SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets HEZEKIAH S FOOLISH MISTAKE Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Two AIM: to use the story of Hezekiah to teach my students the danger of pride OBJECTS TO HAVE: A get well card and a present The word pride written on a card A picture of a bank or of money A picture of horses and chariots A picture of bows, arrows and swords Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: Have you ever been sick? I mean, where you don t even want to get out of bed? You ve got a headache, a stomach ache, your nose is stuffed up, you ve got a temperature, you don t want to eat or drink or walk or talk or anything you just want to stay in bed all day! How many have ever been sick, and while you were sick somebody cared so much about you that they brought you a get well card? There s something about a get well card that makes you feel better! It lets you know that you have a friend who loves you, who misses you, who knows that you re feeling really bad, and who is praying for you. Of course, since you know how good it feels to RECEIVE a get well card, that is a good reason to remember to SEND a get well card to somebody who you love when they are sick. Maybe next time your mom or your dad is sick in bed you can sit down with some paper and crayons and make them a get well card. You might be surprised at how much that would mean to them. Today I am going to tell you about somebody in the Bible who received a get well card and a present. But then, after he opened it, he made a great big mistake, a mistake that would lead to a lot of trouble for his grandchildren some day. Let me tell you all about it. STORY: Last Sunday I told you how Hezekiah, king of Judah, got very sick. He got so sick that he thought he was going to die. In fact, the prophet Isaiah came by his house with a message from the Lord, saying, Get your house in order, because you are going to die very soon. King Hezekiah was so upset by that message that he cried out to God in prayer to ask God to let him live. God saw the king s tears and added fifteen years to his life. God sent the prophet Isaiah right back to the king and told him that he was going to live another fifteen years. God confirmed His message by making the sundial move ten degrees backward. How many of you remember that story? While King Hezekiah was sick, word got around to other nations about his illness. Did you hear about Hezekiah, the king of Judah? He s very sick! They say that he s so sick that he might even die. To show their kindness, some of the kings of other countries sent gifts to Hezekiah to say, Get well soon. One of the people that sent a get well card and a gift was the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon was not a close friend of Hezekiah; but to be a good neighbor, as a king whose nation was nearby, the king of Babylon wanted to show some kindness to King Hezekiah. He did not come himself, but he sent some messengers to bring the get well card and the gift to King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah was up and around by the time these men arrived, and he was very impressed that the king of Babylon had sent these men to him. He thought, Wow, the king of Babylon must think that I m pretty important. He let some of his best men leave his country for all this time, and travel all this way down here, just to let me know that he hopes I feel better soon. He must think that I m pretty important! So King Hezekiah got an idea. He decided that he wanted to impress these men with the greatness of his kingdom. He wanted to show them that, yes, he WAS pretty important. He thought, Babylon is a big-time kingdom; I want to show these men from Babylon that Judah is a bigtime kingdom. King Hezekiah decided to give these two men the royal tour of his palace. King Hezekiah showed them EVERYTHING. He wanted them to know just how important he was, and just how impressive he was. Now, let me stop and say this: when your concern is to show other people how important you are, do you know what that s called? That s called pride. Pride is when you want everybody to think that you are the smartest, or the best
looking, or the most talented, or the richest, or the most popular. When you do that, that s called trying to impress people. When you live to try to impress people, that s pride. The Bible says that pride always leads to destruction. When King Hezekiah decided to try to impress these men from Babylon, he was acting out of pride, and he was about to get his nation in a lot of trouble. The first thing Hezekiah showed these men was his own house, how everything was laid out, where his throne was, where his bedroom was, and everything else in his own house. Then Hezekiah showed them how much money the nation of Judah had. He showed them where all of the silver and gold was, how much money he had, and how much he had of other things that were of great value, like very expensive spices and perfumes. Next, Hezekiah wanted to impress these men with what a great army Judah had. Hezekiah showed them the barns where all of his horses were, and he showed them his chariots, his soldiers, and all of their weapons. He showed them how many bows they had, how many arrows, how many swords, how many spears all of their weapons of war. He showed them how well the city was defended against their enemies, how his soldiers were organized, and how his armies were set up to fight if they were ever attacked. Hezekiah took a whole day showing these men from Babylon all about his kingdom. The day had ended, and Hezekiah had said goodbye to his visitors from Babylon. They were leaving to go back home. That is when the prophet Isaiah came to pay King Hezekiah a visit. Isaiah said, Where were those men from? Hezekiah told them, They came from Babylon. Isaiah said, What did you show them? Hezekiah said, I showed them everything. I wanted them to be impressed with what a great kingdom we have here. Isaiah very solemnly told Hezekiah what God thought about this. King Hezekiah, you have made a very foolish mistake. You have shown the nation of Babylon all of our wealth, and you have made it easy for the country of Babylon to attack our nation and destroy it. The day will soon come when Babylon will become our enemies, and they will want to come and destroy us. Because you have shown them all of our wealth, they will want to come and steal from us. Because you have shown them our military strength, they will know what it will take to defeat us. Because you have shown them how the city is laid out, they will know exactly how to attack us. The wealth of Judah will be taken away to Babylon, and your own grandsons will be the servants of the king of Babylon in his own palace. What a terrible mistake Hezekiah had made! How could he have made such an awful mistake? The answer is found in one word: PRIDE. Hezekiah was filled with pride, and he wanted to show off how great he was. This led to him exposing his own country and making them weak before their enemies. How does pride enter into a person s heart like it entered into Hezekiah s heart? It happens when we do not give God the glory for all of the good things that happen in our lives. Do you know that all of the good things that happen in your life happen because God is good to you? Are you healthy? It is because God made you healthy. Give God the glory for it. Do you have a family that loves you? God gave you your family. Give God the glory for it. Do you have a house to live in and a bed to sleep in? God provided that for you. Give God the glory for it. Do you have food to eat? God provides your food. Give God the glory for it. You could make a long list of the good things that God has provided for you. Make sure that you give God the glory for all of the good things that He has done for you. When you give God the glory, it keeps the pride out of your heart. After Isaiah told Hezekiah what was going to happen as a result of his foolish mistake, Hezekiah gave the most surprising answer: Good! How could he say that this news was good? How could he say that it was good that Babylon would someday attack Judah, steal all of their things, and kidnap their people and take them to Babylon? How is this good news? Hezekiah said it was good because at least he would not be alive to see it. This is probably the most selfish statement in the whole Bible. Hezekiah did not care that people were going to suffer, as long as it did not affect him personally. How does a person get so selfish? By being filled with pride. And how does a person get so filled with pride? By not giving the glory to God for all of the good things that happen in his life. Let s learn our memory verse. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets HEZEKIAH S FOOLISH MISTAKE Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Two Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. WE MUST ALWAYS KEEP OUR GUARD UP. Hezekiah let his guard down with a rival nation because this was a happy occasion. The Bible warns us in I Peter 5:8 to be sober, be vigilant. This is a warning to always keep our guard up. The Bible tells us to keep (guard) our hearts with all diligence. Proverbs 4:23. We are to live carefully and cautiously, guarding our hearts and minds against the influences of the enemy. But often, in an attempt to make peace or to show kindness, we adopt a what s the big deal? attitude that opens the door for Satan to work. II. DO NOT ALLOW PRIDE TO AFFECT YOUR DECISION-MAKING. Hezekiah, clearly impressed with the glory of his kingdom, gave in to the temptation to show it off to strangers. He had always been driven by righteousness, but he took a brief departure from his integrity, and for one day he was driven by pride. Any time your decisions are made by your pride your desire to exalt yourself, to promote your own cause the outcome will be disaster. A godly believer, when driven by his pride, will always be steered off course. Pride will always take you in a different direction than your principles will. III. IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE, SEEK WISDOM FROM GOD. When Isaiah asked Hezekiah about these visitors, he immediately smelled trouble. Godly wisdom showed Isaiah that what Hezekiah had done would someday result in trouble for Hezekiah s descendants, and for all of Judah. If Hezekiah had possessed and been focused upon that same wisdom from the start, he might have prevented himself from making such a foolish mistake. How much heartache would be prevented if God s people simply possessed the wisdom to see the whole picture clearly! IV. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR THE ENEMY. Ephesians 4:27 says, Neither give place to the devil. That means, do not give Satan any ground to work. Just as Hezekiah opened the door that gave the Babylonians the opportunity to destroy Judah, believers often open doors in their lives that give Satan access that he would not otherwise have. Do not open doors with your music, your entertainment, your friends, or through any other means. V. ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON THE FUTURE. Perhaps the most selfish statement in the entire Bible is Hezekiah s statement in verse 19: Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days? Hezekiah revealed in this statement that he had given little thought to the welfare of future generations. Like so many of us, Hezekiah let the success of his children s children be just an afterthought. Surely a man who did so much good for his nation, if he took the time to understand the devastation that was coming, and the pain and suffering it would cost his offspring, would have been more careful about sharing the nation s secrets with strangers.
Hezekiah s Foolish Mistake 2 Kings 20: 12-21 Hezekiah Falls Prey to His Own Pride I. 2 KINGS 20:12-12 The king of Babylon sends gifts 13a Hezekiah trusts them 13b Hezekiah jeopardizes II. 2 KINGS 20:14-14 Isaiah asks who these men are 15 Isaiah asks what Hezekiah has shown them 16-18 Isaiah foretells of the captivity of Judah 19 Hezekiah responds very selfishly III. 2 KINGS 20:20-20 21a 21b Adult Bible Class
HEZEKIAH S FOOLISH MISTAKE Hezekiah made the mistake of showing all of Judah s strength and wealth to people who later became the enemies of Judah. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
Hezekiah s Foolish Mistake Match the answer from the right column that best fits the clue in the left column. Write the LETTER of the correct answer in the SPACE beside the matching clue. Had been deathly ill A Judah Healed the king of his illness B Isaiah The nation where Hezekiah was king C royal tour The king from this country sent messengers to visit Hezekiah The messengers brought cards and gifts to say this to Hezekiah To thank the messengers, Hezekiah gave them this What Hezekiah showed these messengers Hezekiah showed off his kingdom because his heart was filled with this The prophet who told Hezekiah that he had done wrong The day would come when the king of Babylon would become this D pride E Babylon F an enemy G Hezekiah H everything I God J Get well
Hezekiah s Foolish Mistake Answers to this week s puzzle. G Had been deathly ill A Judah I Healed the king of his illness B Isaiah A The nation where Hezekiah was king C royal tour E J C H D B F The king from this country sent messengers to visit Hezekiah The messengers brought cards and gifts to say this to Hezekiah To thank the messengers, Hezekiah gave them this What Hezekiah showed these messengers Hezekiah showed off his kingdom because his heart was filled with this The prophet who told Hezekiah that he had done wrong The day would come when the king of Babylon would become this D pride E Babylon F an enemy G Hezekiah H everything I God J Get well