Historical Books 2 Kings

God Gave Hezekiah a Second Chance

Discover Jesus as: Surviving Seed 2 Kings 19-20 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 278 of 730
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INTRO

This whole week, the message has been about the disobedience of the kings of Israel. God finally sent the Israelites into exile in Assyria. Today, we move back to the Judah lineage.

TEACHING

2 Kings 20:1–3: King Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah told the king to put his affairs in order because he would not survive (v. 1). Hezekiah became king at the age of 25 and reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:1-2). His son Manasseh would eventually become king in 687 BC at the age of 22. Manasseh was seven years old when Isaiah told his father he was about to die.1Hezekiah’s first response to Isaiah’s announcement was to turn to God in prayer (vv. 2–3). (Read Isaiah 38:2 for Hezekiah’s prayer and Isaiah 38:10–20 for his poem about this experience.) Hezekiah seemed to model Solomon’s prayer. (Read 2 Chronicles 6:16–17 for part of Solomon’s prayer.)

2 Kings 20:4–11: Something changed after God heard Hezekiah’s prayer. God responded immediately and stopped Isaiah before he left the courtyard (v. 4). God sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah with news that He would heal him. In return, Hezekiah was told to go to the temple on the third day (v. 5). God also promised to give Hezekiah another 15 years of life and defend the city of Jerusalem (v. 6). Prayer can radically change things! Isaiah asked for pressed figs, which he used to treat Hezekiah’s infected skin. Hezekiah recovered fully (v. 7).

Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that he would be healed completely (v. 8). Isaiah replied, “Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?” (v. 9). Isaiah’s question was whether Hezekiah wanted to see the shadow divinely lengthen or shorten. Hezekiah answered to let the shadow go back 10 steps (shorten) (v. 10). Isaiah told the Lord the sign that Hezekiah wanted, and God brought the shadow back ten steps (v. 11). Theologians question whether God reversed the orbit of the planet or stopped the rotation of the orbit to make this happen, but obviously, no one knows.

2 Kings 20:12–19: Hezekiah received a visit from the son of the king of Babylon who brought letters and gifts since Hezekiah had been sick (v. 12). Hezekiah returned the hospitality by showing the king’s son everything he had—everything in his treasure house and his armory (v. 13). When Isaiah found that strangers had visited Hezekiah, he questioned where the men had come from. Hezekiah answered that they were from Babylon (v. 14). Then Isaiah asked what the men had been shown in the palace, and Hezekiah told Isaiah he had shown them everything (v. 15).

Isaiah then delivered the word of the Lord that eventually everything Judah had would be carried off to Babylon (v. 17). Further, some of Hezekiah’s descendants would be taken off as well (v. 18). However, his son Manasseh would be carried off to Babylon even before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.2

Hezekiah was excited to show what he had because of his pride. Nelson’s Commentary states the “remarkable feature of the Bible is that it does not gloss over the faults of its best heroes and heroines. The foolishness of Hezekiah follows immediately on the narrative of his trust in the Lord.”3Wiersbe points out that “pride makes us rob God of the glory that belongs to Him alone. Pride gives us a feeling of false security and this leads us into sin and defeat.”4It was pride that caused Satan to rebel against God. The enemy (the serpent) comes to deceive us—and the lion to devour us.

2 Kings 20:20–21: Verse 20 highlights Hezekiah’s significant achievements as king. He had a tunnel dug that ran between the spring of Gishon, located outside the walls of Jerusalem, and the pool of Siloam, which was located inside the walls. The tunnel helped the people within the city survive during a siege. The tunnel, still in existence and called Hezekiah’s Tunnel, was a remarkable engineering feat.5

CLOSING

Hezekiah was one of the kings of Judah who did what was right in the sight of the Lord. His tunnel alone shows the wisdom and foresight he had as king. But his pride ultimately led to the fall of Judah.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Exposition Bible Commentary: 2 Kings (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2003), p. 574

  2. Earl Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, and H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary: 2 Kings (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 487.

  3. Nelson’s Commentary, p. 487.

  4. Wiersbe, p. 576.

  5. Nelson’s Commentary, p. 487.

Questions

  1. What was the report King Hezekiah heard? What were the responses from Hezekiah? Were these good responses?
  2. What did King Hezekiah realize about the people of Judah (2 Kings 19:4, 30)?
  3. Why did it seem that the King of Assyria had zero fear of the Lord? Why did he think that God would not help Hezekiah?
  4. What was Hezekiah’s reaction and response after reading the letter that had been sent to him? What was the Lord’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer? When have you seen God fight for you as a response to your prayers?
  5. Why do you think God relented about what He said to Hezekiah regarding his death (2 Kings 20:1, 5–6)? Where do you see this kind of mercy from God with other people in Scripture? (Exodus 32:9–14; Jonah 3:10; Romans 5:8)
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in 2 Kings 19—20 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin 2 Kings 20:2–3

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ‘Please LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

King Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah to get his affairs in order because he would not survive the illness. In this moment, Hezekiah turned to the Lord. He wept bitterly and asked the Lord to remember him and his faithful walk through life. Soon after this prayer, the Lord changed the course for Hezekiah’s life. The word of the Lord came to Isaiah saying Hezekiah would be healed in three days. However, the Lord granted Hezekiah fifteen more years of life, allowing him to see victory in Assyria. The Lord heard Hezekiah’s prayers and answered him.

Has there been a time in your life when you were hit with a difficult life circumstance and you sought the Lord in prayer? A surprise health report? A loss of a job? Unexpected news about your child? The Lord sees your tears. He hears your prayers. He is able to work in ways you can’t imagine. Today, seek the Lord in prayer. He wants you to cry out to Him, and His ears are always open. No matter how big or little the need may be, if it is important to you, it’s important to the Lord. He is there to lift you up and rescue you. The Lord came to redeem and is the God of second chances.

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Please Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

—2 Kings 20:2–3

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Psalm 66:17–18 — “I cried out to Him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue. If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
  • 1 Peter 3:11b–12 — “He must seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.”
  • 1 John 5:14 — “Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”