Isaiah 39:8 "Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days."
After God had healed Hezekiah with divine intervention, the son of the king of
Babylon sent a convoy of men with letters and a present to Hezekiah after
he had heard of the sickness and healing. Hezekiah showed the men everything in
his kingdom. He did not withhold anything from them. He showed "... them
the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and
the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found
in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that
Hezekiah shewed them not." Isaiah came and began to question him
about the things he had shown the men. This displeased God and Isaiah spoke of
the day when all of those things and the sons of Hezekiah would be taken
captive into Babylon. It seems that Hezekiah was built up in pride that such great
men from a far country would bring presents to him. Solomon wrote, "Many
will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that
giveth gifts." (Proverbs 19:6) Hezekiah was too much of a friend to
the people of the world because they brought gifts to him.
But now we come to the part of today's verse that concerns me. Hezekiah replied
to Isaiah, "Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said
moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days." The part
that concerns me was the words, "peace and truth in my days."
Hezekiah was saying, "It's okay as long as everything is okay in my
days." He had no concern for future generations. He had no concern
for his children or grandchildren, as long as everything was alright while he
was alive. He had no forethought whatsoever about the future of his nation.
That is not a kingly approach. In fact, that was a very selfish approach.
Hezekiah had been a great king and had done great things, but his thoughts
turned toward himself even after the Lord had graciously healed him.
We are at the conclusion of 2024 and about to enter a brand new year, filled
with blank pages. What will we write upon those pages? Will it be in order that
things will be good in our days? Or, will our goals and decisions be based upon
that which is good for the days to come after us?