Words'nTone

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.  Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries.  There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion 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 have they come to you?”

And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

He said, “What have they seen in your house?”

So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown 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 all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD.  ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good “ For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days” (Isaiah 39).

It’s probably only a mid-life crisis moment—I am almost 50 you know!—but it is bothering me that I have less time left to do the things my heart and mind are contemplating.  What makes matters worse—at least for me—is that I begin thinking what kind of life is in store for my kids.  Will they have enough time to do the things, only now, beginning to rise in their hearts and minds?  Without going into detail—and rambling on and on—it is beginning to occur to me that the world will be vastly different when my daughter and stepson face 50.  The list of potential and probably differences are extensive.  But what entered my mind on during worship bothered me: While I face, maybe, 15, 20 years of productive life left, I wonder if my children are going to be able to face the foes, changes, and forces that are now rearing their ugly heads.  And these forces are no longer local (as 9/11 awakened us to), but are global and real as if right next store.  We mask the very real problems that will indeed spread—masked by a mostly peaceful environment, a host of playful choices, spare time, TV, entertainment, etc.

So what has this to do with Isaiah 39?  As I thought about my approaching 50s and the thoughts of what it will be like for my kids as their 50th mark approaches them, my mind went to Hezekiah’s words in Isaiah 39.  The forces for evil had knocked on the king’s door and he literally let them in.  As a result, the prophet Isaiah warns that such action indicated that the king was foolishly ignoring the rising malevolence forces that would destroy his kingdom.  The king quickly responds with what appears to be contrition.  So the Word of the Lord relents in a small measure, which results in pushing off the ultimately inevitable destruction and turmoil to the future—its full effect would occur in the next generation—when his children are older and should be enjoying the fruits of their labor and a full life.  Hezekiah, ironically, rejoices and considers this a good Word.

What in the world is this guy thinking!  He is, basically, saying, “Great, this destruction will not happen in my time, but will come for my kids.” Not in my time, but in my children’s time—thank goodness! Some parent.  Some national leader this guy is.

Isaiah 39 stands as the hinge of a two-part story within the book of Isaiah.  Chapters 1-38 are reminders of pending judgment because Israel had neglected its calling—but the judgments were pending, for the future, to occur during the time of the future generation (their children).  On the other side of the hinge are chapters 40-66, indicating that the future judgments had come and now the nation and the world needed God’s redemption—and would receive it and have the opportunity to embrace it.  I have often wondered why a slice of history from the Kings and the Chronicles was placed in Isaiah’s prophetic book.  I wonder if it was to remind future generations that if the predictions and forth-tellings of pending judgments go unheeded, our future generations will indeed live in Babylonian captivity.  The hinge king (and parent) and his reaction is a warning: Good, I like that peace and prosperity will continue in my day; let my children pay the consequences. I felt during worship, we might be doing the same thing in our generation.

I have often wondered what in the world Hezekiah was thinking! His perspective reminds me of those who give no thought to the National Debt--being willing to pass this burden on to their children and grandchildren (who will have to pay for it) rather than make the necessary sacrifices to deal with it now. Good post.

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