Healing

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HEALING GRACE - 2 Kings 20:1-7

“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.” Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs”. They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.”

Hezekiah took the throne of Judah at the age of twenty-five (2 Chronicles 29:1) and reigned for twenty-nine years (2 Kings 18:2). The main accounts of his reign are found in 2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Chronicles 29-32. These sources portray him as a great and good king, who followed the example of his great-grandfather Uzziah. He was a righteous man, who introduced religious reform and reinstated the temple traditions. He set out to abolish idolatry from his kingdom, and among other things, he destroyed the "brazen serpent," which had become an object of idolatrous worship. There was great reformation and prosperity in the kingdom of Judah in his day (2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 29:3-36). The author of 2 Kings ends his account of Hezekiah with praise (18:5).

However, Hezekiah faced a time of considerable stress and anxiety when in the fourteenth year of his reign, Sennacherib, King of Assyria came “against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them” (II Kings 18: 13). 2 Kings 18 and 19 talk about how God stepped in and cut down the enemies of His people eventually, but King Hezekiah and his men endured humiliation and ridicule at the hands of Sennacherib’s men. He was the head of the nation, and he carried a big responsibility – his decisions had a direct impact on the fate of the nation in the face of a threatened foreign invasion. As a result, he became seriously sick. His infirmity is described as a ‘boil’, which I believe was a cancerous tumor, because a simple boil could not have posed such a serious threat to his life.

Hezekiah was in his sickbed when God sent the prophet Isaiah to him, instructing him to straighten up his affairs because he was going to die. He was under a death sentence! Friend, I want you to know that there is no report that cannot be turned around. It doesn’t matter what the doctors have told you or your loved ones – by the power of God, you can rise up and prove them wrong! The prophet told Hezekiah in no uncertain terms that he would not recover, but things turned out very differently in the end. By the stripes of Jesus, you are healed!

Hezekiah’s response was to turn his face to the wall and pray! He was lying in bed and was probably surrounded by members of his family and his staff, but he took his eyes off all of them; he cut out the distractions and prayed! He wept ‘bitterly’ – with all his heart poured out in the tears which were an anguished prayer. He was not ready to die. He did not want to die in that way or so soon. His heart was filled with grief for all the dreams in him which he now thought would never be. He fixed his eyes on God and cried out for relief. Hezekiah stood on the relationship he had with God; what he humbly said was ‘I have walked with you and obeyed your word – I am Your child”! It was a simple but sincere and passionate prayer for mercy.

Get your eyes off the world, friend! Get your eyes off medical reports and medical sites on the internet! Stop listening to friends or the media who are filled with doom and gloom. We are Kingdom citizens and temples of the Holy Spirit. God has something different for us! Get your eyes on Jesus, who already paid the price for your complete healing and wholeness when His blood poured out for you and me at Calvary. He is the God who forgives every sin and heals every sickness (Psalm 103:3). The power of God can override every natural law and heal us completely! Turn your face to the wall (ie, get away from distractions) and pray your heart out to God. Stand on your relationship with Him. Stand on His promises. He is Jehovah Raphe, the God who heals! His love and compassionate are overflowing. His mercies are new every morning (and evening and night!).

Hezekiah had barely finished praying when the Lord gave the prophet a word for him. God spoke to him when he was still walking through the premises of the royal palace. Hezekiah was standing on his relationship with God, but God was remembering even beyond that – to His special relationship with Hezekiah’s ancestor David, eleven generations before him! God had heard the prayers of Hezekiah, and seen the broken heart from which they arose. Not only was Hezekiah to receive a divine healing, but he was given a new lease of life. And God was promising to take away the root cause of his sickness – the stress and fear he had faced from Sennacherib the King of Assyria. God was promising to defend the city – not only for His own name’s sake, but also because of the special relationship He had with David.

To top it all, God provided a natural remedy for the healing of the tumor Hezekiah had – a poultice of figs. God has a better remedy for us than any pharmacy. He is the God of all creation – He knows what blessings are in each plant, fruit or herb He made! Many times in recent years, when faced with an attack of infirmity, I have experienced the voice of God telling me what to take to be whole. It is a good thing to practice listening to the voice of the Lord, in every practical aspect of our lives including the well being of the body and soul. I have always had a tendency to eat more sweets than I should, and lately, I hear the voice of my Father cautioning me just when I am about to eat something I shouldn’t! Trust God to tell you what is best for you.

Finally, Hezekiah’s name means “strength of Jehovah”. God’s healing grace raised him up from his deathbed and placed him back upon the throne of the nation, to rule in the strength of Jehovah for the rest of his life. God radically transformed his situation from death to vibrant life, and continued to use him as His instrument to rule the land. Such a radical turnaround is available to you too, if you refuse to listen to the words of death which seem to be all around us, and receive the words of LIFE which Jesus speaks upon your life today. It could be that you need a supernatural healing, not upon your body but upon your marriage, or business, or ministry. In Jesus’ name, I speak LIFE upon whatever concerns you today and declare that no weapon formed against you shall prosper!

In summary,
•Righteous people (like Hezekiah) do fall ill.

•Stress (fear, frustration, hurt, anger, unforgiveness) have been found to be the root cause of some sicknesses – God asks us to trust in Him, forgive, and let go.

•Get your face “to the wall” and call on the name of the Lord.

•Humble yourself – you have to ask to receive.

•Stand on your inheritance and your relationship with God – healing is your portion and God’s will for you.

•Ask God to show you what you should do to be whole – you will receive direction.

•Medicines (natural or otherwise) and people can be used by God to heal.

•God overrode Hezekiah’s death sentence. He can do the same for you!

•God has long life and satisfaction for you, but put your house in order anyway, and keep it that way!

Be whole, be healed, be free – in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!

Minoli Haththotuwa
www.wingslikeeagles.info
09 November 2009

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