Episode S4E6: How Do You Want to Live the Last 15 Years of Your Life?

Welcome to the story of Hezekiah. God gave Hezekiah 15 more years to live. Wouldn’t you like to learn from him how to finish well or how not to finish well?

Let’s learn from his fascinating story. It is recorded in 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29.1-33; and Isaiah 36-39.

Transcript

Unknown: 0:00

Music.

Dr Hal Habecker: 0:04

Welcome to the finish and well podcast where we encourage seasoned believers to find meaningful ways to impact their world for the kingdom of God,

Unknown: 0:14

whether you're 65 and up or not quite there. Yet, our mission is to prepare and encourage every person to finish well. Our prayer is that this podcast will encourage and strengthen you to glorify Christ as we intentionally engage our aging greetings out there in finishing well ministries land wherever you're listening to us. I hope you're doing well. Hope you're having a good day, a good season in life, focused intentionally, focused on finishing well. God has a plan for our lives. Moses prayed Psalm 90, verse 12, teach me to number my days. And then he prays in verse 17, confirm the work of my hands. Confirm. He repeats it. Secondly, the work of my hands. God has a plan for us. He has work for us to do Ephesians, 210, For we are His workmanship, creating Christ, Jesus to do good works at our age, which he ordained beforehand that that would mark our days. So that's what we're after, and finish well ministries. Now today's podcast, I want to do a a podcast on an individual in the Bible. We're working on a whole series of biblical characters and how they finished in the Bible, and you'll be able to see them later on this year in video format, and maybe in a booklet form, I'm not sure, but to start this series, and really it captures my mindset for a year and for the rest of your life, and it's a study of an individual, but I hope it helps you and me think about what's ahead and intentionally focus on it and learn from others, people in the care. I mean, Paul says everything written there is for our learning. So learn from these characters, learn from people around you. And let's train our own lives to be about God's work. So this character is Hezekiah. He is found in Second Kings, 18 to 22nd. Chronicles, 29 and Isaiah, 36 to 39 if you have time, you can make notes of these, but I'm going to summarize his life, and I'm going to read some scripture. I want to ask a question, how long do you want to live? This is Hezekiah question. Let me read it. I want to start in Second Kings, 18 verses, one through 12.

Dr Hal Habecker: 2:58

Now it came about in the third year of Hosea, the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, became king. He was 25 years old, and he reigned 29 years his mother's name was Abby, the daughter of Zechariah. He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places, broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the Ashra. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent Moses had made for until those days, the son of Israel burned incense to it. It was He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after him, there was none like him among the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he listen to this, he clung to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept His commandments which the Lord commanded. Moses, I love verse seven, and the Lord was with him wherever he pros, and wherever he went, he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve Him. This king. He was a great king, Hezekiah. I mean, God used him greatly. You know, he had a long reign, 30 years. He did right in the sight of God. He removed false idols and altars. Trusted the Lord. He clung to the Lord. He opposed enemies like the king and Assyria. The the Lord was with him. He even defeated the Philistines. He fought the enemies of God. Well,

Unknown: 4:34

you know, what a great story. You know, I don't know what the first half of your life is like, but wouldn't it be great if the first half of our lives were all great stories? Doesn't mean there are not failures or down spots, but you know, Hezekiah had a great life of faithfulness to God. You know Crawford Lauritz, who I love. I love to listen to him preach, and he has great insights into aging. He has a phrase, Don't let me drown in shallow water as I age. Lord. Keep me faithful. You know, I think my prayer for Hezekiah, had I been there would be God let Hezekiah finish the second half of his life just like he did the first half, and make him intentionally focused on pleasing you and all of the days of his life. And wouldn't I pray the same for me? Oh, God, you have been very faithful to me in the past. Don't let me. Don't let me live another year, another decade, without being faithful to you. Don't let me drown in shallow water. Now in the same story, this is in Second Kings, chapter 18, Hezekiah story takes a downturn. Listen to this. For whatever reason, something in the story now changes snap. Sennacherib king of Assyria, who had just carried off Israel, the northern kingdom, comes against Jud Judah and Hezekiah. And Hezekiah begins to compromise and buy him off. This is Sennacherib king of Assyria by giving him money and gold and silver out of the temple. I mean, it's crazy. God has proved Himself faithful to Hezekiah, but now Sennacherib comes against him, and Hezekiah begins to hesitate. He wants to buy Sennacherib off by giving him gold and silver and all the resources out of the temple which were there to worship. And I want to ask, why would a faithful King simply change from trusting God to yielding to a foreign enemy? Something is adrift in Hezekiah heart. Furthermore, the king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent a message to Hezekiah and say, Look, I'm coming after you. Nothing you can do. Can change this. It's an interesting challenge. So Hezekiah is beginning half hearted support. He's trying to buy him off, but yet he still comes. And you know, in chapter 19, God delivers Judah and Hezekiah from the threats of Assyria in a marvelous way. It's a story of God's great faithfulness. And despite Hezekiah lack of faithfulness we saw in the last chapter here, he calls out to God for deliverance, and God delivers him. So you see, the first half of his life is faithful. Then he begins to compromise, and then the Assyrians come against him, and he cries out to God again, and God delivers his people. Let me read it. It's in Second Kings, 19 verses, 35 through 37 and then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 warriors in the camp of the Assyrians. And when the men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and returned home. He lived at Nineveh, and it came about as he was worshiping the house of Nish rock, his God, that his sons killed him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And so his son as a head and became king in his place. So here's the story. Got it. Hezeki is faithful. He begins to has hedge in his bets and compromises a bit. Then he comes back and trusts God, and God delivers the Assyrians from him in a mighty way. So now chapter 20, there's another said, Turn in Hezekiah is life. Listen to this. Hezekiah is afflicted with a mortal or terminal illness. The Prophet Israel, I mean, the prophet Isaiah gives him this message. This is in Second Kings, 20, verse one, listen, set your house in order for you shall die and not live. The text does not tell us exactly how long he had to live. We simply know that God gave him a terminal illness and death was imminent.

Dr Hal Habecker: 9:34

Yeah, I just want to say in passing,

Unknown: 9:38

wouldn't it be good if God told every one of us, when our last days are or might be, set your house in order for you're going to die. But you know, we do have that message all the time. We all see our lives as we age, and I want to say parenthetically, for every one of us, we ought to set our house in order, because someday we. Be here. That's the sixth essential, and planning ahead for when we won't be here, telling your story, leaving your house in order, leaving wills and trust and everything in order, having said your communications to your kids, your grandkids, your great grandkids, I go to Hezekiah response. He was probably somewhat like any one of us. He wanted more days. He did not want to die. So he prayed desperately. Listen to his prayer. Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to God, saying, Remember now, O lord, I beseech you how I have walked before you in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight. And he wept bitterly. You know, God, I don't want to die, yet I've been faithful to you. That's an interesting question. Does God owe us anything because of our faithfulness? Well, yes and no, he doesn't really owe us anything, but he is faithful to us, and we can trust him. I bet Isaiah, Hezekiah wept bitterly. And listen to what happens. And God heard his prayer. This is in verses four through 14. I'm in second Kings, chapter 20. Listen to this. God heard his prayer, and he responds by giving Hezekiah 15 more years, and he confirms that, in a miraculous manner, the shadow and the sun reverses 10 steps. Second, kings, 20, verse, 11. Isaiah, the prophet, cried to the Lord, and he brought the shadow and the stairway back 10 steps in which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. But know what happens here? This is interesting to me. I want to just say in general, what will happen to Hezekiah now is not what God would have wanted. Hezekiah was faithful at first. You know, he backtracks, but then he's faithful again when the Assyrians come and God delivers him, and now God gives him 15 more years, but Hezekiah does not use those years to continue to serve God. Well, I think of Crawford's Laurits is phrase again, Don't let me drown in shallow water. What you will see, what we will see is that hezeki begins to drown in shallow water. So keep in mind, God healed him. He gave him. He healed him from his sickness with which he was about to die, and now Hezekiah sickness and his miraculous extension of his life goes as far as Babylon. In fact, the king of Babylon sends a letter of encouragement and gifts to Hezekiah, and when those gifts and those people arrive, Hezekiah actually shows off everything that he thinks made him famous, the gold, the silver, the spices, the house of armor, everything in the treasure of his house. And I'll read the text Second Kings 20 verses, 12 and 13. And at that time, the king of Babylon sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard hezeki had been sick. And Hezekiah listened to them and showed them all of his treasure, his house, his silver, his gold, the spices of his precious oil and House of armor that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house, nor in his dominion that hezeki did not show them. You know, I want to send a cross reference here in Second Chronicles, 32 verse, 25 where the writer says, it never seems to occur to Hezekiah to be a witness to the Lord for His faithfulness, for all he had been, had been and done for Hezekiah, especially in giving him 15 more years of faithful service to God. So what Hezekiah does, he begins to use these last 15 years to show off himself. Why would you bring an enemy in your house to show him everything you have when you know that enemy is going to turn around and get you? The text says, Second Chronicles, 3225 Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received because his heart was proud, therefore the wrath of God came on him and Judah and Jerusalem. You know, how God, how good has God been to us in the past? I think of that personally. I think of that, you know, our family. Think of it in your family. Why would you why would I change in not living the rest of my life in full gratefulness for all God has done and continue to serve him faithfully? For whatever reason Hezekiah didn't, maybe he said, I'm retired and I don't need to serve God anymore. I'm just going to show off and. Enjoy everything he has given me, and I'm not going to serve him. At that same time, the prophet Isaiah brings a word of warning and judgment to Hezekiah for being so self focused. Isaiah prophetic statement should have sent a shudder through the very heart of Hezekiah. And Isaiah had prophesied that Hezekiah would live, but his sons would die, and that's exactly what happened. Hezekiah lived out those next 15 years even in the midst of his selfishness, but the king of Babylon came and captured Israel, captured Judah and took all of Hezekiah sons to Babylon, where they were all killed, instead of taking the news of judgment on his sons and his house of treasures being taken away as truths that would lead him to greater dependence on God for both himself and his family, Hezekiah simply takes Isaiah word as a promise to him that he would live out those remaining years peacefully. He is thinking only of himself. How sad, how tragic this causes us to ask a question, at least me, what would I do if I had 15 more years and if I were in Hezekiah shoes and God added them to my life? Would I live life for myself, or would I live those extra 15 years for God? Would I invest them in my kids, my grandkids and others, God has placed around me in my church. You know, I hope you would the story of Hezekiah and how he finished is an extremely compelling story that resonates with us. In this century, what is it that we want to do with our lives, realizing that our lives are going to end, we will all die. We're in the final lap of life. You might say, I think of the importance of running the last lap of our life faithfully and finishing well, just like Paul says, I have fought the good fight. I've completed the course, and I have kept the faith. You know, you may do some great things in your life. Like Hezekiah, he built that water conduit. You can read about it. You can walk through it when you go to Jerusalem, but every time I walk through that tunnel, I realize how you may do a couple great things. But let me tell you, the important thing is you need to finish your life for God, well, all all your years, all your days. You need to purpose the finishing. Well, the story is not finished yet. I have to do this. Say this couple more things, Hezekiah, and then he's dies. He's buried, and his son, Manasseh, takes the throne. Now follow me on this. This is all in Second Kings, 21 Manasseh became king at age 12. Now you remember Hezekiah lived 15 more years. So Manasseh, Hezekiah, son, would have been born in the third of those 15 years when hezeki was not walking with the Lord, and he's focused on himself. So if he took the kingship at age 12, that means he was three years he was born three years into his father's 15 years, his extra years, therefore he grew up in the last season of his father's life, during which his father lived primarily for himself. Watch this. Second, kings, 21, verse two. It's interesting to note that hezeki Manasseh, rather, had no interest in living for God. The the text says he did evil in the sight of the Lord. You know, something happened negatively during Hezekiah last 15 years. You can search for it yourself in the Scriptures. He didn't raise his last son. Well, Manasseh, he wasn't faithful to God. And Manasseh had no interest in being faithful for God either, because he was trusting in himself. You know, it just makes all the difference in the world for how we finish our years. We have no idea how they will impact others behind us. And it didn't impact Manasseh very. Well, it's important living a life of faithfulness into our final years. Perhaps nobody does it better than Joseph. Genesis, 50 verses, 22 to 26 Joseph finished extremely well to the very end, I think he lived 110 years. He was faithful to God all of his life. He's another character will steady. I want to close again with the scriptures. Second Chronicles, 32 verses, 24 to 26 tells the story again, which I had quoted earlier. In those days, Hezekiah became mortally ill. He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. But listen, but Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received because his heart was proud, therefore wrath came on him and Judah and Jerusalem, he does repent in the last of those years, but the damage had already been done. In a sense, God gave Hezekiah 15 extra years. But according to Isaiah, the prophet, most of those 15 years were lived in Vanity. Let's not live the closing years of our lives like Hezekiah did, losing a sense of vision for all that God desires to do through us in our final years. And while there was some repentance for his response, those final years were not what they could have been. You know, Howard Hendricks from Dallas Seminary had a phrase which I want to quote. He says, spiritual failure is never a blowout, but always the result of a slow leak. Let me say that again, spiritual failure is never a blowout, but always the result of a slow leak. You know, there was a slow leak in Hezekiah life those last 15 years, and it led to the downfall of Israel through His Son, Manasseh and his own sons as they were executed in Babylon. I'm not laughing. This is a serious matter. I mean, God calls us to finish well, so let's do it. There's a lot at stake. So take the advice that Ray and Janney Orland gave in their book to the 10th generation God's call in Psalm 118, 24 this is the day, this is the week, this is the month, this is the year that God has made. Psalm 90, verse 12. So Teach us to number our days that we would present to God a heart of wisdom, confirm the work of our hands, confirm the work of our hands, and let's do the works Ephesians, 210, that God has given us to do. May God bless us in this year and in this season of our life. Thanks for being a part of finishing well ministries. You can check us out@finishingwellministries.org write me at hall@finishingwellministries.org, and let's finish this project called life together. Let's live it joyfully for him and our marriages and our families and our children and grandchildren, great grandchildren, and our churches and wherever God has called us to live for Him. Have a blessed day and a great 2025 Thank you for listening to this. Finish it well podcast. We hope you were encouraged by today's conversation and living out your God given purpose. Subscribe to the show. Wherever you get your podcasts, or you can find us at finishing well. Ministries, dot O, R, G, forward, slash podcast. If you have a question, a comment or a suggestion or an idea, send a note to me. How finishing well ministries.org, check out our website and our vision to change the way we think about our aging season of life. Go to finish a well ministries.org and visit our website. We'll see you next time, and may the Lord bless and encourage you.