Hezekiah’s Foolishness

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Hezekiah’s Foolishness

Date: May. 22, 2025

Passage

2 Kings 20:12-21 (ESV)

12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 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 shall be left, says the LORD. 18 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 palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 20:17

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 shall be left, says the LORD.

After King Hezekiah’s miraculous recovery from his illness, he received a seemingly friendly visit from representatives of the king of Babylon. He welcomed them and showed them all his riches and rare treasures (13). Hezekiah really should have known that this kind of showing-off would trigger the envy and greed of any worldly king. But his pride in his earthly wealth caused him to act foolishly. Hezekiah was one of the most godly kings to rule in Judah, but he was still a sinner like all of us.

When Isaiah heard of what the king had done, he came with a dark prophecy of how the Babylonians would be instruments of God’s judgment against Judah. The devastation that they would bring would be even greater than what the Assyrians did, and this judgment would come against Hezekiah’s own descendants (17-18).

Hezekiah said that the word of the Lord through Isaiah was good, but inwardly he was indifferent, because this punishment would not come in his lifetime (19). If Hezekiah had instead earnestly repented, perhaps God would have done even greater things through him.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for my desire to show off. Help me boast only in you, and not put my trust in riches but in your promise only.

One Word: Showing off is sin

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-21

Key Verse: 20:3

“You shall have no other gods before me.

Today's Question

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