Learning from Hezekiah’s Mistake
When the prophet Isaiah showed King Hezekiah a vision of the future, Hezekiah reacted foolishly.
Isaiah’s God-given vision was dark and chilling: “Everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. … And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (Isaiah 39:6–7). Hezekiah ought to have been horrified, but instead he responded cheerfully: “‘The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,’ Hezekiah replied. For he thought, ‘There will be peace and security in my lifetime’” (Isaiah 39:8).
That attitude towards future generations could be summed up as “out of sight, out of mind.” Hezekiah doesn’t seem to have been interested in what would happen when he wasn’t around to witness it. We can tell his “out of sight, out of mind” attitude was badly wrong, because in the very next verse Isaiah looks ahead to that future exiled generation and says, “Comfort, comfort my people” (Isaiah 40:1).
Christians today repeat Hezekiah’s mistake when we fail to play our part in handing down the gospel to the next generation. Without the gospel, future Birminghamians will be helpless and hopeless. It wouldn’t be right for us to shrug our shoulders at that vision of the future because we won’t be around to see it.
From one viewpoint, it might seem strange that Grace Church has decided to expend considerable time, energy, and funding on children’s ministry. Looking at our list of current members and their families, there are just five children below the age of 12! So why hire a Children’s Ministry Director? And why have Thomas Goodrich and others poured many hours into constructing a new children’s room in the church building? The answer is simple: we don’t want to repeat Hezekiah’s mistake. We want to do all we can, with dependence on God, to raise young ones with heartfelt and clearly-understood faith in Jesus, so that future generations will enjoy the eternal “peace and security” that the gospel provides.
Bernard Howard