The Illness of Hezekiah

The Illness of Hezekiah

On 7^th December 2008, we were privileged at CDC to have brother Gong Wooi Sing speak on 2 Kings 20, the passage of King Hezekiah’s illness and how the Lord answered his prayer and prolonged his life.

Just the previous week, we had seen how King Hezekiah saw a great deliverance from the hands of the Living God when the mighty Assyrian army was forced to retreat from Jerusalem in disgrace. The death of 185,000 men in the Assyrian army could only be the work of God, and Judah was safe, in the face of insurmountable odds.

However, we immediately see King Hezekiah face another crisis. This time, it is not national, but personal, as the Lord lets him know through the prophet Isaiah that his time on earth is up – he is going to die. Death puts a certain perspective on things. What you thought was important is no longer important, and you tend to realize that people and relationships are far more important than possessions and achievements. In a way, knowing the date of your death can be a blessing because you can make all the necessary arrangements for the benefit of your loved ones, and perhaps free you to do certain things that you want to do. Most of the time, people do not have the time to put their house in order, for death often comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

King Hezekiah, however, could not accept it and cried out to the Lord, pouring out all his feelings. All the great men and women of God were honest with God. They challenged God, blamed God, begged God – the way they spoke showed the relationship that they had with God, an honest relationship. God looks at our hearts, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. We too need to learn to be honest with God and pour out our feelings to Him. King Hezekiah did not want to die –he asked God to remember his devotion, he wept before God.

And God listened to Hezekiah, and healed him. Why does God heal some and not others? Is healing the result of the faith of the person who prays or the person who is being prayed for? The truth is, none of us know, and it is a fallacy to claim that healing will definitely come because of this condition or that condition. Ultimately, it is God’s sovereign will that determines whether a person is healed, and He always makes sure things work out best for those who love Him. Our attitude should be that of Christ Jesus who prayed “Not my will but yours be done”. We are also reminded of the three friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who bravely said to the king “Our God will save us, but even if he does not, we will not bow down to you or your gods”. They were cast into the flames, but completely unharmed for Jesus was with them. A wise Christian observed that while the three left the furnace, the fourth person was still there. Our Lord Jesus is there to help any of His children who are thrown into the flames. Our attitude is to accept God’s will in trust and faith and love, whatever it may be.

It is also interesting to observe the use of a poultice of figs to heal Hezekiah. The God of healing has provided instruments of healing all over nature, and the Chinese have long known the healing power of herbs and plants. There are some who claim that faith alone will heal, and even condemn all acts of taking medicine as lack of faith. However, our Lord Jesus never discounted the value of doctors and physicians. The author of Luke and Acts is of course a doctor, and the gift of advances in science and medication is also given by God as are many other good and useful inventions. Still, it is interesting to note that miracles are usually most often seen in the more remote areas, where there is little development. In places such as these, the people do not have much to put their hope on, and perhaps that is why so many receive the incredible healing of God.

May the Lord heal those of us are sick, and help us trust in Him in every situation, believing and putting ourselves in His hands, according to His will. In Jesus name, Amen.