2 Kings 20-22

Daily Reading

2Kings 20-22

Daily Thought

That Hezekiah enjoyed prosperity was obvious. An envoy of visitors bearing gifts sent by the king of Babylon became an excuse to show off. "Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them" (2Kings 20:13). Babylon would visit again someday, to make this treasure their own, but this was of little concern to Hezekiah as long as there was "peace and security in my days" (2Kings 20:19). 

Hezekiah had begun beautifully. "The Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered" (2Kings 18:7), but success became too much a good thing. You would hope that one who had trusted God with his life would trust God with his death, but that was not the case for Hezekiah. When Isaiah the prophet came to him and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die'" (2Kings 20:1), Hezekiah pleaded with God and wept bitterly, and fifteen years were added to his life. 

We pray for results, and God answers with opportunities. Hezekiah was given a longer life, so he didn't put his house in order. He would finish badly. He had another son and named him Manasseh, "and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel" (2Kings 21:9).

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. ~1Corinthians 9:24-27

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, Your commandments will be upon my heart, because they are good for life, my life, and my children's and their children's. I will impress them on my children, talk about them when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. I will not only teach them, I will live them. 

God, bless my household. May my family, my spouse and children, follow You all the days of our lives. As for me and my house, we will serve You. 

Amen.