II Chronicles 32
From the Journals of Hezekiah
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I needed to lead the city and country back to dedicating our lives to God and taking care of what He has given us.
The Lord had bless us with riches. Before this time I hadn't done anything with the wealth for God. That will change.
The countries around us respected me and so did the people. We received more wealth from them. I built treasuries for the silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and other valuables. I also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, wine, and oil. I had stalls built for various kinds of cattle and pens for the flocks. We built villages and added to the number of flocks and herds. All these things God had given were stored in safe places until they were needed.
We used the wealth to feed the people and for improving the city. The west side of Jerusalem didn't have enough water. We started a building project to block the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side where the people needed it.
The Lord helped me to succeed in all the projects I worked on during the added fifteen years of life He gave me.
I knew I must be doing things the way God wanted me to. We had peace and prosperity.
One day, messengers from Babylon brought letters and gifts from their king. They seemed so kind. The king said he had heard I was sick and wanted to send me a gift. I welcomed the messengers in and showed them around the palace.
They seemed interested in what I said and asked me to tell them more. I showed them our storehouses, the silver, gold, spices, fine oil, armory and everything God had given us in our treasury. I had so much fun showing them the blessings from God.
After they left, the prophet Isaiah came to me. "What did those men say and where did they come from?"
He seemed unhappy. I didn't understand why. "They came from a distant land, Babylon."
Isaiah said, "What did they see in your palace?"
"I showed them everything God had given us. There is nothing among my treasures I didn't show them." I had no idea why he asked the questions.
Isaiah closed his eyes for a long time, then spoke. "Hear the word of the Lord. The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your children will be taken away and forced to serve as slaves in the palace of the king of Babylon."
"Yes, but didn't God say there would be peace my whole lifetime?"
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1. What did Hezekiah do right?
2. Where were the messengers from?
3. What did they bring with them?
4. What did Hezekiah show them?
5. Why did Hezekiah show the men these things?
6. What did the Prophet Isaiah tell Hezekiah?
7. What do you think is wrong with what Hezekiah said at the end of this story?
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