Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered.Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses-the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”

“What did they see in your palace?” asked Isaiah.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own-all my royal treasuries.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:’The time is coming when everything in your palace-all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now-will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.’Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.’ “

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

Isaiah 39:1-8

Here is what we were hinting at yesterday. Overly secure in his promised 15 years of life, Hezekiah makes a foolish decision without praying or consulting anyone else. He reveals all of the treasures of his house to Babylon, the very nation that would one day take the Israelites captive.

The very last verse of this chapter is very telling: Hezekiah says “at least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

Sadly, because Hezekiah thought he knew what the future held, he became very self focused. This choice, and his response to the consequences reveal a couple of things to us. They reveal the pride of Hezekiah, his over emphasis on the greatness of what he possessed; and they reveal his lack of concern for others.

Friends, if we aren’t careful, we can end up in this same place. The thing that keeps us from PRIDE and SELFISHNESS are a proper understanding of WHO GOD IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE. When we get a good view of who God is, we will be humbled. The best we have looks like filthy rags when compared to the continual faithfulness of God. Secondly, when we see the Jesus Christ and all He did to save us, His death and resurrection, we can’t help but respond with an attitude of selfless love. Jesus said “He who has been forgiven much loves much”.

Friends, its really quite simple. The best way to keep our hearts from growing cold is to be aware of the forgiveness of God in your life TODAY, never allowing it to merely become something that happened long ago in the distant past. If we keep the Cross near, we will be those who are marked by humility and love.