Today’s passage: 2 Kings 20:1-21
Helpful thoughts:
- Verses 2 and 3 never say that Hezekiah asked God to allow him to live longer. He may have simply been concerned about the consequences of his death, such as the aggressiveness of the Assyrians or the young age of his son.
- His prayer could have been an appeal to God to continue to preserve Judah in his absence.
- Hezekiah’s healing and the sign he requested may have been the action that set the ball rolling in Judah’s relationship with Babylon (2 Chronicles 32:31).
- Hezekiah was a godly king, and yet a man who fell short of the glory of God. His extra fifteen years may have been a blessing in many ways, and it also brought consequences.
Questions to consider:
- Was Judah safe because Hezekiah was alive? Who was her Savior and Shield?
- What would Hezekiah have been like once he physically died and went to heaven? If he desired to live longer, in what ways could that be a loving request? In what ways is heaven better? (Philippians 1:21)
- If you’re reading this and you are a follower of Christ, you have a God-ordained reason to still be here. What would God have you to be using your energies to do? Who has he given you to love? To serve? To point to Christ? How will you find true fulfilment in life?