Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 39:1-8

Think on these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 39:1-8:

1. Hezekiah's response to Isaiah's prophecy about the Babylonian exile is quite self-centered, as he focuses on his own peace and security during his lifetime. How can we avoid a similar self-centered mindset in our own lives and instead prioritize God's plans and His kingdom over our personal comfort and well-being?

2. Isaiah's message to Hezekiah included a warning about the future consequences of his actions. In what ways can we discern God's warnings and guidance for our lives, especially when we may be tempted to make decisions based on immediate circumstances rather than God's long-term plan?

3. Hezekiah's actions in showing off his treasures to the Babylonian envoys ultimately led to future problems. How can we ensure that our actions and decisions align with God's will and contribute to a legacy of faithfulness for future generations, rather than potentially causing harm or setbacks?

Transcript:

So, chapter 39 has us seeing some interesting times in the life of Hezekiah. We just saw in the previous chapter that he was healed from these maladies, that he didn't have any children, but he was promised that he would because his life was going to be extended. But here we see that some envoys come from Babylon, and King Hezekiah is pretty excited about this. And the idea here is that they have a common enemy. That old adage, The enemy of my enemy is my friend. They both do not like the Assyrian Empire. They're against the Assyrians, and so they're getting together. Well, Hezekiah likes this, and he is showing off. You get this idea that he's showing everything that they have. Say, Hey, here we are, Babylon. We're good to be partners with. Now, what is happening here? He's basically saying, Hey, yeah, we've seen that God needs to be the one who saves us, but ultimately I'm going to make plans of my own. Well, Isaiah comes to Hezekiah and basically lets them know, What were you thinking, dude? Now they know what you have. Yeah, you may have an alliance now, but in the future, things are not going to go well for you.

And basically, Isaiah prophesies the coming Babylonian exile. And there is some difficult things to read here. His sons are going to be taken away. They're going to be made eunics, no offspring beyond him. That's the idea here. Hezekiah hears this and he's not too upset. Look what he says. The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good. How is that good? Right? Well, we see his answer. We get his thoughts. There will be peace and security in my days. In other words, he doesn't care what happens in the future as long as he doesn't have to deal with the Assyrians in his lifetime. Doesn't matter, doesn't care about who comes after him. He's not really concerned with the promises of God, is he? He's not really concerned with whether or not the line to the Messiah will continue. He's just concerned about what he sees in front of his face. He's not concerned with anyone who comes after him, passing things on or anything like that. He is only concerned about himself. This is an interesting passage for us to read. As I said earlier, it's a short one. But there's a good, important message for us to think about today.

While it's very easy for us to be happy when things are good around us, we have to always consider the future. How are we going to pass the faith on to the next generation? Whether that is within our families or within the covenant community of the church, we should always be considering being faithful and doing what God would desire and trusting in Him at all times, not plotting for ourselves, are only concerned about what will happen in our days, but instead being certain that we are going to be found faithful to those who come behind us. So may that be our prayer today and every day that we would not only be faithful for ourselves and for our generation and our time here, but may we be faithful to pass the faith on. May we be faithful to do what God has called us to do, that those behind us might see our example and continue in faith as well.