Isaiah 39 is a short chapter with a somewhat strange set of events. The King of Babylon sends his messengers to visit King Hezekiah in an apparent well wishing mission. These men came and brought gifts and a message of goodness. But in reality, they were there to case out the place and Hezekiah showed it all to them. He fell for it hook line and sinker. They had a complete tour and saw all the riches of the kingdom. Scripture tells us “There was nothing in his house or kingdom that Hezekiah didn’t show them”. Of course, it seems apparent they were there to gather intelligence for the future when they would wage war and capture all these things. Isaiah shows up and asks who they were and what they were doing there and discovers the facts. His response was that the day was coming when they would come and take it all as well as Hezekiah’s sons into captivity. When Isaiah asked what had happened, we get a glimmer into the motive for opening the palace to these strangers: “I showed them the works, opened all the doors and impressed them with it all”. Does the word pride come to mind for you? He wanted to impress his guests with all his stuff. And the result was he showed them why it would be worthwhile to come capture it all and take it away. Really a short sighted action.
Hezekiah doesn’t act concerned in that he clings to God’s promise that “surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I’ll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live”. That was the promise God gave when He extended his life. But the shortsighted approach really is not the right one. Hezekiah allows his desire to be stroked and feel powerful and show off his riches to cloud his judgment for the future of his family and kingdom. He lost common sense and allowed self to become the controlling factor in how he lived. What a tactic of the enemy – to get us to put self first. That is one of the biggest ways we get pulled away from God’s plan. When I become the focal point, when my status is more important than anything else, bad decisions happen and the result is not good. Hezekiah loses sight of legacy and allows pride to become the driver of his actions. We have to keep our eyes on what matters. And that is not me. It is the living God of the universe and His Son. Are you living for legacy?
Posted by asorensen 
