1. Hezekiah¡Çs recovery from a deadly illness
We keep reading the Books of Kings and learned about the crisis of Judah the last Sunday. When Judah was menaced by the attack of the powerful Assyrian army, God protected it with a miraculous intervention. God responded to the prayer of Hezakiah, a very faithful king, by taking action. And we understood that God would listen to our prayers. We will reflect further on the faith of Hezakiah by reading 2 kings 20:1-6,12-19. The portion tells about a mortal illness of Hezekiah and his recovery thanks to God¡Çs mercy. Thus the king could protect Judah against Assyrian domination. Today we read the episode then meditate on how to prepare ourselves for the death in future.

The writer begins the chapter 20 this way, ; - At that time Hezekiah became so sick he almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, ¡ÈThis is what the Lord says: Make arrangements because you are not going to live, but die.¡É(2 Kings 20:1)

The tone of Isaiah seems unemotional. It must be the role of Prophet to tell the truth even if the contents are very harsh. However it was natural that Hezakiha was strongly upset. ; - Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, ¡ÈLord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you and have done what you said was right.¡É Then Hezekiah cried loudly.(2 Kings 20:2-3)

And God heard his prayer and promised him recovery. Furthermore, God added fifteen years to the life of Hezekiah. The event should take place around 702 BC because the historical records witness that Hezekia died in 687 or 686 BC.* The year corresponds to the time of Assyrian invasion into Syria-Palestine. The illness of Hezekia was probably caused by stresses of the incident. Anyway, his cortège considered his physical condition to be too bad to recover. We know that the death is an extremely personal matter. Normally nobody or nothing could calm his fear of death even though he was a man of secular power and faithful. The writer described the emotion of the king: ¡ÈHezakiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, then cried loudly.¡É

Hezekiah was 39 years old then. He must think his death was premature. Besides the nation was then under the menace of Assyria, which might destroy Judah. Hezekiah should feel also strong responsibility for the result. We find the same lamentation of Hezakiah in The Book of Isaiah too. ; - ¡ÈI am in the middle of my life. Do I have to go through the gates of death? Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me?¡É (Isaiah 38:10 )

He sincerely prayed the Lord for recovery and more of lifetime so that God added 15 years to his life. ; - Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: ¡ÈGo back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ¡ÆThis is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, so I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria; I will protect the city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.¡Ç ¡È(2 Kings 204-6)

God healed him from the illness in order that he would protect the nation against the king of Assyria. It was not for Hezakiah¡Çs personal happiness. We learn from the passage that God makes us alive, not let die, as long as we have a given mission. The Bible is teaching that humans must live as God wish it.

However we can¡Çt help wondering why, for example, a child of 3 years must die from an inborn or genetic illness. Though it is a very difficult question to answer, our faith in God must help us. It will lead us to accept the harsh realaity of the life. Massimilla Edna wrote in her work*2 that a disabled child given by God was ¡ÈHeaven¡Çs Very Special Child.¡É

It is God who determines on life and death of humans. And what we can do is only to pray God to live. If He hears the prayer, we will stay alive. But if God doesn¡Çt wish so, we must pass away. And, whatever God decide on, He is always merciful and loves us. All things God does must be the best for us. That recognition opens the path to the faith before us. If ever a mortal illness was cured, we give thanks to God. If not, we must seek the significance of God¡Çs decision. That should be the adequate stance for faithful Christians.

*1 Hezekiah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah
*2 Heaven’s Very Special Child ISBN-10: 1436321581 / ISBN-13: 978-1436321587

2. Alliance with Babylon and warning of Isaiah
Hearing about Hezekiah¡Çs miraculous recovery from the deadly illness, the king of Babylon sent him letters and a gift. Hezekiah, after listening to the messengers, showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom: the silver, gold, spices, expensive perfumes, his swords and shields, and all his wealth. (see 2 kings 20:12-13)

Babylon, located in the south of Mesopotamia, was previously one of Assyria¡Çs satellite-nations. But it successfully won the independence, then tried to form a league with surrounding nations against Assyria. Under those circumstances, the visit of the messengers must not be a mere expression of courtesy to the healed king but an implicit invitation to the king of Judah for the league. And Hezakiha was pleased by the proposition because he also wished to be independent from Assyria.

But Isaiah wasn¡Çt happy with the behavior of Hezekiah. So the prophet, who was also a political adviser, said to the king, ; - ¡ÆIn the future everything in your palace and everything your ancestors have stored up until this day will be taken away to Babylon. Nothing will be left,¡Ç says the Lord. ¡ÆSome of your own children, those who will be born to you, will be taken away. And they will become servants in the palace of the king of Babylon.¡Ç¡É( 2 Kings 20:17-18)
rebuked
Isaiah wasn¡Çt exactly blaming imprudence of the king but warned that such an attitude won¡Çt please God. Because it meant indirectly that the king counted on the international coalition than on the support of God. Isaiah thought God should punish that unfaithful tendency. In common and secular sense, it is natural to alley with other nations to ensure national security against enemies. But the prophet¡Çs thinking was different. ; - If your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last.’ ¡È(Isaiah 7:9)

King Ahaz, father of Hezakiah, made Judah subsidiary to Assyria in exchange of its protection. Consequently, he must observe Assyrian religious rites. (see 2 Kings 16:10-13) His son Hezekiah wanted the military cover by Babylon facing the invasion of Assyria. And the prophet accused Ahaz and Hezakiah of the similar sin. They didn¡Çt have the absolute trust in God. Isaiah might have said that they sought the protection by wolves against lions. So Isaiah blamed the king for his wrong understanding, ; - They think horses will save them. They think their many chariots and strong horsemen will save them. But they don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel(the Hebrew people) , or ask the Lord for help.(Isaiah31:1)

In comparison with the cases of Ahaz and Hezakiah, a Japanese pastor Enomoto wrote in one of his works about the present situation of Japan:
— We talk a lot about security for the nation. But if the Japanese people wish sincerely the peace, all the Japanese military forces must be abolished. The majority of the people will say that it is too dangerous. Yes. Therefore we must rely on God to take that crucial decision. — (¡ÈOld Testament, one chapter a day¡É ISBN-10: 4079329407 / ISBN-13: 978-4079329408 in Japanese only)

Listening to Isaiah, Hezekiah regretted and repented. ; - Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.¡É(2 Kings 20:19)

I want to draw your attention to the second half of the verse. It doesn¡Çt mean that he won¡Çt care about the following generation. That part represents simply the gratitude to merciful God for postponing the final judgement to the king.

Hezekia might be reckless but, at least, was faithful enough. As there would be peace and security in his lifetime, he could obtain certain desirable outcomes for the nation. So he was grateful for having more days of life. And Jesus taught too, ; - So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.(Matthew 6:34)

3. In which way should we die?
Today¡Çs invocation verses are James 4:14-15. ; - But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. So you should say, “If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.¡É

God healed Hezekiah and gave more of 15 years to his life. At that very moment, dying Hezakiah must understand that humans¡Ç life was in the hands of God and God alone could determine on human lifetime. Today¡Çs James¡Ç verses sends us exactly the same message. The present range of Japanese life expectancy is between 60 and 80 years. Though it might seem ¡Èlike a mist,¡É it would be enough to do what we must do. Hezekiah gave thanks to God when he listened to Isaiah¡Çs prophecy which seemed promising peace and stability for the nation during his reign. He thought he was accorded the time to cope with the existing danger to put Judah in security. Nonetheless he must die one day like all other humans. We cannot have a healthy life forever. In other words, we are like a prisoner sentenced to the execution which catch at us someday. But the Latin expression, ¡ÈMemento mori (Remember you must die)¡É must not be interpreted as “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.” (see 1 corinthians15:32) But it teaches us to live by giving thank to the rest of the given lifetime.

So let us live in line with James¡Ç teaching ¡ÈIf the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that,¡É as honestly as we can: Throughout our life, God makes us undergo illnesses or other pains. But those sufferings can turn to the blessing if we live by believing in God¡Çs mercy. Hezekiah suffered from the mortal illness and fear of death. But he was reborn thanks to that harsh trial. There are blessings we can reach only through pains, for example physical sufferings or loss of lived ones. There are treasures in Heaven we can see only after losing earthy wealth.

Hezekiah was saved from Assyrian attack. But after 100 years later, Judah was defeated by Babylon. The people were then scattered over the world or captured in Babylon. However they recognized that they were sinful and repented thanks to that bitter historical incident. They gat aware that they could not live without God. Thus they became faithful again and gave thanks to God for His mercy.

When we look back to harsh periods of the history we ought to understand that severe judgements of God lead us to blessing. A poet of Israel sang, ; - God will soon save those who respect him, and his glory will be seen in our land. Love and truth belong to God’s people; goodness and peace will be theirs. On earth people will be loyal to God, and God’s goodness will shine down from heaven. The Lord will give his goodness, and the land will give its crops.(Psalm 85:9-12 )

Jewish people endured several harsh trials for 2,500 years since the time of Hezakiah. Though those years must be very unhappy periods for them but always filled with hope. Because they believed in God. And thanks to that hope, they could survive till today.

Now, as successors to the same faith, we pray, ¡ÈMay your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven, and add to it, ¡ÉMay you utilize us as tools for the purpose of realizing your will.¡É