2 Kings 20:18-19 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”
Experts say that almost 90% of humans fall in the spectrum of pathological selfishness which is a form of hardcore selfishness that harms others for self-advancement. These people live to make merry and die. They are under the illusion that everything ends when they die. They use and misuse relationships, authorities, even friendships and use people to their own advantage. Such people leave bundles of curses in the family treasure box by their actions and inactions.
Hezekiah was one of the good kings of Judah in the family line of David. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him (2 Kings 18:5). He ran a good race and was about to have a good landing. The Lord warned him to settle the matters of the house as he was going to die. However, he cried, pleaded and begged the Lord for life-extension and the Lord extended his lifespan by another 15 years. The ‘life extension’ of Hezekiah was a medical miracle, yet during this phase he made two major blunders. Firstly he had a son Manasseh during his old age who turned out to be a boorish monster, immoral and a perverted murderer who devoted himself to every conceivable evil. The second error of Hezekiah was that he became prideful and opened his treasury to the Babylonian visitors. After this incident, Prophet Isaiah came to warn him that he had acted foolishly and that his descendants will be carried away as captives and incarcerated in Babylon, but Hezekiah was relieved that it will not happen during his lifetime! Hezekiah didn’t care about his generations, he just lived for himself!
The lifecycle of a human extends beyond their time. Both the good and the bad reflect on their descendents.
Live cautiously – our deeds continue to live after we die:
1. Blunders: No one is perfect. Set your blunders right with the Lord. The same Hezekiah who cried to the Lord for life-extension did not plead with Him for the curse that fell upon his future generations. There is forgiveness for any sin under the blood of Jesus provided we confess, relinquish our old ways and return back to the Lord in repentance.
2. Bless: Those who have survived COVID-19 have a responsibility to bless others through our life. We are all on life-extension like Hezekiah. But unlike him we must make wise decisions, and raise warriors, not wayward brut.
3. Bridge: Don’t burn bridges while you live. Those who burn and not build bridges leave their next generation in shambles. The generations of the foolish and unrighteous have to scrabble their way to find the bridge of blessing.
Every day is life-extension. Live cautiously.
Ephesians 5:17 Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank you for the gift of life. Help me to live as a selfless giver, and not a pathological selfish brut. Amen.
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