Year 6, Day 23: Isaiah 39

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

In this chapter we hear of a blunder that Hezekiah makes.  The nice thing about this chapter is that we get to remember that Hezekiah is human after all.  It is easy to think of Hezekiah as a repentant superhuman after reading the last chapter.  Today we are reminded of his stumble.

When threatened with Assyria, Hezekiah hears about the Babylonians.  They had been under Assyrian captivity, but they were able to manage a rebellion of their own.  The Babylonians break free of Assyrian captivity for a short time.

Hezekiah is impressed with this.  Hezekiah sees a potential ally.  Hezekiah invites the Babylonian envoys into Jerusalem and tries to impress them.  Why would he want to impress them?  He wants their help.  He wants their approval.  He wants them to help them overthrow the Assyrian threat in Jerusalem as they had done in Babylon.

Unfortunately, when we seek the approval of men instead of the approval of God, things usually work out wrong.  First, Hezekiah doesn’t know that the Babylonian rebellion would only last about 9 months.  The Babylonians would be no help the Jerusalem.  Second, the Babylonians will not forget the wealth that Hezekiah shows them in order to impress them.  When Assyria is deposed, Babylon will march to Jerusalem and take it because of their greed.  Finally, Hezekiah’s desire to seek human approval only guarantees God’s disapproval.  Their own captivity is assured because Hezekiah seeks the approval of men.  Approval is a dangerous thing indeed.

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