Day #215

Sermon - Audio
2 Kings 20-21 - Audio
2 Kings 20-21 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Chapter 20

Hezekiah was the only faithful king in Judah during a 100 year period (732-640 B.C.). Hezekiah's leadership made a huge difference. Because of his faith, humility, and prayer God healed him and saved the people from the Assyrians. The essence of faith is trusting God when the odds are stacked against us. Pastor Larry reminded us Sunday morning of the beautiful words of Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in life and in death - to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Faith and prayer, if they are sincere and directed toward the one true God, can change life and move mountains. Even when our prayers are not answered exactly like we would like, we can trust the Lord to work all things for our good (Romans 8.28). Even in the midst of bitter disappointment God does powerful things.

20.11 The stairway of Ahaz was probably a sundial. Egyptian sundials in this period were sometimes made in the form of small staircases so that the shadows moved up and down the steps.

20.12-19 It appears that Hezekiah's wealth, victories, and deliverance from death made him proud. Rather than giving credit to God for all his blessings, he tried to impress his visitors. When God is mighty to save, we must not try to impress others with our faith and success. Often our Christian testimony degenerates into pride and self-congratulations.

20.19 Hezekiah was glad that the terrible events foretold by Isaiah wouldn't happen during his lifetime. Hezekiah appears to be self-centered and unconcerned about people yet to be born.

20.20 The pool and tunnel refer to a 1,777 - foot tunnel built form the Gihon spring to the Pool of Siloam (see 2 Chronicles 32.30). It was a water source outside the wall of Jerusalem to a secure reservoir inside the city. This was done so that the Assyrian army would not cut off the city's water supply.

Chapter 21

Manasseh followed the example of many other bad kings. His father, Hezekiah seemed to be a great spiritual leader that made little impact on the life of his son. He returned to the sinful practices of the Babylonians and Canaanites. He even sacrificed his own son to an idol! He would not listen to the Word of God and led the people into great sin. The "high places" were shrines in the hills for worshipping idols.

21.6 Manasseh was an evil king who kindled the anger of God. Listed among his sins are occult practices like sorcery, divination, the consulting of mediums, and those trying to contact spirits. All of these acts were strictly forbidden by God (Leviticus 19.31; Deuteronomy 18.9-13) because they demonstrate a lack of faith in him and involved sinful actions that open the door to demonic influences. In our culture we see a renewed interest in tarot cards, horoscope reading, fortune telling, séances, and other occult practices. In all of these activities we are turning from the rule of our Sovereign God, to the power of the enemy. These are counterfeits and all have their roots in a way of life and belief that is totally opposed to the one true God. Today many Christians are wandering from biblical and prophetic spirituality. We are witnessing great acceptance of eastern spiritual practices that have their roots in the demonic. Visitors to India can see firsthand the impact, evil, and oppression eastern spirituality has caused, while in the west these practices are eagerly embraced. Spiritual practices that are somewhat new in the West that may seem novel and avante-guard have enslaved millions of people in other cultures. Hard questions and research should be done before we give ourselves to various forms of mediation and even Yoga. No matter how helpful they me seem, we need to compare our spiritual practices with the spirituality of the Text.

21.13 The plumb line symbolized the judgment process. These measuring instruments were used in construction and now would show God's people lacking.

21.16 Some believe that during Manasseh's massive slaughter, Isaiah was sawed in two when trying to hide in a hollow log (Hebrews 11.37-38). Other prophets may have been killed at this time as well.