shadow on the sundial go back tent steps adding 10 minutes to the day. He also told him what to do about his boil so he would recover.
Amazing that God would change time for Hezekiah. This affected everyone from then on. Ten minutes was added to the day and it affected time from that day on. It just shows the lovingkindness of the Lord. Sadly, it would have been better for Hezekiah if he would have gone to the grave then because he didn’t end well. I am reminded that God will allow us to do things he knows is not the best for us just because we ask, but his plan is always the best and his timing is always better.
Galatians deals with the same issue that Hezekiah had. We cannot take pride in anything we do because there is no good in us. Only God is good and what we do in the Spirit. Paul reminds us that we will reap what we sow. Hezekiah asked to live longer based on his own goodness. It was costly to him because he couldn’t maintain his good works.
Lord, help us to walk in your Spirit and choose your will for our lives. It is truly better than anything we could imagine.
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