2 Kings 20:18,19 – “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. 19So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!’ For he said, ‘Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?’”
This prophecy concerning the house of Hezekiah is from the prophet Isaiah. Ambassadors from Babylon had come to visit Hezekiah and he opened up all his treasures and showed them everything in his kingdom. Isaiah pronounces the day that will come when Babylon will invade Judah and carry off everything they have seen.
Now, Hezekiah is one of my favorite Old Testament characters. But I’ve always been troubled about this one section of scripture. How could such a godly king be so taken up with his own well being to the neglect of his offspring’s future? The prophet’s announcement was “good” to him because he wouldn’t end up in the line of fire. It would be his progeny who would suffer. “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”
It would be entirely appropriate at this point to include a quote from one of America’s Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine. His pamphlet, Common Sense, was widely distributed during the American Revolution and furthered the cause of America’s independence from Great Britain. Although later ostracized because of his theological views in Age of Reason, this quote reveals his immense devotion to the cause of freedom: “If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” This line of thought is conspicuously absent from Hezekiah’s comments.
We do not have commentary on Hezekiah’s parenting but what we do have is commentary on his son’s manner of leadership. After Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh became king. Chapter 21 of 2 Kings characterizes his reign. But of all the evil things he did, one verse stands out to me. Verse 6—“He sacrificed his own son in the fire…” (NIV) Could it be that Manasseh did in the natural what his father did in the spiritual? How tragic! Isn’t it supposed to be that parents should sacrifice themselves for their children and not the other way around? This devotional reveals an important lesson to all of us: godly people can miss it as parents.
Those that have gone before us laid it all on the line for the future of their children and their children’s children. Let us not only be concerned about our present day, but also the future generations to come, that they might enjoy what we have preserved, and that they might fight to pass it on.