6/11/2011 8:21:49 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Hezekiah the boaster Parts 2 and 3
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 2Kings 20:14-18; Isaiah 39:3-8
Message
of the verses: 14
Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him,
"What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" And
Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon."
15 He said, "What have they seen in
your house?" So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my
house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them."
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah,
"Hear the word of the LORD. 17
’Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all
that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon;
nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 18
’Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will
be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of
Babylon.’” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word
of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Is it
not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?’”
3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah
and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to
you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come to me from a far country,
from Babylon." 4 He said,
"What have they seen in your house?" So Hezekiah answered, "They
have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I
have not shown them."
“5 ¶ Then Isaiah said to
Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts, 6 ’Behold, the days are coming when all that is
in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will
be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. 7 ’And some of your sons who will issue from
you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in
the palace of the king of Babylon.’" 8
Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have
spoken is good." For he thought, "For there will be peace and truth
in my days.’”
In
today’s SD I wish to look at the last two sub-points in this first main point
from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 2Kings and parts of 2Chronicles. He calls his book “Be Distinct” and here is a
quote that I have found online that speaks of the importance of this book: “This is the tale of two kingdoms that
committed spiritual and national suicide by imitating their neighbors and
failing to "be distinct." This resource brings light to parallels for
today's Church that are both obvious and vital. When society around us in is
moral and spiritual darkness, God's people need to be lights and when society
is decaying because of sin, we need to be salt. In order to do this we must be
distinctive!”
The
first sub-point is entitled “Isaiah’s prophecy” while the second is entitled
“The Lord’s patience” and this section only covers verse nineteen of 2Kings
twenty and also the eight verses of Isaiah thirty-nine. I have truly wondered about why Hezekiah
thought the things that he thought concerning Isaiah’s prophecy that would take
place 100 years after the death of Hezekiah.
Isaiah
comes to Hezekiah after the envoys from Babylon had left Jerusalem to find out
who they were and what Hezekiah said to them, and also what Hezekiah showed to
them. Now I believe that Isaiah actually
new the answers to these questions and Hezekiah actually only told Isaiah what
it was that he had shown them. It would
have been far better for Hezekiah to send for Isaiah when he received word that
these envoys were coming to see Hezekiah because he would have probably not
shown them everything that was in his storehouse of treasures nor answered
their questions that they asked him whatever they were. Hezekiah was again
dealing with pride even after facing death because of his pride, but I believe
that this was all in the providence of God, preparing Hezekiah for what would
come next in his life. Dr. Wiersbe has
some wonderful things to say along this line: “How gracious it
is of the Lord to prepare us for what He has prepared for us!”
Dr.
Wiersbe clears up a question that I have had for a while, as mentioned above,
about the thoughts that went through Hezekiah’s mind when Isaiah told him that
the Lord was going to bring Babylon down to take Judah into captivity and would
take some of his offspring there where they become officials in the palace of Babylon. “Hezekiah’s response wasn’t a sigh of relief
that his generation had escaped judgment, but rather was an expression of his
acceptance of the will of God.
Hezekiah’s pride had been broken once again (2Chronicles 32:26), but for
the sake of the nation and the throne of David, he was grateful there would be
peace.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today:
“How gracious it is of the Lord to prepare us for what He has prepared for
us!” These were very comforting words
for me to read this morning because of what is going on in my life at this
time. I seem to be fighting with the
Lord over what I believe He has put on my heart over things at KMC and now as I
read these words that pertained to Hezekiah right before probably his bravest
hour I am thankful to the Lord for His preparation that He has done in my heart
to prepare me for what lies ahead.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
I have decided that my life verse is Philippians
4:11 because of all of the time that I have spent thinking about what is in
this verse. “Not that I speak from want,
for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” My step of faith is to continue to learn
contentment.
2.
In order to be content I must continue to trust the
Lord to be in control of all the situations that I am facing.
3.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service.
4.
Psalm 139:23-24
5.
Remember the battle is fierce that is going on
around me and the need for the spiritual armor to be put on is a must.
6/11/2011 9:17:22 AM
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