You Can See The Mercy Of God In Action Here

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