”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 39:2-8 NLT
Hezekiah was a king of reform. For the most part he walked along David’s path and did decent things for the kingdom. Yet, God decided that his time was over. Hezekiah was sent a message that he would die. On some level, he loved his carnal life. One can conclude that this had something to do with his display of treasures to the Babylonians after God listened to his sadness about death. This was part of how he chose to spend his added 15 years. It condemned Israel. Tellingly, his response is rather selfish. He knew he wouldn’t see this future and so he dismissed it. During this added 15 years, he also had a son. Manasseh became Israel’s most wicked king. His behavior assured the Babylonian exile, though he did end up repenting. Had Hezekiah been dead as planned , Manasseh would never have been born. In some ways this made Manasseh a tragic and displaced figure. Their story is a warning about success. As the Dark Knight states, “you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.” It would seem that the added 15 years, was enough to give deep root to sin Hezekiah let grow. His reforms for Israel were severely undone by his resulting lineage and tragedy struck. It is always best to accept Gods timing.
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