I read Isaiah 39 this morning, and it struck me particularly poignantly. In Isaiah 38, King Hezekiah is sick and dying, so he calls out to the Lord. The Lord hears his prayer, heals him, and promises him 15 more years of life. Hezekiah praises the Lord for this blessing. Then, we get to Isaiah 39, which is directly after this, as seen by "At that time". The passage reads:
"At that time Merodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures - the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory - all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, 'What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?'
So Hezekiah said, 'They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.'
And he said, 'What have they seen in your house?'
So Hezekiah answered, 'They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among all my treasures that I have not shown them.'
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 'Behold, the days are coming when all this is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. '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.'
So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!' For he said, 'At least there will be peace and truth in my days.'"
The thought struck me thus:
Hezekiah had been blessed with immense wealth and prestige. He had also been given extended years. He was one of the few kings who sought the Lord, and whom the Lord bestowed favor upon. The king of Assyria, who had conquered nation after nation, threatened to attack Judah. However, because this king mocked the God of Israel, and because Hezekiah sought God's protection, the Angel of the Lord wiped out 185,000 Assyrians. Thus, they never even attempted attack upon Judah. Hezekiah had it great. There was peace and truth in Judah.
However, Isaiah prophesied that times were coming, because of the sin of Judah, when Babylon would conquer them, destroy their land, and take them into captivity. He even prophesied that Hezekiah's own sons would be slaves to the king. This was terrible news.
At least, it would seem so. But instead of tearing his clothes and donning ashes, Hezekiah said, "This prophecy sounds good." What? Good? For some reason, judgement, captivity, and destruction don't sound too good to me. So why did Hezekiah say this was "good"? Because it wasn't going to happen in his time. He would get to enjoy pleasure, peace and prosperity for the remainder of his days. Who cares about what happens down the road when I'm gone? So long as it doesn't affect my happiness and wealth, I couldn't care less. Actually, I think it is "good".
This really struck me, and honestly, convicted me. So often, I do things for the here-and-now, when in reality, my decisions and sins affect generations to come. And, then, on a wider scale, I thought about our country.
Hezekiah was king of Judah, and he had no generational vision. If the leaders of a people have no generational vision, and refuse to look to the future consequences of ideas and policies, what will happen to a nation? If the men who have the greatest capacity to influence the direction of a nation to godliness and lasting happiness only think about today, what do we have to look forward to? Well, what happened to Judah? Instead of removing the high places, Hezekiah took the path of least resistance. He gloried in his state of peace and truth, and left the nation to crumble. Judah was destroyed, and the people taken into captivity, never to be the same.
Our national debt is out the roof - over 13 trillion dollars. We revel in sin: murder of the innocent, homosexuality, pornography, profanity, and perversions of all kinds. Children are being indoctrinated in the government schools, learning "tolerance" for all but Christians. False religions are rampant. We have too many "high places" to count. The next generation will indelibly feel the full effects of this gross system of immorality, and may well have very little of a nation left to fight for. And what is our response? We want pleasure in the here-and-now more than ever before. Women shouldn't be burdened with children, in fact, society shouldn't be burdened with children. Who cares about the unimaginable debt we have already incurred for our 1.87 children per family. Let's spend more, leaving our children to figure out the solution. No need for moms and dads to teach their kids, as Scripture commands, just send them off to a God-less institution to educate them. No, we have said what Hezekiah said in the face of looming national destruction, "It sounds good."
Even in perhaps less obvious ways, we often make choices every day that negatively effect the generations to come. I know I do. It isn't as if Hezekiah was some pagan king....no, he was a godly king, and yet he still failed to realize the importance - the vital necessity - of a generational vision.
What contributes to a healthy nation in the future? A godly nation in the present. Without the Lord our God guiding us, we are incapable of preserving anything, for we ourselves, apart from Christ, are doomed to destruction. He gives us the generational vision, because He has a generational vision.
Our founding fathers understood this well. In fact, the only reason we have a nation today is because they valued this principal so highly. The well-known speech of Patrick Henry bares this out:
--- "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"
I know this may seem impossible, but if God is for us, who can be against us? I also know I haven't done justice to this passage, but I had to share with you a little of what I learned. I couldn't believe how much God revealed to me through this passage.
I highly recommend listening to Generations Radio, hosted by Kevin Swanson, to understand more about a multi-generational legacy. You can visit the website, here. Or, you can listen to his sermons on Sermon Audio.
We just got snow yesterday, so I can't wait to share snow pictures with y'all!
Please, please, please leave a comment with your thoughts on this important topic.
