King Hezekiah was one of only four kings whom God gave full praise over the course of his reign. As one of only eight who followed the ways of the Lord, he was one of only four who was noted for taking down high places where idols were being worshiped. He even destroyed the bronze serpent Moses had made because the people had turned it into an idol.
Hezekiah had one major sin recorded during his reign. In Isaiah 39, we learn of how Hezekiah met with envoys from Babylon, and he showed the envoys everything in the treasury of Jerusalem and the Temple. Scripture makes clear that there was nothing of his wealth and power that he did not show Babylon. There is a legitimate question to ask: why did he do that? One can only speculate, but pride and showing off what he had would certainly be a good possible answer.
God was not happy about this, so He sent Isaiah the prophet to address the king. Hezekiah was truthful in his response and Isaiah laid down the hammer, likely in tears. He told Hezekiah that because he had done that, Babylon would one day come and take away everything in the treasuries of Jerusalem. However, because he was loyal to God in nearly every area, this judgment would take place for his children.
At this point, Hezekiah makes a tragic statement that caught my attention. He called the proclamation of judgment from God to be “good” because it would not happen in his lifetime and he would have peace and truth in his. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he just called a curse that was put upon his children to be “good.” King David would not have said that. David would have said the sin was his, so let the punishment be upon him. That’s how he handled the sin of his census. What should Hezekiah have done instead? I believe Hezekiah should have immediately began instructing his children in the fear of the Lord and to not follow in that mistake. We know he did not do that (or very well) because his son Manasseh who succeeded him at age 12 was the most wicked king of the line of Judah, and his sin would bring upon the kingdom the captivity into Babylon.
Yet today, how many of us do the same thing Hezekiah did? How many of us make decisions that will affect our children and we really don’t care because we won’t see the consequences ourselves? As a country, that has been our lifestyle. “Who cares about what our children will go for? Let’s live it up now. They can deal with it later.” I have heard from several places that the average family in America lives on approximately 120% of their living wages. That means families are spending $120 per $100 they make. Common sense tells us to live a good percentage below our wages so we can save up for when disaster strikes. Yet many people either live above their means or barely survive paycheck to paycheck.
The government is no better. Back in the 1930s, the government latched on the financial advice of John Maynard Keynes (see this video for a debate between Keynes’ views and others), whose primary philosophy with government is spend now to keep an economy going because in the end, “We’re all dead.” His entire approach mirrors the issue I am addressing in this post: live for the now, and if the curse comes upon our children because of it, who cares because it’s not going to affect us.
One can speculate that America faced this problem too when it was birthed. It was debated on what to do with slavery at the founding of the nation and in part with the 3/5 Compromise (treating slaves as property for financial aspects and as only 3/5 of a person for population/voting rights), the Founding Fathers chose to pass on this issue down to their children. Less than 100 years later, the Civil War took place in which slavery was a major issue. Instead of dealing with the issue then and there, the Founding Fathers passed on the issue to their children and it multiplied exponentially until it came to a violent end.
The same issue is upon us spiritually. Many stats are showing up to 90% of the church’s youth are fleeing by adulthood, and numerous reasons abound for this. One reason I will address that is not explicitly from the polls but is rather an underlying theme is the church has become self-centered and truly is not concerned about the youth. Yes, they spend thousands of dollars on youth ministry and games and VBS material, but what exactly are they being taught? It’s usually self-focused, don’t-worry-about-sharing-your faith, God-has-your-best-interests-in-mind, and anything else that ultimately treats God like a divine butler.
The generation of parents in churches today have fallen for the Prosperity Gospel and Emergent Church philosophies. As a result, while they seek their own lavish lifestyles, their kids are being set up for dealing with the aftermath. As a result, the kids are realizing they don’t want anything to do with cleaning up the mess their parents are leaving behind so they are flying the coop.
What legacy are we leaving our children? The Bible repeatedly talks about leaving an inheritance for our children. It’s not merely talking about money but a lifestyle and a reputation. While Hezekiah had a Godly reputation, he left his son Manasseh with a debt hanging over his head that was a result of Hezekiah’s pride. Perhaps that is part of what drove Manasseh to sin as he did. Manasseh never faced this debt in his lifetime either, even though he reigned for 55 years. That eventually came down to Hezekiah’s three great-great-grandchildren who each took a turn at the throne when the Babylonian captivity took place.
What are we leaving behind? Have our choices led to consequences our children will have to face? Let us not follow Hezekiah’s example and call it “good” when our children will have to face the consequences that should be given to us. Let us instead learn from our mistakes, repent from our sins, and teach our children to live a life so the curse which was meant for us will not be given to our children.
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