4 Then said he, What have they | my treasures that I have not shewed seen in thine house? And Hezekiah them. answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among Prov. 23. 5. 5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts. New Translation. 4. Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? and Hezekiah said, All that is in my house they have seen. There is nothing 5. in my treasures which I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said to some improper communication from them. To this question Hezekiah returned no answer. And from whence came they, &c. It was doubtless known in Jerusalem that embassadors had come, but it would not be likely to be known from what country they had come. From a far country. Probably this was said in order to palliate and excuse his conduct by intimating to the prophet that it was proper to shew respectful attention to foreigners, and that he had done nothing more than was demanded by the laws of hospitality and kindness. 4. What have they seen. It is probable that the fact that Hezekiah had shewed them the treasures of his kingdom was known in Jerusalem. Such a fact would be likely to attract attention, and to produce inquiry among the people into the cause. All that is in mine house, &c. Here was the confession of a frank, an honest, and a pious man. There was no concealment; no disguise. Hezekiah knew that he was dealing with a man of God—a man too to whom he had been under great obligations. He knew that Isaiah had come commissioned by God, and that it would be in vain to attempt to conceal any thing. Nor does he seem to have wished to conceal any thing. If he was conscious that what he had done had been improper he was willing to confess it; and at any rate he was willing that the exact truth should be known. Had Hezekiah been like Ahaz, he might have spurned Isaiah from his presence as presenting improper enquiries. But Hezekiah was accustomed to regard with respect the messengers of God; and he was therefore willing to submit his whole conduct to the divine adjudication and reproof. Piety makes a man honest, and willing that all that he has done should be known, It saves him from double dealing, and subterfuges, and a disposition to make vain excuses; and it inclines him to fear God, to respect his embassadors, and to listen to the voice of eternal truth. 6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. g Jer. 20. 5. New Translation. h2 Kings 25. 6,&c. 6. Hezekiah, hear the word of JEHOVAH of hosts. Lo! the days come when all that is in thine house, which thy fathers have treasured up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith Hear what the Mighty This is an instance of great 5. Hear the word of the LORD of hosts. God that rules in heaven says of this. fidelity on the part of the prophet. He felt himself sent from God in a solemn manner to rebuke sin in a monarch, and a pious monarch. It is an instance that strikingly resembles the boldness and faithfulness of Nathan when he went to David and said, "Thou art the man." 2 Sam. xii. 7. 6. Behold the days come. The captivity of the Jews in Babylon commenced about one hundred and twenty years after this prediction. Comp. Jer. xx. 5. ¶ That all that is in thine house. That is, all the treasures that are in the treasure house, ver. 2. ¶ And that which thy fathers have laid up in store, &c. In 2 Kings xviii. 15, 16, we are told that Hezekiah, in order to meet the demands of the king of Assyria, had cut off even the ornaments of the temple, and taken all the treasures which were in "the king's house." It is possible, however, that there might have been other treasures which had been accumulated by the kings before him which he had not touched. Nothing shall be left. This was literally fulfilled. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 18. It is remarkable, says Vitringa, that this is the first intimation that the Jews would be carried to Babylon-the first designation of the place where they would be so long punished and oppressed. Micah (iv. 10), a contemporary of Isaiah, declares the same thing, but probably this was not before the declaration here made by Isaiah. Moses had declared repeatedly, that, if they were a rebellious people, they should be removed from their own to a foreign land; but he had not designated the country. Lev. xxvi. 33, 34, Deut. xxviii. 64—67, xxx. 3. Ahijah, in the time of Jeroboam (1 Kings xiv. 15), had predicted that they should be carried "beyond the river," i. e. the Euphrates; and Amos (v. 27,) had said that God would carry them 8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, • Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken; he said moreover, 7 And of thy sons that shall issue | from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and " they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of | For there shall be peace and truth in Babylon. n fulfilled, Dan. 1. 2--7. my days. o 1 Sam. 3. 18. New Translation. 7. JEHOVAH. And of thy sons which shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, they shall take, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the 8. king of Babylon. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of JEHOVAH which thou hast spoken. For, said he, there shall be peace and truth in my days. "into captivity beyond Damascus." But all these predictions were now concentrated on Babylon; and it was for the first time distinctly announced by Isaiah that that was to be the land where they were to suffer so long and so painful a captivity. 7. And of thy sons. Thy posterity. See Note Matt. i. 1. Which shall issue from thee. Of the royal family. The captivity at Babylon occurred more than a hundred years after this, and of course those who were carried there were somewhat remote descendants of Hezekiah. ¶ And they shall be eunuchs. The word here used, sârisim, denotes properly and strictly eunuchs, or such persons as were accustomed to attend on the harems of Oriental monarchs. Est. ii. 3, 14, 15. These persons were also employed often in various offices of the court (Est. i. 10, 12, 15), and hence the word often means a minister of court, a court-officer, though not literally an eunuch. Gen. xxxvii. 6. xxxix. 1. It is not easy, however, to tell when the word is to be understood literally, and when not. The Targum understands it of those who should be nurtured, or who should become great in the kingdom of Babylon. That the Jews were advanced to some offices of trust and power in Babylon, is evident from the case of Daniel, i. 2-7. It is by no means improbable, also, that the king of Babylon would have a pride in having among the attendants at his court, or even over the harem, the descendants of the once magnificent monarchs of the Jews. 8. Good is the word of the LORD, &c. The sense of this is, 'I aquiesce in this; I perceive that it is right; I see in it evidence of benevolence, and goodness.' The grounds of his acquiescence seem to have been, (1.) the fact that he saw that it was just. He felt that he had sinned; that he had been proud, and ostentatious; that he had made an improper display of his treasures, and that he deserved to be punished. (2.) He felt that the sentence was mild, and merciful. It was less than he deserved; and less than he had reason to expect. (3.) It was merciful to him, and to his kingdom at that time. God was not coming forth to cut him off; or to involve him in any more calamity. (4.) His own reign and life were to be full of mercy still. He had abundant cause of gratitude, therefore, that God was dealing with him in so much kindness. It cannot be shown that Hezekiah was regardless of his posterity, or unconcerned at the calamity which would come upon them. All that the passage fairly implies is, that he saw that it was right; and that it was proof of great mercy in God that the punishment was deferred, and was not, as in the case of David (2 Sam. 13, 14, &c.), to be inflicted in his own time. The nature of the crime of Hezekiah is more fully stated in the parallel passage in the Book of Chronicles, xxxii. 25, 26, 30, 31. For there shall be peace. I am not threatened with war. My kingdom shall not be disturbed during my reign with a foreign invasion. And truth. The truth of God shall be maintained; his worship shall be kept up; his name shall be honored. ¶ In my days. During my reign. He inferred this because Isaiah had said (ver. 7,) that his posterity would be carried to Babylon. He was assured, therefore, that these calamities would not come in his own time. We may learn from this, (1.) That we should submit to God when he punishes us. If we have right feelings we shall always see that we deserve all that we are called to suffer. (2.) In the midst of severest judgments we may find some evidence of mercy. Judgment is tempered with kindness. There are some considerations on which the mind may fix, that will console it with the evidence of the compas. sion of God, and that will not only make it submissive, but fill it with gratitude. (3.) We should accustom ourselves to such views of the divine dealings, and should desire to find in them the evidence of goodness and mercy, and not the evidence of wrath and severity. It is of infinite importance that we should cherish right views of God; and should believe that he is holy, good, and merciful. To do this, we should feel that we deserve all that we suffer; we should look at what we might have endured; we should look at the mercies spared to us, as well as at those which are taken away; and we should hold to the belief as an unwavering principle from which we are never to depart, that God is good, SUPREMELY AND WHOLLY GOOD. Then our minds will have peace. Then with Hezekiah we may say, "Good is the word of JEHOVAH." Then with the suffering Redeemer of the world we may always say, "Not my will, but THINE BE DONE." Luke xxii. 42. END OF VOL. II.* |