Hezekiah was one of the best kings God’s people ever had. He was the son of Ahaz, who was one of the worst (16:1–4; 18:1). This reminds us that God can redeem people from the worst background and move their lives in a totally different direction.

Here’s what the Bible tells us about Hezekiah:

He lived a good and righteous life
He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (18:3).

He had great faith
He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him (18:5).

He stayed the course
He held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses (18:6).

God was with him
The LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered (18:7).

You can’t get a better commendation than that. If someone were to say about you that you did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, that you trusted God and held fast to Him, that the Lord was with you, and that whatever you did prospered, you would be greatly blessed.

How have you seen God redeem parts of your background that have brought you pain?

“Those days” is a reference to a time when God’s people were under attack. The king of Assyria had invaded the Promised Land. He began in the north, where 10 tribes had broken away from the line of David. The northern kingdom was overwhelmed, and its people were scattered.

This is a story about an unexpected change in the life of King Hezekiah. He was a direct descendent of David and he ruled in the south. And when the northern kingdom collapsed, the King of Assyria moved against the south, and demanded the king’s surrender. Hezekiah took the letter into the temple and spread it out before the Lord. This is how he prayed:

“O LORD, our God, save us, please… that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone” (2 Kings 19:19).

God answered Hezekiah’s prayer, and you can read the story of how the Lord delivered His people from the power of the Assyrian army in 2 Kings 19. It’s a great story, but then we read in 2 Kings 20, and here in Isaiah 38, that “in those days” Hezekiah became sick. The great king whose prayer was heard, was suddenly staring death in the face. God had delivered him from one crisis and now he was facing another!

Think about a time you were delivered from one crisis only to face another. How did you respond?

This seems counterintuitive. Surely if I give freely, I will have less. How does this principle work out in practice?

Think about farming. The farmer has a sack of seed. What does he do? He scatters it freely. Then, when harvest comes, the seed comes back to him in greater abundance.

The New Testament takes up this picture: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).

So here are two farmers, and they both have a sack of seed. The first one says, “This seed is very precious. I need it to make bread. I can’t afford to throw it around.” So he holds back most of his seed. When harvest comes, there’s not much for him to reap.

The second farmer says, “This seed is very precious. I need it to make bread. But I know that if I sow this seed, it will multiply. So I will hold back only what I need, and everything else I will sow.” He sows bountifully, and when the harvest comes, he reaps bountifully.

No one ever gave more freely than Jesus. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). “The Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

What comes from His self-giving? The Father is honoured. We are blessed. And Jesus Christ Himself will see the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Is. 53:11).

That hasn’t happened yet. But it will. The day is coming when all the redeemed will be gathered, and Christ will stand before the Father and say, “Behold, I and the children God has given me” (Heb. 2:13).

Are you holding back, or are you giving freely, so that what you have can be multiplied in God’s hands?