CAC LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2024 : TOPIC – PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER!
READ PREVIOUS CAC DEVOTIONALS HERE
CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH THE LIVING WATER (January-December, 2024)
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
DATE: Friday, February 2,2024
TOPIC: PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER!
MEMORISE : In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD; ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live” (2 Kings 20:1)
READ: 2 Kings 20:1-19
[1]. In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”
[2]. Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,
[3]. “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
[4]. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
[5]. “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.
[6]. And I will add to your days fifteen years. 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 the sake of My servant David.”’”
[7]. Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
[8]. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”
[9]. Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”
[10]. And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”
[11]. So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.
[12]. At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
[13]. And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
[14]. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”
[15]. And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
[16]. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord:
[17]. ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.
[18]. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
[19]. So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”
EXPOSITION
Only few people have the opportunity Hezekiah had; to be informed to put his house in order before his demise. What exactly made Hezekiah weep bitterly when he received the message? He only reminded God how he walked before Him in truth and with a loyal heart and his good deeds in His sight (2 Kg. 20:3). Yes! The prayer was answered but what about the instruction given to him by the prophet? Did he put his house in order even after his request for an extended life was granted? If he was concerned about his house being in order after his demise, why the statement in 2 Kings 20:19?
Men who want their houses in order are such that are concerned about the welfare of their children and followers after they have gone. It is a sign of disorderliness, if after your departure, your home, children, business, organisation, ministry and pioneered church cease to exist. Look at Jesus on the cross handing over His mother to another disciple to take care of her (Jn. 19:27). When an elderly person passes on, a common greeting/prayer is that all that the deceased left behind should not perish. But this prayer is not just a wish but such that some conditions must be met. The deceased must have put his house in order before passing on, and this includes the spiritual, material, psychological, among others. Is everything in order?
SUGGESTED HYMN FOR TODAY:
CAC GHB:Var 14
1. As I journey thro’ the land singing as I go
Pointing souls to calvary-to the crimson flow,
Many arrows pierce my soul from without, within;
But my Lord leads me on, through him I must win
Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face
There to sing for ever of His saving grace
On the streets of glory let me lift my voice;
Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.
2. When in service for my Lord, dark may be the night
But I’ll cling more close to him,He will give me light
Satan’s snares may vex my soul, turn My thought aside;
But my Lord goes ahead, leads what’er betide
3. When in valleys low I look towards the mountain height,
And behold my Saviour there, leading in the fight.
With a tender hand outreached
Towards the valley low,
Guiding me, I can see, as I onward go.
4. When before me billows rise from the mighty deep,
Then my Lord directs my barque,
He doth safely keep,
And He leads me gently on through
This world below,
He’s a real Friend to me, oh, I Love Him so.
Amen.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Lord, help me to put my house, and everything in my care in order before my time is up.
2. Father, we declare Your peace on all Christian families that are in disarray.
3. Ask God to send help from above to the following categories of people: the orphans, widows, distressed, and the sick.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY;
Leviticus 4, 5, 6