His Healing was His Curse

The rollercoaster of King Hezekiah’s life continues in chapter 39.  He has recovered from a life-threatening illness, he has overcome a seige of his capital city Jerusalem, and now in chapter 39 - he is faced with still a greater threat; himself.

Upon hearing that Hezekiah had recovered, the King of Babylon sends Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift.  Not just a “get well card” but an envoy comes to Jerusalem and begins to get the royal tour of the city.  Babylon was the emerging power in the southeast, while Assyria was the bubble-Empire to the north.  Assyria was extending its reach far into distant lands, which included trying to wipe out Jerusalem and Babylon.  Now Babylonian ambassadors are in Jerusalem working to convince Hezekiah to join them in an alliance to overcome this dominant threat from the north.

And Hezekiah seems oblivious to the seriousness of his situation!  He takes them around the town, showing the Babylonians ancient artifacts and special buildings and all the storehouses - letting their eyes see the piles of cash and the family silver. They note the combination locks on all the safes, and watch as Hezekiah pulls the extra set of car keys out from under the rock by the garage.

Hey!  This seems idiotic Hez, don’t do it!

True to form, his quick recovery from sickness in chapter 38 has brought him to pride.  Though he does respond to God’s healing with thankfulness, Isaiah clues him into the obvious notion that showing your treasures to other nations will lead to invasion and ruin!   Isaiah paints a picture for Hez, telling him of all the horrors to come.  His sons will become eunuchs in Babylon, all of the artifacts of his ancestors…ransacked…  And through this, Hezekiah is obtusely happy…

Why? Because it won’t happen in his lifetime, not on his watch.

Talk about missing it. How can a guy go from a desperate plea to God, watching God heal him from sickness, then focus so totally on himself when he’s given news of his country’s downfall?

Unless – Hezekiah’s problem was his healing.

Here’s the point:

His healing was his curse. It made him selfish, prideful, obsessed with his own life. It is the story we see all over the Bible.  Abraham is given a promise from God, that he will be blessed, in order to be a blessing to others. God always uses the gifts he gives his children to give to others as well.  When you become obsessed with the gift, rather than the goal of the Giver, it consumes you – and you lose the gift in the process.

I’ve heard it once said, “God’s greatest challenge is to love us without destroying us.” Meaning – God wants desperately to love us, and give us his love in infinite ways – but in receiving his love, we can quickly become convinced that its all about us – and not about him.  Much like a child pushes his mother away for favor of the toy truck he’s just been given.  For the child, the mother is now in the way of the real thing, my own needs.  This is what ultimately drives wedges in any relationship – and your relationship with God is certainly not exempt.

“Seek the Lord while he can be found,” the Scriptures say.  Its not as if God is going to run off hiding anytime soon, this Scripture is about the short window of time your heart will be open to the raw love and power of God, and the propensity our hearts have toward settling for idols.

Every time you receive a gift, remember: The gift of the receiver is to remain focused on the giver, to keep at the front of  your thoughts that it is about the love we share, not the things we get…

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