Today's Reading - 2 Kings 18:9-19:37, Psalm 46, 80, 135
Background
We have actually read through the life of Hezekiah three times now - In 2 Chronicles, in Isaiah, and here in 2 Kings. We focus again today on his pride and downfall, from a slightly different perspective.
There is a reason to focus on this man's life. He was such a good king that he led Judah to return to God. He was an agent of genuine revival. But he was also the agent of Israel's destruction. The last 15 years of his life, the years he lived because of the blessing of God, were also years in which his pride led him astray.
His son Manasseh was 12 years old when Hezekiah died. You do the math. He was born and raised during Hezekiah's time of sin. So, he turned away from God and embraced idolatry with a passion. Manasseh was such a wicked king that God stopped warning Judah that destruction was coming and pronounced it. "The end is near!"
So, Hezekiah was an agent of God's revival when he was humble before heaven and he became the channel by which God's judgment flowed as well, because of his son Manasseh. What a tragic life.
Devotional "Pride before a Fall"
Up to the point when Isaiah appeared before him and announced that he would be dying, Hezekiah was on track to rival David as Judah's greatest king. He had rid Jerusalem of the remnants of his father's idolatry and had seen God bring great victories for the people.
Now Isaiah brought him the sad news that it was time to put his affairs in order because his illness was going to result in death. (2 Kings 20:1) Hezekiah poured his heart out to the Lord and God gave Isaiah a message. Hezekiah would receive 15 more years of life. He even received a miraculous sign confirming this.
It was a moment of joy for the king, when God heard his prayer and spared his life. It was also a turning point for him as he grew arrogant and self-glorying. He began to think he was something exceptional for whom God had done this mighty act, forgetting the grace and mercy of God.
It all came to a head when emissaries from Babylon came to see him and he let his pride get the best of him. He gave them the palace tour and displayed his own wealth for all to see.
Now, the God who preserved him was angry at him. Nothing offends God more than our human pride, when we take credit for that which God has done for us. We are products of the grace of God and should glory in the Cross of Christ. But that excludes boasting in ourselves or believing that we have merited the blessings of God.
Hezekiah ruined his chances to be among the greatest of kings when he let pride and arrogance choke out the glory of God in his life.
May we never let that happen to us.
Father, I am what you have made me. You have blessed me and changed me in so many ways. But whatever I am is your gift. Help me to remember that all I am is through Christ.
Think and Pray
Do you let pride and self-glory get in the way of the work of God in you?
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