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2 Kings 20 (Part 2) Bible Study (Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (6/6) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I know we just pray. Can we pray again?
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  Can we just ask the Lord to help us now as we open the
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  Scriptures? Father, we do thank you that
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  You've allowed us to be here tonight.
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  We never take it for granted that we can freely explore and
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  examine and enjoy the Bible as a church.
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  This is a gift from you and we give you thanks for it.
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  And Lord, now as we come with our with our eyes, yes, more
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  importantly, the eyes of our hearts, we pray that you would
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  open us up to the truths found in this chapter and that it
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  would move us to the core of our being.
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  And that Christ would become more attractive to us.
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  Holiness would be pursued with greater zeal and dedication, and
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  that we would repel all sin and all rebellion in our hearts.
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  We want to be consumed with the truths that we know in this book
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  and that we will learn in this book.
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  We ask these things in the precious name of the Lord Jesus
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  Christ, Amen and Amen. Meet me in Second Kings chapter
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  20 as we complete this chapter tonight, by the grace of God,
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  and as you're turning there, I want to let you know that
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  Hezekiah's greatest failure did not occur when he was surrounded
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  by the Assyrians, nor did it take place when his body was
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  ravaged by a terminal disease. It would come after overcoming
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  all of that. In other words, neither siege
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  nor sickness would pose the greatest temptation for Hezekiah
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  to forsake the Lord. It would be when he experienced
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  and enjoyed success. That is a sobering lesson that
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  is presented to us in this section of Scripture.
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  And what's amazing is these verses will provide a profound
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  and accurate assessment of one of the many tendencies of the
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  children of God. Because, you see, we are more
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  likely to stay near the Lord when persecution arises and when
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  our bodies betray us. But we are often less inclined
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  to cling to the Master when our enemies are silent, when our
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  health is cooperating, and when prosperity is increasing.
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  And in case you haven't been with us for the past few weeks,
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  I want to let you know why you should be attentive from the
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  beginning of this study. The disappointing attitude that
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  you and I are about to examine will be coming from a man who
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  ranks among the very few that imitated the devotion of King
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  David, a very rare spiritual specimen.
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  King Hezekiah is crowned with the recognition of bringing
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  unique spiritual reform to the King of Judah, and he is one of
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  the very few leaders in our study of first and second kings
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  who demonstrates the rewards of a pious and prayerful life.
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  So I want to let you know from the beginning why this should
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  captivate us. Because if this happened, what
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  we're about to see, if this lapse of faith, if this adoption
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  of a mindset that is detrimental to 1's testimony and experience
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  of God can happen to a man like Hezekiah.
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  And surely it can happen to you and me.
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  And that is not meant for us to live in anxiety, because the
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  Lord in his great mercy has supplied us this very story,
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  which is brought up in two other places in the Bible, may I add,
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  in order to protect us from falling to the very same pitfall
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  that Hezekiah fell. And so I think the best way to
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  to approach the last verses of Second Kings 20s, to read, to
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  read in its entirety, to get a whole picture of it before we
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  dissect it verse by verse. So I hope you're with me here in
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  Second Kings 20, beginning at verse 12.
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  Give yourself over with great attention to the reading of the
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  word. Don't allow yourself to get
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  distracted. And we're going to trust that
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  even in the reading of these passages, we will be blessed.
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  At that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of
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  Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to
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  Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
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  And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure
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  house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his
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  Armory, all that was found in his storehouses.
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  There is nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah
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  did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to
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  King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say, and from
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  where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have
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  come from a far country, from Babylon.
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  He said, what have they seen in your house?
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  And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house.
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  There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show
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  them. Then Isaiah said the Hezekiah,
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  hear the word of the Lord, Behold, the days are coming when
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  all that is in your house, and not which your father's have
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  stored up till this day shall be carried to Babylon.
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  Nothing shall be left, says the Lord, And some of your own sons
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  who shall be born to you shall be taken away, and they shall be
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  eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
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  And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord that you've
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  spoken is good for rethought. Why not, if there will be peace
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  and security in my days, the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah
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  and all his might, and how he made the pool in the conduit and
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  brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of
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  the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
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  And Hezekiah slept with his father's, and Manasseh, his son,
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  reigned in his place. I want you to be prepared
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  because we're going to flip to a parallel passage in order to
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  make the most sense of what we just read.
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  And right from the beginning, I want to let you know that in
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  Isaiah 39, verse one, you don't have to turn there.
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  We're given more explanation why the Babylonians visited King
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  Hezekiah. We're told that they not only
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  came because they heard that he was sick, but that they heard
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  that he also recovered. So the Babylonians arriving on
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  the scene is not because they were checking up on King
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  Hezekiah, it's because they wanted to congratulate him.
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  That seems like a kind gesture. That seems like a noble cause.
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  But if you feel a little suspicious about their true
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  motives, you have the right to be.
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  What are the Babylonians doing here, this Gentile nation,
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  nation reaching out in this way? And the only concrete evidence
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  that the Scriptures give us is in Second Chronicles 32.
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  And again, you don't have to turn there.
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  I know we're going to turn to different passages in a moment
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  here in that chapter. We read the verse last week.
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  The Babylonians were curious in coming to Jerusalem because they
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  heard of what the sign that was performed in relation to
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  Hezekiah's miraculous healing. So the news of how God
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  autographed that healing miracle reached all the way to Babylon,
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  and they wanted to inquire of it.
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  And so they sent dignitaries and representatives to investigate.
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  That's all we can say with absolute confidence.
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  But is there any other potential clue that might indicate why
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  this is happening? And I think there is.
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  I think there is some political motivation here.
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  And the best way to understand is to look at the wider context.
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  You see, Babylon was not the superpower nation it will one
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  day be. That title still belongs to who,
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  the Assyrians, the Assyrians. And what you discover, and I'll
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  ask you to turn here now, is in Second Kings 17.
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  We've covered this in Second Kings 1724, confirming that
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  Babylon was inferior to the assyrians, giving us some kind
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  of insight, at least a potential reason why they approached the
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  Kingdom of Judah. Look at second king 17 verse 24
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  and the king of Assyria brought people from where Babylon good
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  Kuta Ava Hamath and Sephora volume and plate and place them
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  in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel.
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  They took possession of Samaria and lived in its city.
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  So Babylon was one of the neighboring nations that were
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  dominated by the Assyrians and that was still the case as we
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  come now to chapter 20, which may inform us that Babylon made
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  such efforts to potentially make an alliance with the Kingdom of
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  Judah, which makes sense doesn't it?
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  I mean, you just heard the news that this very small Kingdom in
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  comparison to the empire of Assyria, in one evening
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  destroyed 185,000 of their soldiers and close to that event
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  its king was divinely touched by God and recovered.
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  That is a very promising ally. And so it could be that Babylon
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  is drawn to Israel for for their own purposes, for for their own
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  advantage in the long run. And that's quite possible that
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  there's a prospective partnership that is about to
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  take place. But that's speculation, right?
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  Because we don't want to make too much of silence in
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  Scripture. But let me add this.
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  We do have a explanation for the spiritual dimension of what's
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  happening in verse 12 of our study, and the answer is in the
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  parallel passage. So now I'll ask you to go to
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  Second Chronicles 32, and I want you to see how the chronicler by
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  the Spirit gives us the divine perspective of what's happening
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  here. Second Chronicles 32 and verse
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  31. And so in the matter of the
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  envoys of the Princess of Babylon, who had been sent to
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  him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land,
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  God left him to himself in order to test him and to know all that
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  was in his heart. What a profound verse.
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  The key to understanding this passage is by answering the
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  single question, What does it mean that God left Hezekiah to
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  himself? I'll be honest, I was wrestling
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  with this verse for quite some time yesterday, back and forth
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  in my thinking and even in my praying.
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  What does it mean, Lord, that you left Hezekiah to himself?
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  And I believe the last sentence of verse 30 of Second Chronicles
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  32 gives us some kind of a clue. And Hezekiah prospered in all
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  his works. So think about it this way.
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  As the king reached the peak of his achievements, as he
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  accumulated impressive amounts of wealth and advancements in
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  the infrastructure and the economy of the Kingdom of Judah,
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  God intentionally became quiet, especially when the exciting
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  news arrived that the Babylonians came to honor King
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  Hezekiah. And I believe this manifested in
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  one way of a sense of God's presence being withdrawn from
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  Hezekiah. And with that, the accompaniment
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  of the silence of any prophetic interjection or instruction for
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  the matter at hand, God became quiet, stepped back.
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  And before we can even ask why the Lord would do this, we're
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  told in the very same verse that it was to see how Hezekiah would
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  relate to the Lord at the height of his success and at this
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  pivotal moment that is set before him.
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  How will you relate to me now, Hezekiah?
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  You cried out to Me when you were afraid.
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  You sought Me when you were sick.
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  Now what will you do? As you are soaring with success
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  and doors are opening before you and your name is becoming more
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  known, will you remain rooted in me?
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  Will you still abide in My word? Will you still seek Me for
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  wisdom in your winds just as much as in your losses?
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  Will you protect your identity and satisfaction in me?
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  God left Hezekiah to himself to see what he would do at the peak
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  of his performance. And I believe a verse like this
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  is more relevant to us than we might imagine.
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  Because you see, though it has an immediate application, there
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  is a broader principle for the children of God.
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  If you get this, it will prepare you for those stretches of time
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  when God seems to become more quiet, when his guidance is not
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  so obvious, when His presence is not always felt.
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  What will you do when God leaves you to yourself?
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  Will you still cling to him? Will you still commune with Him
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  even though you're in the dark? Even though the the the light is
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  not provided for the path ahead, even though sensations are not
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  necessarily there? What will you do?
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  Will you stay close or will you be content to live disconnected
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  from it? This verse just to testify came
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  to me during the first year of my walk with the Lord, and I
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  praise God that it did because it was a constant reminder to me
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  that when God seems silent, it could be a test.
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  Where are you going to go? I can't tell you the amount of
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  believers who in their frustration, perhaps because of
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  a lack of an answer, delayed intervention, maybe frustration
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  with their feelings, easily drop out of the scene altogether,
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  drift into this sin, walk away from their commitment to serving
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  the Lord. I want you to never forget this
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  when those moments arise, when Monday morning comes and it
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  seems like the heavens above, you are like brass, what will
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  you do? This conviction?
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  Sit in the driver's seat of your devotion or this experience.
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  Are you in this? As long as God gives you what
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  you want, when you want it, how you want it, are you willing to
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  serve Him no matter what? We're all familiar with the
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  golden calf story. I'm not sure how many of us are
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  familiar from the human standpoint where it all began.
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  Let me say it this way. Lack of immediate intervention.
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  Delayed divine interjection. Answers are God's tools to
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  expose what's really in our hearts.
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  Turn to Exodus 32 with me and look at verse one.
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  This is the chapter that describes the heinous crime of
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  the golden calf being created. But remember the context.
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  What sprung these people to make such an evil and despicable
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  thing? Exodus 32 verse one, when the
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  people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain,
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  that people gather themselves together the Aaron and set them
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  up. Make us gods who shall go before
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  us. As for this Moses, the man who
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  brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has
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  become of him. Remember that Moses was God's
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  mouthpiece. He was set apart by God to be
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  the compass for the nation. And for this designated period
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  of time he was on the mountaintop receiving fresh
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  instruction for the next steps for the nation of Israel.
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  But it took too long. Apparently things got quiet.
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  And so when they realized that there was a delay, you know what
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  happened? Something emerged in their
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  hearts that was there all along. So when Israel felt stuck, when
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  Israel felt like they were in the dark, when they were removed
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  from an obvious and experiential sense of God's presence and
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  power and provision, things began to stir up from within.
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  And so, as much as they left Egypt, Egypt was still in
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  Israel. Understood.
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  When God leaves us to ourselves for a time, that's strategic,
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  that's not accidental. Yes, sometimes because of
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  unrepentant sin, we forfeit some of the blessings of God.
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  I'm talking about when you are walking with the Lord and He
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  turns off the lights. Hezekiah up to this point was
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  faithful. He was prayerful, He was
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  obedient, but things began to escalate very quickly in terms
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  of his ambitions and his desires and his accomplishments, and the
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  Lord stepped back to see, OK, what are you going to do now?
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  Did you notice in our reading of our study, there is no mention
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  of prayer? How many times have we seen
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  Hezekiah praying? It almost became redundant to us
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  because it was something that he held on to so strongly.
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  But as he began to prosper, as he began to grow, as he became
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  more renowned, things begin to slip away.
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  The Lord could have stepped in and whispered at Hezekiah's ear.
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  Hey, be careful. These Babylonians, don't be
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  tempted to make an alliance. Hey, be careful.
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  They might be coming here to spy on your resources.
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  He doesn't. He steps back to see.
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  Are you going to come to me? What are you going to do now?
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  And this is something for you and I to consider in those
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  moments where we may not be able to sense God the way we once
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  enjoyed in a way that was once familiar to us.
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  Never forget this verse. Could it be that the Lord is
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  testing you? Where are you going to go?
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  What are you going to do? Well, let's see what happens
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  back in our main text in Second Kings 20 verse 13.
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  When the Babylonians arrived, Hezekiah, let's read it again,
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  welcome them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the
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  silver, the gold, the spices, the pressure of his army, all
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  that was found in his storehouses.
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  There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that
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  Hezekiah did not show them. Now, you would think that this
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  is just Hezekiah being a courteous host.
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  This is him just giving the Babylonians a, you know, a tour
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  of the Kingdom. Did you notice how many times
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  the word His appears in verse 13 alone?
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  His, His His His and Second Chronicles confirms the true
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  reason behind his actions. Here.
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  Second Chronicles 32. Listen to verse 24 and 25.
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  In those days Hezekiah became sick, was at the point of death,
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  and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered them, and he gave
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  him a sign. But Hezekiah did not make return
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  according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud.
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  Therefore wrath came upon him in Judah and Jerusalem.
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  So the motive for this comprehensive tour, this
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  parading around his palace and all his possessions was because
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  Hezekiah wanted to show off. He's proud.
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  He was proud of his achievements.
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  And this is really the tragedy of his pride because he took for
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  himself the glory that belonged to the Lord alone.
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  And because of his arrogance, he squandered a wonderful
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  opportunity to do what? To testify of the true and
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  living God before these Babylonians there's no pointing
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  to the glory of God. That's not indicated here.
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  Hezekiah saw this as a way of growing in his fame, growing in
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  his leadership acknowledgement. He just, he's just taking
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  advantage of this for his own glory.
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  And instead of boldly testifying to these Pagan guests about the
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  power and mercy of the true and living God, instead of reminding
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  him that the Lord was a source of every blessing that he and
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  his Kingdom enjoyed, he made it about himself.
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  His, his, his. His pride is robbery.
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  And in the same verse, we learn how even the godliest of men and
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  women can be puffed up. You're there in Second
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  Chronicles, right? 32 Look at verse 25 again.
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  But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to
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  him. What benefit?
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  God rescued him from the Assyrians and God healed him of
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  his sickness. So how do we summarize the
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  breeding ground for pride in Hezekiah's heart?
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  He became forgetful and unthankful.
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  That's what happened. He become forgetful and he
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  became ungrateful according to the benefit done to him.
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  And here's what you have to understand, and I'm here to
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  understand it with you, that a failure to consistently
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  acknowledge God as the source of every blessing, every ability,
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  everything that you own, will encourage the cultivation of
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  entitlement and a belief of 1's own greatness.
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  Heartfelt gratitude weakens self exaltation, and if you and I
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  allow our Thanksgiving to simply be depended upon spontaneity and
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  a combustion of emotion because of something that you
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  experienced in a moment, you will not know the full benefit
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  of being thankful. It's commanded.
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  It's everywhere. I think of that cluster of
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  verses in First Thessalonians chapter 5, beginning at verse
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  16. Rejoice, always pray without
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  ceasing. Give thanks in what some
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  circumstances, all circumstances, for this is the
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  will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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  Give thanks in all. I mean, you got to put into
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  drive. Thanksgiving isn't going to
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  drive on its own. You have to put the key in the
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  ignition, turn it on and put the pedal to the metal and and watch
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  how things begin to fall off. And watch how your heart is soft
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  and it remains soft. And how joy bubbles up, and how
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  God is kept in His rightful place and you are kept in your
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  rightful place as a recipient of every single joy and goodness
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  that He bestows upon you. Hezekiah lost touch with his
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  past, lost touch with the testimonies of God's
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  intervention in his life. And it began to excite in him
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  this self importance and the crediting of the things that he
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  saw and witnessed and developed to his own strength and his own
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  mind. And any doubt about his self
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  centeredness are clarified as we come back to our main text and
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  look at the remaining verses of our study.
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  Then Isaiah the prophet in verse 14 came to king Hezekiah and
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  said to him, what did these men say and from where did they come
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  to you? And Hezekiah said they have come
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  from a far country, from Babylon.
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  He said, what have they seen in your house?
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  And Hezekiah answered, they have seen all that is in my house.
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  There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show
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  them. Isaiah the prophet who is by
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  Hezekiah side and the good and the bad approaches him.
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  Now he shows up on the scene and he asks 3 questions.
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  The first one is pretty clear is it not?
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  He says here what do these men say?
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  The second one is where do they come from?
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  And lastly what did you show them?
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  Here's what interested me. Out of the three, Hezekiah
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  answers the last two, he doesn't acknowledge the first one.
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  Did you see that in his answer? Look again at verse 14.
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  What did these men say and from where they come to you?
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  And Hezekiah said they have come from a far country, from
• 26:51
  Babylon. Again, we can't be dogmatic
• 26:56
  about this, but let me give you my explanation.
• 26:59
  I think Hezekiah, as he entertained these Babylonian
• 27:03
  guests, eventually got into a conversation about a potential
• 27:06
  alliance. And when Isaiah came to confront
• 27:10
  him about these visitors, he knew that he would not like
• 27:13
  knowing about a potential partnership with these pagans.
• 27:18
  And so he leaves it out of his answer, but he is eager to
• 27:23
  answer the last two. It makes you wonder if it's
• 27:26
  because he was energized by the accolades and the recognition
• 27:31
  and it just fed his pride. So what does he say?
• 27:34
  Well, where do these men come from?
• 27:35
  Well, they came from a far country, from Babylon.
• 27:37
  They weren't just like next door neighbors.
• 27:40
  They came from Babylon, Isaiah. They came all the way from there
• 27:44
  to pay homage to us, to me. And what we learned from this is
• 27:51
  that pride grows when net recognition is poorly managed.
• 27:59
  You may not be able to help how men praise you, but it is your
• 28:03
  responsibility what you do with that praise.
• 28:08
  And make it a habit. No matter what anybody says to
• 28:11
  you, if it's a parent, a pastor, a friend, somebody you're
• 28:16
  witnessing to, to lay every crown that you receive as
• 28:20
  quickly as possible at the feet of Jesus Christ.
• 28:26
  Pride grows when recognition, validation is poorly managed.
• 28:31
  Additionally, pride can be inflated by one's possessions.
• 28:35
  Notice the answer to the third question.
• 28:37
  They have seen all that is in my house.
• 28:40
  There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show
• 28:45
  them. And unbeknownst to Hezekiah,
• 28:49
  he's about to learn the foolishness of his actions and
• 28:52
  just how much the Lord despises A haughty spirit.
• 28:56
  You got to think about it from a military standpoint, from a
• 28:58
  political standpoint. There are so many examples in
• 29:01
  the Scriptures that when a foreign nation with its
• 29:04
  representatives show up to your front door, you have every right
• 29:07
  to be suspicious. There's so many examples that we
• 29:11
  can point to. And so for Hezekiah to just
• 29:14
  swing open the door and allow these people to come in and see
• 29:16
  everything was pretty foolish. And here's one reason why you
• 29:24
  don't have to turn there. But in Obadiah verse 3, we
• 29:28
  learned there that he tells his readers, the pride of your heart
• 29:34
  has deceived you. You know, sometimes you look at
• 29:38
  people and you see the decisions that they make, especially
• 29:40
  leaders. And you wonder, did you not
• 29:43
  think about the potential consequences of that action or
• 29:46
  that decision or that sin, not taking into account that perhaps
• 29:52
  there was a sin harbored before that sin that manifested
• 29:55
  publicly pride. It blinds you and me.
• 30:02
  It doesn't let you see the full picture.
• 30:04
  It doesn't let you come to an answer with the equation of your
• 30:07
  choices. Scripture says that there is
• 30:11
  wisdom with who? The humble.
• 30:14
  And so you see here that this manages as a king, as a ruler.
• 30:18
  What are you thinking, just revealing every ounce of your
• 30:22
  inventory to this nation where you don't know why they're
• 30:25
  really there? You, they don't serve the living
• 30:28
  God. You don't know what they're
• 30:29
  planning. Pride blinds you.
• 30:33
  It confuses you. And when it's not repented of
• 30:37
  quickly, it leads to 1's own destruction.
• 30:43
  And Isaiah the prophet is here to tell Hezekiah just that.
• 30:48
  Let's come back to our main text.
• 30:50
  Look at verse 16 with me. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah,
• 30:56
  Hear the word of the Lord, Behold, the days are coming when
• 31:01
  all that is in your house and that which is in your father's
• 31:05
  have stored up till this day shall be carried to Babylon.
• 31:08
  Nothing shall be left, says the Lord.
• 31:10
  And some of your own sons who shall be born to you shall be
• 31:12
  taken away, and they shall become eunuchs in the palace of
• 31:15
  the king of Babylon. Now, before we look into this
• 31:17
  prophecy, can we just admire how remarkable this prediction is?
• 31:25
  Again, be reminded that at this time, Babylon was just one of
• 31:28
  the several small kingdoms surrounding the empire of
• 31:32
  Assyria, all under its control and domination.
• 31:37
  And yet you have this man making this kind of a prediction.
• 31:41
  Like from a human perspective, no one could have foreseen such
• 31:44
  a dramatic shift in geopolitical power.
• 31:48
  You tell me, Babylon, we read it back in 2nd 17.
• 31:51
  Babylon that was violated and invaded.
• 31:55
  Babylon is going to have the upper hand and begin to take
• 31:57
  over nations, including Judah. All to say that what you and I
• 32:02
  have before us, even in this text, is a wonderful testament
• 32:05
  to the divine authorship of the Bible.
• 32:09
  And I want to encourage, I really mean this when I say
• 32:11
  this. Be familiar with the prophecies
• 32:16
  of the Bible. Be familiar with them and not
• 32:21
  just the ones about the Messiah, as paramount as those are.
• 32:24
  Be familiar with the historical ones, the ones that happened in
• 32:27
  the Old Testament. Do you know why?
• 32:30
  Because if anybody asks you why you believe that this is this
• 32:34
  book is God's word instead of any other religious texts, one
• 32:37
  of your go to answers should be the fulfilled prophecies of this
• 32:42
  book. In fact, the Lord himself
• 32:47
  highlights that power of his, that omniscience of his as one
• 32:53
  of the determining factors that he is the one true God and that
• 32:57
  he is set apart from all other so-called deities.
• 33:03
  So I really admonish you, I encourage you be familiar with
• 33:07
  the predictions of this book and the fulfillments of it.
• 33:12
  OK, maybe you're not convinced. So in Isaiah 46, nine, and 10,
• 33:17
  this is something that I myself have been memorizing lately.
• 33:20
  Remember the former things of old.
• 33:23
  For I am God, and there is no other.
• 33:25
  I am God, and there is none like me declaring the end from the
• 33:29
  beginning, from ancient times, things not yet done, saying My
• 33:35
  counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose.
• 33:41
  What is God saying there? Let me prove to you that there
• 33:44
  was no one like me. I declare the end from the
• 33:46
  beginning. I declare from ancient times
• 33:50
  things not yet done. Do you know those things?
• 33:51
  We should. Here's one of them, that 100
• 33:54
  years before Babylon took over the known world, Isaiah said it
• 33:58
  would happen. And that's what I've been
• 34:03
  answering with people lately. Why do you believe the Bible is
• 34:06
  God's word? Because God in this word
• 34:08
  predicts the future and he's never failed once.
• 34:13
  How do you explain that this is the only history book that
• 34:17
  predicts the future? Does your book do that?
• 34:21
  Well, no, has no has good lessons in there and maybe
• 34:24
  stretch some kind of prediction that anybody can fulfill.
• 34:29
  Not this God. He talks about nations.
• 34:33
  He talks about names of rulers of those nations.
• 34:35
  He talks about so many things and that should at least peak
• 34:41
  your curiosity to read the Bible.
• 34:46
  Forgive me, I got carried away. Let's look at the content of
• 34:53
  this prophecy. Everything that you show to
• 34:57
  these Babylonians that will be confiscated by the Babylonians,
• 35:01
  and moreover, your own sons who shall be born to you shall be
• 35:03
  taken away, and they should become eunuchs in the palace of
• 35:06
  the king of Babylon. Question I'm actually asking if
• 35:09
  you know the answer, where in the Bible do we have the
• 35:11
  clearest answer of this prophecy being fulfilled?
• 35:16
  Very good. That didn't take very long, did
• 35:18
  it? Daniel 1123.
• 35:21
  Why don't we just turn there to look at it?
• 35:23
  We're in no rush, right? Some of you drove quite a bit to
• 35:27
  get here. So somebody from Seattle is
• 35:29
  here. So why are we going to rush,
• 35:30
  right? Let's look at Daniel 1123 just
• 35:33
  to see it. Just to see with our own eyes.
• 35:46
  It's right after the book of Ezekiel.
• 35:48
  Here it is in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of
• 35:52
  Judah. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
• 35:54
  came to Jerusalem and besieged it there.
• 35:58
  It is just over 100 years after Isaiah said to Hezekiah that it
• 36:02
  would happen. Put that as a reference if you
• 36:04
  write in your Bible. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim,
• 36:08
  king of Judah, into his hand with some of the vessels of the
• 36:10
  House of God. There it is.
• 36:14
  You have a descendant of Hezekiah, and you have the
• 36:16
  possessions of the Kingdom. What what's happening?
• 36:19
  And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the House of his
• 36:23
  God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God.
• 36:26
  Then the king commanded Aspen as his chief eunuch to bring some
• 36:29
  of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and the
• 36:34
  nobility. And who was among those of the
• 36:38
  royal family nobility? Daniel.
• 36:41
  Here's what blessed me. As much as this was a prediction
• 36:44
  of judgement, God had a redemptive threat in it.
• 36:49
  He took what most believes to be a 15 year old with his friends
• 36:52
  and allow them to be brought into a foreign land.
• 36:55
  And it was through Daniel's ministry that we have one of the
• 36:57
  clearest apocalyptic prophecies about the end times, among many
• 37:03
  other things that he accomplished.
• 37:06
  Let's come back to our main text, shall we?
• 37:12
  If you if you're not shocked by Hezekiah's attitude yet, I think
• 37:19
  verse 19 will do it. Look at his response to this
• 37:22
  pronouncement of judgement. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
• 37:28
  the word of the Lord that you've spoken is good.
• 37:31
  For he thought, why not if there will be peace and security in my
• 37:37
  days, Huh. Now this has disturbed students
• 37:44
  of the Bible and trying to make sense of this.
• 37:46
  This seems so out of character for this great man of God.
• 37:51
  And there's going to be another cross reference here that may
• 37:53
  make this even more challenging. But let's just take it at face
• 37:56
  value. What do you get from this?
• 37:58
  That there was this sigh of relief that though judgement was
• 38:01
  declared, it would not happen in Hezekiah's lifetime.
• 38:06
  This doesn't happen to me and my family, at least my immediate
• 38:08
  family. The word of the Lord is good and
• 38:15
  debate all you want, but it becomes very difficult to
• 38:18
  justify this response, especially when you compare it
• 38:22
  to another king who received his own pronouncement of judgement
• 38:26
  because of his own pride as a king.
• 38:29
  Do you know who I'm speaking about, David?
• 38:33
  Yes. The answers are coming quick
• 38:34
  tonight. Remember what David did at the
• 38:37
  end of his reign, At least near the end of his reign, he created
• 38:40
  what a census. And the crime was not just a
• 38:46
  census. It's the motive of that census
• 38:52
  and what the people did with that census.
• 38:54
  We studied this at great length when we looked through Second
• 38:56
  Samuel, but let's refresh our memories and recall the words of
• 39:01
  King David when he was told that judgement would come upon
• 39:06
  Jerusalem in Second Samuel 2417. You can turn there if you like,
• 39:12
  but I'm going to read it and I want you to compare it just by
• 39:14
  hearing it with what we read with Hezekiah.
• 39:17
  Listen to what David does in Second Samuel 24 verse 17.
• 39:20
  Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the Angel who was
• 39:23
  striking the people, and said, Behold, I have sinned and I have
• 39:29
  done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they
• 39:33
  done? Please let your hand be against
• 39:36
  me and against my father's house.
• 39:42
  Take this now and place it beside what we read in Second
• 39:46
  Kings 20. The word of the Lord is good.
• 39:51
  Why not? There'll be peace and security
• 39:54
  in my days. David was a true shepherd.
• 40:01
  He really loved his people. Not that Hezekiah didn't, but
• 40:06
  this is where he falls short as he seeks to emulate King David.
• 40:12
  A true leader cares about those that he's leading, and if it
• 40:18
  means that they suffer so they don't, he will suffer.
• 40:23
  If it means that they will prosper and grow at the expense
• 40:27
  of whatever they have to give up, they will do that.
• 40:31
  That's a Holy Spirit thing and David is a wonderful model of
• 40:36
  that because we see, yes, and Hezekiah and then David a
• 40:40
  comparison. But we're also reminded in this
• 40:42
  overall that leaders especially, and I'm not just talking about
• 40:45
  leaders in ministry. Some of you here are fathers.
• 40:48
  Some of you are aspiring fathers and mothers.
• 40:54
  Your leadership with those that God has given to you matters.
• 41:00
  Your attitude matters. In fact, we didn't touch on
• 41:05
  something. I'm not sure if you noticed it,
• 41:08
  but again, there's no rush, right?
• 41:11
  When Hezekiah was indicted for his pride, did you notice that
• 41:14
  he was not the only one that became proud?
• 41:18
  OK, I know we're going to flip back and forth here, but go back
• 41:20
  to Second Chronicles. We looked at this verse earlier,
• 41:23
  but look at it again. The Second Chronicles 32, verse
• 41:27
  25. But Hezekiah did not make return
• 41:36
  according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud.
• 41:39
  Therefore wrath came upon him. And who else?
• 41:43
  And Judah And Jerusalem. Why?
• 41:49
  Here's the best explanation. Hezekiah's pride was contagious.
• 41:56
  His attitude rubbed off on those that were under his leadership.
• 42:03
  And so this is for all of us. Anybody that looks up to you,
• 42:06
  anybody that's under your care, how you lead is important.
• 42:14
  And your investment is not always direct.
• 42:16
  It's indirect. How you and I talk, how you and
• 42:20
  I carry ourselves, how you and I view the ministry, how you and I
• 42:24
  cherish the word, all these things have impact beyond our
• 42:28
  own lives. So Hezekiah's pride became the
• 42:34
  people's pride. When he was self absorbed and he
• 42:38
  was receiving this praise, the people began to lose their focus
• 42:43
  on who God was and what he's done.
• 42:45
  And now they're placing it on themselves, including Hezekiah.
• 42:49
  So parents, let me give you an example.
• 42:51
  The way you approach the local church, how you speak about the
• 42:57
  church, how you express your sentiments about the church,
• 43:02
  your your attitude towards the church, that's not just going to
• 43:05
  stay with you. It will in some way affect your
• 43:08
  children if you moan and groan when it comes to Sunday service
• 43:13
  because you have to go. Guess who's going to moan and
• 43:15
  groan eventually? But if you're excited and you're
• 43:21
  passionate, then you express what a privilege it is to serve
• 43:25
  God in any capacity. You're going to give your
• 43:28
  children a better chance to imitate that.
• 43:32
  So Hezekiah becomes proud and the people become proud.
• 43:34
  I know that's not always the case, but it is a it is a rule.
• 43:38
  It's a general observation. So he says here back at our main
• 43:44
  text, why not? If there will be peace and
• 43:47
  security In my days, self centeredness and pride go hand
• 43:52
  in hand. Self preservation.
• 43:58
  This man for this moment did not care what would happen beyond
• 44:03
  his life. Here's where it gets really
• 44:06
  interesting. Go to Second Chronicles 32 again
• 44:11
  and look at one verse with me in verse 26.
• 44:19
  But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he
• 44:24
  and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of
• 44:26
  the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
• 44:31
  So this has LED some to believe that what you read back in
• 44:34
  Second Kings 20 verse 19 wasn't Hezekiah being selfish, it was
• 44:39
  him just expressing his gratitude.
• 44:41
  That judgment was an immediate. I'm not persuaded, nor do I
• 44:47
  think that this is contradictory.
• 44:49
  Instead, this is simply an accurate description of the
• 44:53
  complexity of the human heart. Here's how to make sense of
• 44:57
  this. That his initial reaction is
• 45:00
  what you read in Second Kings 20 verse 19, and shortly after that
• 45:05
  he truly humbles himself. I'm so glad that this verse is
• 45:13
  included in our Bibles because if you were left with just
• 45:16
  Second Kings 20, you would have to conclude that Hezekiah ended
• 45:20
  bad. But because of this little
• 45:23
  phrase, this little statement, we know that he was able and
• 45:29
  eventually humbled himself. As powerful as pride can be, as
• 45:38
  hopeless as proud people can seem, have you ever met somebody
• 45:41
  who was proud and arrogant? Look at them.
• 45:43
  You think you're, you're like, you're sealed, dude.
• 45:45
  There's I can't imagine you any other way.
• 45:48
  I've only known you wearing that perfume of pride and it stinks.
• 45:56
  But what does Hezekiah show us? That it's possible for the proud
• 46:00
  and heart to be humble. God can uproot that.
• 46:06
  So here's here's the encouraging note in this Bible study.
• 46:09
  If you know yourself, if this Bible study has done some kind
• 46:14
  of work in you to help you recognize that you crave the
• 46:17
  validation of man, that you do take pride in your achievements
• 46:23
  and your possessions even, or that maybe you're you're just
• 46:27
  self-centered. The world revolves around me and
• 46:34
  if I get to escape, even though others around me even that I
• 46:37
  care about them are are going to so be it.
• 46:39
  As long as I'm good. If it's going to cost them, it
• 46:43
  doesn't cost me. That's fine as long as there's
• 46:46
  peace and security in my life. If you're so upset, do you see
• 46:50
  it? God can change your heart.
• 46:53
  He can change my heart. He can do a miracle in your
• 46:57
  bosom. He can radically shift your
• 47:00
  outlook, your inlook. He can do it.
• 47:01
  He did it in Hezekiah. And here's what's so important
• 47:08
  to consider. Look back at the last two verses
• 47:12
  of Second Kings 20. The rest of these of Hezekiah
• 47:14
  and all his mind, how he made it, the pool and the conduit and
• 47:17
  brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of
• 47:20
  the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
• 47:22
  I mean, Hezekiah's work in Jerusalem, the things that he
• 47:27
  did for the city can still be seen today.
• 47:30
  You can look this up if you haven't seen it for yourself in
• 47:32
  person in Israel. Hezekiah's tunnel, incredible by
• 47:36
  the grace of God had the opportunity to actually walk
• 47:38
  through Hezekiah's tunnel before COVID happened.
• 47:40
  It was just fascinating to walk through this and think to
• 47:43
  myself, Hezekiah's men made this tunnel possible in order to
• 47:48
  bring water into the city when they were under siege.
• 47:51
  This is fascinating. That's wonderful, but you know
• 47:53
  what the Scripture says in Proverbs 16, verse 32.
• 47:58
  Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he
• 48:02
  who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
• 48:08
  What's more impressive in Hezekiah doing all these things
• 48:12
  and arriving at all these feats and revolutionizing how
• 48:16
  Jerusalem would thrive and survive economically and a
• 48:20
  national security is a fact that he was able to overcome pride.
• 48:28
  And that's what the Bible prizes more than anything else.
• 48:33
  Now what we do in the world, now what we do at the workplace, now
• 48:35
  what we do with our bank account, what you do with your
• 48:38
  character, what you're able to achieve in the inner man by the
• 48:44
  power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God's Word.
• 48:50
  And that's something for you and I to consider as we close
• 48:52
  Hezekiah's story. Is there anything in our own
• 48:57
  hearts that we know needs to change?
• 49:03
  Can I tell you how it's going to happen?
• 49:05
  We have the ingredients here with Hezekiah.
• 49:08
  Two things, at least two things. One, hear the word of the Lord.
• 49:14
  That's where it all started for Hezekiah, right?
• 49:18
  And two, somebody who loved him enough to speak the word of the
• 49:22
  Lord to him. There's going to be any victory
• 49:26
  in our hearts. It's for us to stand in the
• 49:29
  presence of God's Word and sometimes be willing to be the
• 49:34
  recipient of the rebuke of a God fearing man or woman.
• 49:40
  God's voice and community will help us stay humble.
• 49:48
  That's why it's so important that you go to a Bible teaching
• 49:50
  church. Has the Lord's Word touched your
• 49:54
  heart today? I hope it did.
• 49:57
  Can I tell you how it touched mine when I studied it this
• 49:59
  week? Hezekiah was so close to
• 50:04
  finishing badly and didn't come when he was youthful and when he
• 50:12
  started out as a king at the age of 25.
• 50:16
  It came when the Lord added 15 years to his life and he knew
• 50:21
  that his days were numbered. Imagine that.
• 50:24
  He knew that his days were numbered.
• 50:26
  He knew the exact year he was going to die, and he still
• 50:29
  became proud. If I knew when I was going to
• 50:34
  die, I mean, every day is going to count.
• 50:38
  I'm going to make sure that I'm as close to Christ as possible
• 50:41
  every day. And even with that kind of an
• 50:44
  insight, he let his heart become proud.
• 50:50
  And I found myself praying. Lord, if there's an overarching
• 50:55
  lesson in the study of kings, yes #1 there's no king like
• 50:59
  Jesus, but #2 I want to finish well.
• 51:04
  Help me, help me finish well. They're, they're all these vices
• 51:09
  and temptations waiting to destroy my testimony.
• 51:15
  David had Bathsheba, David had the senses.
• 51:17
  Hezekiah in this moment, pride of his achievements.
• 51:21
  Uzziah wanting to be a priest, not satisfied and content with
• 51:25
  his own calling. All these different things that
• 51:27
  we've been studying, I hope and I pray that you're taking it to
• 51:30
  heart. These have been given to us for
• 51:33
  our instruction and our example, that we may not desire evil as
• 51:37
  they did, Paul tells us in first Corinthians 10.
• 51:41
  I think that's enough for Bible study tonight.
• 51:43
  Let's bow our hearts before the King of Kings and ask Him, Lord,
• 51:49
  even if you choose to leave us to ourselves, help us stay close
• 51:56
  to you. Help us trust you, help us seek
• 52:00
  you. Help us remain in your presence
• 52:04
  even when all is well. That is our heart.
• 52:10
  Cry tonight, Lord, we we see what we are capable of and in a
• 52:15
  holy way. It inspires A godly fear and it
• 52:21
  drives us to your feet. And we ask that you would remove
• 52:25
  anything that is beginning in our hearts.
• 52:28
  Even if it's beginning, if it's at that larva state, we pray
• 52:31
  that you would deal with it, and Your great power might.
• 52:37
  With all that was said, we pray that You would help us recall
• 52:42
  these things. We need you, Lord.
• 52:48
  We can't do this without you. Help us now, even as we open our
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  hearts to You in your presence this evening in Jesus name,
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  Amen. The praise thing will come, but
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  listen, don't rush, don't rush. When God speaks to us, it is
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  appropriate to speak back to Him.
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  And so I want to encourage you, just commune with the Lord
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  before we sing any note, any lyric.
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  Ask the Lord to guard your heart, to keep your heart and He
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  will do it. He's faithful.