Isaiah 39:8
(also II Kings 20:19)
"The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."
King Hezekiah had gotten sick, and almost died. But God saw his tears and healed him. Other nations had heard about it, and the king of Babylon sent envoys to him. He showed these envoys all the treasures and valuables in his palace, showing off. Then Isaiah told him that the king of Babylon would come and take away all these treasures, carrying them off to faraway Babylon, along with Hezekiah's own descendents. Hezekiah's response to this was, that's good, I'll have peace and safety, all this trouble won't come until after I'm dead and gone.
God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. During this time he had a son. When he died, Manasseh was twelve years old. Hezekiah had been a good king who followed the Lord all his life. But Manasseh was a very wicked king. I wonder if the father's selfish attitude in not caring that his own grandchildren would be eunuch slaves in a foreign land, had an effect on his son that turned him away from the Lord.
Parents, we need to be aware that our children won't necessarily do what we say, if our own attitudes contradict what we're trying to teach them. They are smarter than we usually give them credit for, and will pick up our bad habits even when we try to hide them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
