Days To Remember G's Blog

Wednesday morning we read about King Hezekiah in the Bible. We have read this many times, since our eldest is named after him. This story from the Bible is often requested by our eldest son too.

When I was pregnant with Hezekiah, Page had been reading in Isaiah about King Hezekiah and really liked the name and decided that this would be our son's name. I liked it as well and I think that being named after someone who was given a sign as making time go backwards is also amazing! If you do not know much about King Hezekiah, let me tell you a bit. This is found in the Bible in Isaiah chapter 38, and also in the Illustrated Family Bible Stories published by Parragon Publishing.

King Hezekiah became gravely ill when a boil erupted on his skin and spread an infection all over his body until he was almost dying. The prophet Isaiah went to see him and told him, " God says you won't recover from this illness, so you must hurry and put your affairs in order before you die."

Hezekiah's heart sank with despair. With tears streaming down his face, he turned his face to the wall and prayed, "Lord God, please remember that I have loved you sincerely and always tried to do good. Must the best years of my life be cut short like this? Listen to my cries, O God, and help me!"

God gave Isaiah another message for the sick king.

"Tell Hezekiah that i have heard his tearful prayer and will give him another 15 years to live. And by the strength of my hand, I will defend Jerusalem from our Assyrian attackers. Watch and see! As a sign that my promise will come true, I will make the shadow cast by the sundial move back ten paces."

Then Isaiah told the king to take a thick mixture of figs, and to apply it as medicine to the boil. Hezekiah did this and was healed completely, and he watched in awe as indeed the sundial's shadow moved back ten paces.

"I praise you, loving God, for saving me from death, " Hezekiah joyfully wrote afterwards. "My suffering has made me humble and I will spend the rest of my days singing about your faithfulness."

Oh, where to begin? I love the prayers of Hezekiah, I have prayed similar prayers of sorrow in my life when hardship arises and have praised God too from delivering me and my family from turmoils. I love how Hezekiah just is filled with emotion to cry out to God when he is need (maybe that is because I am such an emotional being and can relate) and I also applaud the prayer of thanksgiving to our God. I look forward to meeting this king one day in heaven. It is really cool too that God gave him a sign. You know we often times want signs saying do this or do that, but Hezekiah did not even pray for a sign and God just gave him one. The sign was to make time go backward? This blows me away, like on many levels blows me away (I think it is the whole sci fi, time travel thing for me here). Our God who is infinite and has no boundaries and is time less did this just because well He can. I really think that is just AMAZING! Let alone, he extended his life and healed him, which is mind blowing as well. I stand in awe.

So my sweet love, Hezekiah Page Phelps, when mommy reads this story to you I pray that you (as well as your brother and sister) will learn to love God, pray to Him, and find that He can do and still does some Amazing things!