August 20th, 2025
2 Kings 20:1-11
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”
9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
In these verses we find Hezekiah gravely ill and seemingly near death. Isaiah comes to him and gives him advice on preparing for the end of his life. Hezekiah went to the Lord in prayer and poured his heart out before God and “wept bitterly.” Before Isaiah even left Hezekiah’s home, the Lord spoke to him and told him to go back and deliver God’s instructions for answering Hezekiah’s prayer. He would be healed and given more time to continue in his position of leadership, and God would bring freedom to him and his people.
Things were not as they seemed for Hezekiah. He was at rock bottom and uncertain there was anything left for him as the leader of his people. But God had other plans. Hezekiah’s dead end was God’s roundabout to redirect him and get him back on the right road.
Have you ever felt like Hezekiah? Defeated? Not certain what was coming next? There are two important things to take from his story. First, he had Isaiah, and God used Isaiah to fulfill his will in Hezekiah’s life. Who are you partnering with in your faith journey? Do you have someone to talk with? To pray with? And maybe even someone God will use to answer your prayers and show you the way forward. And second, Hezekiah trusted the Lord even when he thought there was nothing left, and he was open to the Lord’s leading through his trusted friend.
Brothers and sisters, we can’t say enough how important it is for us not to take this life journey alone. Ask God to lead you to the right person or the right small group to partner with you. Fall will bring new opportunities to grow your faith by meeting with others but begin now preparing your heart for what He may have in store for you in the next season. How might He be calling you to take a leap of faith so that He can do a greater work in you?
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”
9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
In these verses we find Hezekiah gravely ill and seemingly near death. Isaiah comes to him and gives him advice on preparing for the end of his life. Hezekiah went to the Lord in prayer and poured his heart out before God and “wept bitterly.” Before Isaiah even left Hezekiah’s home, the Lord spoke to him and told him to go back and deliver God’s instructions for answering Hezekiah’s prayer. He would be healed and given more time to continue in his position of leadership, and God would bring freedom to him and his people.
Things were not as they seemed for Hezekiah. He was at rock bottom and uncertain there was anything left for him as the leader of his people. But God had other plans. Hezekiah’s dead end was God’s roundabout to redirect him and get him back on the right road.
Have you ever felt like Hezekiah? Defeated? Not certain what was coming next? There are two important things to take from his story. First, he had Isaiah, and God used Isaiah to fulfill his will in Hezekiah’s life. Who are you partnering with in your faith journey? Do you have someone to talk with? To pray with? And maybe even someone God will use to answer your prayers and show you the way forward. And second, Hezekiah trusted the Lord even when he thought there was nothing left, and he was open to the Lord’s leading through his trusted friend.
Brothers and sisters, we can’t say enough how important it is for us not to take this life journey alone. Ask God to lead you to the right person or the right small group to partner with you. Fall will bring new opportunities to grow your faith by meeting with others but begin now preparing your heart for what He may have in store for you in the next season. How might He be calling you to take a leap of faith so that He can do a greater work in you?
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