A Person Who is Full of Pride and Self-Exaltation is Often Arrogant, Overbearing, and Disrespectful.

 

Hezekiah’s Unwise Entertainment of Ambassadors From Babylon: A Picture of Pride 

Soon afterward, the king of Babylon (Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan) sent Hezekiah a present and his best wishes,^a for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and now was well again. ²Hezekiah appreciated this and took the envoys from Babylon on a tour of the palace, showing them his treasure-house full of silver, gold, spices, and perfumes. He took them into his jewel rooms, too, and opened to them all his treasures—everything.

³Then Isaiah the prophet came to the king and said, “What did they say? Where are they from?”

“From far away in Babylon,” Hezekiah replied.

⁴“How much have they seen?” asked Isaiah.

And Hezekiah replied, “I showed them everything I own, all my priceless treasures.”

⁵Then Isaiah said to him, “Listen to this message from the Lord Almighty:

⁶“The time is coming when everything you have—all the treasures stored up by your fathers—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left. ⁷And some of your own sons will become slaves, yes, eunuchs, in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

⁸“All right,” Hezekiah replied. “Whatever the Lord says is good. At least there will be peace during my lifetime!”^[1] (Isaiah39:1–8) 

Hezekiah’s Unwise Entertainment of Ambassadors From Babylon: A Picture of Pride 

Although Hezekiah was righteous and totally committed to the Lord, he was not perfect. Soon after his illness, he unwisely entertained some ambassadors from Babylon, and in his entertaining, he exposed a heart of pride and self-exaltation. Because of his pride, the judgment of God was pronounced upon him and a prediction was made concerning the future destiny of the nation. In a very straightforward manner, Scripture shares the story of the king’s pride. 

a. Hearing about Hezekiah’s deathly illness, the crown prince of Babylon, Merodach-Baladan, sent a letter and some gifts to Hezekiah as an expression of his concern (v. 1). Why would the crown prince of Babylon, the soon-to-be superpower of the world, want to express his concern for Hezekiah? Second Chronicles tells us that his curiosity was aroused when he heard about the miraculous healing of Hezekiah and the movement of the sundial (2 Chr. 32:31). But additional information is supplied by the Jewish historian Josephus. He says that the king of Babylon sought Hezekiah as a friend and ally.² 

b. Whatever Merodach-Baladan’s purpose, Hezekiah gave the ambassadors a warm reception (v. 2). With pride swelling up in his heart, Hezekiah entertained the envoys by sharing the story of his healing and then foolishly, showing them his vast wealth. There was nothing in his palace or throughout the kingdom that he failed to show them. Obviously, this included the strength of his military as well as the wealth found in the palace and temple treasuries. 

c. As would be expected, the Lord immediately rebuked Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah (vv. 3–4). Isaiah confronted the king and questioned him about his entertainment of the ambassadors. Making no attempt to hide his actions, Hezekiah freely shared what he had done. He had shown them the wealth, the treasuries of the nation. 

d. No doubt heavy-hearted, but with the authority of God Himself, the prophet Isaiah pronounced God’s judgment upon Hezekiah and Judah. Due to Hezekiah’s pride and the sins of the nation down through the centuries, Judah would face God’s condemnation (vv. 5–7). One day in the near future, Babylon would conquer Judah and carry off all the wealth of the nation. What the Babylonian ambassadors had seen—all the treasures of the king as well as those of the nation—would not be forgotten. Future leaders of Babylon would covet the wealth shown by Hezekiah in his moment of self-exaltation and pride. Moreover, some of Hezekiah’s descendants would be exiled to Babylon and be forced to serve as eunuchs (devoted slaves) in the palace of Babylon’s king. 

e. In a spirit of repentance, Hezekiah humbly accepted God’s judgment (v. 8). But in his private thoughts, he was wondering and asking himself if he would finish out his days in peace and security. 

Thought 1. Pride is a terrible evil. When a person begins to look upon himself as being superior to or better than others, he …

•         exalts himself over others, applauding his own efforts

•         feels that he should be preferred over others

•         considers himself to be more valuable than others 

A person who is full of pride and self-exaltation is often arrogant, overbearing, and disrespectful. He frequently puts other people down, degrades, shames, embarrasses, stifles, harms, subjects, and in some cases even enslaves others. For this reason, God strongly condemns pride and the exalting of ourselves above others: 

V  “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mt. 23:12).

V  “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Ro. 12:16).

V  “And if any man thinks that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Co. 8:2).

V  “For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Ga. 6:3).

V  “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (Js. 4:6).

V  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 Jn. 2:16).

V  “The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined” (Ps. 10:2).

V  “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him” (Ps. 49:6–7).

V  “Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments” (Ps. 119:21).

V  “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Pr. 3:7).

V  “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Pr. 6:16–19).

V  “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom” (Pr. 11:2).

V  “A high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Pr. 21:4).

V  “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him” (Pr. 26:12).

V  “He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat” (Pr. 28:25).

V  “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit” (Pr. 29:23).

V  “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Is. 5:21).

V  “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Is. 14:13–15).

V  “Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas” (Eze. 28:2–8).

V  “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord” (Obad. 4).^[2]

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^a 39:1  Merodach-baladan . . . sent Hezekiah a present and his best wishes. Merodach-baladan was at this time planning a revolt in the east against Sennacherib, so he was especially interested in Hezekiah’s activities in the west.

^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

v. verse

² Flavius Josephus. Complete Works. Antiquities of the Jews. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1981), Book 10, Ch. 2, p. 214.

^[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

https://my.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.39.NLT

Pic #4 Ansel Adams