Context No. 3251 of 4322 · Isaiah

Isaiah 39:1-8: in context

1At that time, Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick, and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them. 3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and asked him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a country far from me, even from Babylon.” 4Then he asked, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of Armies: 6‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up until today, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. 7‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’” 8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The LORD’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Envoys arrive from the rising power of Babylon after Hezekiah's recovery from illness, and Hezekiah, flattered, shows them everything, all his treasures, his silver and gold and armory, holding nothing back. Isaiah then tells him the cost: the day is coming when all of it, and even his own descendants, will be carried off to Babylon. And Hezekiah answers, the word of the LORD is good, for there will be peace in my days.

Hezekiah's display of everything he owns is a piece of pride, and the judgment that follows is sobering. But more sobering still is his response. He is content that the disaster will fall after he is gone, at peace so long as it does not touch his own lifetime. It is a quiet failure of love: relief that the consequences will land on his children rather than himself. Faithfulness includes caring about the future we leave to those who come after us, not merely securing comfort for our own days.

Do I care about the consequences my choices leave for those who come after me, or am I content so long as trouble falls after my own time?

Sources

Isaiah 39:6: "The days are coming when all that is in your house... will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left."
Isaiah 39:8: "The LORD's word which you have spoken is good... For there will be peace and truth in my days."
Proverbs 13:22: "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children."