“The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.”
~ Isaiah 39:6
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like to show to kids – like the kids who are at your school James, something that is yours? Do you like to tell kids – like the kids who are at your school James, about something that you have done? Do you like to James show the kids who come over to your house the postcards that your grandmaa and grandpaa have sent to you? Your grandmaa and grandpaa like to show guys and gals who are visiting Guatemala what your grandmaa and grandpaa are doing here in Guatemala. Your grandmaa and grandpaa when they lived in Bolivia liked to show guys and gals who were visiting Bolivia what your grandmaa and grandpaa were doing there in Bolivia. When your grandmaa and grandpaa have visitors here in Guatemala, your grandmaa and grandpaa always try to take their visitors to one of their Bible education program sites. Your grandmaa and grandpaa want their visitors to meet the guys and gals who are studying in a Bible education program called P.E.B. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are very proud of P.E.B. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are planning to show your Aunt Lynn and Uncle Chris when they visit Guatemala – and the young guys and gals who are coming with them, the La Pintada P.E.B. Do you think that it is good to show off the things that are yours? Do you think that it is good to talk about the things that you have done? There are times when it is not good to show off your things. A guy in the Bible learned this lesson. This guy’s name is Hezekiah. Isaiah wrote about Hezekiah in his book. Isaiah’s book is found in the Old Testament. Besides being one of God’s prophet spokesmen, do you know anything else about Isaiah? Isaiah would wear sackcloth while he walked barefoot around the land which God had given to His specially chosen people – the Israelite people group. Sackcloth is a coarse type of material that was probably made from goat hair. Why do you think that Isaiah wore sackcloth while he walked barefoot around the land area where God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids lived? Isaiah wore sackcloth and walked barefoot as an example to the Israelite guys, gals and kids to reinforce the message that God had mandated him to pass on to them that they would be wearing sackcloth one day while walking barefoot in the land where they were living. Isaiah’s purpose for walking around that land which God had given to His specially chosen people to always to have as their very own land if . . . was to warn God’s specially chosen people what would happen to them if they did not change from doing what they were doing and begin doing what God had asked them to do. Isaiah also walked around warning the enemies of God’s specially chosen people that God was going to wipe them out because of the horrible ways that they had dreadfully treated His specially chosen people.
Your grandpaa will tell you more about Isaiah at another time. Isaiah was a good guy. God used Isaiah to tell Israelite guys and the guys who maltreated Israelite guys what they needed to know. Who was Hezekiah? Hezekiah was a Judah king. Hezekiah lived at the same time that Isaiah lived. Your grandpaa will tell you someday about the time that Hezekiah got really sick. When Hezekiah begged not to die, God allowed Hezekiah to live longer. Do you think that Hezekiah was happy that he did not die? Hezekiah was very happy. Do you think that Hezekiah felt that he owed God because God allowed him to live longer? Hezekiah seems to forget that God helped him to be well again. Hezekiah comes across as thinking only about himself. Isaiah 39 tells you that some guys visited Hezekiah after Hezekiah was healthy again. What do you think that Hezekiah did with these guys – who were called envoys, who came to visit him? Merodach-Baladan – who was the king of Babylon, had sent these envoys to visit Hezekiah. Merodach-Baladan sent with the envoys letters and a gift to Hezekiah. Do you remember what Babylon was like? Babylon was not a very nice place. A lot of bad things were happening in Babylon. Did Hezekiah tell the guys – or the envoys, who came from Babylon about God allowing him to live longer? Hezekiah did not tell these guys what God had done for him. What did Hezekiah do when the guys – or the envoys, visited him? Hezekiah did a show and tell. Hezekiah showed the guys everything that he had. Hezekiah showed the guys all the gold, the silver, the spices, the special fine oil, the . . . everything that he had. Hezekiah was very proud of how rich that he was. Hezekiah was very proud of all of his possessions.
Is it wrong to be proud of the things that are yours? Is it wrong to be proud of what you have done? There are times when it is wrong. Hezekiah was wrong – but he did not know that he was wrong. Isaiah visited Hezekiah after the guys from Babylon had left. Isaiah asked Hezekiah about the guys who had come – like who were they and what did Hezekiah do with them. Hezekiah told Isaiah that the guys had come from Babylon and that he had shown the guys everything in the place where he lived – which was a palace. What did God have Isaiah tell Hezekiah because of what Hezekiah did with the guys from Babylon? God tells Hezekiah – in verse 6, through Isaiah “The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.” Do you think that Hezekiah believed God? Hezekiah thought that he would always have peace and security because of all the things that he had. If your grandmaa and grandpaa take credit for the Bible education programs that they helped to start, how do you think that God will feel? What you have, God is allowing you to have. What you do, God is allowing you to do. Do you always remember to thank God for everything that you have? God wants to show and tell you. God desires that His glory be reflected by your lives.
Isaiah 39 (47)