"At that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters, and ambassadors, and a present to Hezekiah; for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was rejoiced at their arrival: and he showed them his magazines, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and his whole arsenal, and all that was contained in his treasures: there was not any thing in his house, and in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them. And Isaiah the prophet came unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him: What say these men? and from whence came they unto you? And Hezekiah said: They are come to me from a distant country; from Babylon. And he said: What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah said: They have seen every thing in my house: there is nothing in my treasures, which I have not shown them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah: Hear the word of Jehovah God of Hosts. Behold, the day shall come, when all that is in your house, and that your fathers have treasured up unto this day, shall be carried away to Babylon: there shall not any thing be left, says Jehovah. And of your sons, which shall issue from you, which you shall beget, shall they take: and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah: Gracious is the word of Jehovah, which you have delivered! For, added he, there shall be peace, according to His faithful promise, in my days." (Isaiah 39:1-8,Lowth) "And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor; and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes (2 Chronicles 32:27-31) for flocks. Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him substance very much. This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart." (2 Chronicles 32:27-31)
Exhibitions of Self
This lesson is very short, and very simple, yet it is one of the most important in the whole Bible. Everybody stands in need of it.
The tendency to "show off" seems to be inherent in human nature, and it is most assiduously cultivated. The baby in its mother's arms must exhibit its infantile attainments to every visitor, besides a hundred times a day to its admiring friends, until the child as soon as it begins to think, very naturally concludes that whatever he does must be of exceptional merit and interest, simply because it is he that does it.
At home he must show off his accomplishments, in order that the parents may be complimented on having so wonderful a child. At school he must be put on exhibition for the benefit of the school and the teacher; and in Sabbath school he is used for the same purpose. No wonder that so many continue through life to exhibit themselves on their own account.
The good housewife gratifies her pride, and awakens the envy of her neighbors, by showing them all her stores of household goods; and the merchant and the farmer do the same.
It is true that one may very often show another some of his possessions, in order to help that other one,--to give him some ideas as to how to get something for himself, or simply to bring some freshness and change into the life of one whose range is very limited. That is all right; but everyone who reads this will know that very often there is in the exhibition of one's attainments or possession merely the gratification of pride, and the desire to receive compliments, to excite astonishment, and to be the subject of conversation.
See My Zeal for the Lord
It is this same spirit that leads religious societies and churches to publish many of the statistics that are continually being given to the world. So much of a business has this become that in many instances men are kept constantly employed to make note of every step of progress, or of supposed progress, so that no time may be lost on any occasion in impressing visitors with the amount of work done, the liberality of the donations, and the vast sums expended in buildings, etc. All this is done of course "for the good of the cause," in forgetfulness of the fact that since even "a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses," (Luke 12:15) much less does the cause of God consist in material wealth. It is not what a man has, but what he is, that God looks at; even so progress in the Lord's work is not indicated by numbers of professed converts, by large amounts of money contributed, or by huge piles of buildings in which church work is done, but in soul growth, which can be measured by the Lord alone. "[Its] praise is not of men, but of God." (Romans 2:29)
None of us are aware of how much emulation there is in our work for the Lord. We may not always say in so many words, with Jehu, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord," (2 Kings 10:16) but the feeling is present, nevertheless. Where there are hundreds who are willing to engage in even the most disagreeable work, provided it comes before the eyes of the public, there are very few who are willing to work for the Lord unknown, except by Him, and with none to recognize and applaud. In fact, we must all plead guilty to more or less selfishness in our work for the Master, who is unselfishness itself.
The Babylonish Spirit
Now all this is evidence that God's people have not yet got free from Babylon. It was at least a striking coincidence that it was to the ambassadors from Babylon that Hezekiah made this exhibition of his wealth and grandeur; for that was the very spirit of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had received from the Lord "a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory." (Daniel 2:37)
It was He who made Babylon "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency." (Isaiah 13:19)
But he did not in humility of heart give God the glory, but as he walked in his palace he said, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30)
This is the spirit of Babylon, derived from Lucifer, the real king of Babylon, who thought only of exalting himself, and gave not God the glory. (Daniel 4:30) Since the possessor of the treasures that were shown to the messengers from Babylon had the Babylonish spirit, it was very fitting that they should be taken to Babylon. They belonged in Babylon as much as in Jerusalem. They were in reality Babylonish possessions, although gathered by the kings of Israel. But Hezekiah did not know this at the time.
A Lost Opportunity
What a wonderful opportunity Hezekiah had to teach those Babylonian ambassadors the truth of God. They had heard that he had been sick, and had recovered, and they knew of the great wonder in the heavens, the sign of God's healing power, and they came to enquire about it, and at the same time congratulate Hezekiah. What better preparation of the way could anyone ask than that to make known the saving power of God? It was for that very purpose that God had put it into their hearts to come.
But instead of improving the time by telling them of the God that made the heavens and the earth, and making Him known as the sole Healer of the souls and bodies of men, Hezekiah magnified himself in their eyes, by showing them his own treasures. What a mistake he made! But we must not condemn Hezekiah; our part is simply to note the facts, that we may see ourselves in his picture.
Do not get the idea that there was conscious self-exaltation in Hezekiah's act. The treasures were not his own personal property, but belonged to the kingdom. He had not gathered them all himself, but they had been accumulated through many prosperous reigns. It was not his personal wealth that he was showing to the ambassadors from Babylon, but he was impressing them with the greatness of the Jewish kingdom, to the throne of which he had been called. In this exhibition of the royal treasures, Hezekiah was trying to advance the cause of God among the heathen; for "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion." (Psalm 114:1-2)
We may be sure that Hezekiah thought he was impressing those heathen ambassadors with a sense of the greatness of God's cause and people, and preparing the way for the Babylonian people to be favorably impressed with the truth. He did not know that he was preparing the way for the captivity of Israel.
Robbing God of the Glory
Hezekiah's course has been repeated thousands of times to this day. Christians who would not boast of their own possessions, take great pride in telling what "our church" has done, how much it has contributed, and how great facilities it has for carrying on the work of the Lord. They forget that the only impression that can possibly be made on the world is that the men who have been engaged in this work are shrewd business men; for the world is full of instances of poor boys who have amassed great property, without any thought of Christianity.
It is true that it is God who gives men the power to get wealth; (Deuteronomy 8:18; But you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is He that gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto your fathers, as it is this day) but the possession of property is not by any means an evidence that God is pleased with a person or a society, or that He has any special connection with them over other people. If it were, then it would show that God's favor is specially with the world, for more property is in the hands of the world than in the church.
Babylon had greater riches than Jerusalem had, so that while the ambassadors might be impressed with the progress of the Israelites, they really could only think that their gods were greater than the God of the Jews. But there were none of their gods that could heal diseases or forgive sins, and in telling of that, Hezekiah might have led the proud heathen to worship in spirit and in truth.
But why should God say that for this error on the part of Hezekiah, all the people and treasures of Israel should be taken to Babylon? Ah, there was nothing arbitrary in this; it was a necessity, and the natural consequence of the king's act. God had sent the ambassadors to Jerusalem to learn the truth, and since they did not get it, He had to send His people to Babylon to teach it to them there. This was the necessary consequence of Hezekiah's act.
That the cupidity of the ambassadors should be aroused at the sight of the treasures, was a most natural thing. When the king of Babylon afterwards took it into his head to besiege Jerusalem, he knew what he was after. The treasurers in which Hezekiah had taken so much pride,--"honest pride," rejoicing to think that he was connected with so great a people,--were scattered, and the treasure-houses destroyed, but the truth of God remained the same.
That in which men can boast will all pass away, and God will make it plain to His own people as well as to the whole world, that His truth does not depend upon, and cannot be measured by, anything that men can make or gather together. It is "not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God," (Zechariah 4:6) that His work is to be accomplished, and therefore no display of wealth or power, but only the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, can draw men to Him and His truth.
Hezekiah was a good man, one who sincerely loved the Lord. God was with him, and prospered him. God loved him, and He loved him none the less when he fell into the error concerning the visit of the ambassadors. But God left him to himself for a while, "that he might know all that was in his heart." (2 Chronicles 32:31)
And it was written for our learning, that we might know what is in our hearts; for the hearts of all men are alike, and what is in one, is in all. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Pride of every kind is in the hearts of all men; when they turn to the Lord, then it is apt to exhibit itself in other forms. God has left this case on record for us, that we, knowing that it is in our hearts, may allow Him to cleanse us from it. May He deliver us all from Babylon and the Babylonish spirit, and fill us with His own Spirit, "the Spirit of meekness." (Galatians 6:1)--Present Truth, August 10, 1899--Isaiah 39.