seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 39:1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
So.... now Isaiah is back in pre-Babylon talk. The people are still in Judah and Hezekiah is still king.... no one has been overrun yet.... the women have not been raped.... the children not been slaughtered to keep them from growing up to be soldiers..... the men have not been castrated yet.... there is time. Just yesterday I learned that the king had a horrible illness.... but God spared the king because the king tried to do right and prayed about important matters. Now the king has been given 15 more years to live..... and he's sure God wouldn't have him spend those days as a Babylonian prisoner.
I went back to bible-studys.org for this morning's commentary.
The incident in this chapter is used by Isaiah to introduce the coming Babylonian captivity. “Merodach-baladan … king of Babylon” is known in the Akkadian texts as Marduk-apal-iddina. He conquered Babylon (in 721 B.C.), with the help of the Elamites and ruled there 11 years before being driven out by Sargon II of Assyria (in 710 B.C.).
“The word of the Lord … carried to Babylon”: Isaiah predicted the Babylonian captivity that would come over a century later (586 B.C.), another prophecy historically fulfilled in all of its expected detail.
It appears from this that Hezekiah knows he cannot do anything about the coming judgment. He is just happy there will be peace and rest for the rest of his life. Hezekiah accepted the Word of the Lord, because it was absolute truth.
He was happy for what God had already given him, and would not question anything beyond that.
It occurred to me yesterday that this is a story about the family of Jesus. Yes, I've been saying that all along but it's so glum that it's sometimes hard to remember.... these stories aren't about just anybody.... these stories are all about great great whatever grandparents of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. These people in these chapters are paving the way for modern day residents to Israel, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy..... and more. This was a king who loved God and trusted God. He was a rare breed.... he understood his responsibility in the Theocracy. When people came to visit David or Solomon, they were treated richly and no one said anything about it. Hezekiah does the same thing that Solomon did and he gets blasted by a prophet for showing off the riches of God. I don't think it was wrong of Hezekiah to show off.... any more than it would have been for Solomon when he did it.... but Isaiah had a prophecy and it popped up now. Isaiah knew.
Even the easy English site is bashing Hezekiah for showing off.
Hezekiah’s thoughts show the less pleasant part of his character. He has been foolish. And his family will suffer greatly because of his actions. But Hezekiah does not seem to care. He prayed about his own troubles. But he is not praying that God will save his family from these terrible troubles. Instead, he just says, ‘Whatever the Lord says must be good.’ So Hezekiah is only thinking about himself.
I disagree..... I do not believe that Hezekiah was only thinking about himself. I think he was thrilled with God! IMHO.... Hezekiah prayed about an army that was about to lay siege to Judah...... and God stepped in and killed 185,000 enemy troops while they slept. Then Hezekiah got a terminal illness.... Hezekiah prayed about it and God gave him another 15 years of good life. I disagree..... I do not believe that Hezekiah was only thinking about himself. I think he was thrilled to tell everyone about what a great God was in charge of the richest safest nation on earth. I think Hezekiah understood his part in the Theocracy and he was happy to show the Theocracy off.
If I'm going to be angry about Hezekiah showing off the opulence of the Temple that David procured and Solomon constructed..... then what am I to think of the opulence of some of the churches we have today? I believe that despite the incredibly stupid things David, Solomon, and Hezekiah did, those three men respected God.
Isaiah knew that Babylon was not a gracious visitor...... Isaiah knew that Babylon was going to force march the people of Jerusalem.... raped, castrated, and enslaved..... to Babylon where they would stay for 70 years..... Isaiah... IMHO.... was more concerned with what was going to happen in the future. Hezekiah was just happy to brag on God.... who saved him.
