In our reading last week, the Lord kept taking me back to 2 Chron. 32:31, "However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart." The word "withdrew" in the NLT is translated "left" in the NIV and means the same thing as forsake or forsook. The Hebrew word for left or forsake is Azab which means to forsake, abandon, leave behind, desert. Since God tells us in Heb. 13:5 that He will never leave us or forsake us (which is a quote from Deut. 31:6), I wanted to know what "leaving" Hezekiah meant.
On the cross, when Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46), he was quoting Ps. 22:1. God was not putting an end to their relationship; He was leaving Jesus to suffer alone - something the Son of God had never experienced. Matthew Henry's Commentary says this, "God hid his face from him, and for awhile withdrew his rod and staff in the darksome valley. God forsook him, not as he forsook Saul, leaving him to an endless despair, but as sometimes he forsook David, leaving him to a present despondency. He let out upon his soul an afflicting sense of his wrath against man for sin. Christ was made Sin for us, a Curse for us; and therefore, though God loved him as a Son, he frowned upon him as a Surety (One who made himself responsible for our sin debts).
Just this week we read in Isa. 53:10, "But it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's good plan will prosper in his hands." So I wondered if I could assume that since it was the Lord's good plan to forsake his Son, it was also his good plan to withdraw from Hezekiah? I believe this is a great example of the Scripture in Romans 8 that says that God works ALL things together for good. It was God's good plan to test Hezekiah in order for him to see what was in his own heart - not for God to see (he already knew). God left him to himself to show that Hezekiah was proud of himself and his wealth, for when Isaiah asked him what had happened, Hezekiah replied, "I showed them everything I owned - all MY royal treasuries."
2 Kings 20:15 (my caps). Hezekiah knew that God was the one who had blessed him and certainly God deserved the praise and glory for all he owned. I really like Hezekiah, so it is
disappointing when he did not repent after Isaiah confronted him. "For the king was thinking, 'At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.'" (2 Kings 20:19). How utterly selfish and prideful - proof of what really was in his heart.
When God promises us in Heb. 13:5 that he will never leave us or forsake us, He must be declaring that he will never completely abandon us or put us totally out of his presence. At times, like Hezekiah, he does leave us for a time to test us so we can see what is in our hearts. I wonder if it's somewhat like a parent who has to put a child in time-out for awhile in order for the child to think about his transgression and be willing to repent. It is good for us to know ourselves and our weaknesses and sinfulness. It keeps us from conceit and self-confidence. It should help us to depend upon God's divine grace.
My Bible commentary likened that testing of Hezekiah to the same testing of God's people in Deut. 8. God tells his people in verse 2 "REMEMBER how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands." (my caps). Verse 5 continues, "Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good."
I liken my life as a student who is constantly being trained, taught and tested in this world so I will be a better servant of God each day in this life and be better prepared to serve my Lord and King in heaven someday. Sadly, I continually have to learn the hard way that it is not about ME;
it is about GOD! Back to Jesus on the cross. Matthew Henry's Commentary showed me something I have never considered, "That our Lord Jesus, even when he was thus forsaken of his Father, kept hold of him as his God, notwithstanding; My God, my God; though forsaking me, yet mine...even in the depth of his sufferings God was his God, and this he resolves to keep fast hold of." I pray that from this day forward when God tests me that my heart will cry out "My God, my God" and refrain from pridefully taking the credit for the good in my life or complaining when I have to endure suffering. So now I'm comforted to know that God sometimes leaves me to myself, because I know he will return so I can repent and let him take me in his loving arms to feel his pleasure once again.
I like what you said about the focus being on God and not Me. So simple to understand and yet so hard to live out. I just heard an interesting thought about prayer along these lines. A woman says she tries to focus not on her weakness, but in declaring God's strength. She says it makes a big difference in her prayer life and in her attitude. For example, instead of saying, "God give me peace." She says, "God you are my peace." Instead of saying "God, give me strength, she says, "God your are my strength." I want to try this!
ReplyDeleteHere is a viewpoint I thought was interesting, although I am not sure what my conclusion is on the matter of Hezekiah's comment in 2 Kings 20:19 (peace in my lifetime)
ReplyDeleteNIV Study Bible:
"Although is is possible to understand Hezekiah's statement as a selfish expression of relief that he himself would not experience the announced adversity, it seems better to take it as a humble acceptance of the Lord's judgement and as gratefulness for the intervening time of peace that the Lord in his mercy was granting to his people."