Open the Bible UK Daily

Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.” 2 Kings 20:5 There are two ways to lose the path of wisdom. One is to forget the means that God uses. The other is to forget that it is God who uses the means. Isaiah said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil” (Isa. 38:21). But God said, “Behold I will h...

Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Isaiah 38:21 What would you think of a person who said, “God will give strength to my body, so there is no need for me to eat”? Or, “God will keep me warm, so there is no need for me to wear clothing”? God gives strength to your body by means of the food you eat. God gives warmth to your body by means of...

Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Isaiah 38:21 This gives us a clue about Hezekiah’s illness. There was a boil, evidence of an infection raging in his body. And Isaiah told the king to apply a dressing on the infected area, using a cake of figs. Hezekiah did not have the blessing of modern medicine, but this was the means that was availa...

The word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.’” Isaiah 38:4-5 Let’s look at the happy ending of Hezekiah’s story. We will see what God did and how He did it. What we find in these verses speaks clearly to any crisis we may face today. H...

“You have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.” Isaiah 38:17 Maybe you will say today, “I have not sought God in prayer, and I don’t have a clear conscience. I can’t say that I have walked before God in faithfulness. I have not served Him with my whole heart. I have not done what is good in His sight. So how can I get a clean conscience? Ho...

Hezekiah wept bitterly. Isaiah 38:3 When Hezekiah faced this unexpected crisis, the first thing he did was to pray, and the second thing he did was seek to live with a clear conscience. Notice what happened next: “Hezekiah wept bitterly” (38:3). Why did he weep bitterly? Why did Hezekiah not say like Paul, “To depart… is far better” (Phil. 1:23)? Or, “To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (...

“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” Isaiah 38:3 Hezekiah’s first response to the crisis was to seek the face of God in prayer. His second response was to seek to live with a clear conscience. Look again at Hezekiah’s prayer. Is he holding up his faithfulness as leverage in his prayer? Some comment...

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD. Isaiah 38:2 How did Hezekiah respond to this unexpected crisis? How will you respond in a crisis? The first thing Hezekiah did was to seek the face of God in prayer. When Isaiah comes with grim news, Hezekiah turns to the wall and prays. There were any number of questions that the king could have asked. “How long do I have to live?...

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. Isaiah 38:1 We are looking at the story of a godly king. And yet of this man we read that he became sick and was near death. This was a painful affliction. And it happened at the worst possible time. The king and all of God’s people were suddenly plunged into an unexpected crisis. Anyone who has become sick knows that it changes eve...

[Hezekiah] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. 2 Kings 18:3 Hezekiah was one of the best kings God’s people ever had. He was the son of Ahaz, who was one of the worst (16:1–4; 18:1). This reminds us that God can redeem people from the worst background and move their lives in a totally different direction. Here’s what the Bible tells us about Hezekiah: He lived a good and righteous life He...

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. Isaiah 38:1 “Those days” is a reference to a time when God’s people were under attack. The king of Assyria had invaded the Promised Land. He began in the north, where 10 tribes had broken away from the line of David. The northern kingdom was overwhelmed, and its people were scattered. This is a story about an unexpected change in th...

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Proverbs 11:24 This seems counterintuitive. Surely if I give freely , I will have less. How does this principle work out in practice? Think about farming. The farmer has a sack of seed. What does he do? He scatters it freely. Then, when harvest comes, the seed comes back to him in greater abun...

Honour the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty. Proverbs 3:9–10 “Honour” means “give weight to.” Give weight to the Lord with your wealth. You do this by laying aside a portion of all that God has given you and giving it back to Him. What should you put aside? “The firstfruits of all your produce.” Firstfruits are the first...

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8-9 Proverbs warns us about four temptations that will come with money. 1. The temptation to control The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells...

No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24 If money is a blessing, how can it also be a danger? Because money is a power. It lures us as a rival god and then makes increasing demands. It will seek to take control of your life. Money is a great servant, but it is not a good master. We must all give an account for what we did with the money God has entrusted to us....

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich… The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:4, 22 Solomon affirms the reward of hard work. But then he goes on to say that the blessing of the Lord makes one rich. So, which is it, Solomon? Does it depend on our hard work, or does it depend on the Lord? If you put these two statements together...

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” John 17:4 If we want to have the joy that Jesus had, we need to live like Jesus lived. This was His approach to the work the Father gave Him to do: Jesus began early The sluggard was slow to start but at the age of twelve, Jesus was in the temple (Lk. 2:49). He gave Himself to the Father’s business, and He did it out...

Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 Author and professor Rebecca DeYoung describes laziness or sloth as “resistance to the demands of love.” Then she talks about what can all too easily happen in a marriage—a husband and wife get into an argument, and they retreat to different parts of the house. It’s easier to stay at a miserabl...

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Proverbs 24:30–31 Picture a wise man walking in the countryside. First, he goes past a field of ripening corn. Then he goes past a vineyard with clusters of grapes on the vine. Then he goes past a little...

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4 Here is how Proverbs describes the sluggard, or the unproductive person: He is slow to start The sluggard does not plough in the autumn (20:4). This draws attention to the long-term effects of putting off the things we need to do. There is a season for ploughing, for sowing, and for reaping. Ploughing...

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth. Proverbs 19:24 We are looking today at the theme of work, or more precisely, its opposite. The book of Proverbs introduces us to a tragic character whose life ends in ruin. The name of this character is the sluggard . He is referred to 14 times. The sluggard is presented in comic terms, like when you see a caric...

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 Your words will be a blessing when you have: An open ear Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (Jas. 1:19). Having an open ear means listening to the words of others. It also means listening to the Word of God. “Incline your ear, and hear the...

“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.” Matthew 15:18 The Proverbs encourage us to speak in certain ways, and to avoid speaking in other ways. Let’s frame four prayers from the book of Proverbs, asking for God’s help with our words. Lord, help me to speak with restraint The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things (15:28). Words...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21 What you say comes out of you, but it also goes down inside you. It goes to the stomach (18:20). Your own cursing will go deep down into your own soul. They are bitter fruits, and they will make your soul sick. You will eat your own words. The tongue is the means by which we bring great help or...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 We have looked at the way of wisdom in relation to friends and family, and today we come to wisdom in our words. There are more proverbs on what we say than on any other subject. The tongue is the means by which we bring the greatest help or harm to others. There is death in the power of the tongue There is one whose rash words are like...