2 Chronicles 32:24-33

One Flaw in a Good Life

2 Chronicles 32:24

What this sign was is more clearly told in Isaiah 38:1. Great interpositions on the part of God impose corresponding responsibilities. If you have received special benefits, be sure to render again according to the benefit done. When visited by the Babylonian ambassadors, as in 2 Kings 20:13, Hezekiah received them in a Spirit of vanity-all too natural to most of us-and displayed a conceit in his acquisitions which shut out such acknowledgment of the divine love and care as was due. In man's view, that was merely a little weakness, something to be smiled at and excused, but it was inconsistent with the intimacy into which Hezekiah had been introduced by his heavenly Friend.

However pious and devoted a man may be, if he does not walk carefully, he will break down in some crucial test. It is easier to withstand the invasion of Sennacherib than the flattery of Babylon. We need to guard against pride of heart. Compare 2 Chronicles 32:25; 2 Chronicles 31:1. Hezekiah's ostentatious display of his wealth and treasure excited the cupidity of the Babylonian envoys, and sowed the seed of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, though the blow was temporarily averted by the repentance of the king and nation, 2 Chronicles 32:26.