多活15年
以赛亚书卅八章1至8节
1那时,希西家病得要死。亚摩斯的儿子先知以赛亚去见他,对他说:“耶和华如此说:你当留遗命与你的家,因为你必死,不能活了。”
2希西家就转脸朝墙,祷告耶和华说:
3“耶和华啊,求你记念我在你面前怎样存完全的心,按诚实行事,又做你眼中所看为善的。”希西家就痛哭了。
4耶和华的话临到以赛亚说:
5“你去告诉希西家说:‘耶和华你祖大卫的神如此说:我听见了你的祷告,看见了你的眼泪。我必加增你十五年的寿数;
6并且我要救你和这城脱离亚述王的手,也要保护这城。
7我耶和华必成就我所说的,我先给你一个兆头,
8就是叫亚哈斯的日晷,向前进的日影往后退十度。’”于是,前进的日影果然在日晷上往后退了十度。
信息分享
希西家先是身体长了一个毒疮,几天后病情便十分严重。先知以赛亚来到王的寝宫,将神的信息简明直接传达给他:「你必死不能活下去。」
希西家吓呆了。神厌弃他吗?究竟发生甚么事?希西家立即转身,向神祷告。这是一个令人感动的祷告,他在当中大胆地求神记念他多年来的事奉。他似乎暗示神不公平。
神是一位满有恩典的神。他听了希西家的呼求,派以赛亚回去传另一个信息:「我会让你的寿数多加15年。」神的赐予,超过希西家的所想所求。祂还应许保卫耶路撒冷免受亚述人的攻击。神的赐福,总是超过我们所求。
希西家大胆求神给他一个兆头,表明这一切必然发生。因着神的恩典,神给他一个不可思议的兆头,就是往前进的日影往后退了十度!希西家也得了医治。
这事怎么可能发生呢?我们不知道。可能是光的折射。创造万物和太阳的神,当然能够按祂的心意成就任何事情。
透过这次事件,我们学到甚么功课呢?首先,神掌管我们的未来。其次,是祂垂听祷告,并奇妙地回应我们的祈求。我们的神何等伟大!
紧记:
在神凡事都能,我们只需信靠祂。
FIFTEEN MORE YEARS TO LIVE
Isaiah 38:1-8
1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD,
3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,
5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.
6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.”’
7 And this is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken:
8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
Message
An abscess, a malignant boil had appeared a few days ago, making the king seriously ill. Suddenly the prophet Isaiah appeared in Hezekiah's bedroom. His message from God was brief but very plain, “This sickness is terminal.”
Hezekiah was stunned. Was God displeased with him? What had happened? Hezekiah turned over and turned to prayer. It was a remarkable prayer. He dared to remind God of how he had served the Lord for many years. It seemed to him that God was unfair.
But God is a God of grace. He heard Hezekiah's cry and sent Isaiah back with another message. “I have added 15 years to your life.” God did more than Hezekiah asked for. He also promised to defend Jerusalem against Assyria. He always does more than we ask for.
Hezekiah dared to ask God for a sign that this would happen. In God's grace, He gave an incredible sign. The shadow cast by the sun on the sundial went backward instead of forward and Hezekiah was healed.
How did this happen? We do not know. It may have been refraction. God who has created this world and the sun can easily make them do what He wants.
What lessons are there for us? First, our God knows the future. Secondly, He hears our prayers and wonderfully answers them. Isn't He a wonderful God?
REMEMBER: With God all things are possible - just believe.

