569-Start with Faith, End with Faith#
(JP Text Group - shalom 整理)
Peace, dear family, welcome to your arrival. Today is Sunday, and we will look at God's words, 2 Kings 18:3-7.
The title of the sharing is: Start with Faith, End with Faith.
2 Kings 18:3-7:
3 Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 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. 5 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. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.
Let’s start with a prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful time to come before your words, receive your words, gain revelations, and receive strength, so that we know how to walk according to your words in our lives. We also wish to rely on you in everything, so that wherever we go, we experience your great power and succeed in all we do. Renew our thoughts and minds through your words, so that those who seek you may receive provision. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.
Believing in Jesus is the beginning of our new life and the beginning of a new life. Why must we start with faith? Because accepting salvation is something we cannot see with our eyes; it requires faith to receive and believe firmly. If we want our lives to change and to see God's great power, it must also start with faith. Starting with faith is certainly good, but more importantly, it is to hold on to faith and ultimately end with faith.
The Apostle Paul in the Bible, after truly knowing Jesus, started with faith, held on to faith, and ended with faith. When his life was about to end, he said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.” If someone can follow Paul's example of starting with faith and ending with faith, then in their life, they will also experience countless manifestations of God's great power.
The person we are sharing about today is Hezekiah.
Who is Hezekiah? He was a king of Judah.
After Solomon died, Solomon's kingdom was divided into two; the northern part was Israel, with ten of the twelve tribes, while the southern part, Judah, had two of the twelve tribes. Compared to the northern Israel, the population of southern Judah was relatively small.
During Hezekiah's reign as king of Judah, the country was already in dire straits, with industries in decline. Hezekiah's father acted wickedly, worshipped idols, and even imitated other nations by burning his children. This is recorded in detail in 2 Chronicles 28. At that time, the northern kingdom of Israel also experienced its first captivity, being defeated by Assyria, and from then on, both the northern and southern kingdoms became vassal states of Assyria. These events shocked King Hezekiah, causing him to resolve to turn to God and revive the kingdom of Judah.
Everything we read in this passage reflects Hezekiah's true actions at that time. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, following all that his ancestor David had done. How did David rely on God? He centered everything on God and sought God in every matter.
In this regard, Hezekiah truly did well at the beginning. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, cut down the Asherah poles, and broke the bronze snake made by Moses, preventing the people from worshipping idols. This was extremely rare in both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah at that time.
Among the many kings of northern Israel, none turned away from idols and truly relied on God; although there were a few good kings in southern Judah who could rely on God, most of the kings still worshipped idols and turned away from God. When Hezekiah became king, he was truly determined to rely on God. However, it is not to say that Hezekiah relied on God like David did until the end of his life; rather, it mainly means that Hezekiah was considered very good among the kings of Judah. What exactly did he do? Today, we will share about King Hezekiah.
Here it mentions that he relied solely on the Lord and did not depart from Him, keeping the commands the Lord had given to Moses. The Lord was with him, and he was successful in whatever he undertook. It was not that Hezekiah was too weak; rather, the environment he was in was too terrible, having experienced many kings who did not rely on God; the people in the country had turned away from God, and idol worship had become a custom.
From this, we can see that it was very difficult for Hezekiah to change everything, but he started with faith, which is very good; at least he had begun to take action. As we mentioned earlier, having such faith is good. The environment he faced was indeed very dire.
People cannot always maintain a high level of faith in their hearts; it is like a parabola, sometimes high, sometimes low. When a person's faith is strong, they can overlook their environment and even overcome it with faith; however, when a person cannot overcome their environment, or when their faith weakens, they focus on their environment, making it difficult to continue believing in God.
So when did Hezekiah start to rely on people? It was when he had indeed resolved to rely completely on God, and God allowed him to see some miracles, but the environment did not improve much. Especially when King Hezekiah saw that northern Israel had been defeated by Assyria, he completely lost faith.
2 Kings 18:13-15:
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the royal palace.
Through this passage, we see that during the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, the king of Assyria began to attack Judah. Why did he lose faith at this time? As I mentioned earlier, northern Israel had ten of the twelve tribes, and they had already been defeated by the king of Assyria. The southern Judah only had two tribes, and the population was not large. When Assyria came to attack the cities of Judah and captured them, King Hezekiah felt helpless. He might have thought: even God cannot save me. So he sought peace with the king of Assyria.
When seeking peace, we see how he acted; he first admitted his guilt. How can we see that King Hezekiah was guilty? It can be seen from the later dialogue between King Hezekiah and the king of Assyria.
Originally, the king of Assyria sent messengers to find Hezekiah, urging him to surrender, but King Hezekiah did not listen; he sought help from Egypt to fight against Assyria. As a result, Egypt was untrustworthy and did not help Hezekiah. King Hezekiah had no choice but to face the king of Assyria alone, and unexpectedly, he failed.
He sent messengers to the king of Assyria saying, “I have done wrong.” It is clear that this means: “I did not listen to your words before; please forgive me.” He took the initiative to admit his guilt, asking the king of Assyria to leave him alone, and even proposed a condition saying, “I will bear whatever you demand.”
This means: I can give you silver, but please do not attack me anymore; just leave me alone. Did King Hezekiah believe in God at this time? It is clear that he did not believe; he placed all his hopes on silver.
So the king of Assyria demanded from King Hezekiah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
You may not have a concept of this measurement in the Bible, so let me explain. Three hundred talents of silver is about thirty thousand kilograms, and thirty talents of gold is about nine hundred kilograms. That is quite a lot, not measured in grams but in kilograms.
It can be seen that after Hezekiah inherited the throne, the country was still very wealthy. However, he did not use this wealth to glorify God or improve the lives of the people; instead, he used this wealth to seek a compromise. Hezekiah was retreating step by step in front of the Assyrian army, feeling powerless to resist. He felt that God was no longer with him, so he made a very bad and wrong decision, which was to shift from relying on the Lord to relying on gold and silver, thinking that he could solve the current problem with money. Would this really work? You know, many people today believe that money can settle everything; if it cannot, it is because the amount given is too little. In fact, this approach itself is incorrect.
Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Here it mentions that we should trust in the Lord with all our heart.
Since it was mentioned at the beginning that Hezekiah was like David in trusting God wholeheartedly, how did David rely on God? Through David's life, we can truly see that he did not change his heart of relying on God regardless of the environment. Even in his weakest moments, he relied on God, and even after becoming king, when he became proud and sinned, he still relied on God. This is a very rare point. After David, there has not been anyone who relied on God as wholeheartedly as David did.
Therefore, Proverbs particularly mentions that we should trust in the Lord wholeheartedly. What does it mean to trust wholeheartedly? It means to fix your eyes solely on God, regardless of how the environment changes. Many people's situations are actually similar to Hezekiah's; at first, they have full faith in God and can indeed see miracles and success in everything. However, when their faith weakens, they begin to think of their own methods and start relying on their own understanding. For example, they look for people everywhere, relying on their own strength, etc. This is not what it means to trust in our God.
David truly trusted wholeheartedly. If you carefully read David's life, you can see that he never changed his heart of relying on God. In this regard, King Hezekiah fell quite short.
Verse 6 of this passage says: In all your ways submit to him.
What does it mean to submit to Him? Many times, we think that when we encounter problems, we pray to God, and if God solves the problem, then I will surely follow the Lord for the rest of my life. Many people have such determination. However, many people, after praying, find that the situation does not change much, or even worsens. At this point, they no longer wait on God but turn to seek other methods. This is not what it means to submit to Him.
What it means to submit is to look at this one path; when encountering something, it is to seek God and find answers in the truth. Hallelujah, this is what it means to submit to Him in all your ways. Many believers do not focus on God. Many people focus on the pastor; when they have problems, they go to this pastor for prayer. If nothing happens after the pastor prays, they switch to another person.
They listen to this pastor's sermon, hoping to find answers; if that doesn't work, they switch to another pastor to see if they can find answers. After switching many times, they end up wondering: why is there no answer to what I want? In reality, they are not seeking God; they are seeking people who share the same views as them. This is not what it means to submit to our God.
When we encounter problems, we should see what the truth says, and the one who needs to change is us, not seeking God to change. Relying on God means that when we encounter problems, we come before the Lord: “Lord, how should I act in this situation?” rather than saying, “Lord, I have encountered this problem; please solve it quickly.” If the person does not speak in a way that aligns with your wishes, you switch to another person to see if you can hear the answer you want. This is not relying on God.
Truly relying on God is like David; when he encountered problems, he called on God and sought God to guide his path. If God tells him a way, he will immediately act on it. However, many people's situations are that they stubbornly stick to what they believe is the right path and move forward. They do not realize that their thinking has become rigid and unchanging, and their methods have long since become ineffective. Yet they insist on that path, leading to more and more failures, and in the end, they blame God for not helping them.
I want to tell everyone how to truly trust in God. When we encounter problems, we seek the truth and see how God's truth in the Bible guides us. The one who needs to change is our thoughts and minds. When our thoughts and minds change, and God points out the path to us, we can follow it. Amen, this is what it means to have our minds renewed and transformed.
It is clear that Hezekiah did not understand this principle, nor did he learn to rely on the Lord in everything. After praying or relying on God a few times and finding it ineffective, he began to use his own methods, thinking that as long as he gave enough gold and silver, he would no longer be bullied. But this was not a solution to the problem; it would only make the enemy more furious. After receiving the gold, the king of Assyria even mocked Hezekiah.
2 Kings 18:22-25:
22 If you say to me, “We are relying on the Lord our God,” isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are relying on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”
Did you see that? The king of Assyria sent messengers to mock Hezekiah and his God. Because he was disobedient, he thought that by giving gold and silver, they would back off, not realizing that they wanted more! They said, “Didn’t you say you rely on your God? Hezekiah indeed did this; he removed the high places and altars in the country and made the people of Jerusalem worship before this altar.”
We might also think, “Yes, King Hezekiah removed the idols and made the people of Jerusalem worship before God's altar. Why didn’t anything change?” In fact, Hezekiah only removed the external idols; although he removed the idols in the country, the people did not learn to worship God; their hearts did not change. If a person's heart does not change, what use is it to remove the external idols?
In the past, when we participated in ministry, there were people who had idols at home, and they had just come to faith. Many people began to advise new believers, saying, “You should smash the idols in your home; since you believe in Jesus, you should not worship these things anymore.” But if a new believer says, “Let’s wait a bit; I can’t offend this thing,” what does that indicate? It shows that the idol in their heart has not yet been removed.
Some people do not understand and insist on persuading this person to remove their idols. Indeed, if the external idol is removed, they may start to worry: “Did I offend this god today? Although I believe in Jesus, I have offended another one, and I cannot offend both.” As a result, problems begin to arise in their home, and they may even invite someone back.
Family members, what does this indicate? You have only removed the external idol, but the idol in their heart has not been removed. So generally, when encountering such situations, my approach is to first ask them: “You have believed in Jesus; do you want to remove these idols?” If they say, “I still have concerns,” I say, “That’s okay; you can continue to listen to the word and attend services; take your time, no rush.”
Why do I do this? Is it to let two gods coexist in their hearts? Actually, it is not. It is to help them continually recognize the true God, so that their hearts can freely recognize the true God. One day, when they realize that Jesus is the only true God, they will naturally remove the external idols. We must first remove the idols in people's hearts. After some time, when this person says, “Please come to my house and take the idols away; I no longer need them,” it means that the idol in their heart has already been removed. Thank the Lord.
What Hezekiah did was the opposite; he only removed the external idols in the country, but the people did not rely on God and did not feel that this God was any different. Family members, this is a part we must be vigilant about.
There are too many believers who, although they know in their hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, do not see any power of Jesus manifesting in their lives. This can only indicate one thing: they still do not rely on God, and this requires experience and continual recognition of God.
Hezekiah did not continue to rely on God in everything. The good part about him compared to other kings was that he wholeheartedly relied on God and had a good start, but it did not last long. Later, when his faith weakened and he encountered problems, he did not first think of seeking the prophet.
As you know, in the Old Testament, prophets were representatives of God. When encountering problems, the first thing should be to seek the prophet and ask the prophet. But Hezekiah only sought the prophet when he had no other way; when he could solve it himself, he would first rely on himself.
Isn't Hezekiah's situation similar to many people's when they come to faith? When encountering something, they first handle it themselves, and only when they truly cannot do so do they come to the church to seek the pastor: “Please pray for me; tell me what I should do?” Why do they only come at this time? Because they previously thought they could handle everything. The root cause is still that in their daily lives, they did not rely on God; that is, Jesus Christ is not the first in their lives.
How can this be seen? For example, when a new day begins, what is the first thing they think of? Some people think first: I will read the Bible, pray, or listen to a sermon. This is putting Jesus Christ first.
However, some people get up and first plan all the things for the day. After finishing the day, they only remember before going to bed: “I should read the Bible for a while.” Although this is also quite good, you have placed God at the end; when encountering problems, you will certainly not first think of relying on God, because the truth does not come to your mind at the first moment.
In fact, through these things, we can see whether we have placed God first. If we have placed Him first, we can continue to rely on God in everything; if not, people will be like Hezekiah, first thinking: Do I have allies to seek?
For example, he sought help from Egypt, but it did not help, angering the king of Assyria, who said, “How dare you rely on the chariots and horsemen of Egypt? Do you not want to live? I am now coming to attack you and destroy this land; is it not the will of your God? Your God has sent me to attack you.” You see, these people do not believe in God, but instead use God's name to insult Hezekiah. At this point, gold and silver are useless; they are coming to destroy you, and even money will not be accepted. Only then did he think of relying on God.
2 Kings 19:5-7:
5 The officials of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
When Hezekiah was at his wit's end, he finally thought of relying on God. Can we say this is acceptable? Of course, it is acceptable. If our family members, when at their wit's end, can still think of seeking God and come to the temple of God to call on Him, it is not too late! What is to be feared is that some people will not rely on God even when they die; it would be a pity before they die.
For example, King Saul mentioned in the Bible, before his death, even sought a medium; when war was about to fail, he did not seek God to guide his path but told his men, “Come and kill me; I cannot die at the hands of these uncircumcised men.” Even when dead, he still cared about his face; how pitiful! What is good about Hezekiah is that when he saw he truly had no way out, he sought God and finally went to ask Isaiah.
Isaiah was the prophet at that time. We have previously talked about how prophets are representatives of God on earth. When we encounter problems, shouldn’t we seek the prophet first? But he only sought the prophet when he had no other way. Look at how merciful, kind, and gracious our God is.
When he went to seek Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard from the king of Assyria’s servants.’” Our God comforts people so quickly, first telling Hezekiah not to be afraid of what they said.
Let’s think again, when King Hezekiah sought Egypt, would the king of Egypt say these words to him? When he went to plead for peace with gold and silver, did the king of Assyria ever comfort him? No, he did not. But when he felt he was at his wit's end and came before God, the first thing God told him was not to be afraid. Do not be afraid of what they say; do not fear because of their words.
I will make his heart want to return. God’s intention is: I will act; I will make him feel afraid, and he will leave. He will hear a rumor and return to his own country.
Didn’t Hezekiah seek God to make the enemy retreat? God’s answer was so quick. The prophet told King Hezekiah that the king of Assyria would hear a rumor and return to his own country. I will have him cut down there. This is God’s solution. From the prophet's words, we can see that God helps people without requiring anything from them.
Let’s think about it; in the past, when Hezekiah relied on Egypt for help, did he go empty-handed? Did he not need to offer gifts? He gave the king of Assyria so much gold and silver not for peace? What was the result? He did not get the peace he wanted; when he sought the prophet, God immediately gave him comforting words. Given this, why not seek God wholeheartedly from the beginning?
Family members, through Hezekiah's experience, it serves as a warning for us not to wait until we are at our wit's end to seek God; all the suffering endured in between would be in vain. Why must we wait until this time to verify God's great power? How good it would be if we learned to rely on God from the very beginning.
For example, if a brother or sister feels unwell and relies on God, and God heals them, is that good? Yes, it is quite good; but there is actually an even better way, which is to learn to rely on God in everything daily, using the truth to keep our bodies healthy, so that you do not even need to seek a doctor. This process can be omitted. If we rely on God in everything in our lives, we will avoid many detours and not fall into that pit; how wonderful that would be.
What does the Lord's Prayer say? “Lead us not into temptation.” This is the best method, Amen. What does this mean? It means not letting us fall into temptation. How can we avoid falling into temptation? When the truth fills your heart, you will be filled with faith. A person filled with faith cannot possibly fall into the enemy's temptation.
Jesus was filled with faith and the Holy Spirit; no matter how the devil tempted Him, He would not be deceived. This is because God’s truth filled His heart, and naturally, He would not fall into temptation. This is the best method, Amen. If Eve had such faith back then, when the serpent tempted her, she would have said, “I will not eat that fruit,” and there would not have been so many subsequent events.
We finally understand what the result of leaving God is like. Up to now, many people around us are continuously demonstrating what life is like when they leave God. The Israelites in the Bible also provide us with a reference, allowing us to see the failures of the Israelites to avoid walking their path.
Why do I always encourage everyone to read the Bible? Because there are many examples in the Bible that can make us awake, fill us with wisdom, and help us avoid detours and pitfalls. Returning to this passage, let’s look at Hezekiah; when he relied on God, God gave him words, comfort, and prophecies about what would happen. Let’s look at God’s power.
2 Kings 19:35-37:
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Did you see how God’s solution worked? If Hezekiah had not sent out those gold and silver and had not relied on Egypt, but solely relied on God, wouldn’t he have avoided many detours and sufferings? Just ask God, and the angel of the Lord went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand people. So many people are of no use; in God's eyes, they are like vegetables. Then the king of Assyria returned, and from then on, God completely defeated the king of Assyria.
Family members, this is God’s solution; the enemy could no longer repeatedly come to bully him. If Hezekiah had been able to rely on God from the beginning, relying on God with faith in the middle, there would not have been so many issues. He would not have been humiliated before the enemy, saying, “I have sinned; I will give you gold and silver; please leave me alone.” There would have been none of this, Amen. After all this turmoil, Hezekiah actually fell ill.
Let’s look at 2 Kings 20:1-3:
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
I have previously mentioned that some kings, before they died, at least called the prophet to ask how to arrange for the future. But look at Hezekiah, such a man of faith, who started off so well, relying on God in everything and earnestly seeking the Lord. Why did he not know to seek God at this time?
Moreover, it was the prophet who proactively came to find him, telling him the words God had for him, saying, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” What does this mean? It means: You are sick this time, and you will die, so hurry up and make arrangements for your affairs.
Is this not the word of God? Yes, it is. However, he did not want to die. To be honest, people living on earth, even if they live very hard, do not want to die. But God’s arrangement is indeed quite good. Life and death are certainly in God’s hands; everyone must remember this: when we die is in God’s hands, not something that people can decide.
Many worldly people think that living long is a blessing, but that is not necessarily the case. Look at Jesus; He lived for about thirty-three years on earth, completed His work, and returned. His mission was fulfilled, and He completed all the work of redemption, so He returned to sit at the right hand of the Father.
We are not here to become ancient turtles, living long but pitifully without any meaning. We come to earth with a mission; once we complete God's mission, He will take us home, where it is better than being on earth. Hezekiah did not understand this truth at that time; he felt, “I do not want to die.” He began to call on God, turning his face to the wall to pray to God. Finally, at this moment, he learned to pray to God; why did he not know to pray to God in everything before?
He prayed to God, saying, “Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” This was indeed a fact. But have you ever thought that at that time, Hezekiah did not fully understand God, using his own deeds to plead for God’s mercy? Of course, at that time, their understanding of God was indeed partial, and we can understand this, but we cannot learn Hezekiah's way of praying.
Many people's way of praying is actually a bargain: “Lord, look, I have served you for so many years, I often give tithes, and when I encounter problems, I go to church, etc. I have helped the church a lot; please accomplish this matter for me.” This kind of prayer is exactly like Hezekiah's.
Hezekiah came before God with his past achievements, saying, “Lord, look at how much I have done for you; I do not want to die.” After that, he cried. This means that Hezekiah was not happy with God's arrangement; he wept bitterly in prayer. God heard his prayer and added fifteen years to his life. At that time, Isaiah took a lump of figs and applied it to his boil, and he recovered. From this, we can also see that God's healing is quite simple; the key is whether people believe in God and rely completely on God.
If God tells you that your life is up and to make arrangements for your affairs, would we also be like Hezekiah: “I do not want to die; please give me a few more years”? Is this a good thing? From Hezekiah's experience in the world, this is not a good thing. Previously, he relied on God, but later, he completely relied on himself.
Let’s look at 2 Kings 20:12-13:
12 At that time, Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah because he had heard of his illness and that he had recovered. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the fine olive oil—he showed them his entire arsenal and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Some might say, “How could Hezekiah do this? How could he be so foolish as to show everything he had? This is a very dangerous thing!” Today we know this. If we return to Hezekiah's situation, why did he do such a foolish thing? He was a bit carried away.
The enemy had been defeated by God, and he was about to die but ended up living, gaining another fifteen years of life. This guy was too happy! But he should have known that this was God's grace, which had nothing to do with his achievements; he began to become complacent.
At that time, Babylon was still a very small country, not very powerful, and quite far from the kingdom of Judah. When the king of Babylon sent envoys to visit Hezekiah, bringing gifts, it was certainly a form of flattery. Under this flattery, Hezekiah forgot who he was and forgot who had given him today’s peace and prosperity. He listened to the envoys and showed them all the good things in his house.
He did not think about one thing: why did they want to see these things? From that moment on, the king of Babylon had set his sights on everything in his country. You must know that being targeted by thieves is not a good thing; these things will eventually be lost. Sure enough, after he did this, the prophet came to find him.
2 Kings 20:16-18:
16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 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. 18 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.”
After reading these words, everyone must understand correctly; it was not God who made Babylon act this way, but when King Hezekiah showed everything in his house to them, they became envious and had already made up their minds to take these things for themselves. So God essentially gave him a prophecy. This thief was invited into his home, which was extremely unwise.
Therefore, we must know how to act; do not flaunt wealth in front of others. Even if you are very wealthy, do not flaunt it in front of others! Think about it; if you flaunt wealth in front of someone richer than you, they will look down on you; if you flaunt it in front of someone poorer, they will envy you. Being targeted by such people is not a good thing, so no matter what, do not flaunt wealth.
We must know that everything we have is given by God, and we should be grateful to God. But why flaunt it in front of others? It is merely to gain a moment of admiration from others. When Hezekiah acted this way, he laid the root of disaster for himself. Later, the king of Babylon attacked the kingdom of Judah to obtain these treasures.
2 Kings 24:9-13:
9 Jehoiachin did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done. 10 At that time, the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 11 Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah and his mother, his attendants, his nobles, and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. 13 As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord.
Indeed, these events came to pass, and the root of this disaster was laid by Hezekiah. So family members, many times, when disasters and curses appear, they are not without reason.
Proverbs 26:2: Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
When we see that the king of Babylon later plundered all the treasures in the royal palace of Jerusalem, we know that they had been eyeing these things for a long time; this was not a sudden idea.
So family members, we need to have faith and wisdom. If we learn to rely on God in everything, not to show off ourselves, then there will be no such things. King Hezekiah started with faith but did not hold on to faith and did not end with faith, leading to a tragic ending and leaving many troubles for his descendants. I encourage everyone to read these words and warn themselves; from their failures, we should learn to avoid walking their old path. I hope that brothers and sisters can start with faith and end with faith. Amen.
Finally, let’s look at a passage from Romans 1:16-17:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Paul knew what the gospel was; the gospel is the power of God. Therefore, from truly knowing the gospel, he relied on God in everything and acted according to God's words. Indeed, throughout his life, he experienced countless manifestations of God's power.
Paul wrote these letters to tell future generations that we can also do this because the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. In your life, in whatever matters you fully believe in God and rely on the truth of God, you will experience victory, whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, you can experience the power of the gospel.
Where is God's righteousness revealed? It is revealed in the gospel. Righteousness is an attribute of God, filled with great power. This righteousness is by faith from first to last. It starts with faith and ends with faith. Amen.
The righteous will live by faith. Our salvation is based on faith, and our victory in life is also based on faith. What do you believe in? Do you believe that God can do all things? Do you believe that God's truth is timeless? Do you believe that God can have mercy on us and grant us grace? Do you believe that God's wisdom is all-powerful? When you believe this way, your actions will naturally be correct. May we brothers and sisters learn to rely on God wholeheartedly in everything this week, so that you can experience God's goodness.
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you. Thank you for giving us such words and allowing us to be warned through the events of Hezekiah. We also wish to rely solely on the Lord and never depart from Him, willing to keep your words, allowing your words to enter our lives. When we encounter situations, we will live according to your truth. Help us to continually experience you and know you this week, to witness your great power in our lives, and to glorify you in our lives. All glory be to our Father in heaven. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.