GOD SPEAKS

In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, Lord, just remember how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept profusely. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will protect this city.”’ Isaiah 38: 1-6 [NASB].

News reached Hezekiah that he was dying. God announced the news of death through his prophet Isaiah. When he heard the news that he was going to die, he burst into tears. What men fear most is death.There are no strangers to this. Fear of death is plaguing people. Look at what Hezekiah did when the fear of death approached. He is facing a very difficult, emotional situation in life. He is coming to God and praying. We can see that death is really coming into people’s lives and more and more they are trying to be closer to God. In fact until then we spend so much time that we don’t even have time to be close to God. But we need God at all times. God is not the only God for our emergencies. He is the one we need all the time. We need His presence from birth to death. It is not to turn to God in times of trouble, or in times of emergency. We must keep Him as our God in all circumstances.

We do not see Hezekiah weeping, even though he is very sick. But when he hears the news that he is going to die, the fear of death is evident in him. Wouldn’t we react even worse in that situation? How can this fear of death go away from us? God came in the flesh for us. He did not want his children to be in fear of death for the rest of their lives. It is a slavery all their lives. Christ conquered mortal power through His death. Read this passage in this context: 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2: 14-15 [NASB]. Jesus alone is capable of freeing mankind from the fear of death. Because He is the only one who has conquered death. He hopes to spread His resurrection power to all. Everyone deserves it. But does this benefit only those who put their trust in Him? Can we get anything if we go to those who can give? This great fortune will be given to them freely through faith in Him. It gives them great confidence to who trust in Him. They will not be discouraged even if they have to leave this world. There will be no worries about this first death in their life. God bless them with eternal life and rest. They are confident and determined that they will avoid a second death. 

God saw Hezekiah in tears. Increased his lifespan by another fifteen years. This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. Who has the power to increase life expectancy? Who has authority over human life and death? Who is in charge of living and dying? What does the Word of God say in this regard? God is to us a God of salvation; And to God the Lord belong ways of escape from death. Psalm 68:20 [NASB]. Jesus has the power to save death. Jesus has the power to prolong life. Jesus has the power to give everlasting life after death. The Word of God confirms this. That is why it would be a wise decision for human beings to hand over their lives to Him.

We can see two types of people who have faith in Him. Here Hezekiah wished he could have continued his life on earth. That is why he prayed to God. He received fifteen years of life from God. Life on earth is not eternal. But God extended their life to the desire of some. Even when some died, God gave them back to life and gave them back to their loved ones. Others want to leave this world, hoping for a resurrection. Let’s see what God’s Word tells in this context: Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;Hebrews 11:35 [NASB]. God has promised to give us resurrection. That is why God set Jesus before us as an example. That is why many believers in this world did not seek redemption when they were persecuted for Christ. Although they had the opportunity to be released, they wanted to be resurrected in Christ. The fear of death is not in us if we perceive the life and the resurrection in Him. Moreover, we hope for the glorious resurrection He will give us.

Now a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow containers elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. 4 Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.” 5 So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil. 6 When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped. 7 So she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” 2 KINGS 1: 7 [NASB].

Here is a prophet indebted. Moreover, he died. Debt is an important issue for this family. His family is now in crisis. Debts make lives miserable. If God blesses us financially, you will be in a position to lend but not in a position to borrow. Look at the great promises that God has given us. The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless every work of your hand; and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. Deuteronomy 28:12[ NASB]. If He blesses our handiwork our property will expand. Does not the fact that you can lend to so many nations mean that your financial blessings are unimaginable to you? Let’s look at also one of God’s words in this context. Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Job 1:9-10. [NASB]. The reason Job’s possessions expanded was because God blessed the work of his hand. All we need is to have God’s blessing on the work we do. There is no room for debt where there is God’s blessing. For someone who has decided not to borrow, there will be no expenses beyond his needs. Because he is satisfied in all conditions. Only God’s blessing can deliver those who are in debt. Such is the blessing we must obtain from God. 

Now the debtor has approached that family. He asked them to settle the debt. Or send your two sons to be slaves to me. They did not understand what to do. The nice thing they did was decide to seek God’s advice. She came to the prophet Elisha. That is, she sought God’s advice to come out of the trouble. This work showed her the way out of the debt problem. Many times we think we can achieve through our thinking. We think we also have a lot of experience. God’s thoughts and counsel are far greater than ours. That is why it is always best to seek God’s advice. What the Word of God says in this context? Do not be wise in your own eyes; PROVERBS 3: 7; Also, says: I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will advise you with My eye upon you. PSALM 32:8. [NASB]. Who in the world is as rich as He can advise us to get out of trouble? See the wonderful counsel given by God through God’s prophet Elisha. Then he said, “Go, borrow containers elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; He advised them to take the cooking utensils from the neighbors. God bless the oil in the house. That little bit of oil has now become too much. God showed them the way to pay their debts. How did all this happen? Isn’t it because they are asking God for advice?

What would happen if the neighbors did not provide the empty containers? Is it not because this family is in alliance with the neighbors that they gave their bowls / containers to them? Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your disaster; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away. Proverbs 27: 10 [NASB]. On the day of disaster, a neighbour is better than you own brother far way. See how important friendship is with your neighbor. Neighbors near you can help you without having to go to a distant sister/brother. Your neighbor is your brother or sister in case of emergency. That is why you need to be friendly with your neighbor. We can see that the Prophet’s family had such brotherly love for their neighbors. We also need the help of neighbors. Do not think that I can live on my own. If not, how can you fulfill the command to love your neighbor as yourself?

This family faced such a debt problem together. When the mother says that we should go to the prophet of God to settle our problem, what would have happened if the sons were not ready for it? What if the mother had left them, saying that their problem was theirs? What would have happened if those two sons had not done the job of bringing those cooking utensils? Everyone in the family thought the problem was theirs. Family unity has been a great help to them. Because of this unity they all went together to the servant of God. Where there is unity there will be the blessing of God. Let us read this passage in this context: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to live together in unity! 2  It is like the precious oil on the head, Running down upon the beard, As on Aaron’s beard, The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the Lord commanded the blessing there—life forever. Psalm 133:1-3[NASB]. They did what God told them to do and got out of debt. God’s loving unity brings blessings to your family. 

And they began to beg Him to leave their region. 18 And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was begging Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 5:17-20 [NASB].

Those who have tasted His love cannot leave Him. If you truly know Him, you will never leave Him. The demon-possessed man is very grateful for the healing and great good that he has received through Jesus. So far he has wandered in the graves. Tormented by demons. No one cared about him. No one could fix him. But, today Jesus has brought a great change in his life. The demons left him. Recovered, he put on his clothes and sat down with Him. Now he is looking for a new life. He does not want to leave Jesus, who has given him a new life. He made it a consistent decision. So he begged Jesus to allow to stay with Him: “the man who had been demon-possessed was begging Him that he might accompany Him Mark 5:18”. We pray to Jesus for good in our lives. When they are fulfilled, we praise God. After that, we show no interest in being with Jesus or following him. But, look at this demon-possessed man. He begs Jesus so that he may stay with Him as much as possible. In fact, if we understand exactly why we should follow Jesus, we too will make the firm decision to follow Him as this healed man.

Many are following Jesus only for worldly needs.They follow Jesus only for the perishable. That is why when their needs are met, they are not interested in following Jesus. They are ignoring the important reason for following Jesus. We can see this in the days when Jesus preached the gospel. Let us examine this passage on this subject. “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” John 6: 24:27[NASB]. Here we can see that a great crowd is looking for Jesus. They came to Capernaum in small boats, looking for Jesus. Here, too, it seems to us that they are following Jesus. But the real reason they follow Jesus is different. The reason they follow Jesus is not because they believe in Him because of the great signs He did. Therefore, Jesus rebuked them. Jesus told them without hesitation that you were following me to find the loaves of bread in my closet. Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. This is where we need to question ourselves. Why do we follow Jesus? For the needs of this world? Or for the eternal life He gives? If we follow Him for the sake of this world, what is the difference between us and those who do not follow Christ? If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.1 Corinthians 15:19 [NASB]. Notice what Jesus said in this context. Jesus spoke to them in this way : “Follow me for everlasting life, which the Son of man will give. Do not keep your mind on the perishable. Do not follow me for the corrupt. I was not sent to you by the Father for them. I have come to give you eternal life.”

Another important reason why many people do not really follow Jesus is that they forget the good He did. Many are seeing and experiencing his visions directly and forgetting. Hearts that praise Jesus as God, forget Him. Let us look at the Word of God in this context.They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” Exodus 32:8 [NASB]. The people of Israel walked on dry land in the Red Sea. They saw the dead Egyptians by the sea with their own eyes. It is written in the Word of God that all the people believed in Yahweh and His servant Moses. [ Read Exodus 14: 28-31] Why did such people now make a cast calf idol? Besides, how deadly is it to say that the cast-out calf brought them out of Egypt? What kind of human are we to think if we do see His power with our eyes and understand and do not follow His divinity? On this occasion the people of Israel of that day followed the cast calf instead of following the living God. That’s all we have too. We forget the living God and follow the world. Can’t we just remember the saying, “Let us not forget the good He did for us?” Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; Psalms 103: 2 [NASB]. How unfortunate is it that you live forgetting Jesus, the God who created you and laid down His life for you? Test yourself once and for all to see if you can not follow Him as you forget the good He has done. He laid down his life for you to give you eternal life. What greater benefit can we have in our lives than that? He can not be forgotten if we meditate daily on the work He did on the cross. Therefore we cannot but follow Him. Look at that demon-possessed man. Jesus said to him, Go your way, tell your  household of the good that God has done. But, he was the only one who kept saying that all over the place. Because, he really followed Jesus. He loved Jesus so much that he could not forget the good he received. And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 5:20 [NSAB]. And what about you? Are you really following Jesus?