A Divine Truth

“And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.” (2Chronicles 31:21)

This is what Ezra, thought to be the writer of Chronicles, wrote about Hezekiah. Hezekiah who was the thirteenth king in the line of David, began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. His noted accomplishments were that he cleansed the temple and restored temple worship. He restored the celebration of the Passover, organized the priests and got rid of the idols in Judah. He saw the fall of Israel to the Assyrians, those tribes never to be found again because of their rebellion and idolatry, except according to history, the tribe of Dan which left Israel and went to live in Ethiopia where they are known as Beta Israel. For his accomplishments Ezra commends Hezekiah. But Hezekiah’s pride led to the fall of Judah to the Babylonians. When he was sick with a severe sickness near to death, the Lord healed him. Envoys from Babylon came to inquire of his health and Hezekiah’s pride showed them all the riches of the temple and the kingdom. Isaiah confronted him and prophesied the invasion of the Babylonian invasion which happened over a century later.

Hezekiah sought the Lord and obeyed the Law in everything that he did with all of his heart. And God prospered him. God is faithful to His promises. God told Joshua, “This book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it by day and by night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall act wisely.” (Joshua 1:8) This was not a promise just for Joshua. What God told Joshua was not only a promise, but a divine Truth. Hezekiah prospered because he sought to obey the Law. When Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah about the fall of Judah, he ended his prophecy with these words, “And of your sons which shall issue from you, which you shall father, they shall take away. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” (2Kings 20:18) God kept His promise to Hezekiah because of his obedience to the Law. The invasion did not come in his days but in the days of his descendants.

How is this important to us? It emphasizes that in spite of Hezekiah’s shortcoming, being prideful and placing the kingdom in jeopardy, God was faithful to His promise to Joshua and all who follow His divine Truth. And it teaches us the perils of pride.

Our pride and boastful speaking can put God’s plan and our own plans at risk. I knew a man who found a great deal on a parcel of land. The parcel had concrete blocks laid throughout it. The man spouted out about how those concrete blocks were a benefit to him and how he was going to use them. Well, the owner sold the land, but before he did, he dug up all the concrete blocks. It ruined the man’s plans to use the land, and he didn’t buy the lot. Many plans have been ruined by boastful speaking. “Every wise one deals with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly.” (Proverbs 13:16) What God has placed in our hearts will come to fruition, but in God’s time. There is not a necessity to forge ahead in one’s own strength. There are things that must come in line, our development, the development of others, the development of circumstances and God’s right and perfect time. Nothing will develop if we do not pray. Pray and seek God’s direction and plan for the now until God opens the opportunity for the realization of God’s plan. As time goes by, God will reveal one step at a time to take until His will is accomplished.

If one wants to be successful in anything, we must look to what God has to say about prospering. The word prosper has a bad connotation. Many associate it with money. But it can mean to be successful in something. Looking at all the translations some use prosper, some have translated it to good success or a variation meaning the same thing. And still other have both prosper and have good success. The original Latin Vulgate has a different interpretation. The last phrase reads: “...then you shall direct your way and understand it.” That means that we will act with understanding or clear judgement. How can we fail when we’ve spent time learning from the Lord and gaining understanding beyond limited human reasoning.

In the end, we see that God is faithful when we follow His divine Truths. If we seek to do all He commands. We will gain clear understanding and good judgement to act wisely which in turns brings us success in what we do.  And in spite of our failings, God’s faithfulness to His promises and divine Truths will not be withheld.

Let us pray:

Father God, I thank You for Your great wisdom which is revealed in Your Word. Help me to search it and to obey so I can do Your Will with understanding and good judgement. Thank You Lord that Your faithfulness blesses me when I obey. I thank You Lord. Forgive me when I have been boastful. All I have and all that I am is because of Your goodness and Your grace in my life. I am grateful. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to teach me how to pray and how to stay connected to my Savior and Lord, Jesus. Jesus, You are the light that has given me life. I need You every minute and every moment of my life. I am dependent on You my Lord. You are life to me. Without You I cannot live. Draw me to You. I am thirsty for Your Presence. Thank You my Lord Redeemer. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.