Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today we get
a story that fills in a bit of the bigger picture of the story of Hezekiah. We get an opportunity to see the real
Hezekiah, much like we got an opportunity to see the real David. We see him in his glory, we see him in his
faults.
In his
glory, Hezekiah is a bastion of faith. Sick,
he prays to God. He believes God can heal
him. When Isaiah comes to tell Hezekiah
that God is going to heal him, Hezekiah is willing to believe it. Here is a man who understands the power of
God and understands the preeminence of God.
He gets it in a very real and personal way.
A neat part
of this is that God knows that he gets it.
God heals him. In fact, it seems
to please God to heal Hezekiah. This is
a man who has a positive relationship with God and it shows all around.
That being
said, Hezekiah is no perfect man, either.
He makes mistakes. When some emissaries
from Babylon come to see him, he is taken by their concern for his health. He shows them around. Like a proud man, he puts on a demonstration
of what makes him great. He never thinks
about the idea that these emissaries could go back to Babylon and brag about
the wealth the see. Hezekiah never
thinks about the possibility that his pride could lead to the king of Babylon
coming to Judah to take that wealth from him.
In Hezekiah, we see a fault of blind pride.
Furthermore,
we also see a man who is a bit self-centered.
When he is told about the judgment to come, Hezekiah’s reaction is
really interesting. Hezekiah is okay
with the judgment because it will happen after he dies. I hope the self-centeredness of this reaction
is obvious.
Hezekiah is
a great man. He has a great relationship
with God. But he isn’t perfect. He is short-sighted. He suffers from pride. He has flaws.
But in the end, God still loves him.
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