Peace in My Days – Isaiah 39

The Harvard Business Review says, “leaving a great legacy is arguably the most powerful thing you can do in your career and…thinking about your legacy is also a great way to ensure that you are taking into account the long-term perspective of your organization and resisting the temptation to make myopic decisions that are overly focused on short-term gain.”  Is there a moral aspect to this?  Isn’t it the right thing to do?  Tell that to Hezekiah.

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”  (Isaiah 39 ESV)

Despite his strong faith to believe in Yahweh’s ability to deliver him from the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah now acts foolishly when a client nation of Assyria, Babylon, comes knocking.  They have seen what happened here to Assyria and are seeking to break from Assyria.  They see Judah as a potential ally in this but Hezekiah should know better than to rely on another nation for his protection.

When Isaiah tells him that Babylon will eventually be the super power to contend with, and that they will capture Judah and Hezekiah’s descendants, he breathes a sigh of relief because that means there will be peace in his own time.  But if the king’s sons in that day are made eunuchs they will not be able to continue the dynasty God gave David.  God does preserve the royal seed, but Hezekiah shows a lack of character as the protector of the Davidic covenant.

There is a danger in any spiritual victory, like Hezekiah had, to drop our guard, and, as in Isaiah’s case, to succumb to the temptation to put reliance on human help above God’s.  We see the same with Abraham, after his defeat of the five kings who defeated Sodom and Gomorrah and took Lot and all the other inhabitants captive.  God has to come to Abraham and encourage him not to be afraid, because Abraham is afraid (Genesis 15).  Why do we seem more prone to fear after seeing God’s power on our behalf?  It doesn’t make sense.

Discussion Questions

1. What brush with someone powerful have you had and how did you react?
2. Do you think Hezekiah could have just been acting friendly?  Why or why not?
3. What is foolish about what Hezekiah did?
4. How would you have reacted to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning your Babylon’s future victory over Judah?
5. What do you make of Hezekiah’s response?
6. What do you want the Lord to teach you about serving the generation to come?