Lesson 88 - Elementary

Memory Verse

"According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).

Notes

A King Healed

The good king, Hezekiah, about whom we studied last Sunday, became very sick. The Lord sent a prophet, named Isaiah, to see Hezekiah and tell him to set his house in order for he would die and not live. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed with great weeping. He reminded the Lord that he had believed His Word, and had done what God had told him to do.

The Lord in Heaven heard the prayer of this good man at once, and before Isaiah had gone out of the building the Lord told him to return and tell Hezekiah, "Thus saith the LORD... I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years" [2KG:20:5];[2KG:20:6]). The Lord hears the prayers of those who love Him and obey Him; so if we want the Lord to hear and answer our prayers we must be sure that we, too, always do the things that please Him.

The Lord also promised King Hezekiah that He would deliver him and the city of Jerusalem out of the hand of the king of Assyria. Perhaps that is why Hezekiah prayed so earnestly for the Lord to heal him. He, no doubt, did not fear death, but he felt that God had more work for him to do. He wanted to live to help his people in this time of trouble, and see them kept from being taken by the enemy.

A Sign

Hezekiah asked Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?" And Isaiah asked him if the sign should be that the Lord should let the shadow go forward ten degrees or let it go back ten degrees. And Hezekiah answered, "It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backwards ten degrees." Then Isaiah cried and prayed unto the Lord to bring the shadow back ten degrees.

In the time of Hezekiah the people did not have clocks and watches as we have today; but there were other ways of telling the time of day. They used the sundial as their clock, which showed the time of day by the place the shadow of the sun fell upon it. Perhaps lying there on his sickbed , the king could see the shadow moving on the dial. Cannot you picture in your mind this king lying there watching to see whether God's promise to heal him would be proved by this sign? Have you ever been sick and lain in bed and listened to the tick-tock of the clock as the hours slowly passed?

It is believed that ten degrees was about forty minutes. We do not know just how it happened; we know the shadow went back, because God's word tell us so. Hezekiah is waiting to see what God will do: will He do as the Prophet said? As he carefully watches the dial he sees a shadow moving back, back, back. Then he is very glad, because it means that he is going to get well, just as the Prophet said. God has answered his prayer. How thankful to God he must have been!

Proving God

We today can prove God, too. When our life is pleasing God every day, we may expect an answer to our prayers any time, any place. If we become sick we can pray and ask Jesus to heal us, and we can call for the ministers of the church (according to [JAM:5:13];[JAM:5:14]). We should promise Jesus that if He heals us we will tell others about it. We sometimes have a "thank you" meeting when we say "Thank You" to Jesus for all the good things he has done for us. Even very small children can get up and tell how Jesus has saved and healed them.

When Jesus touches our body and heals us, He sends a witness or blessing into our heart; we know He has healed us, just as Hezekiah knew it when he saw the shadow going backward. Sometimes we are well all at once " other times we get better slowly. But when Jesus touches us, we know it, and must not doubt it even if it does not come right away. God knows what is best for us.

Gideon and the Fleece

Do we remember the time that Gideon proved God with the fleece? (See [JUG:6:36-40]). He wanted the Lord to give him a sign that Israel would win the battle. He put a fleece " the piece of wool from a sheep's back " on the floor and told the Lord that if the dew would be on the fleece only, and dry all around it, then he would be sure of winning the victory. And in the morning it was so; Gideon wrung a bowl of water out of the fleece. God had answered his prayer. But he wanted further proof. He asked the Lord to let it be dry on the fleece and wet all around the next night. Again God gave him the sign that his prayer was heard. The fleece was dry but it was wet all around. In that battle a great victory was won by Gideon and his small band of 300.

"Thou Art with Me"

A little girl in India was very ill. Her father sent for a doctor, and after the doctor left the house the little girl said to her father, "What did the doctor say; did he say I was going to die?" The father was very sad, and answered, "Yes, he said you are going to die." The child then asked, "Will they put me into that place in the ground?" The father replied, "Yes, they will." The little girl had been accustomed to always having her father go with her wherever she went. Presently she asked, "Will you go with me?" But the father had to answer, "No, I cannot go with you there." She looked very much disappointed and turned her face to the wall for a while. Then suddenly her face lit up with a smile and she said to her father, "Jesus will go with me, and He will make it light."

This little girl had Jesus in her heart, and knew that He would go with her, even if she had to die. Those who are saved and ready to meet Jesus are not afraid of death. They know that when they leave this world of sorrow and trouble, they will go to a better place " that beautiful Home called Heaven. When they pass out of this world they can say as David said, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me" [PS:23:4]).

Able to Heal

We have studied many lessons of Jesus' days upon earth and learned how He healed all who came unto Him. He is still the same today, and is healing the sick through the prayer of faith. In our services we have known of many being healed when they were sick and were anointed and prayed for according to the Word of God. Hundreds of letters come to us telling of marvelous healings. Here are a few parts of letters we have received:

"My baby had the whooping cough; and one night he got so bad I knew that unless God undertook he could not live until morning. So I just placed one of your papers on his little body and offered up a prayer from my heart to God, and He heard and answered my feeble cry. My child went to sleep and slept better than he had since he took sick. His ears were also in a terrible condition, but God has healed his head and ears. Oh, it is wonderful to know Jesus as a Friend in the time of trouble!" " Castlewood, Virginia.

"My little girl was blind in one eye. I wrote you for an anointed handkerchief and you sent me one. I put it on her and said I wasn't going to take it off until she could see. I thank God I can say that she can see out of both eyes now. You know that is wonderful!" -- Canal Zone.

"When my nephew was just twenty-one months old he was stricken with infantile paralysis. The doctors could do nothing for him, and told his mother to send him to the hospital, which she did; but the doctors told her that they had done all they could. So a neighbour lady had one of the Apostolic Faith papers and told my sister to write for an anointed handkerchief. A few days after she had written, the baby was well enough to come home. The doctors did not know what to say; they were all amazed at the quick recovery of the child. Thank God, his little body is as perfect as it ever was, and he is the picture of health. We do thank God for this!" -- Gore, Oklahoma.

How thankful we are that the God whom Isaiah and Hezekiah served is still in the world day!

Questions

1. Who was sick? [2KG:20:1].

2. Who came to see him? [2KG:20:1].

3. What was the sign that the Lord would heal him? [2KG:20:11].

4. How many years were added to Hezekiah's life? [2KG:20:6].

5. What does God want us to do when we are sick? [JAM:5:13];[JAM:5:14].