“And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.”
Isaiah 39:2 KJV
The Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan (whose name means “god of blood and slaughter, mars, war, murder which is Baal”) sent envoys carrying letters and expensive gifts for Hezekiah after he recovered from deathly illness. Delighted by the Babylonian king’s gesture, and to impress them, Hezekiah welcomed them, opened the doors of the king’s storehouses of treasures and showed them to the envoys. He let them see all of his gold, silver, spices and costly fragrant oils, his entire armoury. All of the king’s royal treasures, all that was in the king’s palace, and all the wealth of his whole kingdom was shown to them. Jewish literature says that Hezekiah showed them the Ark of the Covenant informing them that this was the reason for their victory. The great reformer king Hezekiah became arrogant and self-centred thinking only about himself. Let’s remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Who humbled Himself and thought only about each of us, and not fall into the enemy’s trap of pride and self-centredness, when God hears and answers us with miracles. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment