Read 2 Chronicles 32 and Revelation 20.
This devotional is about 2 Chronicles 32.
Do you know anyone who has succeeded in everything they’ve tried? I’m talking about someone who was valedictorian in high school, but who also was the captain and quarterback of the football team and dated the head cheerleader? Then, the same person breezed through college, got the woman he wanted to marry, the job he wanted, and then went on to become a successful CEO?
Not many people have lived that kind of life, with that much success and no obvious failures. But Hezekiah did. Here in 2 Chronicles 32: 30b-31 we read, “He succeeded in everything he undertook.” We started reading Hezekiah’s story back in 2 Chronicles 29 and we saw how he successfully reformed and re-introduced worship to Judah in chapters 29-31. At the end of chapter 31, we read that Hezekiah “…sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”
Here in chapter 32, Hezekiah faced two serious challenges to his success. The first was a military challenge. Judah was attacked by Assyria, according to verses 1-22, but unlike all the other nations that had fallen to the Assyrians, Hezekiah and Isaiah beat the Assyrians with prayer (vv. 20-22). The result of this victory was wealth and prestige for Hezekiah because verse 23 says, “Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.” So, the first challenge to Hezekiah’s life and leadership went his way and made him even more successful than he had already been.
The second challenge Hezekiah faced was a terminal illness, according to verse 24. 2 Kings 20:1-11 tells this story in greater detail. Here in 2 Chronicles 32, we get the TLDR version in verse 24 which says, “n those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.” So, after defeating Assyria with prayer, Hezekiah beat death with prayer, too! What an amazing success story.
But then we get to verse 30 which I quoted earlier in this devotional. I’m going to quote it again, but this time I will include verse 31. So, 2 Chronicles 32: 30b-31 says that Hezekiah “…succeeded in everything he undertook.31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.” This too is the TLDR version of the story and, again, the full story was recorded for us in 2 Kings 20, this time in verses 14-19. If we put together what 2 Kings 20 says with what our text today, 2 Chronicles 32 says, the following picture emerges. Hezekiah dedicated himself to serving the Lord and God blessed his life and kingdom for it. But, when God saved his kingdom from the Assyrians and his life from a fatal disease, Hezekiah’s reputation in the world went up, but so did his pride. Again, verse 23b says, “From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations,” but verse 25 says, “But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him….” Hezekiah began to believe his own press! He stopped crediting God with his success over Assyria and over disease and started to think that it was his own ability that caused his success. So, again verse 31 says, “But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart” and this indicates that when the Babylonians came to Judah, Hezekiah proudly showed them how wealthy he was and maybe even regaled the Babylonians with braggadocios stories about he alone beat invaders and death without mentioning that he beat both with prayer. In other words, Hezekiah seems to have given God no glory at all for his success; instead, he seems to have taken all the credit for himself.
Contrast this visit Hezekiah had from the Babylonians with the visit Solomon had with the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. Just as Hezekiah showed all his wealth to the Babylonians, Solomon showed all his wealth to the queen. The difference, however, is that the queen praised God (1 Kings 10:9) because Solomon gave God the credit. But here in 2 Chronicles 32, Hezekiah seems to have given no credit to God; he simply took it all for himself. That’s what the writer of 2 Chronicles is telling us when he wrote in verse 31b that “God left him to test him and know everything that was in his heart.” Every success Hezekiah had was a gift from God, but in his heart, Hezekiah was proud and took credit instead of glorifying God for his success.
In verse 26, we were told, “Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart,” so God withheld his punishment until after Hezekiah’s death, according to verse 26c and 2 Kings 20:16-18. But the godly leadership Hezekiah showed was tarnished by his own pride and refusal to glorify God.
What are you proudest of? What brings you the greatest joy and sense of accomplishment in your life? Do you really, honestly thank and glorify God for that? Or, do you receive complements as if you did it all yourself?
God created us to glorify him and, without hm, we could not live for one second, much less enjoy success in this life. So remember to give God the glory for your success and do not let pride steal from you the reward that comes from faithfully and humbly following the Lord.