Daily Devotional Sunday 28th May 2023
by William Moody
Isaiah 39
Envoys from Babylon
39:1 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. 2 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. 3 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.” 4 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.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 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. 7 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.” 8 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.”
(ESV)
A new super power in the form of Babylon now comes on the scene. Delegates are sent from their King Merodach-baladan to greet Hezekiah after his illness (v1). This just seemed to be a very warm and courteous call and Hezekiah received them gladly (v2). Sadly, though Hezekiah drops his guard, and in trying to impress these envoys he shows them all the treasures he had.
After enquiring as to what had happened (v3-4), Isaiah warns that the consequences will be that all that the king valued would be carried off, including some of his sons (v5-7).
This was certainly one of those cases in which pride would come before a fall. We always need to be humble, we always need to be watchful, for the enemy is always seeking to attack and trip us up. Even in days of peace, we always need to be aware that the next attack is just around the corner. We battle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces who have been engaged in this warfare for centuries. Only by fleeing to Jesus can we know safety.
Hezekiah is not too disturbed by what he hears because he believes it will not happen in his life time (v8). Here is a tremendous example of selfishness. Something very similar to the individualism of today. We need to realise that our actions will have impact on the next generations and we need to be greatly concerned about them. Our goal should be to lay a foundation of righteousness in Christ that will last through many, many generations.
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