II Chronicles 32:31:  “Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him that he might know all that was in His heart.”

The question that surfaces here is what does it mean that God left Hezekiah to try him so he could know all that was in his heart.   Doesn’t God know our hearts.  Does he really have to leave us to test us so He can know our hearts?

I was driving someone today in my disability bus and he was asking me about this passage of  Scripture.  I compared notes from the Bible and from what Archaeology has uncovered about Judah and this time period.  Biblically we know that Hezekiah, the king of Judah,  was the son of Ahaz and he was a good  Godly king.  He destroyed all the idolatry he could get his hands on and even destroyed the bronzed serpent fashioned by  Moses because people started worshipping the serpent.  We actually have some archaeological discoveries that might confirm this.   Here’s the kicker, despite all these Godly acts, Judah went through some of it most trying times to date.  Both the Bible and historical records tell us that the Assyrian army, led by their king Sennacherib, invaded both Israel and Judah and took control of the Northern Kingdom and almost succeeded in taking Judah.   According to the clay tablets penned by the old boy himself and now at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, I read where Sennacherib, the proverbial politician called his great defeat a  victory and said he conquered 46 cities and forced King Hezekiah to pay him tribute.  This is all true but he does not mention that in one night, according to verse 21 in II Chronicles 32,  an angel  brought a plague on Sennacherib’s army.  History tells us they came down with the trots (dysentery).   Nonetheless, 185,000 soldiers died and Sennacherib was forced to return home with his tale tucked behind him in disgrace.   Two years later his brothers killed him as he was leaving a pagan temple.

Now the political climate at this time put Babylon as the trophy for Assyria and they were having a hard time fighting Assyria, as was Hezekiah and Egypt.  Babylon sent envoys to meet with Hezekiah, supposedly  to congratulate him on his great healing (II Kings 20:1) and the supernatural deliverance of Jerusalem (II Kings 19:35).  They actually believed God afflicted the Assyrians with the trots. Also they were  intrigued by the miracle of the sun dial (II Kings 20:1-11) which God sent to confirm that Hezekiah would not die from his illness. This greatly interested the Babylonians who were astronomers and watched the skies and such an event made an impression on them.  As we used to say in the Baptist church, they were ripe for salvation.  Yet, the real purpose of this envoy was to encourage Hezekiah to join in an alliance against Assyria.  What did this Godly king, Hezekiah do?  He went and showed off all the wealth and military might that they had and never once mentioned God in any of this.   I am sure it broke God’s heart.

This brings us to our verse today where we learn that when these ambassadors arrived, God left.  God wanted to try him so He could know his heart.  The word left is azavu which is in a Qal form.  More telling this is in a perfect tense and in a passive voice.   In other words, God had already put Hezekiah’s heart to the test.  He knew what Hezekiah intended to do and God could not be a part of this great act of disobedience, in trying to impress the arm of the flesh.  God had already left, or forsook him. Yet, I am troubled by the fact that this word forsook or azayu is in a Qal (simple verbal  form) and not a Piel (intensive form).  Thus, forsook is a little harsh, as Qal it has more of the idea of  stepping back rather than forsaking. The reason for this stepping back is found within that word azayu.   It is spelled Ayin – blindness, Vav – co-dependency, and Beth – the heart.    Hezekiah was blinded to the fact that his heart was set upon the arm of the flesh and not God.   Babylon was the very nation that in a few years would take Judah captive, yet here was Hezekiah leaning to these people to help him rather than using the great miracles that God performed to encourage these pagan rulers to put their trust in Jehovah.

The syntax is pretty rough here, but I believe the pronouns point to Hezekiah, but the last pronoun points to God.  In other words  God left Hezekiah to try which is a Piel infinitive for the root nasah.  This word does mean to tempt, or to try.  But in its Semitic root is has the idea of writing an essay.  His heart, I believe is referring to God’s heart.  Again the syntax is rough and I may be wrong but I feel right about this.  God was leaving Hezekiah so that he could read God’s heart.

There is a picture here, it is of a lover who has faithfully given and cared for his beloved only for her to take all his gifts to adorn herself to impress another lover.  God is the forsaken lover, who steps back and lets his unfaithful beloved pursue another lover, hoping that in the process she will understand how she has broken her lover’s heart.

You know, you get used to God.  He answers your prayers and provides for you and before long you tend to take him for granted.  Lately I have been walking a very lonely and difficult road.  A friend took me to a prayer meeting yesterday.  I mean a real prayer meeting where you actually prayed and got down and heavy with God.  Over and over I keep hearing the words in my head, submit and surrender.  Then suddenly I felt like a little child in his father’s arms.  I could actually feel Jesus holding me as I wept.  I could hear him saying: “I missed you, we used to have a trysting place, what happened?”  What happened was I became like Hezekiah.  Some non-believers impressed by my books and the sale I generated started to notice me and ask questions.  Rather than give God praise and honor I boosted myself and like Hezekiah started to brag about myself and not God. As a result I felt abandoned by God. Yet, He did not abandon me in the Piel intensive form but he Qal  simple form.  He merely stepped back hoping I would see how I broke His heart.  I was using the arm of the flesh, showing off all my experience that He gave to me impress the arm of the flesh rather than just going forward depending on him and finding my comfort in Him and not the arm of the flesh.  That is hard to do as everything in you cries out to get some comfort and encouragement from Babylon rather than declare to Babylon that my trust is in the Lord.  If I go to battle with Assyria, be it know my God will be Jehovah and I am depending on Him to supply my needs, Assyrian may only be God’s instrument to supply that need.