God listens to our prayers just like He listened to Hezekiah's prayers.
There's another big prayer that Hezekiah prays to God for.
II Kings 20:1-3- In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
The prophet, Isaiah, came to Hezekiah and told him to get things ready because he was going to die. He needed to pick out the next king, and he needed to make sure that the next rulers would love God and obey His ways.
But, Hezekiah wasn't ready to die, yet. He prayed to the Lord and asked God to remember all that he had done during his lifetime. He was hoping God would extend his life.
And God heard his prayers and saw his tears and answered him.
II Kings 20:4-6- And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
So, Isaiah came back to Hezekiah to tell him that the Lord was going to allow him to live another 15 years!
II KIngs 20:8- And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
Hezekiah wanted to know what miracle would be done to show that God spoke to Isaiah.
Isaiah asked if Hezekiah wanted God to make more hours in that one day or less hours in that one day.
Hezekiah said that the sun always rises in the East and sets in the West. But, if God were to make the sun move back to the East and add more hours to that day that it would definitely be a miracle that only God could do!
II Kings 20:11- And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
So, God added more hours to the day to show King Hezekiah that he was going to live.
II Kings 20:7- And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
So, Hezekiah got better and he went to the house of the Lord and thanked Him for His mercy.
II Kings 20:12-13- At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
The king of Babylon had heard about Hezekiah being sick. And, he certainly saw the sun moving the wrong way in the sky! And he sent an ambassage to Hezekiah with gifts.
Hezekiah was so pleased to see this that he gave the ambassadors from Babylon a tour of his home. He showed them his treasures, his armory and all his weapons, everything that he was proud of!
II Kings 20:14-15- Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
The prophet Isaiah came back to visit the king after the group from Babylon had left. And, he asked what the men were shown in the kingdom.
Hezekiah replied that he showed them everything that he had.
II Kings 20:16-18- And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah of the Babylonian captivity of the nation of Judah.
Why?
II Chronicles 32:31- Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
God wanted to see what Hezekiah would do if He stepped back and allowed Hezekiah some room to roam. Do you think that God didn't know what would happen? Of course He knew!
But, sometimes God allows things to happen so that we ourselves learn what's in our hearts. What do you think was in Hezekiah's heart?
Pride.
II Chronicles 32:25-26- But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
God showed Hezekiah the pride that was building in his heart. And, Hezekiah responded correctly! He humbled himself and asked God to forgive him.
II Chronicles 32:32- Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
II Kings 20:20-21- And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
Hezekiah was a very good king. The things he accomplished for his kingdom were noted by the men who wrote the Bible.
So, Hezekiah lived out his 15 extra years that God had promised him and then he died. And, his son reigned in his place.
II Kings 21:1-2- Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
This is something that we don't usually think about! When we pray and ask God for things, we are looking at our circumstances in the present. We don't think about the future.
Hezekiah wanted to live, and so he prayed and asked God for a longer life. His son Manasseh was born three years later. This son would be one of the most wicked kings the nation of Judah would ever have!
Who would have been crowned king had Hezekiah accepted God's will and died? Would Judah have had another good king that would be a righteous ruler over that nation? We will never know.
Because Hezekiah prayed for his own will instead of God's will, his nation got a curse instead of a blessing!
II Kings 21:5-6- And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
II KIngs 21:16- Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
II Chronicles 33:9-10- So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
God is very merciful! He is very longsuffering. He didn't want to have to punish the nation of Judah. He sent prophets to tell them to repent and turn back to God, but they wouldn't!
So, God sent the King of Assyria against the nation of Judah.
II Chronicles 33:11-13- Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
The king of Assyria captured Manasseh and took him in chains to the city of Babylon. The Bible says that he was in afflication- so he was probably in a dungeon like other prisoners would be.
But, it took this for Manasseh to finally see how wicked he had been. He was ready to repent! He begged the Lord to forgive him.
And, guess what! The Lord did. The Lord was merciful even after all the evil things that Manasseh had did. And, he even allowed Manasseh to return to his kingdom.
II Chronicles 33:15-16- And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
Manasseh not only repented, but he went about the capitol city cleaning out the false idols that he once worshiped. He made sure that he thanked God for His goodness and His mercy, and he commanded his people to worship the Lord instead of false idols.
II Chronicles 33:18, 20 - Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
Manasseh reigned for 55 years over the nation of Judah. He had one of the longest reigns in the history of the nation. That's how longsuffering God is. He will wait a long time for us to repent!
Though Manasseh got right with the Lord God Almighty, his son who took the throne next did not.
II Chronicles 33:21-23- Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them; And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
God tried to give Amon the chance to repent, but he wouldn't. He was stubborn and hard-hearted, and wicked. And the Lord wasn't going to allow him to ruin his people anymore!
II Kings 21:23, 26a- And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house. And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza:
Amon's own servants killed him after only 2 years on the throne.
II Chronicles 33:25- But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
The citizens of Judah caught the servants who had murdered Amon and killed them. Then they crowned the young son, Josiah, to be their next king.
Good kings. Bad kings. Old kings. Young kings. What would Josiah be?
