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   There is “a measure of irony” in God’s generous response to heal   
   Hezekiah of his illness. Granting Hezekiah’s request may have been   
   unwise, and it would have been better for both the king and the nation   
   if he had died from his illness rather than receiving the fifteen-year   
   extension.[1]   
      
   The reasoning is stark: during those extra years, Hezekiah displayed   
   Babylon’s treasures to foreign spies (which later motivated their   
   invasion), fathered Manasseh with a woman who became his spiritual   
   priority, and this son systematically reversed all his father’s   
   religious reforms.[1] Manasseh rebuilt pagan altars, practiced   
   divination, and “shed innocent blood very much, till he filled Jerusalem   
   from one end to the other.”[1] Manasseh would never have been born—and   
   these moral catastrophes prevented—had Hezekiah accepted his original   
   death sentence.[1]   
      
   This interpretation frames God’s decision as containing divine irony   
   rather than straightforward blessing. It compares to a parent indulging   
   a demanding child with sweets until the child becomes sick, suggesting   
   it was meant to teach acceptance of God’s will.[1] If Hezekiah could   
   have foreseen the consequences, he would have prayed “Not my will, but   
   Thine be done.”[1]   
      
   The other search results don’t adopt this critical stance. They   
   emphasize God’s grace and Hezekiah’s piety during the crisis, but they   
   don’t explicitly defend the wisdom of the fifteen-year extension given   
   its tragic aftermath. One source notes the extension was “very unusual”   
   and fit God’s plan to defend Jerusalem, but stops short of evaluating   
   whether it was ultimately beneficial.   
      
   [1] James Smith and Robert Lee, *Handfuls on Purpose for Christian   
   Workers and Bible Students*, Series I–XIII (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.   
   Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), 59–61.   
      
   --   
   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).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)