Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 2 Kings 20 and Psalm 137

In 2 Kings 20, the Lord speaks to Hezekiah repeatedly through the prophet Isaiah. First, God warns the ailing Hezekiah to get his house in order before he dies (v.1). Then God responds to Hezekiah’s desperate prayer for mercy by promising him that his death will be held back for 15 years and that he will be saved from his enemies (v.5-6). When Hezekiah asks for a sign to confirm this promise, God graciously grants him a sign – one that is not only miraculous but which also symbolises the extension of time which God had promised to him (v.8-11). And finally, one can almost imagine God sighing as He responds to Hezekiah’s foolish bragging to the Assyrian envoys with the heart-breaking prophetic word: “The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left…” (v.17).

We are left with the picture of a man who was privileged to have had a conversational relationship with Almighty God. However, for Hezekiah, as a man under the Old Covenant, these words of the Lord had to come through the prophet Isaiah each time. He did not have the privilege we enjoy under the New Covenant, which is the indwelling Spirit of God. God ministered His word to Hezekiah from the outside, through a prophet. We, on the other hand, live in the fulfilment of God’s promises such as Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws,” and Joel 2:28, ““And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…”

As New Covenant children of God, we have the privilege of intimate, internal communication with God Himself. We’re not dependent on receiving prophetic words from others. So, while we rejoice when God sends us a word through a brother or sister in Christ, our first expectation should always be that God will whisper His message to us directly in our “secret place” of private prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me to live with the expectation that I will hear from You through His inner whisper today. Speak Lord, Your child is listening! And Lord, when You speak to me, please grant me the grace and courage to respond with joyful obedience. Amen.