2 Chronicles 32:24

 2 Chronicles 32:24 says, In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the Lord: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign.  Hezekiah became deathly sick at this time, prayed to God, and God gave him a sign, or let Hezekiah know that He heard His prayer.  The sign was the sun moving backwards by ten degrees, which is recorded in 2 Kings 20.  We may not have a dramatic sign that God has heard our prayers, but we still must have faith that He has and be willing to accept the answer.  Not everyone who prays for healing from physical illness is healed, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ and pray for spiritual healing we will always be healed.  Verse twenty-five adds, But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.  When he recovered, Hezekiah became full of self-pride instead of giving God the glory, and this led to God's wrath coming on him and all of Judah and Jerusalem.  Matthew Henry says that God left Hezekiah free to sin though He could have stopped him from sinning.  This is always the case.  Though God could prevent us from sinning, we must do so on our own and realize that we have sinned when we do and come to Jesus Christ by faith to find forgiveness.  Verse twenty-six continues, Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.  Hezekiah at least realized his sin, his acting out of self-pride, as did the rest of the people of Jerusalem, and they humbled themselves before God once again and He forgave them.  As followers of Christ, we need to realize when we are acting under the guidance of anything other than the Holy Spirit, and if we realize that we are, we need to repent and ask God's forgiveness.  Verse twenty-seven states, And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels;  Hezekiah became very rich in material things and in honor from the world, but he should have made sure that the honor went to God and not himself.  As long as he put his faith in God, he was spiritually blessed, and so will we be when we do, and that is what matters.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.  Hezekiah was not only rich in silver, gold and precious jewels, he had an abundance of crops and animals.  We may faithfully serve God and still struggle materially, but we should not serve God for material reasons to start with.  If we are blessed materially, I believe we need to use what God has blessed us with for His glory and to do His work, and not for selfish purposes.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.  Hezekiah had many cities in his kingdom as well, because God had provided him with a great substance.  As Christians, we need to acknowledge that God is behind our blessings if they come as long as we are faithful to Him.  Still, it is possible that material blessings may come by acting outside of the will of God, and we never want that to happen in our life.  Verse thirty concludes, This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.  Hezekiah had changed the course of the water so that it flowed into Jerusalem to make sure they would always have plenty of water and also to cut the water supply off from their enemies.  Matthew Henry says this was during the Sennacherib's invasion of Judah.  We as Christians have an unlimited supply of the Living Water, and those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will always be cut off from it.  Verse thirty-one says, Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.  The people of Babylon sent ambassadors to inquire about the wonders they had seen.  Matthew Henry says this was the sun moving backwards, since they worshipped the sun god and may have been giving him the credit.  Lost people today who see a miracle will often want to give credit to anyone or anything other than God.  God left Hezekiah to decide how he would react to this praise, just a He will leave us to decide how we react to men's praise today because He has blessed us.  Verse thirty-two adds, Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.  In Hezekiah's case, we are told that the rest of his actions are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet and in the book of the kings of Judah.  Of course, the important thing was whether his name was written in the Lamb's book of life as is the case with everyone. Verse thirty-three continues, And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.  Though he had recovered from one deathly illness, Hezekiah still died and he was buried in one of the best spots in the tomb of the kings and all of Judah honored him in his death. People may honor us in death, but it really doesn't matter.  All that matters is our relationship with Jesus Christ.  All the honors of the world will do nothing for us spiritually.