This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die. (Isa. 38:1)
“You have maybe a few weeks or months; it’s hard to tell in these cases. I’m sorry.” The couple sat very still on the other side of the doctor’s desk. The doctor’s face, though not unkind, indicated he was simply delivering a message just like any other Wednesday morning. Those few words had tilted their world into a jaggedly different reality and put them on an unfamiliar grief journey: changed expectations of together watching grandkids grow or of simply having quiet evening conversations were abruptly refocused, if not replaced altogether.
Isaiah came to Hezekiah as a messenger bearing news of finite mortality. Perhaps this was a merciful revelation, giving the king time to finalize kingdom strategy. Possibly God was allowing Hezekiah to be certain of the legacy he would leave behind him. Neither Hezekiah’s position nor his goodness was effective in changing that mortal deadline. God’s directive in the revelation is a merciful command: “Put your house in order.” It mattered to God that Hezekiah be able to clear his conscience.
Hezekiah knew God. Hezekiah was fulfilling the role he’d been given to do. Hezekiah’s hope was in God, and he had made that clear to those in his kingdom. And yet, he was given the message of an early end. God gave Hezekiah the opportunity to focus on his present legacy to end his days in peace.
Live each day given with the end in mind.
Sandy Emmett is the Wellness Synergist for Global Partners. She grew up as a MK, learning language in several countries in Europe and Africa. She loves reading, walking/hiking, traveling to new places, and—her new granddaughter.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
