Getting Carried Away

O. T. #868  "Getting Carried Away"
Nov. 11, 2016
2 Kings 20-Part 4


LET IT GLOW

Have you ever gotten caught up in the moment and said too much, did things you shouldn't have done, or gone too far in a situation? The king in our chapter got carried away, all right. Because he showed too much, his family would pay for it later as they got carried away into captivity by Babylon.

King Hezeiah received a sign from God that what he was told by Isaiah would come to pass-he would live 15 more years and Jerusalem would be protected from Assyria.
This chapter may have taken place earlier that where it appears in the Scriptures.
What happened?

• The Babylonian king sent letters and a present to the ill king of Judah.
• The Babylonian ambassadors were supposedly sent to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery and to inquire of the miracle (2 Chronicles 32:31); but most historians believe his real purpose was to induce him to rebel against the Assyrians. (Falwell)
• Hezekiah showed the messengers all that was in his storehouses-silver, gold, spice, fine oil, armory and all among his treasury.
• There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. (verse 13)

What a mistake! The king showed all his treasures to an enemy. He should have known better than that. Was it his self-confidence, pride, too much trust, or caught up in the moment that provoked the king to do such a thing?

(Let me throw this in: if Hezekiah had died from that illness, there would have been no King Manasseh (Judah's most evil king), thus there would there have been King Josiah. Would Babylon taken Judah captive anyway? Well, it all happened so there is no need for speculation, is there?

Do we realize what an influence our life has for future generations of our family?

LET IT GROW

Isaiah asked Hezekiah who those visiting men were, and he answered the truth, they were from Babylon. Isaiah asked what they had seen in his house, he answered all.
What did the Lord say would happen as a result of the king's actions? All things would be carried into Babylon.
Since Hezekiah had exposed everything to the Babylonians, they would return someday to claim for themselves Judah's possessions and people, including the king's sons. It happened about a century later. King Hezekiah got carried away and his generations to come would get carried away as slaves.
Manasseh, Hezekiah's son and next king, was taken to Babylon and imprisoned, but he humbled himself and God delivered him (2 Chron. 33:11-19).

Hezekiah went down in Jewish history as a great king. He accomplished many things. He fortified the city, improved its water system, cleansed the land of idols, and sought to lead the people back to the Lord. He was a man of prayer who knew how to "spread it out before the Lord." (Wiersbe)

We are no greater than this king in Judah, except David and Jesus, of course. We make mistakes, have our weak moments, and pride. Do we maintain a relationship with God that is strong? Do we ask for self control, which is a fruit of the Spirit?

LET IT GO

Pride to humility, lack of self control to self control, words and actions are thought out.