Our Hezekiah Problem
Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 20:12-19
Hezekiah was one of the better kings. He reigned during the days of Isaiah the prophet. A lot went right during his reign. Still, he made some costly mistakes as well. One of those missteps is written about in 2 Kings 20. The king of Babylon sent envoys to visit Hezekiah because he had heard the king was ill. Hezekiah warmly welcomed them but unwisely showed them the wealth of his kingdom.
Isaiah questioned Hezekiah about what had happened and then prophesied that Babylon would come and take everything from his kingdom. But Isaiah also said it wouldn’t happen during Hezekiah’s lifetime. It would happen after he had died and his sons would become captives, eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
That’s where this takes an odd turn. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” Then it is explained that he thought this way because, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my day.”
I have to say, that is one of the most disappointing statements by an otherwise decent man I find in all of the Bible. He expresses a cold callousness toward his sons and the fate they would experience because of his decisions. As long as it doesn’t affect me, I’m okay with this pronouncement of doom, which is Hezekiah’s attitude.
This is an expression of selfishness of the highest order. When we live only for our prosperity and security, without concern for those who follow in our footsteps, it is a symptom of deeply rooted selfishness.
I think this can be seen in other ways. For example, when I thoughts about church life are along the lines of “I don’t want anything to change. As long as everything is the way I like it, I’m not worried about how that affects the next generation.”
We see this nationally when we are all for extravagant deficit spending, and never consider or care that the debt we create today is going to be put on the backs of our children and grandchildren tomorrow.
Hezekiah should have wept knowing the carnage his actions would bring down on the heads of his sons. So too should we. There is far too much of a “live-for-today” and let others worry about the wreckage of tomorrow attitude. Among God’s people, it ought not to be so.
