796
December 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
As he was passing the beautiful old sun dial in the court yard, God spoke to him and told him to return and give another message to King Hezekiah. The prophet went gladly, for this time it was good news he was to bring. Of course the king did not know that it would he almost seven hundred years before the Lord Jesus would be born in the manger, but God knew, and although He could not grant the king’s prayer to live to see the Lord, God was touched by the tears of the good king and wanted to comfort him. When Isaiah came again into the king’s room, he said, “ Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to thy life.” Then Isaiah turned to those who were attending the king and said, “ Take a poultice of figs and lay it upon the boil.” For God had revealed to the prophet the very remedy which would take away the poison and the pain, and God healed the sore, King Hezekiah’s face lighted with happiness, but he said to the prophet, “ What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me so quickly?” Isaiah pointed through the window to the old sun dial and asked the king, “ Shall the shadow on the dial go forward or backward, as a sign?” The king thought a moment, then said, “ Let the shadow return back ward ten degrees.” Isaiah raised his face and asked God to give this sign that the sick king might see and know the message was truly from God. As the king and the prophet watched the sun dial, slowly, slowly the shadow crept back ward until it touched the mark ten degrees. Great joy came into the king’s heart, because he had fifteen years more to live and tell others of God’s wonderful promise, which was fulfilled many years later when the little Lord Jesus was born in the manger at Bethlehem. Shall we tell others of that first Christmas Day so long ago when God sent His Son because He loved us. “ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Golden Text: “ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and, he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55:7. OUTLINE: (1) Manasseh’s Revolting Reign, Ch. 21. (2) Josiah’s Reformatory Reign, Chs. 22, 23. INTRODUCTION: These three chapters contain a partial account of the reign of two kings, and are replete with contrasts— one abominable in its history of idolatry, and the other with a story of earnest effort to restore the true religion of Israel. Manasseh is in contrast with his father, LESSON Hezekiah. Josiah, the grandson of Manas- EXPOSITION seh, ip in strange contrast with his grand- T. C. Horton father. Poor, human nature! It rises and falls like the tide of the sea, which is a type of the old world. The drift is constant in the history of God’s ancient people, and also in these days of ours. DECEMBER 21, 1924 (Lesson 64) MANASSEH AND JOSIAH 2 Kings, Chapters 21-23
meekly, therefore, doth he yield to this Divine correction. “ Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken” , i. e., “ I have deserved a present payment; O God! thou de- ferrest it. I have deserved war and tumult; thou favorest me with peace.”—Bp. Hall. ELEMENTARY Mrs. S. W. Barrett Scripture: 2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38. Memory Verses: Rev. 21:4; Micah 5:2; Is. 7:14; Is. 9:6.
Mother doesn’t like to see baby cry when he is hurt, does she? She picks him up, kisses away the tears and loves him until the hurt is all gone. And that is just the way God loves His children. Because He loved us, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for our sins, and to rise again that we might live with Him. The Bible says, “ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Rev. 21:4f Our Bible story today is: Why a Sick King Wept. The servants in the beautiful palace of king Hezekiah walked
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and spoke softly, shaking their heads sadly as they talked of the king, who was very ill. King Hezekiah lay on a soft cushioned divan, built against the wall of his room, moaning with pain. Although he could look through the windows to the courtyard brilliant with flowers and shrubs, where the sun sparkled through the bubbling fountain and cast its shadow upon the old sun dial which had belonged to his father, the king could take no pleasure in them because of his affliction. There was a stir in the outer room; the curtains parted, and into the king’s! room came the great prophet Isaiah, whom the king loved, and who had taught the people to love God. Eagerly King Hezekiah looked toward the prophet’s shining face, for he knew that Isaiah would have a message for him from God. Isaiah’s voice, low and trembling, spoke God’s message to his beloved king. It was probably the hardest task Isaiah had to perform, to speak the words which meant the death knell of the king. “ Thus saith the Lord” , said the prophet slowly, “ set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.” With a cry of pain and anguish the sick king turned his face toward the wall, and with great tears streaming down his face he prayed earnestly to God. “ I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the liv ing” , wept the poor king. “ The living shall praise thee as I do this day, and fathers shall tell their children thy great truth.” Good King Hezekiah did not weep because he was afraid to die, but he wanted to live that he might see the things come to pass which the prophet Isaiah had told the people. For God had told Isaiah the story of how His son was to come from heaven to earth, be born of the Virgin Mother and be called the Prince of Peace who would save the peo ple from their sins. And the prophet Micah told the peo ple that this holy child was to be born in Bethlehem, just a few miles from Jerusalem where the king lived. No won der King Hezekiah wept, because he wanted to live until the little Lord Jesus was born! The prophet Isaiah bowed his head and slowly left the weeping king, for he knew of no way to comfort him.
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