In Isaiah, chapter thirty-nine, verse one, “At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.” Babylon was attempting to free itself from Assyrian domination at this time. Therefore, this visit by the king of Babylon to Jerusalem was clearly to seek a political alliance with Judah. By his reaction to the gifts and the flattery of the delegation, Hezekiah demonstrated foolish presumption and a lack of faith in God. Isaiah later told him that the Babylonians would someday destroy God’s nation, as in verse six. We must remember that whatever we trust instead of God will one day turn against us and destroy us.
The theme verse expresses Hezekiah’s folly and exile. It seems so simple, but many believers can get careless today. The son of Baladan praises Hezekiah, while the king of Judah did not realize the plot and intentions of the king of Babylon. In the following verse two, after the theme verse, “And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.”
The devil is a deceiver and will use various ways to fulfill his plan to bring God’s people down to their level. Hezekiah did not discern or inquire of God about the letter as he did with the message from the king of Assyria, as in Isaiah thirty-seven, verses fourteen through twenty. That is why God wanted Hezekiah to prepare himself to meet Him and leave this earth. However, after his prayer was granted, look what happened now. As believers, we must be careful what we pray about and what we ask for.