Folly Brings Downfall

Opening your treasure to the enemy

Isaiah 39:2”Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”

INTRO: Children are so excited when you visit them, they would bring their whole bag of new and old toys and drop in front of you, next they would demonstrate it and look at your face for the same excitement that they have. Little kids are adorable, I would say ‘ah and ooo’ and pretend to be thrilled with their toys. King Hezekiah is no better than these innocent kids, he took the men sent from the king of Babylon and showed everything, the Bible says “there was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.” What Hezekiah? The good, wise and godly man did that? I uttered these words loudly as I read this portion…..because I was shocked. My conundrum is how could good people do such crazy stuff??

Please stay with me as I explain this to you with historical explanation, don’t skip, read this portion carefully, this lesson is very essential for each one of us. In the two last chapters 37 and 38, we see great mighty miracles happen in the life of king Hezekiah.

DESTRUCTION OF ASSYRIANS AND KING SENNACHERIB:

King Hezekiah wept and cried to God when the army of Assyria ambushed his country, God heard his prayer and the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. Sennacherib was also killed by his own sons while he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god. (Isaiah 37: 36-38) Great victory!

Very next chapter we read about his sickness and again Hezekiah prayed hard, God sent His prophet Isaiah to say that God was not only healing Hezekiah but also adding 15 years to his life. When Hezekiah asked a sign for his healing, God obliged and said ‘ Listen carefully, I will turn the shadow on the stairway [denoting the time of day] ten steps backward, the shadow on the stairway ([a]sundial) of Ahaz.” And the sunlight went ten steps backward on the stairway where it had [previously] gone down. Wow! God wanted to demonstrate that He was “turning back the clock” for Hezekiah – giving him 15 years he would have lost. King Hezekiah received healing, bonus of 15 years added and not enough he saw the demonstration of God’s supernatural power by turning back the clock for the sake of his son Hezekiah. (Read Isaiah 38:8-11) King Hezekiah was totally pampered by God and the wise king turned into a spoilt brat. Sometimes success hits our head and we rashly do things that are contrary to our character. Anybody listening? We need a pinch of failure, pain and humiliation in order to keep us grounded in God and His ways. Agree?

GIFTS FROM KING OF BABYLON:The sun was the Babylonians’ god; and when they understood that it was with a respect to Hezekiah that the sun, to their great surprise, went back ten degrees, on such a day, they thought themselves obliged to do Hezekiah all the honour they could. So the king of Babylon sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Did not Apostle Paul say: “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

2 Corinthians 2:11 says this: “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

HIDDEN AGENDA BEHIND THE GIFTS: Joining the enemy camp: The king of Babylon was an enemy to the king of Assyria, and therefore he was fond of Hezekiah, because when someone hates your enemy then you join hands with them. The Assyrians were much weakened by the power of God Jehovah and also the king of Babylon was nice to Hezekiah because of his power and prosperity too. Naively and foolishly Hezekiah opens his treasure to the enemies. The visit was an attempt to bring the kingdom of Judah on to the side of the Babylonians against the Assyrians. Caveat! Be cautious of the plans of the enemy! Don’t fall for perks, gifts and bouquets, there is hidden agenda behind the gifts.

We run a free school for the poor and underprivileged kids of our community, sometimes children pester their parents and bring gifts to teachers and expect ‘goodwill’ and ‘favor’. I strictly announced that nothing should be given or taken. Be cautious!