About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed: “Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly. Then the LORD commanded Isaiah to go back to Hezekiah and say to him, “I, the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will let you live fifteen years longer. (Isaiah 38:1-5)

I’ve read about this event before. Hezekiah was going along nicely, but when it came time to die, he panicked. The translations say, “cry bitterly,” “wept sore,” “cried hard,” and “great weeping.” Not exactly tears of joy to join his maker, or tears of submission to God’s seemingly unpleasant will.

H1419
גּדל גּדול
gâdôl gâdôl
gaw-dole’, gaw-dole’
From H1431; great (in any sense); hence older; also insolent: – + aloud, elder (-est), + exceeding (-ly), + far, (man of) great (man, matter, thing, -er, -ness), high, long, loud, mighty, more, much, noble, proud thing, X sore, (´) very.

H1065
בּכי
bekîy
bek-ee’
From H1058; a weeping; by analogy, a dripping: – overflowing, X sore, (continual) weeping, wept.

The first, H1419, has a sense of rebellion to it – insolent, noble, proud… H1065 gives me the idea that it was excessive. And God relented. I think of times when my daughter has begged me for something that I know is not in her best interest, but I permit it so she can learn the lesson from life if not from me. Oswald Chambers warns:

Always make a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives.

God’s permissive will gave us Manasseh, and in the end God was glorified. But look at all the pain and suffering that occurred in between! The streets ran with the blood of the people Manasseh killed. Is the nature of humanity and our sin such that it HAD to happen? Not necessarily. As Job said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job ultimately did question God, but he did not ask Him to change His mind. Hezekiah wanted his own will in preference to God’s. I can’t help thinking that like Hezekiah, I have failed that test many times, praying for my own will instead of God’s.

The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wastelands. The desert will sing and shout for joy; it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon. Everyone will see the LORD’s splendor, see his greatness and power. Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness. Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.” The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear. The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert; the burning sand will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Where jackals used to live, marsh grass and reeds will grow. There will be a highway there, called “The Road of Holiness.” No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it. No lions will be there; no fierce animals will pass that way. Those whom the LORD has rescued will travel home by that road. They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy. They will be happy forever, forever free from sorrow and grief. (Isaiah 35:1-10)

I get so caught up in traveling the “information superhighway” that I forget about the highway I really ought to be on. When I get to heaven, God will not ask to see my web portfolio or my resume. As I travel on the “Road of Holiness” it’s fine to make a web site, after all, Paul made tents… but he didn’t pitch a tent and move in permanently. He made and sold tents to finance his continuing journey down the road of holiness. I am called to to grow in holiness and relationship to Christ, and minister to my family, my church family, and the world at large. That’s the only resume God cares about, and the only road he has provided a map for me to travel.

God told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are. They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the LORD’s teachings. They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, “Don’t talk to us about what’s right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions. Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don’t want to hear about your holy God of Israel.” But this is what the holy God of Israel says: “You ignore what I tell you and rely on violence and deceit. You are guilty. You are like a high wall with a crack running down it; suddenly you will collapse. You will be shattered like a clay pot, so badly broken that there is no piece big enough to pick up hot coals with or to dip water from a cistern.” The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says to the people, “Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure.” But you refuse to do it. (Isaiah 30:8-15)

It’s a miracle that anybody gets saved. He plucks us out of the fire, it’s nothing we did or deserve, it’s all Him. That’s very easy to forget, because I’m so steeped in sin. I was thinking of a cup of tea – the teabag is the sin, and I’m steeped in it to the point of being flavored and colored by it. How can I be turned back into pure water? No natural process will do it. Only distillation can turn tea back to pure water. That may not be the best analogy for sanctification, but for the moment, it’s working for me… I guess that makes the act of removing the tea bag from the mug, salvation. Well, I’ll have to think it over. I bet if I google this, someone else has fully developed the idea. [grin] In any event, my theme for today is gratitude – what the Lord has done for me, from salvation right up until the breath I just inhaled. He is gracious and merciful.