December 12: CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. Isaiah 39:6
It is no coincidence that Isaiah’s writings were divided into 66 chapters. This book is understood by many to be like a “mini-Bible”. The first thirty-nine chapters compare to the Old Testament, including the failure of God’s people as a nation to fulfill their task of sharing the gospel with the world. As we come to the end of chapter 39, Isaiah’s words to Hezekiah prophetically foreshadow the all-encompassing influence of Babylonian thinking that will permeate the world. God’s people are to carefully filter and examine every teaching that floats across their “radar screen”, for nothing shall be left that is not subjected to the Babylonian worldview.
‘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, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.” (vv.7-8)
It is disturbing to hear good King Hezekiah’s response to this word from God; his shortsightedness is appalling, revealing a lack of concern for others who will come behind him. It also reveals an utter lack of awareness of his own missed opportunity to witness of God’s greatness to the Babylonian envoys: the “show-and-tell” of the material treasures of Judah served to set in motion the plans of the Babylonians to devastate Judah, seize the treasures, and carry off the best of Judah’s youth for the purpose of indoctrinating them in Babylonian ways.
But God has a wonderful way of reminding His people of divine promises for our eternal future that far outweigh the trials that we face in this fallen world. The opening words of chapter 40 carry us into the “New Testament” division—the last twenty-seven chapters—of Isaiah’s book. It glows with the prophetic completed work of the Savior, whose first advent into the world began as a little Baby wrapped in swaddling cloths (graveclothes!), foreshadowing His atoning death on the behalf of all sinners.
“Comfort, yes comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.” 40:1-2
From the time of man’s fall, the promised Deliverer brought comfort and had a restorative effect upon the relationship between our first parents and their God. The idea of paying Double is built into God’s law as a revelation of the gravity of sin (see Exodus 22:4,7,9) and the fact that others are profoundly affected by the sin of one person. It is also a revelation of great mercy toward God’s people who had broken His covenant; a “stay of execution” is put into place, providing the opportunity to repent and humbly live out that repentance. Now, that’s cause for celebration!
O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Isaiah 40:9
“GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN!”