2 Kings 20:12-13 – Pride always goes before a fall

Hezekiah’s healing was a miracle. It was a gift from God. He should have shown deep and consistent gratitude to God. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Sadly, 2 Chronicles 32:25 has this to say about him. “But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.” Herein is a lesson for us: it is important for us to show constant faithfulness to God. Ingratitude for the blessings of God can make us callous towards Him. The blessings of God can be the greatest test of our faithfulness.  

God did not only heal Hezekiah, but he also blessed him with great riches. In 2 Chronicles 32:27-30, we are told that “Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles, also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds for the flocks. He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance because God had given him very great wealth.  It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did.”

It was at this point that Merodach-balagan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon sent a letter and a gift to him. When he heard of Hezekiah’s recovery from his near-death illness, he seized the opportunity to initiate contact with him. Unknown to Hezekiah God was using the incident to assess the king to see if he would remain faithful to Him. How do we know? Second Chronicles 32:31, “Even in the matter of the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only to test him so that He might know everything that was in his heart.”

Second Kings 20:2 suggests that Hezekiah had failed the test. Pride took the better of him. Boastfully he showed all that he had amassed to Merodach-baladan. He held nothing back but allowed the ambassador from Babylon to see all the wealth and military hardware he had acquired. He had forgotten how little the weaponry he had acquired was able to assure him against the threat of Assyria. Sadly, this shows us how the godly Hezekiah had faltered. He fell into this temptation of trusting in what he possessed than in God. Let this be a lesson for us. We must trust God in hard times, but always remain faithfully trusting when the tide has turned for the better. Man tends to forget God in times of blessings and plenty. The Bible tells us that pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction. We must always walk gingerly and circumspectly before the Lord.