PROCLAMATION
“Then the word of The
Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what The Lord, The
God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I
will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this
city …” Isaiah 38:4-6 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
Beginning in chapter
thirty-six, the prophet Isaiah repeats some history
of Judah and prophecies which were presented previously in The Bible Book of
Second Kings. (2 Kings 20:5-6) To
recount the events which are referenced here, King Hezekiah got sick and became ill to the point of death.
(Isaiah 38:1) He consulted with the
prophet Isaiah who told him that he was going to die. Then King Hezekiah turned his face to the
wall, and wept, and prayed to The Lord. (2 Kings 20:2-3 and Isaiah 38:2-3) Afterwards,
Isaiah left the presence of the king but before he could get completely out of
the palace, The Lord spoke to him and told him to go back to King Hezekiah and
tell him that He heard his prayer and saw his tears, and that He would add fifteen
more years to his life.
APPLICATION
King Hezekiah walked
faithfully before The Lord with wholehearted devotion and did that which was
right in the eyes of The Lord and He extended his life. The Bible
says that the days of our lives will be threescore and ten, seventy years old,
but that could be lengthen or shortened. (Psalm 90:10) The Bible
also says that we can lengthen our days on earth by honoring our father and
mother. (Exodus 20:12) By honoring them we need to give them
affection, reverence, esteem, obedience, and to give them assistance with the
things that they need. Here Hezekiah showed us that a good Christian
walk and a prayer request can also extend our lives on earth. We do
not know the hour or the day when we will transition from labor to reward, but
we now know that it is possible to get an extended stay here before we go home
to heaven.
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