Let’s have a ‘CONCERN’ for our FUTURE GENERATION!
July 28 Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapters 37-39
Let’s have a ‘CONCERN’ for our FUTURE GENERATION!
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 what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be
carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 'And they shall take
away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" So Hezekiah said
to Isaiah, "The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!" For
he said, "At least there will be peace and truth in my days."
(Isaiah 39:5-8)
The incident
in Isaiah 39 is used to introduce the coming Babylonian captivity and exile.
Bible scholars believe that this incident took place after Hezekiah’s recovery
and that it was associated with Merodach-Baladan’s rebellion against Assyria in
703 B.C. King Hezekiah was generally a wise ruler who feared the Lord and
helped his nation prosper. Under his capable leadership, Judah regained much of
the spiritual and political ground it had lost under Ahaz.
However, Isaiah
39 recounts Hezekiah’s great diplomatic blunder. God’s great victories over the
Assyrian army and over Hezekiah’s personal illness made him vulnerable to pride
(see 2 Chron. 32:25). Because of pride in wealth and military might, he showed
the Babylonian envoys all the treasures and arms of Judah. Isaiah rebuked
Hezekiah and predicted that one day Babylon would carry away all the wealth
along with the people themselves. This
prophecy was fulfilled 100 years later, exactly according to Isaiah’s
prediction!
Strangely, instead
of repenting for his prideful error, King Hezekiah merely remarked that he, at
least, would have peace during his reign. This reaction of Hezekiah reveals his
selfish relief that God’s judgment will not fall on him personally even though
he had erred in his pride. How shortsighted
had King Hezekiah become now? Had he
no concern for the future of his generation? What we see is that Hezekiah robbed
from his children’s future while buying short-term comfort at the price of
their long-term interests!
Let us not
be like King Hezekiah who was insensitive to what would happen to his children,
but cried bitterly when he himself was in trouble (37:1) or, nearing death
(38:1-3). Instead, let us always have a concern for our future generation. We
all work hard and save money for our children and the generations following
them. However, let us be sensitive to the fact that we need to build up strong
foundations for our future generation through praying for them earnestly,
teaching them the rich truths of God’s Word, and living out a Christ-like life
that they can model as well. God desires
from our life that we leave a rich legacy for our future generation to emulate!
