What if God told you: your birthdays are over; you’re going to die soon! Would a birthday cake loaded with candles, and people singing happy birthday, be more like a celebration, or a funeral dirge? Your birthday wish goes from a sun soaked beach to reviewing your last will and testament. Forget calories, sugar, or trans-fats; you “get your house in order.”
King Hezekiah was told by God he was going to die very soon (2 Kings 20). Nobody wants to hear that bell ring! Hezekiah had a little talk with God. The ‘get serious’ heart-to-heart kind of talk. The specter of death really causes us to focus our undivided attention on the matter. God listened and changed his plans. He granted Hezekiah an additional 15 years of life! Now that was a real Happy Birthday! That’s not the end of the story.
Immediately after finding out from God that he would live, he requested a sign from God as proof? Can you hear God sighing; ‘now what’? God gave him the sign he asked for, but the story doesn’t end there! The king of Babylon sent Hezekiah a get-well gift, before he knew Hezekiah was healed. Hezekiah puffed up with pride showed the Babylonian messenger his storehouse of gold, silver, and other treasures! From the account in 2 Chronicles 24-31, it appears that Hezekiah’s prosperity, success, and deliverance from sickness and death had made him proud. Rather than giving credit to God for all his blessings, he chose to impress a bunch of foreigners. When God helps us, we must not use his blessing to impress others. A testimony of victory can quickly degenerate into vanity and self-congratulations. When the prophet Isaiah heard what happened, he told Hezekiah that the Babylonians would return one day and carry off everything in his storehouses. EVERYTHING!! A few years later, they did. Happy Birthday to the King of Babylon from Hezekiah!
Bottom line:
God tested Hezekiah to see what he was really like and to show him his own shortcomings and the attitude of his heart. It was a test meant to strengthen Hezekiah, develop his character, and prepare him for tasks ahead-but, he failed miserably.
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