{"id":66973,"date":"2019-12-16T10:08:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T08:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66973"},"modified":"2023-07-11T11:39:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T08:39:13","slug":"hezekiahs-blind-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hezekiahs-blind-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Hezekiah\u2019s Blind Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[898,940],"acf":{"old_id":"66973","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":65182,"related_cahpter":"373","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And Isaiah\u2019s terrifying prophecy","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the delegation\u2019s departure, Isaiah launched into a furious rant against the king. [Isaiah 39: 3-8]\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems that Hezekiah initially failed to understand the prophet\u2019s questions. Hezekiah did little to hide his pride at the fact that they had come all the way \u201cfrom a far country, Babylon.\u201d He was pleased that word of his power and capabilities had reached as far as Babylonia. His answer also hinted that he considered this delegation to be of a different caliber than the nearby Ashdod rebellion. Hezekiah proudly continued, telling of how he had shown his entire treasury to the Babylonians, at which point Isaiah launched into his attack: \u201cA time is coming when everything in your house, which your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left behind, said the Lord. And some of your sons, your own issue, whom you will have fathered, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hezekiah\u2019s reaction seems strange, perhaps because his tone of voice is unknown to us. Malbim explains Hezekiah\u2019s intent: \u201cFor in any case, [the prophet\u2019s words say] that it will surely come to pass that there will be safety in my day, but as for the prophecy about my children (and the Children of Israel in the future), that could change if they improve their deeds.\u201d According to this, Hezekiah considered the prophecy as comprising two separate parts. He was pleased with the first part; he had been promised that there would be peace in his time, and so he responded, \u201cthe word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.\u201d As for the harsh punishment in store for his children, Hezekiah believed that their fate could change for the better if their deeds were worthy. Once again, the prophet and the king held opposing views. Hezekiah was certain that he was executing God\u2019s will. When Isaiah had predicted Hezekiah\u2019s death, the decree was amended due to Heze\u00adkiah\u2019s deep, sincere prayer. So, too, Hezekiah believed that if he and his children acted for the sake of Jerusalem and its people, God would look favorably upon them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah, however, was firmly set in the view that he had held his entire life. He rejected earthly politics, dismissing both rebellion and submission. Isaiah demanded of Hezekiah what he had demanded of his father before him; that the only kingdom he would submit to would be the Kingdom of Heaven. Let the nations act out their earthly, bloody games, said the prophet, without Judah joining in. Isaiah viewed Heze\u00adkiah\u2019s display of his treasuries to the Babylonians as an omen of that kingdom\u2019s rise a century later. Merodach-Baladan failed to leave his mark on history, but 125 years later, Nebuchadnezzar would seize everything Hezekiah had displayed to his predecessor, destroying Jerusalem and the House of God, and fulfilling every last detail of Isaiah\u2019s terrible prophecy.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":65184,"id":65184,"title":"Isaiah-LauBinNun","filename":"Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-vision-of-a-brighter-future\/isaiah-laubinnun\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isaiah-laubinnun","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65181,"date":"2019-11-04 21:10:18","modified":"2019-12-16 08:05:09","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1816,"height":1816,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","2048x2048-width":1816,"2048x2048-height":1816,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Excerpts from \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\"","main_caption":"Hezekiah\u2019s Blind Spot","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And Isaiah\u2019s terrifying prophecy","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":65184,"id":65184,"title":"Isaiah-LauBinNun","filename":"Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-vision-of-a-brighter-future\/isaiah-laubinnun\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isaiah-laubinnun","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65181,"date":"2019-11-04 21:10:18","modified":"2019-12-16 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