At that time Berodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
God has just healed Hezekiah of a deadly illness, and turned the shadow backwards on the steps as a sign. Now a letter and a gift arrive from the king of Babylon — and this friendly note will do him more harm than an invading army did.
The verse gives Hezekiah's illness as the reason for the visit. Commentators point to something else as the real magnet.
We know from elsewhere that it was not just the sickness that struck the Babylonians. It was this very return of the shadow ten degrees on the dial. They were great watchers of the heavens — watchers of a sign like this — and they were quite right. They traced it to king Hezekiah; they traced it to a small kingdom and a small king. That drew out their interest all the more, since everyone knew this king had resisted the proud king of Assyria — and resisted him so well that the Assyrian went home with all his plans defeated.
The courtesy carried an agenda. Both Babylon and Judah had shaken off Assyrian rule, which made them natural partners. Where the ESV says Hezekiah welcomed the envoys, older translations read that he listened to them.
Babylon's king had thrown off the rule of Assyria. He wanted to stop that power from attacking again, so he looked for friends among the nations west of his kingdom. That is why he sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah by his ambassadors. Our passage says that Hezekiah "listened to them." So they had something to ask of him, some alliance to propose against their common enemy — the enemy whose yoke Hezekiah had himself thrown off. The Word does not tell us that this alliance was ever made, only that the king gave the ambassadors a warm welcome.
This verse marks a turn in the story. A new power steps onto the page, under a king whose name is spelled two ways.
Merodach-baladan (Berodach is the error of some scribe; see Isaiah 39:1), king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah when he heard of his sickness and his miraculous recovery. This is the first time we hear of a king of Babylon.
Hezekiah had already received one letter from a foreign king. Sennacherib of Assyria sent threats. This one came with compliments.
The "letter" and the "present" from the king of Babylon were too much for his hidden vanity — something native to us all. Sennacherib's letter and his rude delegation could not achieve this; they only drove him to his knees. The letter and friendly mission from Merodach-baladan did it — and nearly ruined him and his kingdom. How like the Christian and this world! Its frown has little power. Its subtle favour is what we have most to fear.
Chronicles tells us what was going on inside Hezekiah while the envoys stood in front of him.
A brief passage in Chronicles... tells us of Hezekiah's state of soul when the ambassadors were sent by the king of Babylon: "In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the LORD, and He answered him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah." Here we see the king's feelings when he received the messengers of Babylon. "His heart was lifted up."
Nothing scandalous happened here. No idol, no treaty. The damage was all inside.
Hezekiah's sin on this occasion was known only to God. It was not a moral breakdown but a sin of the heart, which God alone could see and judge... Besides, it was only the special favour and goodness shown to him that made such an offence possible. The enemy's cunning trapped him into boasting in a fleshly way about the blessing that should have drawn him nearer to God.
The welcome cost far more than Hezekiah could have guessed.
Hezekiah was glad of this, but it was accepting the friendship of the world, and as a result his descendants would be captives.
- Sign. The reversed shadow on the dial, not just the recovery, drew Babylon's attention to a small king in a small kingdom.
- Smile. Sennacherib's threats drove Hezekiah to his knees. Merodach-baladan's compliments undid him. Fear the world's favour more than its frown.
- Snare. Behind the courtesy lay a proposed alliance, and Hezekiah gave its envoys a warm welcome.
- Search. Chronicles shows what Kings leaves out: his heart was lifted up — a sin of the heart that God alone could see.
- Sentence. Accepting the friendship of the world cost his descendants their freedom.
And Hezekiah hearkened to them, and shewed them all his treasure-house, the silver and the gold, and the spices and the fine oil, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found among his treasures there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not shew them.
God had just healed Hezekiah and added fifteen years to his life when envoys arrived from Babylon with letters and a gift. He had survived an invading army and a death sentence — so why did he open his whole house to a compliment?
Hezekiah had faced two earlier attacks and won both. What arrived from Babylon looked nothing like an attack, and that is why it worked.
Here we have another king attacking Hezekiah. It was not the king of Assyria with a large army. It was not death, the king of terrors, with a summons to surrender. It was the king of Babylon with a present. And strange as it may seem, the present from Babylon proved too strong an attacker for the heart of Hezekiah. When the king of Assyria sent letters to him, "he went up into the house of the Lord and spread them before the Lord." So he conquered. When told to prepare for death, "he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord." So he was raised up. But when the ambassadors from the king of Babylon came to him, "he showed them all his treasure house." SO HE FELL.
The danger is not limited to kings and palaces.
It is always a dangerous thing for a saint of God when the world begins to be courteous to him.
Hezekiah's recent history gave him plenty to say about God. He gave his visitors a tour instead.
Pride was lurking in the hidden chambers of his heart. He could have told them about the One who dwelt between the cherubim, and about the great deliverance from the hand of the king of Assyria. He could have told them about the deep lessons learned at the gates of the grave, and about the pardoning love of God who had cast all his sins behind His back. Instead he showed them all his treasure house and his armory — which could not defend him from the king of Assyria. So it was all about himself and nothing about God.
The chance was real, and both sides missed it.
The wise men of Babylon had taken note of the wonder done in the land, and they had come to connect it with God's people and with the son of David. Here was surely an opportunity for testimony to the Lord. How great His power and His goodness towards His afflicted servant! But the king of Babylon saw only the creature in it; and Hezekiah, for his part, was glad to show it. How quickly we respond to flattery.
These treasures had a history and a character of their own. The problem was not their value but the way he now held them.
In 2 Kings 20:13 it is clear that Hezekiah saw the precious things only in relation to himself. He lost sight of their holy and unique character. He also forgot how much he owed to those who had laboured before him. So he came under judgment.
Two examinations were running at once, and only one of them was Hezekiah's idea. Older translations open the verse with "Hezekiah was glad of them."
He was glad of them: this explains it all. He calls them to examine his treasures; but God is calling him to the examination of his own heart. "I am king in Jerusalem," says that heart in its pride.
God already knew what was there; the trial was for Hezekiah's benefit.
It was all known to God; but the aim in His ways is to expose everything now, so that we may clear ourselves morally and humble ourselves in His presence. There may be much outward activity, and success too — success as men judge it — while He who searches hearts sees something secretly at work which, if not brought to light and judged now, would lead to final exposure.
Isaiah's answer fit the offence: everything paraded before Babylon would end up in Babylon.
All was to go to that very Babylon whose ambassadors had ensnared him. Everything his poor heart might boast of before the men of this world must go to ruin. He had displayed his treasures to the world, and the world was about to carry those very treasures away. But the "peace and truth" — the treasures he had in God — the world could neither give nor take away.
Babylon's courtesy had its own profit in view.
The world's wisdom cultivates profitable connections with the people of God. That wisdom is always a snare to them. Hezekiah might have made known the source and giver of all this; but he acted as a man.
- Threatened, then flattered. Assyria's threat drove Hezekiah to prayer and he won; Babylon's present found him off guard and he fell. The world's kindness is harder to survive than its hostility.
- Shown, not told. Visitors came asking about God's miracle. They left having seen only silver, gold and armory — a testimony traded for a tour.
- Borrowed, not earned. Others had laboured for these holy things. Hezekiah showed them off as his own, and lost sight of what made them holy.
- Tried, not trapped. The visit turned into God's examination of Hezekiah's heart, and pride was what it found.
- Lost, then kept. The world carried off everything he paraded before it. The peace and truth he had in God stayed beyond its reach.
Then came the prophet Isaiah to king Hezekiah and said to him, What said these men? and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, They came from a far country, from Babylon.
The Babylonian envoys have left, and Isaiah arrives with questions instead of a message: what did these men say, and where did they come from? The questions turn the king away from the treasures he had just shown off and back onto himself, and he answers without hiding a thing.
One commentator sees Isaiah taking a new role here. He also hears a warning in the place the visitors came from:
Isaiah plays a new role here, that of the Word which penetrates and searches us out. Happy are we if, like Hezekiah, we do not try to hide anything from Him with whom we must deal. The godly king, taken aside, acknowledges and owns everything before the prophet... "They have come from a far country, from Babylon," answered Hezekiah. In this "far country" the prodigal son could live in pleasure far from the face of God (Luke 15:13). Could such a place have anything to do with the presence of God? These men came "from Babylon," the birthplace of both rebellion against God and idol worship. Hezekiah had not made an alliance with their king, but he had bound himself to him by friendship.
No one threatened Hezekiah this time. One commentator suggests a political motive behind the courtesy, and contrasts the two dangers:
Isaiah came and asked Hezekiah what the messengers had said and where they came from. He answered that they came from a far country, Babylon. It may be that the king of Babylon was already considering rebellion against Assyria. He was looking for other nations who might help his cause. But Hezekiah, godly man as he was, forgot to inquire of God as to these men. The lion-like rage of Assyria did not sway him, but the serpent character of Babylon deceived him — its friendly, flattering appeal. How we need to be on our guard in both cases, and take every matter to the Lord.
The name Hezekiah says carried a future he could not yet see:
This chapter is of special interest. It is the first plain sign, in later times, of a power destined to overthrow the mighty kingdom of Assyria. The God of heaven would then set that power up, after the conquest of Jerusalem, in the imperial seat of the world, as an unrivalled king of kings from then on. It was as yet the struggle of a province to be independent.
Nothing Hezekiah did would have looked wrong to an observer. One writer explains why God dealt with it so seriously in a man so faithful:
The sin of Hezekiah on this occasion was known only to God; it was not a moral breakdown but a sin of the heart, which God alone could see and judge. Had he been a less faithful man, God might not have charged it against him so solemnly. His judgment must be most searching toward those who are near to Him and loved by Him. Besides, only the special favour and goodness shown to him personally made it possible for him to offend in this way. The cunning of the enemy trapped him into glorying in a fleshly way in the blessing that should have drawn him nearer to God.
Hezekiah could have argued back. Instead he bows. One writer sees that as the mark of a heart that is true underneath the failure:
He humbles himself under the hand and word of the Lord. It is always so with one who through grace is true at bottom. The look that brings sin to mind also assures us that He against whom the sin was done is unchanged in His love, and that He has provided for it all. Such a look produces a broken spirit.
- Gift — God's special favour to Hezekiah was the very thing that made this offence possible. Blessing that should have drawn him nearer to God became something to boast in.
- Flattery — Assyria's rage never moved him; Babylon's friendly, flattering approach deceived him. The courteous visitor is the more dangerous one.
- Question — Isaiah comes as the Word that penetrates and searches. Two questions — what they said, where they came from — reach the heart.
- Far country — Babylon was the birthplace of rebellion against God and of idol worship. It was still only a province fighting for independence, yet destined to conquer Jerusalem and rule the world.
- Confession — Hezekiah hides nothing and bows to God's word. The look that brings sin to mind also shows a love that has not changed, and it produces a broken spirit.
And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said, All that is in my house have they seen there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewn them.
Isaiah has already asked where the visitors came from; now he asks what they saw, and Hezekiah hides nothing. His answer is honest, but it is also a confession: a king God had just healed had much to show about himself and nothing to say about Him.
Isaiah's question does more than gather facts. It searches the man, and the king hides nothing.
Isaiah plays a new role here, that of the Word which penetrates and searches us out. Happy are we if, like Hezekiah, we do not try to hide anything from Him with whom we have to do. The godly king, taken aside, acknowledges and owns everything before the prophet.
Nothing looked wrong about a royal tour. What made it a fall was the subject: a man just raised from the edge of the grave showed off his silver and said nothing about God.
Nor would the world outside, nor perhaps his brothers within, have been able to detect anything wrong in his showing them the house of his treasures. But the secret thought was wrong — pride was lurking in the hidden chambers of his heart. He could have told them about the One who dwelt between the cherubim. He could have told them of the splendid rescue from the hand of the king of Assyria, of the deep lessons learned at "the gates of the grave," and of the pardoning love of God who had "cast all his sins behind His back." Instead, "he showed them the house of his precious things… and all the house of his armour (which could not defend him from the king of Assyria)." So it was all about himself, and nothing about God.
The visit was an open door, and it closed unused:
Here was a real chance to bear witness to the LORD. How great His power and His goodness had been to His suffering servant! But the king of Babylon saw only the man in it; and Hezekiah, for his part, was glad to show it off. How quickly we respond to flattery.
Hezekiah had beaten two earlier attacks. He met the third one differently.
Here we have another king attacking Hezekiah. It is not the king of Assyria with a large army. It is not death, the king of terrors, with a solemn summons to surrender. It is the king of Babylon with a present… When the king of Assyria sent letters to him "he went up into the house of the LORD and spread them before the LORD." So he conquered. When the summons came to prepare for death, "he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD." So God raised him up. But when the ambassadors from the king of Babylon approached him, "he showed them the house of his precious things." SO HE FELL… No prayer — no seeking the Lord — no spiritual perception to detect the hook hidden under this gold-covered bait.
God stepped back and left the king to act on his own. The aim was not to trap him but to show him something.
Scripture says of Hezekiah that "God left him, to try him, that he might know what was in his heart." He learned, to his shame and sorrow, that there was a vast amount of self there. It was good to know it. Now it could be judged and put away, before it betrayed him into deeper and more serious sin.
God works the same way with us:
God knew it all. But His purpose in His dealings is to expose everything now, so that we may clear ourselves morally and humble ourselves in His presence. There may be much outward activity, and success too — success as man judges it. But He who searches the hearts may see something at work in secret. If it is not brought to light and judged now, it will end in exposure at last.
What he showed off is what he would lose.
All was to go to that very Babylon whose ambassadors had ensnared him. Everything in which his poor heart might boast before the men of this world must go to ruin. He had presented his treasures to the view of the world, and these very treasures the world was about to carry away; but the "peace and truth" — in other words, the treasures he had in God — "the world could neither give nor take away."
- Shown. Hezekiah showed off all he owned and said nothing about God — "all about himself, and nothing about God."
- Searched. Isaiah's question works like the Word itself. It searches and exposes, and the king's open answer leaves nothing hidden.
- Softened. Assyria's threats drove him to prayer. Babylon's gift found him off guard. The world's smile is the harder attack.
- Surfaced. God left him to test him. What hid in his heart came to light, so he could judge it now instead of later.
- Surrendered. Babylon would carry off everything he showed off. Only the treasure he held in God could not be taken.
And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah
The prophet has just asked Hezekiah about the visitors from Babylon, and the king admitted he had shown them everything he owned. Now Isaiah stops asking and starts announcing — he calls the king to hear what the Lord says.
Isaiah is not here to collect facts. He comes to bring the king's heart into the light.
Isaiah plays a new role here, that of the Word which penetrates and searches us out. Happy are we if, like Hezekiah, we do not try to hide anything from Him with whom we have to do. The godly king, taken aside, acknowledges and owns everything before the prophet. Then Isaiah announces the judgment of God.
The failure behind this message was not an open scandal. It broke a promise Hezekiah had made only days before.
A few days before the Babylonian princes visited, Hezekiah had gone up to the house of the Lord to pour out his soul in thanksgiving for the mercies he had received. He had said, "I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul." No doubt he meant it at the time. But God put him to the proof. Instead of "going softly" all his days, he did not repay according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was lifted up. "God left him to try him that he might know all that was in his heart." God knew it all already. But His purpose in such ways is to expose everything now, so that we may clear ourselves morally and humble ourselves in His presence.
Hezekiah had already stood firm against an army. A friendly visit brought him down.
Hezekiah, godly man as he was, forgot to inquire of God about these men. Assyria's lion-like rage did not sway him. But Babylon's serpent character deceived him — its friendly, flattering appeal. How we need to be on our guard in both cases, and take every matter to the Lord.
Everything he showed his guests was real. What he left out condemned the tour.
But the secret thought was wrong — pride was lurking in the hidden chambers of his heart. He could have told them about the One who dwelt between the cherubim. He could have told them of the splendid deliverance from the hand of the king of Assyria. He could have told them of the deep lessons learned at "the gates of the grave," and of the pardoning love of God who had "cast all his sins behind his back." Instead he showed them the house of his precious things — the silver and the gold, the spices, the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, which could not defend him from the king of Assyria. So it was all about himself, and nothing about God.
The word the king is called to hear does more than rebuke him. It carries him to the end of everything he had shown off.
"Nothing shall be left, says the LORD." Here the Lord led Hezekiah to see the end of his kingdom, of his house, and of himself. All was to go to that very Babylon whose ambassadors had ensnared him. Everything his poor heart might boast of before the men of this world must go to ruin. He had put his treasures on show before the world, and the world was about to carry those very treasures away. But the "peace and truth" — the treasures he had in God — the world could neither give nor take away.
Hezekiah's reply — that the word of the Lord is good — could sound like relief that the trouble would come later. Another book of the Bible settles what it meant.
If we only had Kings and Isaiah, we might have some doubts about what this reply meant. Hezekiah added, "there shall be peace and truth in my days". But the book of Chronicles says plainly: "Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 32:26). That settles the character of his declaration. His heart had been lifted up, and God's discipline brought it down and bowed it. It is no small thing to call the word of judgment pronounced against us "good"!
The exile announced here did come. What came with it was not foretold in the threat.
Isaiah's prediction came true. But here is what we want to point out. In fulfilling His own word in judgment, God remembered mercy. Out of these very descendants of Hezekiah He raised up witnesses for Himself among Babylon's idolatrous corruptions.
- Word searches. The prophet comes as the word that penetrates. Hezekiah's safety lay in hiding nothing.
- Word exposes. God tested him so the lifted-up heart would surface now, not later.
- Word sentences. "Nothing shall be left" carries him past his treasures to the end of his kingdom, his house, and himself.
- Word humbles. Calling a judgment against you "good" is no small thing. Chronicles shows Hezekiah bowed under God's discipline.
- Word keeps mercy. Hezekiah's own descendants became God's witnesses in Babylon. Judgment fulfilled, mercy remembered.
Behold, days come that all that is in thy house, and what thy fathers have laid up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah.
Hezekiah has just told Isaiah that the visitors from Babylon saw everything he owned. The prophet answers by naming where it will all go, and how much will remain: nothing.
The fault was not in opening his door to guests. It was in what he chose to show them, and in what he left out:
The secret thought was wrong. Pride was hiding in the inner rooms of his heart. He could have told them about the One who dwelt between the cherubim. He could have told them of the splendid rescue from the hand of the king of Assyria, of the deep lessons learned at "the gates of the grave," and of the pardoning love of God who had "cast all his sins behind his back." Instead, "he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory (which could not defend him from the king of Assyria), and all that was found in his storehouses." So it was all about himself, and nothing about God.
The verse names where the treasure will end up. One writer notes what that place stands for, and hears in the last words a verdict on any heart tied to earth:
These men came "from Babylon," the cradle of both rebellion against God and idolatrous worship… Is this not the final sentence of the Word if our hearts let the things of this earth attract them and puff them up? "And the world is passing away, along with its desires." Nothing shall be left!
The plunderers are the very people he had entertained. And the sentence reaches past his treasury to his sons and to himself:
Here the Lord led Hezekiah to see the end of his kingdom, of his house and of himself. All was to go to that very Babylon whose ambassadors had ensnared him. Everything in which his poor heart might boast before the men of this world must go to ruin. He had put his treasures on show before the world, and the world was about to carry those very treasures away. But the "peace and truth" — in other words, the treasures he had in God — "the world could neither give nor take away."
Older translations read "peace and truth"; the ESV has "peace and security."
One writer turns this into a warning about gifts put on show, and about what pride costs the one who shows them:
Pride of gifts. Suppose we call in spectators, as Hezekiah did, to see our treasure and applaud us for our gifts and comfort. Then it is high time for God to send messengers to carry away from us the very things that carry our hearts away from Him… Pride fills the soul, and a full soul will take nothing from God, much less from man.
God had already rescued Hezekiah from the king of Assyria. So the new name in this verse marks a turn:
He rises, as it were, from death — and then falls into vainglory before the ambassadors from Babylon. So the prophet announces Judah's captivity to this power, not to the Assyrian.
The same writer notes where the treasures go, and when the blow would not fall:
In his vanity David's son had spread out everything before the eyes of the strangers. All of it would be swept into Babylon, the city of confusion that God used to punish Jerusalem's idolatry. Only the blow would not fall in the days of the pious king, despite his failure.
The sentence came true, and the book of Daniel opens with it. One writer points to what God then did with the captives themselves:
The opening verses of Daniel reveal the fulfilment of Isaiah's prediction. But here is what we want to call attention to: in fulfilling His own word in judgment, God remembered mercy. It was out of these very descendants of Hezekiah that He raised up witnesses for Himself in the middle of Babylon's idolatrous corruptions.
The king hid nothing when questioned, and he did not argue with the verdict:
Hezekiah had hidden nothing from the Lord, and he accepts his sentence in all humility… With a contrite heart he accepts the consequences of what he did. The testimony God had entrusted to him does not escape his hands unharmed. On the contrary, it lies in ruins… His testimony could not hold itself up and slipped into ruin. Yet through this discipline his soul had recovered its fellowship with the Lord, and that humble confidence in Him which it had abandoned for a moment.
- Cause. The tour of the treasure house was all about Hezekiah and nothing about God. Pride was hiding behind it, and the prophet's word answers that pride.
- Sentence. "Nothing shall be left" is the settled end of everything a heart hoards on earth, for the world is passing away along with its desires.
- Reach. The loss runs from treasury to house to the king himself. Whatever we parade before the world is what the world carries off.
- Turn. The prophet names Babylon, not Assyria, as the power that will take Judah — yet the blow spares the godly king's own days.
- Kept. Babylon could not carry off his "peace and truth" in God — and out of those same exiled descendants God raised up His witnesses.
And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be chamberlains in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Hezekiah has just shown envoys from Babylon every treasure in his palace. Isaiah answers with a sentence that reaches past the king's own lifetime and into his family line.
The loss falls on the very things the king had put on display. One writer traces how God led Hezekiah to look past his own reign to the end of everything he had:
Hezekiah was led to see the end of his kingdom, of his house, and of himself. All of it was to go to that very Babylon whose envoys had trapped him. Everything his poor heart might boast of before the men of this world had to go to ruin. He had shown the world his treasures, and the world was about to carry those very treasures away. But the "peace and truth" — that is, the treasures he had in God — "the world could neither give nor take away." It was "a better and an enduring substance" because it was "in heaven."
The word behind "eunuchs" carries more than one sense. Its later use in Scripture shows why:
One of the things foretold against Israel was that their sons would be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 2 Kings 20:18; Isa. 39:7. Daniel and his companions are an instance of this coming true, for they were put under the care of 'the master of the eunuchs.' Though the word saris means 'eunuch,' older English Bibles often translate it 'chamberlain' and 'officer,' because eunuchs held such positions of trust.
The failure was not idolatry or open rebellion. Something far gentler undid him:
The man who has learned resurrection through discipline is still not safe from being noticed here and made much of by Babylon. God's servant should have refused any such recognition. But he gave way, and so brought judgment on his house… Babylon stands for all the selfish, independent advancement of this world. To be honoured by it is too much for Hezekiah.
Many readers find it troubling that children are named in the sentence. One writer points to the way God governs the world:
What is in question here is the government of God… First came goodness and mercy. Then came the declaration that God will not hold the guilty innocent. Third came a principle of public government, which made the effects of wrongdoing felt: their children would bear the consequences. That principle could not be applied where the soul is in question. But in the outward government of the world it is important and helpful, and providence proves it true every day.
Another writer marks off where this principle stops:
This does not extend beyond this present life… No one will face the judgment of Gehenna for the sins of others, but only for the sins he has committed himself.
Daniel's opening chapter records the word coming true. But the fulfilment carried something the sentence itself did not promise:
The opening verses of this chapter show Isaiah's prediction coming true. But here is what we want to point out: in fulfilling His own word in judgment, God remembered mercy. It was out of these very descendants of Hezekiah that He raised up witnesses for Himself in the middle of Babylon's idol worship and corruption.
Commentators differ on Hezekiah's reply. One reads it as genuine submission won through discipline:
Hezekiah, having hidden nothing from the Lord, accepts his sentence in all humility… With a contrite heart he accepts the consequences of what he did. The testimony God had entrusted to him does not come through his hands unharmed. On the contrary, it is ruined beyond repair. This revival began in the freshness of divine power, and it ends through the fault of the very man God had used to begin it. But in a personal way Hezekiah's heart and conscience had gained through these experiences. His testimony could not stand and slipped into ruin, yet through discipline his soul recovered its fellowship with the Lord.
Another reads it as a view that stops too short:
Did he have no real concern for the days of his successors in Judah?… We wonder therefore if Hezekiah was not impressed enough by the seriousness of his failure.
- Cause — Hezekiah's failure was not gross wickedness. He gave way when the world admired him. Babylon's notice proved too much for him.
- Sentence — What he showed off, the world would carry off. The treasures paraded before Babylon's envoys were the very things marked for Babylon.
- Reach — The word touched his sons. This belongs to God's public government of the world, where children feel the effects of a father's conduct. It is not the question of eternal judgment, where each answers for himself.
- Fulfilment — Daniel and his companions stood in Babylon's palace under the master of the eunuchs, just as the word said.
- Mercy — From those same descendants God raised up His witnesses in Babylon. Judgment ran its course; grace worked inside it.