Fifteen Years - The Books of 2 Chronicles & 2 Kings

In this Bible Story, King Hezekiah is saved from the clutches of death and is spared for another fifteen years. In this time, Hezekiah became friends with the leaders of Babylon. In an attempt to impress them, he showcases all of Judah’s wealth. This story is inspired by 2 Kings 20 & 2 Chronicles 32:24-33. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 2 Kings 20:6 from the King James Version.

Episode 151: Unlike his father who would protect the people of Judah, Manasseh would burn them as sacrifices to idols. Unlike his father who loved God and restored the temple, Manasseh showed his irreverence by erecting idols to false gods in the temple. God would not tolerate all of this abuse and irreverence and so He allowed him to be bound and taken prisoner by the King of Assyria. While there, Manasseh humbled himself and cried out to God. And God who is rich in mercy and steadfast love, received his prayer and restored his kingdom.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and I will add unto thy days
fifteen years, and I will deliver thee and this city
out of the hand of the King of Assyria. And
I will defend this city for my own sake and
for my servant David's sake Second King's twenty six. In
the face of adversity and when life seems to overwhelm me,

(00:25):
I will seek comfort in knowing that because I serve
you with my whole heart, you will prolong my life
and continue using me to bring praise to your name.
As word spreads of your works in my life, I
will be extra careful not to expose the private blessings
that you have done for me and those whom I love,

(00:48):
simply because I want to show off and look good
in the eyes of others. Help me to know what
to show and when to show what you are doing
in my life. Like King Hezekiah, thank you for blessing
me with witty ideas and inventions to bless your children.

(01:09):
Do more in my life in the next fifteen years
than in my former years. I'm ready for every blessing
that's coming my way. In Jesus' name, Amen. Listening to
these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing

(01:30):
from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year,
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot Com.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Fifteen years. In our last story, the Lord provided victory
over the Assyrians. In this story, we learn about the
continued favor of God on Hezekiah's life. He is blessed
with the opportunity to live and rule for fifteen more years.
In this time, Hezekiah would build great things for the

(02:07):
people of Judah. However, he would also open the gate
to a rising evil, an evil unlike the world has
ever seen. Inspired by the Book of Second Chronicles and
Second Kings.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Hello, this is Jack Graham. Thank you for joining us
once again for today's episode of the Bible in a Year.
In our previous reading, we learned how God protected Hezekiah
and his armies from the Assyrians by sending his angels
into the enemy's camp to quietly but effectively slaughter the
Assyrian commanders. We learned of Hezekiah's faith and wisdom in

(02:48):
seeking God before just rushing into battle, and how he
gave glory to the Lord knowing it was God who
always gives the victory. Today, we'll continue to follow Hezekiah's
life how God is with him, granting the king favor
and blessing, and even adding years to his life. He
will lead Judah in a time of great prosperity. And

(03:10):
yet even amid God's blessing and Hezekiah's faithfulness, today's reading
will show how evil can creep in and threaten peace
that God wants for his people. So once again let's
turn to God's word.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
It was late and the King's palace in Jerusalem was
a grim place to be. The prophet Isaiah walked the halls.
They were filled with the echoes of painful coughing. The
coughs grew louder as Isaiah walked towards the king's chambers.
He entered the room quietly, dimly lit by candlelight. Isaiah

(03:45):
beheld the pale face of King Hezekiah. The prophet narrowed
his eyes. The bottom of his lip quivered at the
sight of his sickly king. He was in a great
deal of pain, and Isaiah's heart broke for his friend.
He grabbed the king his hand and held it tightly.
My King, you must set your house in order. Your

(04:06):
end is near. I see that you will not recover.
The king looked at Isaiah. Streams of silent tears fell
down his cheeks. He turned his face to the wall.
That was Isaiah's cue to leave. As Isaiah left, the
king allowed himself to weep before God.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Lord.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
The king said silently, I have walked with you with
my whole heart. I have done what is good in
your sight. Please remember me. Ezekiah's throat was heavy, and
he began to weep bitterly. The comforting spirit of God
was upon him. He heard his cries. Isaiah was in

(04:45):
the middle court of the palace when he could hear
the small voice of God speaking to him. Turn back
to the king, tell him I have heard his prayers
and seen his tears. I will heal him, and on
the third day he shall eyes from his bed to
worship me. I will add fifteen years to his life
and defend the nation from the Assyrians. Aiah was pleased

(05:09):
with the news and rushed back into the king's chambers
to tell him. Sure enough, on the third day, Hezekiah
was healed. Words spread of Hezekiah's miraculous healing, so much
so that the Prince of Babylon sent letters and presents
with his ambassadors to Hezekiah as a congratulations. Hezekiah's heart
beat swiftly as he read the letter from the prince.

(05:30):
Babylon was one of the largest superpowers in the world.
He was honored to receive gifts from such a strong
nation instead of attacks. Judah was a small nation compared
to the greatness of Babylon and Assyria. Hezekiah welcomed the
ambassadors with a great feast and a tour of the palace.
Although Babylon came in peace, there was another motive to

(05:52):
their visit. Babylon was at war with Assyria and was
hoping to acquire loyalty and aid from Hezekiah, something be
king was willing to offer. Given Judah's past with Assyria,
Hezekiah was eager to showcase Judah's wealth and prosperity to
the ambassadors of Babylon. The men followed Hezekiah as he
proudly revealed Judah's storehouses filled with fine jewels, precious medals, weapons,

(06:17):
and grain. There was nothing Hezekiah did not show the Babylons.
He pranced around the palace halls like a child. Then,
after a great feast in their honor. The ambassadors traveled
back to Babylon. Hezekiah was quite pleased with the visit. However,
when Isaiah had heard that there were men from Babylon visiting,

(06:38):
he ran to the king. What did you show them,
Isaiah asked. The king smiled and answered everything. Of course,
I showed them all in my house, storehouse, and the armory.
They were quite impressed with the wealth of our small nation.
There was nothing I did not show them. Hezekiah spoke
with the ignorance of a small boy. Isaia's eyes widened

(07:00):
with anger. Hezekiah was confused at Isaiah's reaction. Before he
could ask anything, Isaiah pointed to Hezekiah and said, thus
says the Lord, the day is coming when all will
be consumed by Babylon. Nothing shall survive. Our descendants will
be taken away, and your sons will be made eunuchs
to serve in the palace of Babylon. Hezekiah did not

(07:24):
quite understand Isaiah's words. Ignorantly, Hezekiah was simply relieved any
judgment would not take place in his lifetime. However, he
did not understand that Babylon was a rising giant in
the world. Hezekiah showcased Judah's wealth, and Babylon would see
it as an opportunity. It would consume the whole land

(07:45):
surrounding Judah in Israel. It would hold his people captive
and send them scattering like sheep without a shepherd. The
people of God would experience a fierce trail under the
sword of Babylon. This was the great evil that awaited
the children of God. It would provide to be an
evil by which any others were compared. Hezekiah would not

(08:06):
see its terror in his lifetime, but his children and
children's children would. They would suffer greatly. So Hezekiah would
rule for another fifteen years. In this time he would
lead the nation into a new era of technology and wealth.
Beautiful aqueducts would be placed in the city for fresh water,
and Judah would flourish until the day Hezekiah died.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
We began today scripture with a sick king. Hezekiah knew
that he was gravely even deathly ill, and sins for
the prophet Isaiah. He was hoping, of course, for good
news from God, but Isaiah had a very startling word
for him. Get your house in order, he says, God
has shown Isaiah that Hezekiah would not recover and would

(08:55):
die from his illness. The king, however, was not ready
to die. The fact is most of us are not
ready to die. But this is a good reminder for
each one of us that we should always live with
our house in order, that is, our lives in order,
along with our families. Think of the legacy that you
are living and leaving, and work towards that so that

(09:19):
when your time comes, you can know that everything is
in order. The king was very distressed with Isaiah's words.
He could have become angry, or agitated or bitter, but
he chose a better way. Has Akiah went to God
in prayer. Remember, prayer is not our last resort, but
always our first choice. He was open and transparent with

(09:44):
the Lord, begging him to remember his faithfulness and that
he had lived a life seeking the Lord all his
days and doing what was right in his sight. This
was not has Akiah demanding anything of God or saying, look, God,
I deserved to live longer you owe me. This was
not entitlement. This was simply the heart cry for God's

(10:05):
favor and mercy. It was a righteous prayer from a
godly man and the Lord heard his desperate cry, and
before Isaiah could leave, the Lord spoke again and said,
in Second Kings twenty verses five and six, I have
heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I
will heal you. On the third day, you shall go

(10:27):
up to the house of the Lord. I will add
fifteen years to your life, and will deliver you and
the city from the hand of the King of Assyria.
And I will defend the city for my own sake
and for my servant David's sake. This is such a
vivid illustration of the power of prayer and the power
of God to change our lives and even to heal

(10:47):
us when we are sick. No more important words could
be spoken than what we just read. I have heard
your prayer, God says, and God promises to hear our
prayers when we pray in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and trust in him. It's a wonderful reminder
that prayer changes everything, not just us, but things, sometimes

(11:11):
in big ways. But notice also what God says at
the end. Why is he doing this not only for
Hezekiah to live longer, but for his sake. In the
continuation of God's promise to David. God's faithfulness endures from
generation to generation. Yes, indeed, Hezekiah recovered, and word of

(11:32):
his miraculous healing made its way all the way to Babylon.
The Babylonians were a rising superpower, and their king sent
gifts to Hezekiah to congratulate him, and Hezekiah welcomed them
into Judah. What he failed to realize was that he
was welcoming danger. Though Babylon at that time seemed peaceful,

(11:53):
hezekiahs opened us to show off the riches of Judah
would prove disastrous. When Isaiah heard what he had done,
the prophet spoke an ominous word from the Lord. A
day was coming when Babylon would carry everything away. Nothing
of Judah would survive, and people would go into captivity
and serve as slaves for the Babylonians. Unfortunately, the only

(12:14):
thing that Hezekiah was hearing at this point was that
he would live, that he would not be personally affected,
so he wasn't overly concerned. In fact, he wasn't even
convinced that this whole thing would happen. And although Hezekiah
would not see the consequences of his naive and faithless
actions with the Babylonians. Everything God said would happen was

(12:36):
coming to Judah. God's word is always true. Hezekiah was
truly a great man, a good man, but he, like
we had blind spots, and sometimes we failed to see
the things that we need to see because we lack
understanding or wisdom, or we just don't want to know. Hezekiah,

(12:58):
though he was righteous and walk with God, was still
a man who needed the Lord. He was not a
perfect king. But we know a king who is perfect.
Our God is a righteous king, and he will always
rescue his people. Oh Lord, we thank you today for prayer.
We thank you for the opportunity always to speak to you,

(13:20):
to converse, to pray. And we ask you, Oh God,
that we will always be about as we are commanded
the work of prayer. May we be praying people, And Lord,
we know that you not only hear, but you answer
our prayers according to your perfect will. Let us pray
with confidence and certainty in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(13:42):
Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
This is Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot
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(14:03):
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