Through the Eyes of a Woman

As the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II approaches, people in Britain look forward to a supplementary bank holiday and various celebrations commemorating the rule of their monarch. As a young woman, Elizabeth pledged to serve her country and the commonwealth for as long as she lives and she has, indeed, become the longest-serving ruler in British history, now marking seventy years as a queen. It was, however, not a role that she had sought. Following in her father’s footsteps, the reluctant king, she accepted her calling with all it involved out of a sense of duty. Becoming the Queen changed the course of her whole life. And she is still at it at 96. Many Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) were born into their church and have accepted the faith, passed on from their parents. Generations of Adventists have served their church out of a sense of duty, instilled by the great missionary challenge. The same missionary spirit that led the Apostle Paul to give priority to service and evangelis

Hezekiah was a king of Judah whose footsteps we can still encounter in Jerusalem. He was one of the so-called good kings who followed God. Hezekiah even experienced great divine miracles. The world at that time did not have our modern media, but news spread anyway. Thus, in faraway Babylon, King Merodach-Baladam also learned that Hezekiah had been very ill and had recovered, and sent messengers with gifts to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery. In some countries, when guests come to the house for the first time, it is the custom to show them the whole house. King Hezekiah did the same. "Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses – the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil – his armoury and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them" 2 Kings 20:13 NLB. "Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, ‘What did those men say, and