Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20040613.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSING IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part LVII: Blessing By Remembering Our Need For God In Times Of His Blessing
(2 Kings 20:1-21 with 2 Chronicles 32:24-33)
  1. Introduction
    1. When troubles overwhelm us, we find it easy to call to God as we have no other sure Source of help.
    2. A much greater challenge is that of recalling our need for God in times when He has richly blessed us in reward for our faith, for we can become proudly self-sufficient and selfish once we receive His blessings.
    3. Though he was a very good king, once God blessed him for obedience, Hezekiah struggled with the sin of pride and self-centered, self-sufficiency; we study that fact for a lesson on handling God's blessings:
  2. Blessing By Remembering Our Need For God In Times Of His Blessing, 2 Kings 20:1-21 et al.
    1. In the days when Assyria had begun to threaten him, Hezekiah became sick to the point of death from the effects of a poisonous boil, 2 Kings 20:1, 6b with Isaiah 38:21; Ryrie St. Bible, KJV , ftn. to 2 Kings 20:1.
    2. God's prophet, Isaiah initially told Hezekiah that he would not recover from this illness, that he should put his affairs in order in preparation for death, 2 Kings 20:1. This news, from what occurred as a result, was designed by God to get Hezekiah to humble himself before the Lord and seek His help as apparently Hezekiah had a weakness for pride and self-sufficiency, cf. 2 Chronicles 32:24 with 32:25-26.
    3. Hezekiah responded to Isaiah's message by calling out to the Lord for healing; thus, by way of Isaiah, God revealed Hezekiah would recover as a reward for his humble dependence upon God, 2 Kings 20:2-5.
    4. The Lord claimed He would add 15 years to Hezekiah's life and supplied a miraculous sign as proof that this would occur: the sun's shadow thus reversed 10 steps on a palace stairway, 2 Kings 20:6-11 ESV.
    5. Yet, in a later temptation to become proud and self-sufficient, this lesson was not applied by Hezekiah:
      1. Ambassadors from Babylon arrived in Judah with a twofold mission: (a) they outwardly came to hear of Hezekiah's miraculous recovery and sign of the sun's shadow reversal, 2 Kings 20:12; 2 Chronicles 32:31; (b) however, their real mission involved a military matter: their king, Merodach-baladan, sought to rebel against his overlord, Assyria's king, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Isaiah 39:1; hence, the ambassadors came mainly to seek Hezekiah's help in rebelling against Assyria, 2 Kings 20:12-13a, b!
      2. Well, instead of focusing on the lesson of the supernatural healing and sun reversal associated with it, all to give God alone the glory, Hezekiah arrogantly yielded to the deeper will of the Babylonian ambassadors (2 Kings 20:13a) and sought to impress them he could help them rebel against Assyria:
        1. Instead of focusing on exalting God's glory in witnessing of his healing and God's sign to the Babylonian ambassadors who mentioned these events, Hezekiah yielded to their deeper interest, showing them his power to help fight Assyria, 2 Kings 20:12-13 with 2 Chronicles 32:27-31.
        2. We know from the comments by the author of 2 Chronicles that Hezekiah's motivation in responding this way to these ambassadors was pride, cf. 2 Chronicles 32:24-25, 31. He yielded to the deeper interest of his visitors because he was too self-sufficient to glorify God for His healing and blessings; he chose to impress his godless ambassadors that he could help them fight Assyria.
      3. Accordingly, God's prophet, Isaiah predicted Hezekiah's goods that he had shown to the Babylonian ambassadors would end up in Babylon when it captured Judah, 2 Kings 20:14-17. Further, even Hezekiah's sons would be taken into Babylon and would serve as eunuchs to its king, 2 Kings 20:18.
      4. Rather than repenting for the sake of his offspring and for Judah, Hezekiah selfishly replied he was satisfied that he would enjoy peace at least in his days, 2 Kings 20:19; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. His self-centered, self-sufficiency had blown up into ugly proportions at this point in his life!
Lesson: Instead of heeding God's TEMPORARY discipline teaching him to CHECK his attitude of pride and self-sufficiency, Hezekiah became SELF-SUFFICIENT and PROUD in the long-term regarding the blessings God had given him: he showed his God-given prowess to the Babylonian ambassadors to exalt himself rather than giving God the glory in testifying of His deliverance for him.

Application: Though God graciously blesses us with influence and might for obedience, a great TEMPTATION arises to become ARROGANT and SELF-SUFFICIENT because of that influence and might! Thus, WHEN God allows TRIALS to arise that REMIND us that our blessings are from HIM, we are to RESPOND by EXALTING His HELP and TESTIFYING of it rather than exalting ourselves!