Day 91 – December 28, 2023: Isaiah 36-39 and Matthew 8-9

The story of Hezekiah is fascinating for me. He is considered the foremost reformer in the Old Testament. He turned the people away from the foreign gods, he reconstructed the temple and forbade worship of other gods in it. He also was responsible for constructing a tunnel that would bring fresh water into the city of Jerusalem. It is a tunnel that you can walk through even to this day. When we go to Israel we always walk Hezekiah’s tunnel. The Scripture that we read has both him talking to Isaiah and getting advice, and also going directly before the Lord to get advice without the mediation of Isaiah. To me that signifies someone who walked with the Lord.

In the New Testament we have a whole series of healings in which Jesus is involved. Let me just list them to you and then some of the teachings that are interspersed through these chapters. The leper, Centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother in law, many who were gathered, the demoniac with legion, paralytic, synagogue leader’s daughter, the woman with the issue of blood, the two blind men, the mute man. This is all within two chapters. There are many more but I remain convinced that as Jesus healed, so are we able to heal.