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.