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Chapter 39  (ESV)

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.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Hezekiah listened to Isaiah’s words about God’s sovereignty, and trusted the Lord to remove the Assyrian threat. God did.  When he became sick, he recalled what God had said through Isaiah about the Lord’s willingness to restore the godly and Hezekiah called on God, pleading his godly life.  And the Lord did heal.
2. But Hezekiah slipped. Isaiah had spoken of Babylon as an enemy of God’s people.  Yet when envoys from Babylon came to “congratulate” the king on his recovery, Hezekiah showed them every one of his royal treasures.  Isaiah furiously announced that the day was coming when the Babylonians would carry Hezekiah’s treasures and his descendants into captivity.
3. We need to take all of God’s words to heart. We can’t pick and choose parts of God’s word to believe and claim the promises we want.  We need to pay close attention to every message of the Word, for forgetting or choosing not to hear God’s word can cause us trouble indeed.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Your Word I Have Hidden In My Heart – youtu.be/BID7tswLDNs