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   Hezekiah's Illness Meets God's Mercy (2 Kings 20:1-7)   
      
   Main Point   
      
   God turns away death from a faithful king who prays and weeps before   
   Him. Hezekiah faces terminal illness yet turns to Yahweh with covenant   
   appeals. God responds with immediate healing and fifteen added years.   
      
   Fulfillment in the New Testament and epistles   
      
   Jesus teaches persistent prayer moves God's hand (Luke 18:1-8). God   
   promises to hear cries for mercy (James 5:14-15). Christ Himself prayed   
   in anguish and received divine strengthening before facing death   
   (Hebrews 5:7). Hezekiah's extension foreshadows resurrection life poured   
   out on believers through Christ's victory over death (1 Corinthians   
   15:20-22).   
      
   Application to the church   
      
   Believers pray boldly in crisis, claiming God's covenant promises.   
   Churches anoint the sick and expect God's intervention (James 5:14). We   
   reject despair and run to God, who delivers from deadly peril for His   
   name's sake (Psalm 116:15).   
      
   God Confirms His Promise with Power (2 Kings 20:8-11)   
      
   Main Point   
      
   God authenticates His word through mastery over creation. Hezekiah seeks   
   confirmation, and Yahweh reverses the sundial shadow ten degrees,   
   defying nature to prove His reliability.   
      
   Fulfillment in the New Testament and epistles   
      
   Jesus performs signs to confirm His messianic word, turning water to   
   wine and raising Lazarus (John 2:11; 11:47). Apostles validate gospel   
   preaching with miracles (Hebrews 2:4). God declares time fulfilled in   
   Christ, who controls all creation (Mark 1:15; Colossians 1:16-17).   
      
   Application to the church   
      
   The church demands no signs for faith yet trusts God's faithful word. We   
   proclaim Christ's resurrection as the ultimate confirmation (1   
   Corinthians 15:14). Believers rest in promises, knowing God wields   
   cosmic power to fulfill them (Romans 4:20-21).   
      
   Hezekiah Displays Treasures to Babylon (2 Kings 20:12-19)   
      
   Main Point   
      
   Prosperity exposes pride, inviting future judgment. Hezekiah boasts of   
   his riches to Babylonian envoys, hiding nothing. Isaiah exposes this   
   folly, prophesying spoliation and exile.   
      
   Fulfillment in the New Testament and epistles   
      
   Pride precedes a fall, as earthly glory fades before God's decree (James   
   4:13-16; 1 Peter 5:5-6). Christ warns against storing treasures on   
   earth, where thieves break in (Matthew 6:19-21). All nations face   
   judgment for self-glory, redeemed only in Christ's kingdom (Revelation   
   18:1-3).   
      
   Application to the church   
      
   Church leaders shun vainglory amid blessing, stewarding gifts for God's   
   glory. We heed prophetic warnings humbly, preparing for trials (1   
   Thessalonians 5:20-21). Believers store treasure in heaven, free from   
   boasting that provokes divine discipline (1 Timothy 6:17-19).   
      
   Summary Christological focus   
      
   Hezekiah foreshadows Christ, the praying king delivered from death's   
   shadow to extend God's reign. Yet his pride reveals every descendant's   
   failure, pointing to Jesus, the sinless Son who faced Babylonian exile's   
   curse, healed all illnesses through substitutionary death, and reversed   
   time's decay in resurrection (Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 8:17; Galatians   
   3:13). The church prays in Christ's name, displays humility, and awaits   
   His return when shadows flee forever (Revelation 21:4).   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)