Fri.’s Devo - God is Our God

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 Hezekiah, the king of Judah became fatally ill so God sent Isaiah to tell him to set his house in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah had no heir at that time. He cried out to the Lord for mercy and reminded God how loyal he had been. God sent Isaiah back to tell him that He had heard his prayer and was granting him 15 more years. Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that what he was saying was true. Isaiah told him to pick whether he wanted the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward. Hezekiah chose backward, so time went back 10 hours. The king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan sent a gift to celebrate Hezekiah’s recovery. Merodach-baladan means “I am not a lord; Baal is lord.” Hezekiah showed them everything in his treasury and palace. When they left, Isaiah came to visit to ask what he showed them. Hezekiah told him everything and Isaiah’s response was that they would one day come and take it all. Even his sons would be taken and make into eunuchs in Babylon’s palace. Then we see Hezekiah’s real heart. He said it was good became at least it wouldn’t happen in his life time. How sad. We live our lives for eternity and what we will pass on to the next generation, not just for our lifespan. Hezekiah hadn’t prepared for his future. In the next fifteen years that the Lord gave him, he had an heir named Manasseh. Manasseh was 13 when he died and he did evil. He reintroduced pagan worship and the worship of Baal and Asherah. He sacrificed his own son in the fire and practiced sorcery and divination and consulted mediums and psychics. He profaned the Temple with his idolatry. He murdered innocent people and caused the people of Judah to commit sin and evil. When Manasseh died, his son Amon ruled. His own officials killed him in his palace and his son Josiah became king. Josiah was only eight when he became king and did what was pleasing to the Lord. He is one of the only kings who was likened to David. In Acts. Paul met with the elders in the Jerusalem church and told them all the news of their mission trip. They told Paul how the people had been told that he was teaching Jews to turn from following the laws of Moses. So to clear things up, they suggested that Paul come with them to the Temple to participate in a Jewish ceremony of purification where some men were completing their Nazarite vow. The last thing they had to do was to shave their heads. If everyone saw Paul shave their heads they would know that Paul believed in following the law. Paul agreed to do this but when he got to the Temple the next day there was an angry mob waiting for him. It grew into a riot and Paul was thrown out of the Temple. They were about to kill him when the Roman officers showed up. They arrested Paul and asked the crowd what he was guilty of. The crowd were so out of control, the soldiers couldn’t get an answer out of them they could understand. The soldiers had to lift Paul above their heads to rescue him from the crowd. Lord, confusion seems to be the order of the day when you are doing something new. Help us to navigate the transition of our day with grace and wisdom.