Your Daily Devotions for Monday, August 15, 2022

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022

TEXT: 2 Kings 20:12-21

12. At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan was a king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah when he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13. Hezekiah listened to the messengers and then showed them all the valuable things he owned. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, the expensive perfume, and the building where he stored the weapons. He showed them everything in his treasuries, in his palace, and in his kingdom.

14. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?” Hezekiah said, “These men came from a faraway country, from Babylon.”

15. Isaiah said, “What did they see in your palace?” Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything I own. I showed them all my wealth.”

16. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the LORD.

17. The time is coming when everything in your palace and everything your ancestors have saved until today will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left! The LORD said this.

18. The Babylonians will take your sons, and your sons will become officers in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

19. The Hezekiah told Isaiah, “This message from the LORD is good.” (Hezekiah said this because he thought, “There will be real peace and security during my lifetime.”)

20. All the great things that Hezekiah did, including his work on the pool and the aqueduct to bring water into the city, are written in the book, The History of the kings of Judah.

21. Hezekiah died and was buried with his ancestors. And his Manasseh became the new king after him.

(Easy-to-Read Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: HEZEKIAH’S COSTLY MISTAKE

Soon after Hezekiah’s miraculous healing and deliverance form death, the news spread throughout the region and beyond. The prince of the king of Babylon, Marduk-Baladan, also heard about this miracle and immediately sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah.

Although we are not told what King Hezekiah said or the content of the letters from Babylon, we can deduce some things from his reaction. King Hezekiah used this visit to proudly display his wealth and armory to the heathen envoys which was a mark of pride and calling attention to himself.

Perhaps he was so full of his victory over death and failed to point the visiting guests to the Lord who was the source of his healing and the nation’s wealth and might. This attitude resonates well with most of us reading this devotion today.

After God answers our prayers with dramatic results, we simply forget Him and begin to bask in the euphoria of how well we have done to get us to our present position.

QUESTION: When God answers your prayers, are you humbled or proud?

PRAYER: Help me, Oh Lord, never to lose sight of You, especially when my prayers are answered, in Jesus name, Amen.