2 Kings 20 Devotional

A Healing and a Blind Spot

““Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.”2 Kings 20:5 (BSB)

Isaiah tells Hezekiah to prepare for death, because he will not recover. Hezekiah turns his face to the wall, prays, and weeps bitterly (20:1-3). Before Isaiah has even left the middle courtyard, the LORD sends him back: he has heard and has seen the king weeping, and he will heal Hezekiah and add fifteen years to his life (20:4-6). The LORD is not distant from a dying man's tears.

The chapter does not end there. When envoys come from Babylon, Hezekiah shows them every treasure he has (20:13). Isaiah announces that all of it will one day be carried off to Babylon, along with some of Hezekiah's own descendants (20:17-18). Hezekiah calls the word good, thinking that at least his own lifetime will be peaceful (20:19). Even a king who trusted God could think too small. God's mercy to Hezekiah was real, and it did not depend on his later wisdom. Mercy received is meant to widen our concern beyond our own days.

To think about: How might God's mercy to you widen your concern for the people who will come after you?