A translation and sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 22 July 2007
1. During this time, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he was sick and had become strong.
2. And Hezekiah rejoiced over them and he showed them the treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the good oil, and all his house of weapons, even all that was found in his storehouses. There wasn’t a thing that Hezekiah did not show them in his house or in all his realm.
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, “From a faraway land they came to me – from Babylon!”
4. And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”
Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house. There isn’t a thing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
5. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts:
6. ‘Look, days are coming when all
that is in your house,
and that which your fathers have stored up until this day,
shall be carried to Babylon.
There won’t be a thing left,’ said Jehovah.
7. ‘And from your own sons
who will come out from you,
whom you will cause to be born,
they will take,
and they shall be eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon.’”
8. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Jehovah, which you have spoken, is good.”
He also said, “For there will be peace and truth in my day.”
A) “At that time” (v.1)
1. Probably the time of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery in chapter 38
2. 2 Chron 32:23 adds that “many were bringing gifts to Jehovah at Jerusalem and choice gifts to Hezekiah…”
B) Hezekiah’s
relationship with God:
Hezekiah had a close relationship with God. He had restored the temple and he
loved to worship God. He prayed to God and God spoke to him frequently through
the prophet Isaiah. He was a man whose heart was directed completely toward
God.
C) The “sign” that brought the Chaldeans
1. The parallel account 2 Chron. mentions that the Chaldeans were interested in the “sign” God gave to Hezekiah.
2. Chaldeans were famous for their interest in astrology.
a. It is mentioned in the book of Daniel,
b. and many believe that the magi from the east of Jerusalem who saw the star and came to worship Jesus were also from the ancient Chaldean astrologer tradition.
3. They may have noticed that something strange happened when God caused the shadow on the steps of Ahaz to go back ten steps when it should have gone forward, thus they come to Jerusalem to find out more about this amazing astrological event.
D) Merodach-Baladan and his political ambitions
1. a.k.a. Berodach, Mardokempados, and Marduk Habal Idina
2. a vassal of Assyria who tried around 714BC to make Babylon independent from Assyria, lost the battle and fled for his life. In 703, he reconquered Babylon and tried again to rebel against Assyrian rule and was again unsuccessful.
3. Bible scholars place these events just before one or the other of these rebellions led by Merodach-Baladan.
4. With this historical background, we see the motive behind Merodach-Baladan’s envoy. He was trying to gain allies in the rebellion he was planning against Assyria. He was not honoring Hezekiah and Hezekiah’s God out of pure motives, he was really trying to get Hezekiah’s support in an armed rebellion.
E) 2 Chron 32 key to interpreting Isa 39/2 Ki 20
1. Isaiah was the first to write the history of this time period, and he generally presents the sequence of events without much explanation.
2. The compiler of Kings copied Isaiah’s account,
3. But the complier of Chronicles added some notes to explain why some of these things happened, so it is key to applying the text before us.
4. In 2 Chron 32:31, it says that God brought the Babylonians in order to “test” Hezekiah.
A) God designed a test that would expose a proud heart to its owner
1. 2 Chron 32:25 says that “Hezekiah’s heart was proud”
2. In this test, God brought prestigious visitors to Hezekiah and gave him the chance to tell them anything he wanted to say and show them anything he thought was important.
B) Hezekiah failed the test because:
1. He showed
off God’s blessings rather than showing off his God.
v.2 tells us that the important things he wanted to show them were his gold,
silver, precious spices and oils and his weapons.
2. He welcomed
respect from people with whom he had no business:
v.2 tells us that he was pleased; he welcomed/received them gladly
and then he brags to Isaiah in v.3 that people came to see him from a really
faraway land!
a. Our self-worth comes from knowing that God created us special (rather than our bodies being the result of random chance) and knowing that God loves us (and if God is for us, it doesn’t matter who is for us or against us).
b. Yet we get so wrapped up in getting people to like us. We want to say and do things that will impress people and make them think we are special so that they will love us.
c. Hezekiah fell into that trap. He figured the Chaldeans wouldn’t be impressed by a god that couldn’t be seen and who made a bunch of rules and forgave people for disobeying the rules by the blood of a lamb. No, he figured they would be much more impressed if he showed them some gold, silver, exotic foods, and weapons.
d. Daniel didn’t fall into the trap. He kept showing the Chaldeans the demands and power of God.
e. The amazing thing is that as counter-intuitive as it seems, people are much more impressed when we show God to them than when we show God’s blessings to them. The Chaldeans had utmost respect for Daniel; Hezekiah they just wanted to take advantage of.
3. Finally,
Hezekiah’s reception of these people who were planning a rebellion against
Assyria indicates that he was entertaining thoughts of political alliance with
Chaldea for security against Assyria rather than totally trusting God.
Isaiah had already told him not to trust in other nations for his security, but
King Hezekiah wasn’t entirely willing to let that little bit of security go and
trust God alone to take care of him if calamity struck.
C) SUMMARY: So Hezekiah failed the test because:
1. He showed off God’s material blessings rather than showing off his God.
2. He was trying to get people to respect him rather than being content with God’s love for him, and
3. He was wanting the security of a political alliance with Chaldea instead of trusting God for his security.
For these reasons he deserved God’s judgment.
A) In v.3, Isaiah the prophet comes to call Hezekiah to conviction of sin and to receive God’s punishment.
1. He asks “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?”
2. Isaiah’s questions needled Hezekiah to think about the visit in terms of the Chaldeans’ agenda rather than about his prestige.
B) Hezekiah realizes his problem slowly but makes a full confession
1. Hezekiah starts out with a pretty saucy answer, avoiding the first question, “From a far country they have come to see me – from Babylon!”
2. But
after another question from Isaiah, “What have they seen in your house,” (v.4)
I believe it starts sinking in to Hezekiah’s mind that he has made a bad
mistake.
Uh oh, “There isn’t a thing in my store house that I did not show them!”
C) Overthrow by Babylon and exile prophesied in vs.5-7
1. Remarkable prophecy b/c Babylon was not a world power.
2. The punishment fits the crime – Everything he showed off will be taken off.
3. This is a development of Moses’ prophecies of an exile in Lev. and Deut:
a. Leviticus 26:27-33 'Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, 28 then I will act with wrathful hostility against you... 31 'I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas. 32 'I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. 33 'You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. (NAS)
b. Deuteronomy 28:58-64 "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God… 63 It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64 Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. (NAS)
4. Not
merely a result of Hez’s sin, but precipitated by Hez’s sin.
Calvin: “Since the Jews were already in many ways liable to the judgment of
God, He justly permitted Hezekiah to fail in his duty to the injury of all…
like David in 2 Sam. 24…”
“Now again the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and it incited David
against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’ .... 8 So when they had
gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine
months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the number of the registration of the
people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men
who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men… 11
When David arose in the morning, the word of Jehovah came to the prophet Gad,
David's seer, saying, 12 ‘Go and speak to David, “Thus Jehovah says, ‘I am
offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to
you."'" 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, ‘Shall
seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months
before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days'
pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him
who sent me.’"
5. FULFILLMENT - Later historical books record the fulfillment of this prophecy in detail:
a. Daniel 1:1-3 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles,
b. 2 Chronicles 36:18-20 All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,
A) Repented of pride so wrath did not come during his days (2 Chron 32:26)
B) v.8 “Good is the word of Jehovah which you have spoken.”
1. cf. Eli in I Sam 3:18 – the word of Jehovah is good – even though it was a difficult judgment delivered by little Samuel that Eli and his sons would die.
2. David in Ps 51:4 – after he heard that God would kill his first son by Bathsheba in punishment for committing adultery with her and murdering her husband, David said, “You are righteous when you speak and just when you judge.”
3. I Pet. 5:5-6 - God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
4. Good= both just and merciful.
B) For there will be peace and truth (security-ESV,FDB,MSG,NIV/righteousness-LXX) in my day
1. Different translations: at least/May/That/isn’t it good if
2. Recognition of mercy – He deserved to be wiped out then and there
3. Calvin notes that this can be acceptable in light of the fact that the present has a stronger claim on our services than the future.
A) No matter how mature you are in the faith, as long as you are on this earth you will sin and need to accept the discipline of the Lord.
1. In the S.P.E.C.K. hermeneutic, this story presents a Sin to avoid – and an Example to follow in recognizing and confessing sin.
2. The more
mature you are in your walk with the Lord, the more accountable He holds you.
Lesser kings probably would not have been judged as severely as Hezekiah over
this.
3. When you realize you have sinned, don’t cover it up; confess it – like Hezekiah did.
4. Recognize the seriousness of your sin – it hurts future generations.
5. Seek to find something good in God’s dealings with you and thank him for it like Hezekiah.
B) You have received singular favors from God, so use them diligently for His glory rather than becoming complacent.
1. Calvin: “It is more difficult to bear prosperity than adversity… when we see this good king fall so quickly, carried away by ambition, let us learn to lay upon ourselves the restraint of modesty.”
2. “What do you have that you did not receive?” (I Cor. 4:7)
3. “to whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48
4. Fight complacency!
C) Focus glory on God
1. Don’t welcome respect from people you have no business with.
a. Houlihan’s restaurant slogan, “Everybody deserves delicious”
b. Who’s Who books
2. Don’t try to impress people with your God-given resources. They will be far more impressed with your God than with your things and your skills.
3. Don’t compromise by trusting human resources instead of God – build on the faith that God has built in you.
a. As we mature in the faith we can look back on great occasions where God taught us to trust Him and the temptation is to quit trusting Him in the little things.
b. There have been times in my life when I couldn’t afford to buy the tool I needed to do a job, so I had to pray for everything. Occasionally God reminds us of that nowadays, when I’m not so tight financially, like the time we bought a snowshovel to clear our driveway and our neighbor came over the next day to give us three snow shovels. God was saying, Hey you didn’t even think about praying for that, did you? You’re getting lazy with all My blessings. It was a good rebuke to us.
4. What is the first thing you want to show your guests? That is your god.
5. How can we show off Jesus?
a. In our conversation – talk about the Bible, God, faith, worship. People expect you to talk about what you are most excited about.
b. In our preservation of significant events – we do that by mounting hunting trophies on the wall (mountain lion in Applewood), wedding pictures of ourselves or pictures of our children when we were little, or displaying a special artifact from a trip. These are fine if they point to God’s work in our lives and if we can tell the stories behind them in a way that glorifies God. (EXAMPLE: Farmer John told about how he got his farm in such a way that the climax of the story is God’s provision of the farm, so God gets the glory.)
c. In our gifts – give people copies of the Jesus Film, Bible books, Christian music.
What if Hezekiah had showed off the temple worship instead of his treasury? Frank Barker published a monologue of what it might have been like in his expositions on Isaiah:
“What if Hezekiah had said, ‘I’m so glad you’re here. Let me show you the Temple. Let me show you where we worship the true God who created the world. He is not like little tribal gods or national gods. He is the Creator of the world. This Temple can’t contain God. The universe can’t contain Him, but he manifests His presence here in a unique way to show how He can be approached. That innermost part is the holiest of all where in a unique way He manifests his presence over the ark of the covenant which contains the Ten Commandments. We don’t keep those commandments as we should, but God has a way for us to be forgiven. Do you see this altar? We offer the blood of a lamb here, and then the high priest takes that lamb’s blood in and covers our sin as he sprinkles it [between the cherubim] on the top of the ark once each year on the Day of Atonement… Do you see this? This is the Word of God, the God who created everything. He has revealed Himself through prophets. Would you like a copy? Would you like me to tell you more?”
What if the Chaldeans had wanted to carry home the knowledge of the one true God instead of Jerusalem’s wealth? What an exciting scenario that would have been!
What about you? If I visited your home, what could you show me?
“This is where we have our family
devotions.
Right here is where my son accepted Christ with me.
Over here is where we have the group for Bible study.
Here is a picture of the disastrous camping trip when God spared my life!
That’s my bulletin board with pictures of the missionaries we pray for.
Oh, and here’s my favorite picture – it shows Jesus with his nail-scarred hands hugging a silly lamb that reminds me of how much He loves me.
What if your neighbors saw that you treasured Jesus so much that they wanted Him too?
Nate Wilson’s website – Isaiah Sermon Expositions
Christ the Redeemer Church website - Sermons