2 Chronicles 32:24-33

Near the end of his life, Hezekiah became “mortally ill” and he prayed to the LORD for healing. The context is “in those days,” during the time when Sennacherib began to attack Judah (2 Kings 20:6). He was given a sign by the LORD, and we find out the details about this incident in 2 Kings 20:1-11. Isaiah visits him and tells him to set his house in order, for he will die and not live! He then turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD. He wept bitterly before the LORD. Before Isaiah could get away from the palace, God sent him back to the king to tell him that he would be healed. He was given the promise of an additional fifteen years of life and the deliverance of the city out of Assyria’s hands.

Hezekiah asked for a sign that God would heal him and was given a choice: the sun moving forward ten steps or backward ten steps. Hezekiah chose what he considered was more difficult: he asked for the sun’s shadow to move backward ten steps up the stairway of Ahaz. Hezekiah was told that he would be healed and would be able to go up to the house of the LORD on the third day. Isaiah instructed him to take a cake of figs and lay it on the boil. Hezekiah recovered.

However, we are also told that Hezekiah became proud and unappreciative of the benefit he had received, “because his heart was proud” (2 Chronicles 32:25). God’s wrath came upon them because of this. When Hezekiah “humbled the pride of his heart” (verse 26), God had mercy on them and postponed judgment in the days of Hezekiah. It seems to me that a part of this hubris is revealed in the way Hezekiah responded to the delegation sent from Babylon to supposedly check on the health of the king. It seems that they were not so interested in Hezekiah’s healing as they were there to solicit Judah’s help in their fight with Assyria. Hezekiah proudly showed off all of his wealth, mentioning nothing about the miracle and healing he had received from the LORD.

The visit became a trap for Hezekiah. He was flattered by this visit. Blinded by the impressive visit, he forgot the LORD. He showed the delegation from Babylon everything he had in his house, all his treasures. That must have made an impression on this delegation. Not a word did he mention about the LORD, and the miracle He did for him. He was silent about Him, Who took away the threat of death from him, and Whom he had come to know as the God of resurrection.

—KingComments on 2 Kings 20:12-19

“And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart.” (2 Chronicles 32:31, BSB)

Hezekiah repented of this pride and failure. Isaiah informed him that all that he had shown the Babylonians would one day be taken away and Judah would fall into their hands. Hezekiah responded:

“But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”” (2 Kings 20:19, BSB)

Let’s consider some of the lessons we see in these incidents.

• As the aging process leads us toward the end of life, health challenges, serious illness, and physical weakening will grow greater the longer we live. God may choose, as He did with Hezekiah, to answer our prayer for healing and extended life. He may not, but even if we are given fifteen extra years, we will still face death in the future. It behoves us, given the uncertainty of life, to be prepared for death. Spiritually, we need to make sure that our faith in Jesus stays strong during these challenging times. Financially, we need to make sure that we are good stewards of what God has given us and arrange for these finances to be used wisely after our death. We should always remember that we cannot take any of these things with us to the grave. We should do what Isaiah commands and set our house in order.

• Just as God was aware of Hezekiah’s bitter weeping, He is also aware of our suffering. We have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, Jesus Christ our LORD. Go boldly before God’s throne of grace and you will find mercy and grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:15-16).

• As people who have striven to become prosperous advance in age (and God has indeed prospered them), they also face the temptation of pride, thinking that their hard work and industry have enabled them to gain such wealth. Like Hezekiah, their hearts are lifted up in pride. Also, older people can become stubborn and obstinate, thinking they know it all.  As we age, we should seek to remain humble and teachable. We should not invite God’s judgment on our lives by harboring sinful pride in our hearts.

• Although we may rejoice in the fact that we will not live long enough to endure the future consequences of today’s decisions, we should do all that we can to remove or postpone them, recognizing that our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will have to face them. Putting off difficult decisions usually make future decisions much more difficult to deal with.

• We will still face “tests” to our faith until the end. We should continue to be vigilant in seeking God as we age.

• We should strive to have a testimony like Hezekiah’s where he was remembered for “his deeds of loving devotion” (2 Chronicles 32:32).