Trust in God Not Man: Hezekiah’s Case Study • 08.25.24
Nick Lees   -   August 25, 2024

Click Here for The Isaiah Overview Sermon from the Beginning of the Series

Trust in God Not Man: Hezekiah’s Case Study
Isaiah 38-39

Remember that God alone is worthy of your trust

  1. Realize men, even righteous kings, are still fallible sinners
  2. Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord
  3. Learn to allow suffering to drive you to God
  4. Behold and beware the incredible danger of pride

 

Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self)

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (Isaiah 38; page 710)

Today is our final Sunday in Isaiah for 2024. As I mentioned last week, we are pushing pause after chapter 39 and will pick back up in chapter 40 in the new year. Starting next week, we will be in the book of James: Faith that Works. While moving on from Isaiah will be bittersweet, I’m looking forward to diving into the wisdom of James for the month of September!

But, for today, let’s pick back up where we left off in Isaiah. Last week, in chapters 36-37, we were introduced to King Hezekiah, the king of Judah who reigned when Sennacherib of Assyria came conquering. These two chapters presented Hezekiah with some very hard circumstances, having the Assyrians knocking at his door and threatening the city of Jerusalem with siege and exile. But his response was to trust the Lord. And Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord rather than the nations or his own abilities led to God delivering them from the Assyrian army. God made it very clear that he would not be mocked, thus he would deal with the arrogance of Assyria. It was a miraculous victory for the Judeans, and all were left in awe of God’s power and glory. Perhaps some were even tempted to wonder if Hezekiah was the Davidic king that God had promised, the long-awaited Messiah.

Well, unfortunately, as we’re going to see today, King Hezekiah was not the long-awaited Messiah. In fact, even though he was known as a righteous king who walked in the ways of the Lord, we will see that Hezekiah is still a fallible, sinful man. Today’s case study of Hezekiah is a valuable reminder that God alone is worthy of your trust.

Remember that God alone is worthy of your trust

Let’s turn our attention to the text for today.

Isaiah 38:1–6 (ESV)

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

6I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

This passage follows the recounting of the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem by the angel of the Lord in chapter 37, and yet it references a future deliverance out of the hand of the king of Assyria. For this reason, many commentators believe that the “in those days” of verse 1 are preceding or concurrent with the events of chapters 36-37. This also fits with the timing of his war with Assyria (during his 14th year of reign) and the fact that he was given 15 additional years to live (coinciding with his death at 29 years of reign).

All that to say, it is possible that Hezekiah initially responded well to the threats of the Assyrians by trusting in the Lord, then fell extremely ill and almost died, before being miraculously delivered from death and the Assyrians by the Lord. This sequence of events fits with the data we have available to us from other passages of Scripture.

For instance, listen to the parallel accounting in 2 Chronicles 32:

2 Chronicles 32:24–25 (ESV)

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.

This accounting reveals that Hezekiah was struggling with a proud heart, which invited God’s judgment upon him and the people. However, that judgment was not the Assyrians, but a different group…

Consider the introduction of the Babylonians in Isaiah 39:

Isaiah 39:1–2 (ESV)

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

And again in 2 Chronicles 32:

2 Chronicles 32:31 (ESV)

31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

In this set of interactions, we see Hezekiah’s pride on display. While we are not told the content of the envoy’s letters, Hezekiah’s response of showing off Judah’s treasures and armory indicates that it was likely an opportunity to ally with Babylon against Assyria. Knowing the name of the Babylonian king helps date these interactions to the 703-701 BC timeframe, as this is when Merodach-baladan had resumed leadership in Babylon before dying several years later.

Studying these different passages about this situation helps us come to a fuller understanding of what happened. We could also go to 2 Kings 18-20 to cross-check even more details. As we do this investigative work, we find that King Hezekiah is a more complex figure than we initially realized. (Aren’t we all?) Even in the midst of trusting the Lord, the king was still an imperfect man who wrestled with pride and was tempted to trust foreign nations as allies.

This brings us to our first takeaway today as we remember that God alone is worthy of your trust…

  1. Realize men, even righteous kings, are still fallible sinners

Fallible meaning capable of making mistakes or being wrong. Hezekiah was not the Messiah they were waiting upon. He was not the fulfillment of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies in chapters 7 and 9.

Yes, he was the cream of the crop for the Judean kings, but even he still fell short. This is a helpful and sobering reminder for us today. Our hope and trust cannot be placed in mere men/women. No matter how righteous they may be, they are not God. There is only One who is perfectly trustworthy!

Allow this lesson to challenge you when you are tempted to put your hope and trust in anyone or anything other than the One, True God.

  • Political leaders are fallible sinners
  • Spiritual leaders are fallible sinners
  • Family members are fallible sinners
  • You are a fallible sinner

None of these people were meant to bear the weight of your hopes and trust. They will inevitably let you down. But there is One who never will! He is the One Hezekiah turned to when news of his death was set before him.

Isaiah 38:2–3 (ESV)

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Our second takeaway this morning is to…

  1. Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord

He may not have gotten everything right (who does?!) but Hezekiah got this right – trust in the Lord! When word came of his impending death, he turned to the One who could save him. He cried out to the Lord and asked God to remember him and his life of devotion to the Lord. Hezekiah desired to be known for his trust in God.

And God heard his desperate cry and responded!

Isaiah 38:4–8 (ESV)

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

The Lord was very gracious and merciful to the king. He promised to give him 15 more years of life. As I looked into this, I realized that Hezekiah was 39 years old when he had received news of his coming death. You can imagine how distraught he was to depart at such a young age!

Yet God preserved his life. He also promised to deliver the nation from Assyria, which we know he fulfilled. Finally, God graciously gave Hezekiah a sign to prove that he would keep his word. Isaiah’s recounting conceals the graciousness of God in giving this sign, but in 2 Kings 20 we hear that Hezekiah asked for the sign. God’s response of giving him the sign is indicative of his care and concern for his people, even when we are fallible sinners. (Note: We do not know how this sign was accomplished, but we take God at his word. The least difficult explanation would be something like a divine refraction of the light.)

The book of Isaiah has been driving the people of Judah to recognize that God alone is worthy of their trust! For far too long they have been turning to the left or to the right, expecting self-reliance or false idols to deliver and protect them. Rather than providing salvation and deliverance, these false objects of trust have only brought further judgment and destruction into their lives and nation. You may recall that Isaiah had been sent by God to call the people to repentance and trust in Him alone.

This message of repentance and trust in God alone is very much what we need to hear in our day and in our nation. Not much has changed over the centuries. We continue to repeat the folly of Judah in our own sinful self-reliance and idolatry. We may not bow down to physical idols these days, but we certainly worship all kinds of false gods. The god of pleasure, the god of comfort/ease, the god of control… whatever it is that occupies your heart and mind over the One, True God. Throughout this series, we’ve often asked something like this, “Where do you turn in the highs and lows of life?” If it is to anyone or anything other than God, then you have found an idol in your life. Allow the teaching of Isaiah to help you forsake that idol!

Join Hezekiah in trusting the Lord. Look to God in the good and the hard seasons of life. Cry out to him with your pains and fears. Give thanks to him for the joys and blessings you experience. Remember he is the sovereign Lord over them all. His power is at work in all things to accomplish his grand redemptive plan.

Let’s listen to Hezekiah’s own words after he became sick and was spared by God.

Isaiah 38:9–20 (ESV)

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10      I said, In the middle of my days

I must depart;

          I am consigned to the gates of Sheol

for the rest of my years.

11      I said, I shall not see the Lord,

the Lord in the land of the living;

          I shall look on man no more

among the inhabitants of the world.

12      My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me

like a shepherd’s tent;

          like a weaver I have rolled up my life;

he cuts me off from the loom;

          from day to night you bring me to an end;

13            I calmed myself until morning;

          like a lion he breaks all my bones;

from day to night you bring me to an end.

14      Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;

I moan like a dove.

          My eyes are weary with looking upward.

O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!

15      What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,

and he himself has done it.

          I walk slowly all my years

because of the bitterness of my soul.

16      O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live!

17      Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

          but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

          for you have cast all my sins

behind your back.

18      For Sheol does not thank you;

death does not praise you;

          those who go down to the pit do not hope

for your faithfulness.

19      The living, the living, he thanks you,

as I do this day;

          the father makes known to the children

your faithfulness.

20      The Lord will save me,

and we will play my music on stringed instruments

          all the days of our lives,

at the house of the Lord.

Can you hear the progression of Hezekiah’s thinking in his writing? He began with despair at the thought of dying at such a young age. He would no longer be able to enjoy the Lord or his fellow men in the land of the living. His life was about to come to an abrupt end, and this was distressing to him. His groans and moans of distress were like a bird, and he was crying out to the Lord for help. Yet he knows that it is God who has done this to him!

Hezekiah knows that God is in control. Verse 15 would be better translated in the future, ongoing tense, “I will walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.” Meaning he would spend the rest of his days in sorrow and distress as he was under God’s judgment.

Yet he still trusts in the Lord! In verse 16 we see a cry for God to restore him to health and to make him live. Hezekiah knows that God is sovereign over these matters. The way this is worded in the Hebrew expresses a consequence that is expected with certainty. And verse 17 captures the transition of knowing that God would deliver him. He confesses that God is the one who has cast all his sins behind his back. God is his deliverer. He trusts in Him!

The writing comes to a head in verses 18-20 as Hezekiah recounts that the dead do not have opportunity to praise God, but the living do. And Hezekiah will join his voice as one of the living in thanking God for his mercies and grace. He will make known God’s faithfulness to the next generation. Hezekiah’s hope at the end of his writing is that he will be able to spend the rest of his life worshiping God in lyric and song at the house of the Lord. He will not waste his extra 15 years but spend them in worship of the Lord.

In this prayer turned thanksgiving, Hezekiah models for us how to allow suffering to drive us to God. And that is our third takeaway this morning in remembering that God alone is worthy of your trust…

  1. Learn to allow suffering to drive you to God

God does not waste suffering. It is his tool to reveal our hearts and drive us back to Him. This is a mercy of God for He is our greatest need and greatest treasure. There is no good life apart from Him.

In Hezekiah’s day they did not have a fully developed understanding of life after death through faith in God. But we have the privilege of living in the New Testament era, where God sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue and redeem his people from their sin so that they can have eternal life with Him.

Just a few weeks ago we heard this truth from Romans 6:23:

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our sin earns us death, but God offers forgiveness of sins that leads to eternal life through faith in Jesus! While Hezekiah had the hope of forgiveness of his sins, his rejoicing was limited to the remaining days of his life on earth. He could not fully conceive of having all eternity to enjoy the presence and blessing of God.

But Paul gives us a fuller understanding of a Christian’s hope in Christ:

Romans 8:28–30 (ESV)

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Does that say, “For those who love God ‘some things’ work together for good?” No, all things! God, in his sovereign power, is able to force even trials to do good to us. Which is why we can and must learn to allow suffering to drive us back to God. He is at work in it. He is not absent from it. He has allowed it into our lives for a purpose – our holiness and salvation and his glory.

The Apostle Peter also speaks to this understanding of trials:

1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

What an incredible passage! Suffering isn’t meaningless. The trials that grieve us are an opportunity for our faith to be refined and for us to eagerly anticipate the outcome of the salvation and glorification of our souls. This present world and body may be broken by sin, but a day is coming when all things will be made new, and we will get to enjoy the presence of God forever. Having that understanding drastically changes your outlook on suffering, if you allow it.

That’s not to say that you intentionally invite suffering into your life, but rather that you do not have to disdain or hate it when it does come. Instead, you can now view suffering as your opportunity for growth in godliness and trust in the Lord. After all, he is the one who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God WAS able and willing to help Hezekiah in his time of need, and he IS able and willing to help you in your time of need. That does not necessarily mean that it will look like God adding 15 more years of life for you; but it does mean that he will do exactly what is needed for your good and his glory. Will you trust that He knows best? Will you turn to Him in your time of need/suffering?

I realize that is easier said than done. Even Hezekiah’s own life testifies to that. He trusts God here with his physical health, but then fails to trust him in what follows with the Babylonians. This is a real battle, day by day, struggle by struggle, to keep trusting the Lord and living accordingly. Are you committed to engaging in that battle? Or are you conditional in your trust in the Lord? “I’ll trust him, but only if he gives me what I want. Only if I have a nice, easy life. Only if he gives me health, wealth, and prosperity. But not if he asks me to suffer for his sake. Not if he is going to allow hard things into my life.”

If that is your stance, can I ask you, “who is in the position of God in your life?” because it sounds like it is you! I am not God. I do not get to tell God how my life should go. Neither do you. Instead, I get the opportunity to trust God with what he allows in my life, and I get to learn how to faithfully follow him no matter what comes my way. And so do you.

Will you commit to that kind of faithful, trusting disposition towards the Lord? This is a posture of humility – recognizing that God is Lord, and we are not. It is a necessary posture/character quality for those who are going to remain faithful to God by trusting in him. Unfortunately, chapter 39 reveals that Hezekiah had a real struggle with remaining humble. Let’s listen in and learn from it.  

Isaiah 39:1–8 (ESV)

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

What an odd ending to Hezekiah’s appearance in Isaiah. Rather than trusting the Lord who had just delivered him from death, Hezekiah chooses to show off to the envoys of Babylon and attempts to broker some sort of alliance between the kingdoms. Notice Isaiah’s haunting words – “What have they seen in your house?” To which Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house…” And Isaiah’s response from the Lord is, “Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, … shall be carried to Babylon.” What an ominous promise of what was to come!

Hezekiah’s decision to allow pride to take root in his life had severe consequences for his family and the nation. And, in his pride, Hezekiah doesn’t really seem all that concerned, as long as he gets to end his life in peace! What a selfish response! This leads us into our final takeaway for today:

  1. Behold and beware the incredible danger of pride

The pride of man is a very powerful reason to trust in God not man. God cannot be proud, yet every human struggles with the epidemic of pride. It is at the root of every kind of evil. Pride is the exaltation of self; self-worship; having an inordinate view of self in relation to God and others. Pride is the sin that made the Devil who he is. Pride is what Hezekiah struggled with during his rule and reign. It has devastating consequences for everyone who indulges in it.

The judgment of Judah was linked to Hezekiah’s pride but let us not think that the rest of the nation was known for its humility before God! From what we’ve heard throughout the book of Isaiah, the Judeans were a proud, idolatrous people who constantly turned to things other than the Lord. God’s judgment was a response to their corporate pride as much as it was for the king’s pride.

We should take this to heart. A proud nation who exalts itself in sin against God will find itself on the receiving end of God’s judgment. We live in such a nation. May we not contribute to the collective sin of pride in our nation! Let us be a people who are known for the confession of sin and cultivation of humility before the Lord. Once again, we can look to Hezekiah’s example, for although he had fallen in pride, he was convicted and did repent:

2 Chronicles 32:26 (ESV)

26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Notice again the corporate nature of the confession and cultivation of humility. Hezekiah and the entire city were brought low. And God delayed his judgment as a result.

We ought to take this lesson to heart! Humility and repentance starts with me/you/us. Individually yes, but then corporately as the church. Consider how powerful a testimony it would be of the Lord’s goodness and grace if everyone who attends Harvest would live a confessed and holy life before God. If we were known throughout our community as the real deal when it comes to faithful Christianity. Not because we’re so great, but because our God is so great, and we trust and obey Him!

I pray that this is the life we would strive to live in the days ahead. But to do so requires each one of us to be committed to asking, “Where is pride present in my life? How do I need to confess and address pride?” That would be a great discussion to have within your home this week or during your small group time. Be intentional to go to war against pride together! *pause*

Now, before we wrap up Isaiah for the year, I want to point out that chapters 1-39 have served to point Judah (and us) to God as the only worthy recipient of trust. Yet they have also revealed that even the best of God’s people fails, leaving the question – where can hope be found? How can a sinful people possibly become the holy, submitted people that God calls them to be? Chapters 40-66 will provide the answers to these questions!

Here’s your sneak peek at what is to come:

Isaiah 40:3–5 (ESV)

   3      A voice cries:

          “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

   4      Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

          the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

   5      And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

God is coming. He will reveal his glory to the nations and make a way for them to come to him.

Let’s pray.

Pray – thank the Lord for his glory and trustworthiness. Confess our pride/sin and need for a Savior, Jesus Christ. Rejoice that Jesus has come and made a way for sinners like us to be forgiven and redeemed. Ask for his help in living faithfully for him all our days.