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March 6 - 2 Kings 20 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello, friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 6th of
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March, and it's great to have your company.
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Thanks for tapping on play. Here I am.
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Voila, the genie in your phone or your computer who pops out?
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Or maybe your iPad, your watch, your earbuds, your I don't know
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how many different devices you can listen to podcasts on these
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days, wherever you're listening. Hello.
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So good. So good that you have invited me
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in and that you are taking a moment in your busy day to hear
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what God has to teach you today through His Word.
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And I've had lots to say in the preambles through the first half
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of this week. So let's keep it short today and
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dive straight into our reading as we hear about the rest of
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Hezekiah's life and the terrible trap of flattery.
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Oh dear. As we read together Second Kings
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chapter 20, about that time Hezekiah became
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deathly ill and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amos went to
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visit him. He gave the king this message.
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This is what the Lord says. Set your affairs in order, for
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you are going to die. You will not recover from this
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illness. When Hezekiah heard this, he
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turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.
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Remember Me, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and
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have served you single mindedly, always doing what pleases you.
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And he broke down and wept bitterly.
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But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message
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came to him from the Lord. Go back to Hezekiah, the leader
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of my people. Tell him this is what the Lord,
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the God of your ancestor David, says.
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I've heard your prayer and seen your tears.
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I will heal you. And three days from now you will
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get out of bed and go to the temple of the Lord.
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I will add 15 years to your life, and I will rescue you and
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this city from the king of Assyria.
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I will defend the city for my own honour and for the sake of
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my servant David. Then Isaiah said, Make an
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ointment from figs. Sir Hezekiah's servant spread
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the ointment over the boil and Hezekiah recovered.
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Meanwhile Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, What sign will the Lord
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give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the
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temple of the Lord 3 days from now?
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Isaiah replied, This is the sign from the Lord to prove that He
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will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the
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sundial to go forward 10 steps or backward 10 steps?
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The shadow always moves forward, Hezekiah replied, So that would
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be easy. Make it go 10 steps backward
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instead. So as I the prophet, asked the
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Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move 10 steps
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backward on the sundial of Ahaz. Soon after this, marodic
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Baladan, son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best
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wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been
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very sick. Hezekiah received the Babylonian
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envoys and showed them everything in his treasure
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houses, the silver, the gold, the spices and the aromatic
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oils. He also took them to see his
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armoury and showed them everything in his royal
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treasuries. There was nothing in his palace
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or Kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
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Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him what
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did those men want? Where are they from?
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Hezekiah replied. They came from the distant land
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of Babylon. What did they see in your
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palace? Isaiah asked.
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They saw everything, Hezekiah replied.
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I showed them everything. I own all my royal treasuries.
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Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Listen to this message from the
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Lord. The time is coming when
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everything in your palace, all the treasures stored up by your
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ancestors until now, will be carried off to Babylon.
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Nothing will be left, says the Lord.
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Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile.
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They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of
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Babylon's king. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
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This message you have given me from the Lord is good for the
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king was thinking, at least there will be peace and security
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during my lifetime. The rest of the events of
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Hezekiah's reign, including the extent of his power and how he
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built a pool and dug a tunnel to bring water into the city, are
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recorded in the book of the History of the Kings of Judah.
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Hezekiah died and his son Manasseh became the next king.
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Our Lord, let it never be said that you do not hear our prayers
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and respond. Lord, thank you for this story
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that shows us this moment in time where you have declared the
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King's impending doom, and through bitter tears and
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anguished prayer to you, you change your mind and you extend
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his life another 14 years. Lord, that is not always going
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to be the way it works. And you will have plans that far
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outstrip our ability to see to the end of them.
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And sometimes when we ask you for things, they won't be the
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way we want them to be. But Lord, give us confidence
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that you do indeed hear our prayers and that you do indeed
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respond to them and answer them, even if it's not in the way that
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we were asking for. Lord, thank you that you hear
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us. Thank you that in your
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generosity and your love, you reach out.
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You come to us, and you respond to our prayers.
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You are a good and loving God. Oh, and we thank you so much for
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that as well as the mighty God of the universe who reigns with
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your strong arm, that you are also the tender, loving and
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present God who through your spirit lives in each of us.
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Yes, you are mind blowing and we don't get it, but we love you
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nonetheless and we pray all of these things in that loving and
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saving name of Jesus, Amen.