Isaiah 39:1 - Meaning and Application

From this, we can learn several lessons.

Human kindness and simple good manners should make us rejoice with our friends and neighbors when they rejoice, and congratulate them on their deliverance, especially when they recover from sickness. The king of Babylon heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered, so he sent to honor him. If Christians fail to show neighborly kindness, even unbelievers will put them to shame.

It is fitting to give honor to those whom God has honored. The Babylonians worshiped the sun, and when they learned that the sun had gone back ten degrees for Hezekiah’s sake, they felt bound to show him every respect they could. If people will honor their gods in this way, should not we honor the true God all the more?

Those who do not value good people for their godliness may still be moved to respect them for other reasons, especially for their worldly advantage. The king of Babylon paid court to Hezekiah, not because he was devout, but because he was successful. In the same way, the Philistines wanted friendship with Isaac because they saw that the Lord was with him (Genesis 26:28). Babylon was also an enemy of Assyria, so the Babylonian king valued Hezekiah because Assyria had been weakened by God’s power.

It is hard to stay humble when God gives us great success. Hezekiah is an example. He was a wise and good man, yet when miracle after miracle was done for him, he found it hard to keep from becoming proud. Even the apostle Paul needed a thorn in the flesh to keep him from being lifted up because of the many revelations he had received.

We must watch our hearts when we show our friends what we own, what we have done, or what we have gained. We can easily start to think too highly of ourselves, as if our strength or merit had won all this for us. When we speak about our blessings, we should do so with humble thanks for our own unworthiness and grateful praise for God’s goodness. We should also give proper respect to the achievements of others, and remember that our blessings may change quickly, so we should not act as if our position cannot be shaken.

It is a serious weakness for godly people to think too much of the civil respect given to them by worldly people, even when that respect is unusual. It is a poor thing for Hezekiah, whom God had already greatly honored, to be so pleased with the attention of a heathen king as if it added anything to him. We should return such kindness with gratitude, but we should not become proud because of it.

We must expect to answer for pride, even when it stays hidden and appears in things we thought were harmless. For that reason, we should examine ourselves. When we have had visitors who praised us and enjoyed our company, we should carefully guard against our hearts being lifted up. As far as we see any sign that this sly and subtle sin has entered our hearts and mixed itself with our speech, we should be ashamed of it and, like Hezekiah here, honestly confess it and take the blame for it.