2 Chronicles 32:1-33

One of the blessings of obedience is the provision of God in our lives.  He blesses us in so many ways when we live in obedience before Him.  However, one of the dangers of being blessed by God is the pride that these blessings can foster in our hearts.  King Hezekiah was one of the most obedient kings in the history of the nation.  As a result of His obedience He was greatly blessed by God in so many ways.  However, he became proud as a result of the blessings of God in his life.  This attitude brought the punishment of God upon his life.  Fortunately, he recognized his error and humbled himself before the Lord.  We must constantly check our hearts for pride that endangers our walk with the Lord.  The blessings of God should humble us because we are constantly aware of our own unworthiness.

HEZEKIAH RESTS IN THE LORD WHEN HE FACED ADVERSITY: Even though Hezekiah was a faithful and obedient king, he still faced adversity and was threatened by the king of Assyria.  We must not think that just because we are obedient that that we will not face trials in our lives.  God uses times of adversity to test us, grow us and to build confidence in us.  Hezekiah passed this test with flying colors.  He did all that he could do to protect his people from this coming attack.  He fortified the cities and the walls, he equipped the people for battle and he shut off the water supply from the enemy.  However, the most important thing he did was trust in the Lord and rested in His power.  He assured the people that the Lord would deliver them from this attack.  He had complete confidence that the Lord was in control and that He would show Himself strong on their behalf.  When we face adversity, we must be willing to work to do all that is within our power to resolve the situation and then rest in the Lord as we trust Him to accomplish His will in our lives.  Hard work is not evidence that we do not trust the Lord.  Work without faith demonstrates pride and self-reliance.  Faith without work reveals laziness and complacency. 

HEZEKIAH RECEIVED FROM THE LORD DUE TO HIS FIDELITY: As a result of Hezekiah’s work and trust in the Lord, he saw the provision of God in his life.  He worked and then he watched; and what he saw was spectacular.  God defeated the Assyrian invaders through a supernatural provision of an angel that came down and cut off the army’s leaders and the king of Assyria who had blasphemed against the Lord by comparing Him to all the other gods ended up dying in disgrace.  As a result of this victory, the fear of the Lord came on all of the surrounding nations and they began to bring gifts to Hezekiah and held him in great admiration.  Hezekiah had great wealth, power, influence and peace all around him.  God loves to bless His people.  He is such an amazing "rewarder" and always gives far beyond anything that His children deserve.  We must learn to trust and obey Him.

 HEZEKIAH REBELLED AGAINST THE LORD IN THE MIDST OF PROSPERITY: Unfortunately, Hezekiah became proud as a result of his great prosperity.  He became ill and God reveled to him that he would die, but did not want to die and begged God to prolong his life.  God complied, but Hezekiah would have been much better of had he accepted his death in the time that the Lord had revealed to him.  Once he was restored, he began to be exalted in his own heart and the people of Judah also became proud and so they found themselves under the wrath of God.  Fortunately, Hezekiah recognized his sin and humbled himself before the Lord.  However, his pride set the stage for the destruction that would follow.  We must guard our hearts from pride when we experience the blessings of God.  Many times it is much easier for us to trust the Lord in times of adversity than it is for us to be faithful to the Lord in times of prosperity.  We must be careful to guard our hearts in all the circumstances of life that we face. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 1:3-7

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not   to teach any different doctrine,   nor   to devote themselves to myths and endless   genealogies, which promote   speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.    The aim of our charge is love   that issues from a pure heart and   a good conscience and   a sincere faith.    Certain persons, by   swerving from these, have wandered away into   vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law,   without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.   There will always be false teachers that come into the church attempting to distract people from the truth and destroy people’s faith.  When this happens, it is the job of spiritually mature leaders to confront these false teachers and correct their teachings.  However, it is important that this correction be accomplished with the right motives and methods. 
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more