The Hezekiah Syndrome
“I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.” 2 Kings 20:6 NASB
Add – “Just give me a little more time, Lord.” Have you ever asked something like that? “I just need a little more time to take care of this, Lord.” “I will work on this in awhile.” “I know, I know, I’ve got to do something about this, but, hey, I’m really busy right now.” So God gives you a bit more time. He is merciful. But time comes with consequences. Hezekiah pleaded. God accepted. The last fifteen years were a disaster. Better to do things in God’s time than stretch out the limit.
The real issue for Hezekiah and for us is this: What are you waiting for? Why are you delaying what you need to do, what you must do, in order to put your house in order? Get ready to die—now. Get on with completing His purposes in you—now! Even if you were to receive a stay of execution, that doesn’t mean things will be better. What needs to be done today needs to be done today, not tomorrow. If it isn’t done today, tomorrow will be different as a result, and the spin will accelerate. Tomorrow you will have to do what needed to be done today and what needs to be done tomorrow. Game over. You lose! Being granted more time means you are always behind.
We are all subject to the Hezekiah syndrome. We all think that if we just had a bit more time we could accomplish everything later. But it never works like that. Each day is sufficient for itself and time is the inventor of compound interest. If there is too much to do today, then you’re the one who added the extra to the agenda. God granted you exactly enough time today to do all that you really needed to do, all that He has intended you to do. The reason you didn’t get it all done wasn’t because of what He required. You didn’t get it all done because you put a little extra on the plate and then tried to push something onto tomorrow’s menu. In the biblical world, tomorrow is a dream that never comes true.
Perhaps we can get a better understanding of this obvious but routinely ignored idea if we look at a Hebrew word play. “To add” is the verb yasaf (Yod-Samak-Pey). The name of one of the Bible’s most important characters is yosef. In what sense is the life of Joseph an increase, something added? We might consider Joseph’s key role in rescuing the house of Jacob, or in saving the people of Egypt from famine. But there is one small detail in his life that should focus our attention on God’s use of yasaf in the life of yosef. Yosef mentions his plight to Pharaoh’s wine taster in prison. This is the first and only time Yosef attempts to manage his temporal affairs rather than let YHVH do what He pleases. In this one instance, Yosef essentially says, “Please let Pharaoh know about me so that I won’t have to spend any more time here.” What happens? Two more years are added. Yosef has always been the son who accepted what YHVH was doing even if he didn’t understand it. Until this moment. In this moment he tried to change the plan. He tried to take charge. And God reminded him who was really turning the hands of time by letting him spend two more years in prison. The lesson: “to add” is a divine prerogative. Be content with the sum you have been given.
Topical Index: yasaf, to add, Hezekiah, Joseph, yosef, time, 2 Kings 20:6
Well, Skip, you wouldn’t be saying that things get worse when we DO get what we think we want, are you?
Why, that might imply that we might not actually know what is best for us! Would this happen to go along with what you were talking about the other day about being careful what we petition for? Are you saying the problems just might start if we happen to get at least some of those prayers answered?
Just a note of curiosity: I have wondered if Yeshua has delayed His coming because people are praying for that delay? I have wondered if He is waiting until we finally can let go of this world enough to plea in unison for the next one? I do think the evidence could indicate that there is not a set time for that Return because we could be a factor in it. Back to the subject…
Does this imply that the wicked might be knowing no rest because they are getting what they think they want, while the righteous, because they are actively trying to submit to the will of God, are busy learning humility in the school of Not Getting What They Think They Want most of the time because Father Knows Best?
If prayer is to be understood correctly, then, might it not be more of trying to ask what the Father’s will is, and then asking to be lined up with it, and not so much bringing before the Throne a punch list of what all I think is wrong with the world? Then prayer might be more a means of changing me rather than attempting to move Him…
If I would have read this in my 40’s I would of skimmed over it & ignored it ,but now @52 years old it causes me to ask -are the choices I made the right ones ?- I have so many tough decisions I made for God or I thought I did, but have not yet been restored or redeemed…
I think of time differently now than I did before,
Before trauma ,before sickness before my 50’s……..
Catch 22. If you believe and ask you will receive – Whatever you ask in Jesus’ name.
Hezekiah did not know of Jesus yet he experienced the downside of the consequences of prayer.
In an earlier blog the comment was made to make our experiences a place of blessings so that we can experience God. Hezekiah was most probably doing exactly this trying to be a blessing and deemed he was needed to bring about more blessings.
Maybe the lesson is do not volunteer or ask to be tasked but rather just do as you go along for when we volunteer it seems we will experience a life burn out, or when we do more than the single minded things God tasks us to do we burden ourselves more making God’s initial blessings a curse…
Interesting discussion, I would love to read every ones view on this one…
I read an article this morning in the Jerusalem Post about the death of Esther Herlitz at age 94. She was the first Israeli female ambassador, an advisor to Golda Meir, a member of the Knesset, delegate to the UN, a soldier in the IDF. This was a woman of accomplishment. But how did she get that way? My guess is that whenever something presented itself that needed doing; she got up and did it. She didn’t wait to see if someone else was going to step forward, or spend weeks in prayer to see if that’s what G-d wanted her to do. It was enough that she could see what needed doing. Her life choice was to use her time to make herself available to do it.
Most of us won’t make the world impact of an Esther Herlitz. Most of us don’t need to. What we do need to do is the next thing that God puts in front of us. When I see a need and take the steps to address that need, I usually have to put my plans on the back burner. That doesn’t mean my plans are wrong; it just means they aren’t God’s priority right now for my time. At work, I always had a daily list of tasks to accomplish, but the nature of my job required responding to emergencies as well as completing ongoing assessments. If I grudgingly responded to the emergencies because they were taking me away from my task list, those other tasks became an overwhelming burden. But when I realized that my purpose in life was FIRST to be the emergency responder, then I somehow always managed to complete what was necessary within the timeline; what was unnecessary seemed to take care of itself.
No doubt Esther Herlitz repeatedly put aside her plans as G-d placed another in front of her. Lack of time is not the problem; failing to adjust our time for G-d’s plan is where we get into trouble. Our FIRST task in life is to respond to G-d. It’s not the prestigiousness of the job that He cares about. It is the willingness to step up to the job right now – even if sometimes that job is just washing the dishes for your exhausted wife or mother. If you can see what needs to be done, do it. You have the time.
A long time ago I was over-involved in what I thought “had” to be done on my homestead. If a neighbor came by while I was working, my unspoken thought was, “Don’t bother me. I’m busy.” I had to learn a lesson the hard way. After what I was working on ended up crumbled and smashed, I saw the light. Then when a neighbor came by, my unspoken thought was, “Bother me. That’s my business.” God’s business is now, today.
I pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding. I also ask for blessings on my family and others I engage with daily. If I receive these in any measure I will act accordingly. Can I ask for any more?
(2 Reyes 20:6) ‘Y añadiré quince años a tu vida, y te libraré a ti y a esta ciudad de la mano del rey de Asiria; y defenderé esta ciudad por amor a mí mismo y por amor a mi siervo David.'” LBLA
Añadiré – “Solo dame un poco más de tiempo Señor” ¿Alguna vez has pedido algo así? “ Solo necesito un poco más de tiempo para ocuparme de eso Señor.” “ Trabajaré con esto un tiempo.” “Ya sé, ya sé, debo hacer algo al respecto pero ay estoy muy ocupado en este momento.” Así que Dios te da un poco de tiempo. El es misericordioso, pero el tiempo viene con consecuencias. Ezequías imploró. Dios acepto. Los últimos 15 años fueron un desastre. Es mejor hacer las cosas en el tiempo de Dios que estar intentando pasarnos del límite.
El verdadero asunto tanto para Ezequías como para nosotros es este: ¿Qué estás esperando? ¿ porque estás postergando lo que necesitas hacer, lo que debes hacer para poner tu casa en orden? Prepárate para morir – en este instante. ¡Continúa completando Su propósito en ti ahora! Incluso si fueras a recibir una suspensión de ejecución, eso no significa que las cosas mejoraran. Lo que necesita ser hecho hoy, necesita ser hecho hoy, no mañana. Sí no es hecho hoy, mañana tendrá un resultado diferente,Y la espiral se acelerará. Mañana tendrás que hacer lo que necesitaba ser hecho hoy y lo que necesita ser hecho mañana. Game Over (fin del juego). Con el entendimiento que más tiempo significa que estarás siempre atrasado.
Todos estamos sujetos al síndrome de Ezequías. Todos pensamos que si tuviéramos sólo un poco más de tiempo podríamos cumplir con todo después. Pero nunca funciona asi. Cada día es suficiente por sí mismo y el tiempo es el inventor del interés compuesto . Si hay demasiado que hacer hoy , entonces eres tú quien añadió lo extra a la agenda. Dios te concedió exactamente el tiempo suficiente hoy para hacer todo lo que realmente necesitabas hacer, todo lo que Él quería que hicieras. La razón por la que no terminaste todo, no fue por lo que Él requiere . Tú no pudiste hacerlo todo, porque pusiste un poco más en tu plato y luego trataste de empujar algo hacia el menú de mañana . En el mundo bíblico, mañana es un sueño que nunca se hace realidad .
Quizá podemos obtener una mejor comprensión de esta idea obvia, pero habitualmente ignorada sí nos fijamos en un juego de palabras en hebreo . ” Añadir ” es el verbo yasaf (Yod-Samak-Pey). El nombre de uno de los personajes más importantes de la Biblia es Yosef . ¿En qué sentido es la vida de José una añadidura, algo que se agrega? Podríamos considerar el papel clave de José en el rescate de la casa de Jacob , o para salvar al pueblo de Egipto de la hambruna . Pero hay un pequeño detalle en su vida que debe ser el foco de nuestra atención en el uso de Dios de yasaf en la vida de yosef. Yosef menciona su apuro al copero de Faraón en prisión. Esta es la primera y la única vez que Yosef intenta manejar sus asuntos temporales en vez de dejar que YHVH haga lo que a El le place. En esta única ocasión Yosef esencialmente dice, “Por favor, haz que el faraón sepa de mí para que ya no tenga que pasar más tiempo aquí.” ¿Qué ocurre? Se agregan dos años más. Yosef siempre ha sido lo que YHVH estaba haciendo aunque no lo entendia. Hasta este momento. En este momento trató de cambiar el plan. Intentó hacerse cargo. Y Dios le recordó quién estaba realmente moviendo las manijas del reloj, haciéndole pasar dos años más en prisión . La lección : ” añadir ” es una prerrogativa divina . Contentate con la suma que se te ha dado.