Miraculous Sign

2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.

We think that our age of instant access to information that we have a corner on the market of knowledge. We can search just about anything and find an answer almost instantly, if we know the correct way to search for it. There is no lack of knowledge. But there certainly is a lack of wisdom.

Because knowledge is so easy to gain, we so often miss the larger contexts of things, especially those things that relate to history. The younger generations know nothing of the 100 million people killed under Marxism in China and the former Soviet Union. So when someone spouts the glories of Socialism, they jump on board, ignoring the inevitable failure of a system that ignores the basic nature of humanity to use power for selfish gains and with horrifying results.

But the ability to search instantly is a very recent invention. When I was younger, we had things called Encyclopedias our our homes. We could open one of the many volumes and find the digested knowledge of the time. It didn’t write exhaustively about everything, but it did touch on  almost every topic you can imagine.

It it wasn’t contained in the Encyclopedia, we could go to the Library and have the Librarian help us find the information we sought. It took time and effort to discover things.

But some things are experienced. No research is needed. I remember the birth of my children. I was there. I remember watching the landing on the Moon in 1969 live on TV, and I have the newspaper from the next morning to prove it. I’ve been in war.

We read in our text today about a moment in history when the LORD did something unusual. We read in Kings and Isaiah that the king asked for confirmation that he would be healed and the LORD gave him confirmation. The LORD caused the shadow to go backwards on a set of stairs. Instead of time marching forward as usual, the normal measure of time reversed and then continued forward.

No, we don’t know how the LORD did this. We know Superman can fly so fast he can reverse time to save the woman he loves, and that is fantasy. But we don’t need to know the how, although our Western curiosities and obsession with the ‘how’ of things drives us nuts. Whatever happened, other people knew something had happened.

And how do we know other people knew? Well, later in the chapter we find out that a foreign nation, Babylon, sent envoys to find out what had happened. We don’t know if time reversed for them as well, of if they just heard about Hezekiah’s miraculous deliverance. But they came to find out.

Can you imagine hearing about something so unusual that you have to find out what has happened?

And yet, this is exactly what our lives are supposed to be broadcasting to the world. The LORD has changed us to such a degree that others can’t help but know that it was the LORD. They are supposed to see His glory in us. And they will want this change as well.

So next time you hear about the LORD doing something really great, make sure you pause and thank Him for His faithfulness. Don’t take these things for granted. Take the opportunities, just the the leaders in Babylon, to search out and submit to the miraculous working of Almighty God.