How to Live Like a King!

"In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook." -- 2 Kings 18:1-7a

 How does this passage of Scripture make you feel? Inadequate? Inspired?

"At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses -- the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil -- his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, 'What did those men say, and where did they come from?' 'From a distant land,' Hezekiah replied. 'They came to me from Babylon.' The prophet asked, 'What did they see in your palace?' 'They saw everything in my palace,' Hezekiah said. 'There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.' Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' 'The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,' Hezekiah replied. For he thought. 'There will be peace and security in my lifetime.'" -- Isaiah 39

Still feeling the same way? Same king. Completely different perspective. In fact, prior to Hezekiah's prideful show-n-tell with the Babylonian emissaries, he had become so ill he was "at the point of death." Hezekiah cried out to the Lord. Nothing fake here; he had served God faithfully and with his whole heart. God heard his prayer, and added fifteen years to Hezekiah's life.

So, here is my question: Why didn't God just quit while Hezekiah was ahead? Couldn't God have preserved Hezekiah's reputation and saved him a good scolding if He'd just said, "Look, H. Up until now you have followed My precepts, trusted only in Me. You've reigned a good long time, and you have been known as a standout in the history of Judah's kings. Go out with a bang, OK?" Why did God give Hezekiah fifteen more years to be a complete knucklehead?

1. Hezekiah's days were numbered before he came to be. Before he asked for fifteen more. Before he used or misused a minute of them. God does not change His mind; God did not "tack on" fifteen "extra" years at Hezekiah's request. Hezekiah's death was conditional, dependent on his response; just as we are all destined for condemnation until we respond to God's pursuit of us. What is conditional in your life? You'll never know until you pray.

2. Hezekiah's ostentatious display and his self-centered attitude regarding Judah's exile to Babylon, are only a snippet of the fifteen years after his illness. How long after he had recovered did these men come to visit? How much longer after their visit did Hezekiah live? Aristotle said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts;" God said His mercies are new every day. 2 Kings 18 is Hezekiah's eulogy. Don't foster discouragement today for the mistakes you made yesterday. Accept God's forgiveness, make amends if necessary, take the lesson and live your entire life well.

3. What Hezekiah did with the fifteen years after his illness was his choice. Just like the fifteen years before his illness. And the fifteen years before that. God gave us a life exploding with choices and opportunities, varieties and preferences. Not that He might live out our days for us, but that we might choose -- to serve Him, to honor Him, to love Him. Or not. How do you choose to live the time you have been given?