(REFLECTIONS ON 2 Kings 20:1-21)

Previously we read that Hezekiah, king of Judah, trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.

When Assyria threatened Judah, Hezekiah did not focus on the enemy’s words but turned to the Lord in prayer, placing his trust in Him. In today’s Scripture, when Isaiah the prophet told Hezekiah that he would die, Hezekiah again did not rely on himself. Instead, he turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the Lord.

The Lord graciously answered his prayer, healed him, and added fifteen years to his life. Yet after receiving this great mercy, we read that the king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah because he had heard of his recovery. In response,

13 Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

Instead of directing Babylon’s attention to the Lord who had healed and delivered him, Hezekiah proudly displayed all that he possessed. In doing so, he opened the door for Babylon’s future conquest.

Isaiah then declared 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.

Hezekiah’s response is both surprising,

19 “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?”

The man who once trusted the Lord against the threats of Assyria and cried out to Him in his sickness now seems content that the coming judgment would not happen during his own lifetime. The one who had received fifteen extra years of grace appears to have become satisfied simply to enjoy peace in his own days.

This passage confronts us with an important question,

What will we do with what God has given us? God gave Hezekiah more years to live. How would he use those years? God gave him healing, peace, influence, and wealth. Would those gifts be used for God’s glory or for his own security?

The same question confronts each of us. When we are in need, we readily bow our knees before the Lord. We pray, seek Him, and depend on Him. But what happens after He answers our prayers? Do we remain humble before Him, or do we slowly climb back onto the throne of our own lives?

Grace is never meant to make us independent of God. It is meant to deepen our dependence upon Him. Too often, instead of remembering what the Lord has delivered us from and using His blessings for His kingdom, we simply try to preserve our own comfort and avoid trouble. We become satisfied as long as life is peaceful for us.

What will we do with what God has given us? Will we use our time, our health, our resources, our influence, and every grace He has entrusted to us for His glory and His kingdom? Or will we merely seek to protect our own comfort until our days are over?

May we never forget that every gift from God is an invitation to greater worship, deeper humility, and more faithful service to the One who gave it.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 2 Kings 20