Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Isaiah Chapter 39 - Who Do You Let In?



At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. (Isaiah 39:1-2)

Whether we realize it or not, every relationship decision we make has the potential to make a huge impact on our future, as well as the future of others. 

King Hezekiah was no exception to this fact. When he received a delegation from the king of Babylon, Hezekiah apparently felt very honored. His kingdom was a pipsqueak compared to Assyria and Babylon, and getting a kind note and a state visit from Babylon must have been very assuring.

Perhaps Hezekiah was thinking that if he were friends with Babylon, they could help offset the Assyrian threat. Hezekiah may have been thinking “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” 

The first problem with that logic is that it isn’t true. The enemy of our enemy isn’t always our friend. The second problem with that logic was that God had already promised that He would be Judah’s covering and protection - if they would simply trust Him.

So Hezekiah, apparently flattered with all of the attention of the Babylonian delegation, made the decision to show all of the treasures in his kingdom to these men. He allowed them into the inner parts of his kingdom. Big mistake, as Hezekiah didn’t realize that this was actually a scouting mission, not a friendly state visit. 

Now while this chain of events is history from long ago, it has direct application in our lives today, namely - Who do we allow into our lives? Who do we show our treasure to? Before we allow a person in to our inner life, we should consider three things that Hezekiah overlooked:

Hezekiah didn’t consider the source:  The Babylonians were not peace-keepers, they had a history of expansionism. There was a very high possibility that the Babylonians would one day use the information they gathered against Judah.

Hezekiah didn’t consider the faith: The Babylonians didn’t worship the Jehovah, the God of Israel. There could be no spiritual unity with that kingdom. 

Hezekiah didn’t consider the motive: Why would the Babylonians make nice with Judah? It certainly wasn’t to learn about the one true God.

See, when we allow someone into our inner circle, when we develop a “fellowship” relationship, we’re allowing that person to affect us. If our friend is a Christian who is seeking to grow in their faith and become closer to God, then that relationship will be a “strengthening” relationship. Our fellowship will encourage us to grow in our faith - we'll encourage one another.

However, if that person isn’t a Christian who is seeking to grow in their faith, the relationship will end up stunting our spiritual growth. We might think we’re pulling them towards God, but odds are they’re pulling us away from God.

And the impact of that choice isn’t always immediate - sometimes it takes years for the impact to be felt, as was the case with the Babylonians:

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)

It would be one hundred years before the Babylonians came and looted Jerusalem, but come they did.  They destroyed the city, destroyed the temple, took all of the treasure, and carried away the people into exile. Just as Isaiah said.

And as for Hezekiah, his response is so sad. As long as his life wasn’t impacted, he was fine. But what about his great-great grandchildren? 

That’s why I believe we should always be mindful of not only the decisions we make, but of the people that we allow into our lives. Yes we want to see people come to Christ - but let’s help them come to Christ before we bring them into the innermost parts of our life.

Incidentally, God did bring something good out of the mess Hezekiah created - one of the young men that were taken to Babylon was named Daniel (Daniel 1:1-5), and the Lord used him to give us some of the most powerful and far-reaching prophecies in the bible. 

Pastor Clay

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