Peace in my time

We explore the story of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 39 and his choice to settle for "peace in his time" rather than seek lasting security for future generations. As Election Day approaches, we’re reminded that our loyalty is to God’s Kingdom above any earthly allegiance. Hezekiah’s story reveals a powerful lesson: true peace requires a vision that goes beyond ourselves and seeks to bring Christ’s peace to others—even those not yet born. Join us as we unpack what it means to carry this mission forward, so that our faith today leaves a legacy of peace tomorrow. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Trailer
• 0:14 Theme song--"The Dirt Path" by Jeremy Edwards
• 1:17 Introduction: The War to End All Wars
• 7:55 Reading of the Passage: Isaiah 39:1-8
• 9:43 Context--Hezekiah's illness
• 11:20 v1-2 Friends come to visit
• 14:56 v3-7 The prophet comes to visit
• 17:35 What does this teach us?
• 32:47 Invitation: Let us influence people through the peace of Jesus
• 35:28 Wrap up

Transcript

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

#4 Peace in my time

     This week, as Americans, we will go to the voting booth. It is a civic duty and privilege we have as citizens. We have been journeying in a series leading up this moment, with a very specific aim. I am you pastor, not your politican, and I have no interest in telling you who to vote for or how to vote. But my concern in this series is that our allegiance is to God and His Kingdom. And that is something we need to remember as we pray and navigate this period.

     One hundred and six years ago, an important event occurred in world history. In a railway car in Paris, France, an armistice was signed to end World War I. This was an event that saw somewhere between fifteen and twenty million people die. But even though this was labled “The War to end all wars”, the peace would only last twenty years. Another war followed that would see another fifty million plus die.

     Why did this happen? What was it that kept peace from enduring? Many historians believe that what happened in that railway car was a contributing factor. The blame was placed on Germany, which led to economic hardship and the opportunity for an angry people to find a leader who united them in that anger.

     Why did the peace not last? There is a passage in the Bible that communicates this thought to us, one I think is important for the season we are in.

     Isaiah 39:1-8(CEB):

     1 At that time, Babylon’s King Merodach-baladan, Baladan’s son, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been ill and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was pleased, and he showed them his treasury—the silver and the gold, the spices and fine oil—and everything in his armory, all that was found in his storerooms. There wasn’t a thing in his realm that Hezekiah didn’t show them.

     3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”

     Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon.”

     4 So Isaiah said, “What did they see in your house?”

     Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my house. There was nothing in my storerooms that I didn’t show them.”

     5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of heavenly forces: 6 Days are coming when all that is in your house, which your ancestors have stored up until this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7 Some of your sons, your own descendants whom you are fathered, will be taken to become eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.”

     8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The LORD’s word that you delivered is good,” since he thought, that means there will be peace and security in my lifetime.

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

     In the chapter before our passage, King Hezekiah becomes very sick and is told to get his affairs in order because he was going to die. Rather than accept his fate, Hezekiah goes to God in prayer. God answers his prayer with a promise to extend his life. Isaiah 38:7-8 records that God made the sun shift backwards as proof to Hezekiah that God would keep His promise. Hezekiah is a mind of tremendous faith.

     The king of Babylon had heard about Hezekiah being sick and his recovery so he sent a delegation with a letter to Hezekiah. Now, it is always interesting to note that the Babylonians were observers of the stars, largely due to their religious practices. It is very likely their astronomers noticed the miracle with the sun and decided to investigate. And the King of Babylon also had another motive, he was looking for allies to help against the Assyrians. This was likely a political manuever wrapped with the appearance of a kind act.

     Hezekiah is no fan of Assyria, and is mindful that Judah could use a powerful ally like Babylon. Verse 2 says, “Hezekiah was pleased, and he showed them everything.” He does this to demonstrate to Babylon that Judah is wealthy and powerful ally. This whole parade was done to impress another King, an act of boastfulness by Hezekiah.

     The delegation leaves and enters the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was not summoned by the king, he comes to the king as God’s mouthpiece. God determines the prophet’s right to speak before the king. This is way so many of Judah’s and Israel’s kings dislike the prophets, to them it is a power struggle. But Isaiah comes in and asks Hezekiah who the visitors were and what they wanted.

     Hezekiah is not ashamed by what happens and has no knowledge that he should be, so he tells Isaiah the whole story. Including the detail about showing the delegation everything he possessed. This is when Isaiah shares God’s displeasure with Judah, and why Hezekiah’s actions were dangerous. Verses 6-7 record God’s words through Isaiah, which say, “Days are coming when all that is in your house, which your ancestors have stored up until this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. Some of your sons, your own descendants whom you fathered, will be taken to become eunuchs in the king of Babylons palace.” Instead of showing Babylon that Judah was a powerful ally, Hezekiah showed Babylon that Jerusalem was a wealthy city to be plundered. Hezekiah himself will not be harmed, God will spare him, but Hezekiah is warned about a looming disaster on the horizon.

     What does this have to teach us? God tells Hezekiah there will be peace in his time, but warns him that danger is looming. But look how Hezekiah responds in verse 8, “’The LORD’s word is good,’ since he thought, that means there will be peace and security in my lifetime.” This is a warning that danger is coming, the lives of Hezekiah’s sons are in danger. Hezekiah does not see it that way, he sees that he will have descendants after him. He settles for peace for himself instead of being moved to attempt reform. A warning was not shared with Hezekiah to preserve a status quo, but so that this man of faith could point his people to seek God.

     This is the lesson for us. If there is no peace in the lives of others it should break our hearts. Before I explain, let me give a disclaimer. I am not saying we are called to worry. Worry is the absence of peace. However, Jesus telling us not to worry about tomorrow is not Him saying we should discount the long-term at the expense of short-term.

     Matthew 9 shares that Jesus was traveling through various cities and villages. He was there to share the good news that Kingdom of God was there. But when Jesus saw the crowds, even though He had a message to share, verse 36 says, “He had compassion on them because they were troubled and helpless.” Meaning, Jesus saw people who no peace because of they were sick. They were in no condition to hear a message of peace because they did not have peace in their hearts. So Jesus healed them before sharing a message that would give peace to their hearts. He was concerned for people along with His mission.

     In Philippians 2:4-5, Paul writes, “Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus.” This means we have faith in Jesus which gives us peace in our own heart and but also have concern for peace in the hearts of others. That is the opposite of what Hezekiah did. And that can be lost in our minds when we are dealing with voting and people who vote different than us.

     Now, there is no way we can account for every scenario or outcome based on our decision making. But that is where faith comes in. We can choose to trust Jesus and believe that His power at work in us can work in others, both present and in the future. As we go about Kingdom work, we can be intentional in our efforts to both point those in our lifetime to peace in Jesus as well as point future generations to the same peace.

     Right now, in our seventy-four year old church, we have four to five generations that make up our congregation. We have Alpha, Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and the Silent generation. Each generation is different from the other, but we all share one thing in common. Jesus. The Holy Spirit has us united by faith in Jesus.

     Each generation will and must make decisions for themselves. But we cannot write one another off. One generation cannot settle for peace at the expense of the other. We all must work to influence one another for Jesus. The stakes are too high. The world leaders after World War I settled for a peace that was not aimed at peace for all, and it unraveled. If we all work to have the peace of Jesus in our hearts and in the hearts of our neighbor, then each generation will a chance to grasp the peace that surpasses all understanding. When our kids start having kids, they can rest on that peace in Jesus that we shared with them and then pass it to the next.

     Let our influence be based on the peace of Jesus. He is the hope for you, me, and every generation that follows. It is only the Holy Spirit that can stir up revival, but He does so through each of us yielded to Him. The crosses we are meant to carry cannot be left for the next generations to carry because they will have their own.