Some time ago tennis player Bjorn Borg attempted a comeback. Borg had been one of the most dominating male tennis players in the history of the sport during the '70. In 1981 he retired though, to the surprise of many. He finished at the top of the tennis world. It wasn't enough though. 2 years ago, Borg re-entered tennis in an attempt to regain his high status and fame. However, he was soundly defeated. The following article appeared on the news wires.

Borg was wearing his trademark headband. But as soon as play started, it was apparent this was not the Borg of old. His serves lacked power, his shots lacked depth and the only points he seemed to win came on unforced errors by Delaitre. Borg, 5-time Wimbledon champ and winner of 6 French Open titles, retired abruptly at the peak of his game 10 years ago, claiming he was burned out. Last year, he decided to return to the tour. Playing with his old wooden racquet, he lost decisively to Jordi Arrese of Spain in his return and decided he needed more conditioning and modern equipment. Borg, who won Nice in 1977 and 1980, attempted other comebacks in 1982, 1983 and 1984. All were short-lived.

The author tells us that Borg was wearing his headband, because no one would probably know who he was without it. There are many other examples of this. Mark Spitz, who won an amazing 7 gold medals in the 1972 Olympics tried to make a comeback last year, and embarrassed himself. Hall of fame baseball player Jim Palmer made a comeback last year, but after getting pounded in his first spring training start, he was let go. Why do they try to hang on to the glory? Why can't they accept going out on top?

You had been feeling a bit tired and ill lately, so you went to your doctor who ran some tests. Now as you enter his office for the results, you feel as if something might be wrong. As the doctor enters the examination room you have been waiting in for what seems like and hour, you catch a glimmer of sadness in his eye. "We've received the results of your tests," he begins a bit slowly, "I am not sure how to put it to you..." You break in and say, "Doc what is it? You have to let me know." The doctor looks directly into your eyes, which now visibly show the fear that is building inside of you, there is a long pause, "You only have 2 months to live." What thoughts would go through your head? What would you do? How would you react? How would you feel?

We are going to look at someone who was faced with a similar situation. Please turn with me to 2 Kings 20, verses 1-11. (Read Text)

Now Hezekiah was considered a good king, who was close to God. In fact, 2 Kings 18:3-5 declares,

"He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him."

But now, in the midst of success, he is given some very profound news. Some good news and some bad news. This passage seems to be and insertion into the running narrative of 2 Kings. The introductory phrase, "Now in those days" is an intentionally non-specific phrase. We can assume, based on further reading that the story probably occurred prior to the events in the immediately preceding verses. But, the author has a reason for telling us this story. What is the meaning of this passage? What is the author of Kings attempting to communicate to his readers about God and about Hezekiah. When you begin to drill an oil well your drill bit passes through several layers, and as we look at this passage we will travel through some layers to get at the real message the author is trying to communicate. First comes to the rich black dirt that lies at the surface.

I. Perhaps the meaning is that God answers the prayer of a faithful man? Hezekiah prays to the Lord to be spared from death. Although it is not explicit in the text, this form or style of prayer often ends with a request for a reward of life or something similar (Gen 24:40). God answers him, before Isaiah can even get out of the house. Hezekiah's prayer for more life is granted him, and he is healed of his illness. Verse 7 is somewhat confusing here, in that it appears that Hezekiah's asking for a sign of God's promised healing comes after he had recovered. The phrase "and he recovered" might be better translated "so that he might recover." This makes sense in light of the parallel passage in Isaiah, where the healing act of the cake of figs does not take place until the end of the story (Isaiah 38:21). God also answers Isaiah's prayer. Isaiah cries or prays to God, and God answers his prayer, by sending the sign and moving the shadow back. God is certainly a God who answers prayer.

James 5:15 states that "the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." And Jesus says in John 14:14 "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

My mom and dad were up here this past week, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with them. While up here my mom had the opportunity to meet with one of her old friends from when we lived in White Bear Lake 15 years ago. Her name is Joan, and my mom spent many years praying for her to become a Christian. God answered that faithful prayer, and Joan now speaks at many Christian women's conferences and gives her testimony.

God is a God who answers prayer, He answered Hezekiah's, and he answers ours. God's supreme love reaches out to us and gives us our desires and answers our prayers. Sometimes that might even mean that God appears to change his mind. You might have asked yourself that question upon hearing this story. First God says Hezekiah is going to die, then God decides to give him 15 extra years. God's nature is consistent and eternal, but his love for us can bring God to restructure events. God's love for us allows him to adjust things because of our prayer, but for HIS purposes. This can be good news and bad news, as Hezekiah will discover. Is this the main thrust of the author's message however?

Now black dirt is good for gardens and growing things, but it isn't really what you are looking for, so you continue to drill deeper until you hit some granite.

II. Maybe the author is trying the get across the message that God is powerful and performs wondrous miracles. God performs two impressive miracles in the span of just 11 verses! He causes the sun to retrace it's steps in the sky! It is not know if this was a local phenomenon or whether it happened world wide, but the miracle was one of truly amazing dimensions either way. Apparently there was a set of stairs, that were built by Hezekiah's father Ahaz, which were used to trace the sun's movements across the sky, by examining a shadow which fell across the steps. The KJV interprets the phrase stairway as "sundial" but this is not supported by the Hebrew word or known archeological findings.

God also healed Hezekiah of his fatal illness. The illness is never definitely identified, but we are told that Hezekiah had a boil. Whether this was the illness or merely a symptom of some greater sickness, it is not known. The important fact is that Hezekiah was going to die unless God intervened. God is a God who through his mighty power, works miracles. His power parted the Red Sea, and caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, so that his covenant, his promise would be kept. Not only did God do great wonders in the past, but he still does them today. I know he does first hand. What else could explain how it is that my wife agreed to marry me. Actually I do know it personally. A few years ago as I was on my way home for Thanksgiving I encountered a blizzard. Well actually I started out in a blizzard, but I thought I could out run it. NOT! The road was covered with snow, and as I got to the south side of town, the cars in front of me began to spin and slide out of control. I locked up the breaks and began skidding directly into the cars in front of me. Just as I was about to hit them, one slid off to the right and the other to the left, and I passed safely through. As soon as it happened, I looked up and said Red Sea baby! Now you might say it was luck or physics or something else, but to me, it was a miracle. Perhaps you have heard of or experienced miracles yourself. Just this past week three young kids from Jump River, Wisconsin were lost in a forest over night...but they were all found and are safe. God is a powerful God, and he did great miracles in the past and continues to do them today. But is this the main message the author is attempting to tell us?

Maybe the author is trying to tell us that we should put figs on our boils. Just kidding.

Now granite is a valuable stone that is used to build all kinds of structures, but that isn't really what your looking for, so you continue to drill deeper.

If the main truth of the story is not that God answers prayers or does great miracles, then what is the author really trying to communicate?

One way we can gain greater insight into the message of Hezekiah's illness, is to look at how the event is viewed from other perspectives. There are two parallel passages. The one is Isaiah 38 we already illuded to, and, in 2 Chronicles 32. These two authors give us a bit of a different focus on the story, and help us to more fully understand and interpret the meaning here in 2 Kings.

As I read a portion from Isaiah see if you can begin to get a sense of what the real problem is here in this story. (Read Isaiah 38:9-20).

The author of Chronicles makes it even plainer. He shortens the account significantly. (Read 2 Chronicles 32:24-25)

24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.

25 But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD'S wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

WE HAVE JUST STRUCK OIL!

III. Pride. Pride. Pride. Hezekiah's had turned from relying on God and trusting his will for himself and Judah as he had done so faithfully in the past. He now cared only about his own life. He took the good news God had for him as bad news. He rejected his chance to go out on top, just like Bjorn Borg and the others. He wanted more glory for himself. He felt that God couldn't accomplish things without him. He became too important in his own eyes. He let his relationship and good standing with God go to his head. The Hezekiah we saw in the previous sermons had avoided the sins of his fathers. He had torn down the idols and avoided the obvious, overt sin only to fall prey to the subtle, silent sin of conceit.

Lest we be too quick to criticize, we must look at our own lives. How did you react to the news that you would have 2 months to live? Did you look at your situation as being bad news rather than good. We often over look the good news that is God's plan, because of our selfish nature. The good news is that we had been given time to prepare ourselves and our family for our passing. And, we get to go home to be with our God. But we see our death as a great loss, a blow to God's work on earth. Hezekiah felt the same way. "God, how can your people be saved without me?"

A plane headed for California on Christmas Eve began to experience mechanical difficulty. Soon the engines had gone out. The pilot came on the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that we have lost all engine power and we are going down. The good news is that you all can open your Christmas presents early."

The good news in Hezekiah's life, was that he had time to prepare for his death and set his house and affairs in order, so that the country would continue to be strong. The most unstable and dangerous time for any country is when the leader dies, and their is a struggle for power. The internal unrest provides an exposed jugular for enemy nations who

jump at the chance to exploit the weakness. God didn't want this to happen to Judah. HE wanted Hezekiah to pick a successor and prepare the country. God was giving Hezekiah an opportunity, not many people or nations get, but Hezekiah couldn't see it, because of his pride. Suddenly his life became more important than the survival of the country. Instead of praying for the delieverence of the city and of God's people, as he had done earlier, Hezekiah began reciting the Pizza Hut jingle....DELIVER ME! God was also giving Hezekiah the opportunity to go out on top!

But like Borg and the rest but he wanted more glory, and his loving God allowed him the 15 years, but like the rest of those comeback hopefuls, Hezekiah fell flat on his crown. As one commentator has put it, "The remaining 15 years of Hezekiah's reign were uneventful." The 15 years given to Hezekiah stand as silent witnesses to a proud heart that longed to keep the fame going. Hezekiah accomplished little in his remaining years accept to give birth to Manasseh, the worst king Judah would ever see. The author of Kings is moves abruptly from Hezekiah to the reign of his son. (Read 2 Kings 21:1-9). At some point during these 15 years, I wonder if Hezekiah reflected upon his prayer and God's answer and thought that he might have been better off dying while on top. Maybe he wished that God would not have answered his prayer. It is important to remember that God answers our prayers and does miracles for His own sake. He loves us and seek to give us the desires of our hearts, but he makes it known to Hezekiah why he has chosen to answer his prayer---For My own sake! Maybe, in our selfish nature, we should not have asked sometimes, as I think Hezekiah found out.

Hezekiah became near sighted. He couldn't see the good news of God's plan for the future. A leader chosen by God, forgot to keep things in perspective. He let himself stand in the way of God's work.

How about you? How do you measure your success. What do you ask God for? Whose plan are you following. What agenda are you pursuing? Are your prayers filled with I's and Me's and My's?

Like Hezekiah, we may be able to avoid the obvious, open sin, but will we recognize the temptation of the subtle sin of pride? Will we have God's plan in mind or will we block it out, because it doesn't fit with our agenda?

God is a God who answers prayer, and who does great miracles, but the author of 2 Kings is giving us a clear message here about the destructive and dangerous causes and effects of pride. Will you listen to his warning?

At a devotion retreat  I attended years ago, the leader shared with us a favorite quote of the late Carl Lundquist, the former president of Bethel Seminary. He said, "It is not a matter of 'Can I do it,' but rather, 'Is God in it.'" Listen to that again, "It is not a matter of 'Can I do it,' but rather, 'Is God in it.'"

Commit yourself today to being a humble servant for God, ready and willing to do your master's will.