Chapter 29—The Ambassadors From Babylon
In the midst of his prosperous reign King Hezekiah was suddenly
stricken with a fatal malady. “Sick unto death,” his case was beyond
the power of man to help. And the last vestige of hope seemed removed
when the prophet Isaiah appeared before him with the message, “Thus
saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not
live.”
Isaiah 38:1
.
The outlook seemed utterly dark; yet the king could still pray to
the One who had hitherto been his “refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
. And so “he turned his face to the wall,
and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember
now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart,
and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept
sore.”
2 Kings 20:2, 3
.
Since the days of David there had reigned no king who had wrought
so mightily for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in a time of
apostasy and discouragement as had Hezekiah. The dying ruler had
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served his God faithfully, and had strengthened the confidence of the
people in Jehovah as their Supreme Ruler. And, like David, he could
now plead:
“Let my prayer come before Thee:
Incline Thine ear unto my cry;
For my soul is full of troubles:
And my life draweth nigh unto the grave.”
Psalm 88:2, 3
.
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