Time For Tears
It is indeed a blessing to be in the house of the Lord on the last Sabbath of 2017. Call it what you will, tradition, custom, reflection, but at each and every year’s end, I do some soul searching. I grade my life as I lived it in the passing year, and I have to tell you if I had to give myself a grade it would be a “D-“ borderline failure. I believe this is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said,
5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 2 Corinthians 13:5, 6
You’re sitting out there right now wondering why he would give himself a “D-“? But with all due respect, you should be asking yourself what grade you would give your own spiritual life in 2017. Yes “D-!” I’m not a reprobate at least I don’t think that I am. I’m here! That is the only reason why I didn’t give myself an “F.” For you see most people who have given themselves “F’s” are not here. They just quit! Quit coming to Church, stop reading their Bibles, stop talking about the love of God, stop giving to the cause of God, stop encouraging others, put aside holiness for worldliness, succumbed to a carnal mind as oppose to a spiritual one. Somehow Satan has convinced them that the regurgitated mistakes of past experiences and the cesspool of living a life of sin is better than hanging with a group of overly self-assessed pious and self-righteous people and that hanging with a straight-up sinner is better than hanging with a hypocrite.
Also I give attention to time. To what everybody? I’m not getting any younger. We are all living that dash? Somebody said dash? Yes, dash! Every tombstone has one. The year that we come into this world is engraved and right next to it is the year of our expiration. And smack dab in between the two is the punctuation mark called an en dash. And my brother asked the question once, how will you live your dash? Time is short and how can we not think of time. I remember the psalmist,
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:9-12
And Job adds his perspective,
1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. Job 14:1
And I would be remiss if I did not allow James to give us the brevity and fragility of life.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James 4:13-15
Such is the disposition of the king in our story today. King Hezekiah is deathly ill, and he is lying in his bed. He feels the company of death, and as if this was not bad enough the man of God, Isaiah comes with some discouraging news. Let’s look to our Scripture reading,
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. Isaiah 38:1-8
GIVE TITLE & PRAY
It does not appear that King Hezekiah will live to see 2018. In fact he mentions in verse 9 that he had already cashed in hope and has accepted the degrading quality of his life. Like so many of us that are at the threshold of the finality of life, we actually stop living before we die. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the hospital visited men and women lying in beds bodies emaciated with disease and pestilence and trying to encourage them as they are facing the inevitable. I can’t imagine what Isaiah felt. This king the Bible says was a good king. He led Israel to reform from his father, King Ahaz’s, reign. He opened the doors of the church that His father locked up and had all Israel submerged in idolatry. He reinstituted the Passover, the holiday that was the very symbol of hope and the future of a better day with the coming of the Messiah, had not been practiced for generations.
And in walks the preacher, he is not coming to give a kind word, a prayer of deliverance, or to lend a listening ear. The Father has made up his mind! The little fig tree has not been bearing any fruit! Things need to change. Yielding time to this tree isn’t going to produce more fruit. Jesus, King Hezekiah has got to go! Jesus goes and tells Isaiah the verdict is in, tell Hezekiah, tell him, to set his house in order for he shall die and not live.
The Bible says this is an everyday occurrence in the courts of Glory.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:24, 25
1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zechariah 3:1, 2
You and I have no idea how the proceedings in the Heavenly tribunal are carried out all you and I see are the hearses and the funeral processionals. But we don’t know and won’t know until we are able to read the record ourselves. We do not know how much Jesus tried to represent our cases while down here on earth we misrepresent his cause.
I know Hezekiah understood the atonement process. After all, it was the priest who found the book of the Law and in it the roles of the priests were taught to the people.
Upon hearing the sentence from Heaven, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and began to pray. And it was an unusual prayer. It was more of a contract gone badly and the unfortunate party which in this case, Hezekiah, was trying to renegotiate the terms by telling God all of the good things which he had done. Now unlike me, Hezekiah did not asses his living as a D-. He gave himself an A. “AAAAAA, I deserve to live! I got an A in leadership, an A in sabbathkeeping, an A in health reform, dress reform, and an A in tithing.”
Prophets and Kings the servant of the Lord called him a man of opportunity. Now understand what that is saying. King Hezekiah was not a time waster. He was not overcome with foolishness which is what causes us to cut our days short. Listen to the wise men,
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? Ecclesiastes 7:16, 17
And then what is that First Commandment with promise,
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:1-3
We know what foolishness is but for those of us who have found normalcy in failing the Lord, let me share a few Scriptures which highlight what foolishness is.
9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. Proverbs 24:9
Saying there is no God. Psalm 14:1
The foolish man built his house upon sand. Matthew 7:26
Taking no oil in your lamp. Matthew 25:3
Investing more in this life than in the afterlife. Luke 12:20, 21
Refusing to accept the message of the cross. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Changing the truth of God into a lie. Romans 1:16-21
“Set your house in order.” I looked this word order up. It means to lay charge upon or give charge to. Forever I thought God was telling Hezekiah hay brother, straighten up your life. But even contextually this wouldn’t make sense because the Bible says that Hezekiah was deathly ill. What would he be able to change on his death bed? This further deepened the sentence of death upon the faithful monarch. God was telling him get your replacement in here. Give your responsibility of rule to somebody else because you will not be getting out of that bed alive.
This is not unusual brothers and sisters for you see God did the same thing to Moses. When Moses disobeyed the Lord, Moses wanted to go to Canaan, and the answer wasn’t just no, but listen to this conversation,
24 O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? 25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. 26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. Deuteronomy 3:24-28
And what about King Saul? He was excused as well and his replacement was anointed while he was still wearing the crown.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 1 Samuel 15:26-28
Now I want you to know that God didn’t hear one merit point that Hezekiah rebutted.
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, 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. 2 Kings 20:3-5
King Hezekiah said he had a perfect heart. That’s the equivalent of today’s remark that we are not bad people. But that is not what moved the Almighty to change his verdict. I thank God that He is our judge. When David was in the winter of his season, He said Lord, I would rather you deal with me than man. We are too hard, partial, and incapable of rendering true justice. God knows best. “Isaiah tell King Hezekiah, I saw his tears.” “I’ll give him time for his tears.”
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:16, 17
I wasn’t move by his sabbathkeeping, reforms, vegetarianism, doctrinal standing, money, status. I was moved by my mercy. I told justice to have a seat and commanded forgiveness to take hold of his hand, and my prophet to put some figs on that boil. And it was my grace that gave him 15 more years. Ellen White said Isaiah gladly turned around in mid-court to give King Hezekiah the news. It was Jesus that said let him alone this year also. Jesus will not be saying that to the Father for some of us. You think that after the way we lived in 2017, He ought to give us life in 2018?
If I make it to glory it will not be because I am up here preaching. It will not be because I keep the Sabbath. It will not be because I don’t use profanity or eat pork, believe in the Triune God, sanctuary, or the state of the dead. If I make it to Glory, it will because of the blood of the Lamb. My life is my testimony of how Jesus saves.
King Hezekiah was trying to hold on to his life, his throne, to His God. And in the moment of truth, he had something to bargain with. We act like death has the final say. What you fail to realize beloved is that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). We have a High Priest who stands at the right hand of the Father who ever liveth to make intercession for us. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and is doing for us in Glory, the Bible promises that I don’t have to sin or die. Jude 24 The apostle says, “We shall not all sleep.” 1 (Corinthians 15:51) I have come to give them life and give it to them more abundantly. John 10:10 And Jesus said that He is the resurrection and the Life He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. (John 11:25, 26)That is His word!
Instead of doing some partying over the holiday, get into your closet, spend a watch service in your closet pouring your heart out to the Father like King Hezekiah did. Oh he’ll give you time for your tears. Just ask Lazarus when in John 11:35, it said Jesus wept, and Lazarus came forth from the tomb. And down the Via Dolorosa women were weeping for him, but in Luke 23:28, Don’t weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children and three days later, He came forth from the grave!
You might be saying well pastor I can’t pray like Hezekiah, well then maybe, just maybe, our Father will see your tears, your brokenness, your sorrow and Jesus will say let him alone this year also. We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end.
PRAY
