My thoughts on Hezekiah were like a tough plant with deep roots that didn’t want to be pulled out. King Hezekiah has always been one of my favorite biblical characters. I’ve known him for many years in some of the most difficult seasons of my life. He has been an example to me in many ways. …
Hezekiah’s Pride Part 4: Isaiah Devotional Journal 84
Fortunately, Scripture includes the book of 2 Chronicles to unfold its many details concerning the state of King Hezekiah’s heart. King Hezekiah truly was a good king. We’ve seen how God tested and proved him in the areas of worship (Journal 81 and Journal 82), military leadership (Journal 83), and his personal life (this post). We will close up this section concerning Hezekiah and Volume 1 of Isaiah in the next post. There we will discover what 2 Chronicles reveals as the apparent source of King Hezekiah’s sinful pride. …
Hezekiah’s Pride Part 2: Isaiah Devotional Journal 82
As mentioned in a prior post, Scripture devotes many chapters from several books to King Hezekiah. He was a great and devoted leader who followed the Lord and his Word with a whole heart. But in the end, he caved in to his own pride. Why did this happen? And surely, if such a man as Hezekiah fell this way, then any one of us might also succumb to pride. Right? … And so, we should not brush off King Hezekiah’s pride as though he were a wicked man of wicked ways, nor as one who deserves our condemnation. What can we learn about God and about King Hezekiah that we can apply to ourselves? …
Hezekiah’s Pride Part 1: Isaiah Devotional Journal 81
In general, pride tempts capable people. Pride is a danger for those who succeed in their plans. Spiritually, pride attacks those who demonstrate virtue and faithfulness to the Lord… Scripture gives us much detail concerning King Hezekiah’s pride. But first, we must consider his virtue in order to understand why he succumbed to pride. …
Hezekiah Worships: Isaiah Devotional Journal 80
When we face difficulties from which we may not survive, let us call upon the name of the Lord. Our God saves. He delivers from death. God’s deliverance is sure, fixed in the heavenlies, whether in this life or by means of our passing to the next. Either way, Christians do experience and will experience resurrection from death. This is the prophetic promise of Isaiah 38. …
Hezekiah Prays c’t’d: Isaiah Devotional Journal 79
But do we actually pray as King Hezekiah did? It seems to me that many times Christians are afraid to weep loudly before the Lord. Haven’t we been taught to “Rejoice always”? We may perhaps want to weep and complain, but are we afraid this would display doubt or lack of faithfulness? … Hezekiah displays his faith by asking for a difficult sign. A difficult sign serves him well, because when Isaiah prays and the Lord performs the impossible (the shadow on the sundial moving backward), it gives Hezekiah certainty. …