I was reading in Isaiah a few days back and found one of the scariest, most horrific stories that I think I’ve ever read. It was not a story of murder. It was not a story that was bloody. It was a story of incredible selfishness.
Here’s The Story
Hezekiah became sick and nearly died in Isaiah 38:1. This happened at a time when the city was about to be taken by Assyria. Hezekiah then turns to God and says this,
“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” – Isaiah 38:3 ESV
Then God promises to turn back Assyria and deliver them from their attacker. But this was not all. Hezekiah would have 15 years added to his life (V. 4-5).
Then after showing some folks from Babylon all that was in his house in 39:1-4, he had a conversation with Isaiah. It is a dark conversation that should have been incredibly devastating.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. 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 else shall be left, says the Lord. 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 place of the king of Babylon.” Then said Hezekiah 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.”-Isaiah 39:5-8 ESV
Hezekiah hears the announcement that everything will be carried away from his house, including his children and used in service of the King of Babylon. Then, he has a shocking response.
I wonder if Isaiah took two steps back and held back tears as he heard the response of Hezekiah. I wonder if Isaiah pictured Hezekiah’s children being hauled away to Babylon as he heard the words of Hezekiah “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” I was certainly taken aback by it.
As I thought about what was said I put myself in that situation. I would be struck with horror if I was told by God’s prophet that my son and daughter would be drug from their homes and made slaves in another country. My heart would break. But, because Hezekiah knew that this punishment would not be visited upon him, he thought this was a good thing.
Hezekiah’s Selfishness And Sometimes Ours
Hezekiah responded so selfishly because he didn’t see past his own life. Everything was about him, and what would happen to him was good. He had 15 years added to his life and his illness taken away. Not to mention that he would finish his life in peace rather than the bondage that his relatives would later live in. Things would be good for him, so he was not conerned at all with what was going to happen to anyone else.
We do this at times. And, sometimes see it very pronounced in other situations. We do this when we do what we want giving no regard to the feelings or hardships that it will cause others.
Sadly, there are times when this happens within our churches. I have witnessed people in leadership lying to cover their tracks, regardless of who it hurts. I have witnessed church members cause near riots to get changes made that they desire, or to keep things the same when changes needed to be made. I have seen leaders make changes that shouldn’t have been made and really didn’t care about the consequences. All of these situations had the same logic behind them. “I don’t really care about the repercussions that come later, I have gotten my way now.”
The leader who blames others when it is really his fault has chosen to lie and make someone else’s life hard so that he would have peace in his time. The church member who raised a scuffle in a church so that things would stay the same is oftentimes guilty of not caring about the next generation. At least things will be the way they want it for now, who cares about the coming generations. The leader who causes major problems in a church and just leaves, which is how that oftentimes happens, is guilty of this also. They leave the mess to be cleaned up by a group of people while he goes back to a life that is not concerned about the hardship that he has caused.
Conclusion
I think there is a moral to the story. Actually I think there are a few of them. One, Hezekiah had done great things in his day. He had oftentimes shown himself to be faithful as he leaned on the Lord for deliverance. Yet, the last time Isaiah mentions him he is giving the most outlandish of selfish responses to devastating consequences.
The first moral of the story is to finish well. I have seen far too many people finish their Christian lives with an attitude of bitterness and the selfishness envisioned here. Don’t do that. Strive to grow closer to the Lord and be molded into the Image of His Son, repent from your failures, and lean heavily on God’s grace rather than self-righteousness. That is how you avoid such selfishness in the end.
The second is to regard others as more important than yourself (Philippians 2:3). Understand that the world really does not revolve around you. Think through the consequences of your actions and care about what the consequences are for other people.
R. Dwain Minor
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