Today’s Reading:
Read Isaiah 38:1-8, 16-20; II Kings 20:1-20; II Chronicles 32:24-33
Think about a favorite gift you’ve ever received. Share what the gift was with the members of your family. Discuss details about the gift- why was it your favorite? Who gave it to you? How long had you wanted the gift? What did you do with the gift when you received it?
In today’s reading, we learn that King Hezekiah was sick and was going to die. Isaiah visited him and told him that he would not get better and that the end of his life was near. King Hezekiah did not like that news! He prayed to God and asked him to heal him. Because of King Hezekiah’s faithfulness, God answered his prayer and promised him 15 more years of life. What a gift, right? God answered Hezekiah’s prayer and granted him more time as King.
King Hezekiah thanked God for the gift. However, he did not honor God in the fifteen years he had left as King before he died. King Hezekiah became prideful. God had rescued the kingdom of Judah from the Assyrian nation, but another nation- Babylon- also wanted to capture the Israelites. King Hezekiah invited the Babylonian leaders into the temple and he showed them all of the treasures that God had blessed the Kingdom of Judah with. Sadly, this would open a door for the Babylonian nation to one day capture the people of Judah in the same way that the people of Assyria had done.
Isaiah told King Hezekiah that his choices had not been right and that God was not pleased. Isaiah even prophesied that one day the Babylonian nation would capture Judah. Unfortunately, King Hezekiah did not honor God with the gift of life that God had given him. The people of Israel would face many challenges because of that.
Application/Prayer:
Has God answered a prayer that your family has prayed for faithfully? What was your response to that answer? Did you thank Him for providing for you? Did you honor Him with your choices. Thank God for answering prayers and ask Him to help you remember to honor Him with each prayer He answers for you.
July Memory Verse:
“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
July memory verse coloring sheet
July Fill-in the blank activity