‘‘Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?’’ 2 Kings 20:19
The Bible says: ‘Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated…shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”’ (vv. 16-19). Hezekiah heard that the things he had inherited from his forefathers would be lost and his children would live in slavery to their enemies. But instead of being concerned and praying for God to intervene on their behalf, he said, ‘At least I will have security and comfort during my lifetime.’ Why did he say that? Was he callous and indifferent? Was he being selfish, thinking only of himself and not about the welfare of his children? Was he being fatalistic, thinking, ‘The prophet has declared it, and there is nothing I can do to change it?’ Earlier in this chapter when the prophet Isaiah told him, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live,’ he cried out to God to spare his life and was given an additional fifteen years of life (see vv. 1-6). It seems he was more concerned about his own future than his children’s future. How about you? Are you praying for your children?
