Asking Too Much?

I was hit with a brick this morning as I taught out of II Kings 20. Hezekiah - a good king as far as the writer is concerned - was ill and told by Isaiah that he would not live much longer. In Hez's desire to live longer, he asked God to consider all that he had done and let him live. I mean, after all, was he not God's man? So God granted his request and before Isaiah had left the palace, God told him to turn back and tell Hez that he would live for another 15 years.

Interestingly enough, while he was allowed to live, Hez showed the envoy from Babylon everything that there was to see in the kingdom of Israel. In his desire to show off the riches that had been restored to Israel, he allowed the enemy to get in and make an assessment of the value and strength of Israel.

I've wondered about whether or not Hez was actually bosting or giving God the honor/glory, but my guess is that it was a moment of pride - something that he did b/c of where the Israelites used to be. They were down and barely surviving, and then God restored them to a place of glory. Through this, he inadvertently let the enemy see his weakness and thus opened Israel up to another invasion.

I've also been wondering about God's perspective in this whole thing. Did God say, "You want it? Fine - you get it," when he spared Hez's life? Was God cynical about the whole thing? Obviously God knew what was going on and what would happen in the future, but why did God really allow Hez to live? Was it just the catalyst for the invasion?

And now getting to the point of our lives...how often have we said, "God, just give it to me b/c I'm your child," and then received His gift to later wonder why we asked in the first place? Every good gift comes from above, but do we ever ask for too much? Sometimes when we ask, God allows us to have what we want, even though He knows that it may eventually trip us up in the future. It's like a kid asking for another piece of pizza after they've already had 3. Although we know they will be sick after eating the fourth piece, they relentlessly continue asking, because they really, really want it. So we allow them to have it and then sit back and laugh as they look miserable for the rest of the night.

Is that what God was thinking? Is that how He responded? Or was it merely an innocent, "Yes, my child, you may have the desire of your heart"? I'm just thinking out loud - I don't actually have an answer... :)