Prophets and Kings
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 29: The Ambassadors From Babylon
In the midst of his prosperous reign King Hezekiah was
suddenly stricken with a fatal malady. "Sick unto death," his case
was beyond the power of man to help. And the last vestige of hope seemed
removed when the prophet Isaiah appeared before him with the message,
"Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and
not live." Isaiah 38:1. {PK
340.1}
The outlook seemed utterly dark; yet the king could still
pray to the One who had hitherto been his "refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1. And so "he turned his face to
the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember
now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have
done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore." 2 Kings
20:2, 3. {PK 340.2}
Since the days of David there had reigned no king who had
wrought so mightily for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in a time of
apostasy and discouragement as had [341] Hezekiah. The dying
ruler had served his God faithfully, and had strengthened the confidence of the
people in Jehovah as their Supreme Ruler. And, like David, he could now plead:
"Let my prayer come before Thee:
Incline Thine ear unto my cry;
For my soul is full of troubles:
And my life draweth nigh unto the grave."
Psalm 88:2, 3.
"Thou art my hope, O Lord God:
Thou art my trust from my youth.
By Thee have I been holden up."
"Forsake me not when my strength faileth."
"O God, be not far from me:
O my God, make haste for my help."
"O God, forsake me not;
Until I have showed Thy strength unto this
generation,
And Thy power to everyone that is to come."
Psalm 71:5, 6, 9, 12, 18. {PK 340.3}
He whose "compassions fail not," heard the prayer
of His servant. Lamentations 3:22. "It came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone
out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn
again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of My people, Thus saith the Lord, the God
of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I
will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this
city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for
Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake." 2 Kings 20:4-6. [342]
{PK 341.1}
Gladly the prophet returned with the words of assurance and
hope. Directing that a lump of figs be laid upon the diseased part, Isaiah
delivered to the king the message of God's mercy and protecting care. {PK 342.1}
Like Moses in the land of Midian, like Gideon in the
presence of the heavenly messenger, like Elisha just before the ascension of
his master, Hezekiah pleaded for some sign that the message was from heaven.
"What shall be the sign," he inquired of the prophet, "that the
Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third
day?" {PK 342.2}
"This sign shalt thou have of the Lord," the
prophet answered, "that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken:
shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?" "It
is a light thing," Hezekiah replied, "for the shadow to go down ten
degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees." {PK 342.3}
Only by the direct interposition of God could the shadow on
the sundial be made to turn back ten degrees; and this was to be the sign to
Hezekiah that the Lord had heard his prayer. Accordingly, "the prophet
cried unto the Lord: and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which
it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz." Verses 8-11. {PK 342.4}
Restored to his wonted strength, the king of Judah
acknowledged in words of song the mercies of Jehovah, and vowed to spend his
remaining days in willing service to the King of kings. His grateful
recognition of God's compassionate dealing with him is an inspiration to all
who desire to spend their years to the glory of their Maker. [343]
"I said
In the cutting off of my days,
I shall go to the gates of the grave:
I am deprived of the residue of my years.
"I said,
I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of
the living;
I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the
world.
"Mine age is departed,
And is removed from me as a shepherd's tent:
"I have cut off like a weaver my life:
He will cut me off with pining sickness:
"From day even to night wilt Thou make an end of me.
I reckoned till morning, that,
As a lion, so will He break all my bones:
"From day even to night wilt Thou make an end of me.
Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter:
I did mourn as a dove:
Mine eyes fail with looking upward:
O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
"What shall I say?
He hath both spoken unto me,
And Himself hath done it:
I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my
soul.
"O Lord, by these things men live,
And in all these things is the life of my spirit:
So wilt Thou recover me, and make me to live.
"Behold, for peace I had great bitterness:
But Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the
pit of corruption:
For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.
"For the grave cannot praise Thee,
Death cannot celebrate Thee:
They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. [344]
"The living, the living, he shall praise Thee,
As I do this day:
The father to the children shall make known Thy truth.
"The Lord was ready to save me:
Therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed
instruments
All the days of our life in the house of the Lord."
Isaiah 38:10-20. {PK 342.5}
In the fertile valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates there
dwelt an ancient race which, though at that time subject to Assyria, was
destined to rule the world. Among its people were wise men who gave much
attention to the study of astronomy; and when they noticed that the shadow on
the sundial had been turned back ten degrees, they marveled greatly. Their
king, Merodachbaladan, upon learning that this miracle had been wrought as a
sign to the king of Judah that the God of heaven had granted him a new lease of
life, sent ambassadors to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery and to
learn, if possible, more of the God who was able to perform so great a wonder. {PK 344.1}
The visit of these messengers from the ruler of a far-away
land gave Hezekiah an opportunity to extol the living God. How easy it would
have been for him to tell them of God, the upholder of all created things,
through whose favor his own life had been spared when all other hope had fled!
What momentous transformations might have taken place had these seekers after
truth from the plains of Chaldea been led to acknowledge the supreme
sovereignty of the living God! {PK 344.2}
But pride and vanity took possession of Hezekiah's heart,
and in self-exaltation he laid open to covetous eyes the [345]
treasures with which God had enriched His people. The king "showed them
the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and
the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found
in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that
Hezekiah showed them not." Isaiah 39:2. Not to glorify God did he do this,
but to exalt himself in the eyes of the foreign princes. He did not stop to
consider that these men were representatives of a powerful nation that had not the
fear nor the love of God in their [346] hearts, and that it was
imprudent to make them his confidants concerning the temporal riches of the
nation. {PK 344.3}
The visit of the ambassadors to Hezekiah was a test of his
gratitude and devotion. The record says, "Howbeit in the business of the
ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the
wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that He might know
all that was in his heart." 2 Chronicles 32:31. Had Hezekiah improved the
opportunity given him to bear witness to the power, the goodness, the
compassion, of the God of Israel, the report of the ambassadors would have been
as light piercing darkness. But he magnified himself above the Lord of hosts.
He "rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his
heart was lifted up." Verse 25. {PK 346.1}
How disastrous the results which were to follow! To Isaiah
it was revealed that the returning ambassadors were carrying with them a report
of the riches they had seen, and that the king of Babylon and his counselors
would plan to enrich their own country with the treasures of Jerusalem.
Hezekiah had grievously sinned; "therefore there was wrath upon him, and
upon Judah and Jerusalem." Verse 25. {PK 346.2}
"Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and
said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All
that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that
I have not showed them. {PK
346.3}
"Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the [347]
Lord of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that
which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to
Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall
issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall
be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. {PK 346.4}
"Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the
Lord which thou hast spoken." Isaiah 39:3-8. {PK 347.1}
Filled with remorse, "Hezekiah humbled himself for the
pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath
of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah." 2 Chronicles
32:26. But the evil seed had been sown and in time was to spring up and yield a
harvest of desolation and woe. During his remaining years the king of Judah was
to have much prosperity because of his steadfast purpose to redeem the past and
to bring honor to the name of the God whom he served; yet his faith was to be
severely tried, and he was to learn that only by putting his trust fully in
Jehovah could he hope to triumph over the powers of darkness that were plotting
his ruin and the utter destruction of his people. {PK 347.2}
The story of Hezekiah's failure to prove true to his trust
at the time of the visit of the ambassadors is fraught with an important lesson
for all. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our
experience, of the mercy and loving-kindness of God, of the matchless depths of
the Saviour's love. When mind and heart are filled with the love of God, it will
not be difficult to impart that which [348] enters
into the spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions
of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for piety and holiness, will find
expression in words that reveal the character of the heart treasure. {PK 347.3}
Those with whom we associate day by day need our help, our
guidance. They may be in such a condition of mind that a word spoken in season
will be as a nail in a sure place. Tomorrow some of these souls may be where we
can never reach them again. What is our influence over these fellow travelers? {PK 348.1}
Every day of life is freighted with responsibilities which
we must bear. Every day, our words and acts are making impressions upon those
with whom we associate. How great the need that we set a watch upon our lips
and guard carefully our steps! One reckless movement, one imprudent step, and
the surging waves of some strong temptation may sweep a soul into the downward
path. We cannot gather up the thoughts we have planted in human minds. If they
have been evil, we may have set in motion a train of circumstances, a tide of
evil, which we are powerless to stay. {PK 348.2}
On the other hand, if by our example we aid others in the
development of good principles, we give them power to do good. In their turn
they exert the same beneficial influence over others. Thus hundreds and
thousands are helped by our unconscious influence. The true follower of Christ
strengthens the good purposes of all with whom he comes in contact. Before an unbelieving,
sin-loving world he reveals the power of God's grace and the perfection of His
character. {PK 348.3}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"Deliverance From Assyria"
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