Isa. 38:1-6 - In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet …said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord… I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
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• Hezekiah Was Going To Die

Isaiah informs us that Hezekiah was at the point of death. He is in need of God’s mercy. The difference between God’s Grace and God’s Mercy is “grace” is freely given without a person asking for it. On the other hand, “mercy” is something that is needed and asked for. We can see Hezekiah asking God for Mercy in verse 2-3 - Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”

Hezekiah wanted God to remember he had previously walked before Him in “faithfulness”.

There were only 3 Old Test. Kings who had the words “and the LORD was with him” ascribed to them and they were King David, Solomon and Hezekiah.

Hopefully, you are a Christian and you can say God, the Holy Spirit, dwells within you. Last week I baptized 3 people into Christ and one of the persons I baptized then immediately baptized his wife. They now can say the Lord is with them because the Holy Spirit of God dwells in them (Acts 2:38).

• Hezekiah Had Been Faithful

This is what was written about him in 2 Kings 18:3-5 - And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

Hezekiah was a reformer. He wanted what the Lord wanted. So the Lord sends Isaiah the prophet to inform Hezekiah he needs to get his house in order because this illness he has is going to lead to his death.

• What About Us?

If we were stricken with an illness and it looks like we are going to die would we be able to cry out to God and ask for Him to have “mercy” upon us because of our “faithfulness”?

Should we be putting our house in order?

Should we be asking God for “mercy” now?

Think About This:

If you believe you will one day need mercy, it’s probably best to show mercy to others.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word

John 8:3-5, 7, 10-11 - The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.  "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" …He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." …Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."  NASU
 

• You Receive What You Don't Deserve 

This woman had broken the Law of Moses (Deut. 22:22). According to the law, she and the man were to die. They were guilty of breaking the law. The scribes and Pharisees want to know how Jesus is going to handle this situation.
 
Jesus shows the woman MERCY.
 
Let me ask you a question, "If you find yourself in a position where you can demand justice or give mercy what will you do?"
 
I have observed this in my life. People want mercy when they are the lawbreakers and they want justice to be handed down on the lawbreakers when they are not the lawbreakers. 
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• You Receive What You Give 

In Matt 5:7 Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
 
You may have heard this referred to as "reaping what you have sown" or some say it this way, "what goes around comes around."  If you would someday like to be the recipient of mercy then my advice would be to be a "giver of mercy." Jesus says, "You're blessed when you are merciful."
 
Mercy is an attribute of God and therefore it would be wise for us to make it an attribute of our life.
 
James 2:13 gives us something to think about when he wrote these words for us, "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."
 
In other words, there is a day coming when we will probably wish we had been less judgmental and displayed more mercy. 

• You Receive What You Ask For 

Two men were blind and wanted to receive their sight. They heard Jesus was passing by and so they decided to ask for mercy. This is a good lesson for all of us.
 
Some times in order to receive mercy you have to ask for it.
 
Matt 20:30-34 - And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened."  Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.   NASU
 
These two men humbled themselves and asked for mercy.
 
Are you in need of mercy? Then you might need to ask for it to receive it.
 
Do you know someone who is in need of mercy? Then you might have to be the giver of mercy to bless someone else's life.
 
Think On These:
 
God still speaks to those who take time to listen.
 
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word