When I first read 2 Kings 20, I immediately drew the wrong conclusions about King Hezekiah. Why didn’t he want to die; was he afraid, unsettled or trying to tell God what to do? And then to ask God to let him live, that seemed a bit bold!
As I dug a little deeper I was able to better understand who Hezekiah was. One commentary said that he was a godly son of an ungodly father and a godly father to an ungodly son. So, whatever his past generations chose, he followed God.
I found out that Hezekiah’s plea to live was not due to fear of death. It was surrounded by the reality of his circumstance. His kingdom was at war with the Assyrians. A long and dreary war it seems. The facts I have found were that Hezekiah probably had not yet had any sons. What would happen to his kingdom? This was a man who defeated the odds of those before him in truly following God and was leading his people to do so as well. His plea to live was perhaps because he wanted his kingdom to be safe and not fall into the hands of the ungodly nation pursuing them.
Hezekiah’s prayer was also another glimpse of his humbleness. He made no demands, he does not ask God to spare him! In Hezekiah’s prayer it may seem he is telling the Lord to remember what good he has done. A commentary I read put it like this; “Hezekiah does not pray, “Lord, spare me,” or, “Lord, take me; God’s will be done;” but, Lord, remember me; whether I live or die, let me be thine.” A true sign of character to the end….to rely on God’s will and not his own.
I wonder…if I were told to put my house in order and prepare for my time, how would I react? I can admit that I would probably hesitate. Oh the thought of finally meeting my Savior! And to finally be in heaven. And yet selfishly…my kids need me, can I leave now? What would my response be to the Lord? “Whether I live or die, let me be thine”.
Lord God,
I praise you for another day. Thank you for eternal life and the hope it gives me. Open my eyes to those around me who are lost and hurting. Who need You to be their Savior. Use me however you want today God to further Your kingdom and share your love.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2007 at 9:40 am and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.