Ambassadors From Babylon
225
How disastrous the results which were to follow! To Isaiah it was
revealed that the returning ambassadors were carrying with them a
report of the riches they had seen, and that the king of Babylon and his
counselors would plan to enrich their own country with the treasures
of Jerusalem. Hezekiah had grievously sinned; “therefore there was
wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.”
Verse 25
.
“Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and said unto
him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?
And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even
from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And
Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is
nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
“Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:
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Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy
fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon:
nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue
from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall
be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
“Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which
thou hast spoken.”
Isaiah 39:3-8
.
Filled with remorse, “Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of
his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of
the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.”
2 Chronicles
32:26
. But the evil seed had been sown and in time was to spring up
and yield a harvest of desolation and woe. During his remaining years
the king of Judah was to have much prosperity because of his steadfast
purpose to redeem the past and to bring honor to the name of the God
whom he served; yet his faith was to be severely tried, and he was to
learn that only by putting his trust fully in Jehovah could he hope to
triumph over the powers of darkness that were plotting his ruin and
the utter destruction of his people.
The story of Hezekiah’s failure to prove true to his trust at the
time of the visit of the ambassadors is fraught with an important
lesson for all. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious
chapters in our experience, of the mercy and loving-kindness of God,
of the matchless depths of the Saviour’s love. When mind and heart
are filled with the love of God, it will not be difficult to impart that
which enters into the spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations,
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