Isaiah 39:2
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.
After his recovery Hezekiah gladly welcomed envoys from Babylon and held nothing back in showing them his silver and gold, spices and precious ointment, armory and military stores, and all his treasures and storehouses throughout his dominion. His act sprang from pride, vanity and self-exaltation to magnify himself and his possessions instead of glorifying God, and God left him to this test so that it exposed what was in his heart. By hoping to win influence with a powerful people who did not fear or love God and who eyed his riches covetously, he missed his opportunity to testify of God's power, goodness and deliverance and showed them only worldly wealth. The imprudent and sinful disclosure gave himself away and tempted Babylon to plunder, for the envoys left planning how to take his advantages and thus prepared the way for the later seizure of Jerusalem's wealth. The same test of heart meets believers today when sacred trusts and private affairs are opened to unbelievers or guests are shown vanity rather than Christ, bringing loss of God's favor and harm to themselves and others.
Hezekiah's Display Described
After his recovery from sickness, Hezekiah gladly welcomed the envoys sent from Babylon. He showed them everything in his house and throughout his dominion, holding nothing back from their view. What he displayed included the silver and the gold, the spices and the precious ointment, the armor and military stores and weapons, and all his treasures and storehouses and all that was found among his resources.
Those visitors represented a powerful nation whose people did not fear God and did not love Him. They looked upon the riches thus laid open with covetous eyes.
The display also laid open sacred, hidden things to enemies, including the gold vessels of the temple.
Motive and Test of Heart
Hezekiah's showing of everything to the Babylonian envoys sprang from pride, vanity and self-exaltation, to magnify himself and his possessions and achievements rather than to glorify God or render gratitude to Him. God left him to himself on this occasion to be tested, so that the display laid bare what was in his heart. He thought that parading his treasures and advantages would secure influence with Babylon and win its favor.
In doing so he let slip the opportunity to bear witness to God's power, goodness and deliverance, so that his visitors beheld his worldly wealth instead of the Lord. The disclosure was imprudent, indiscreet, unwise and sinful, throwing open to outsiders and to the enemy what should have remained closed and kept under God's care. By giving Babylon knowledge of what he possessed he began to give himself away and tempted Babylon to plunder him, for the envoys departed planning how to take those advantages for themselves, thus preparing the way for Babylon's later seizure of Jerusalem's wealth. The exposure even of sacred, hidden things, including the gold vessels of the temple, was a heinous sin that brought loss of God's favor and a heavy curse.
Warnings for Believers Today
Hezekiah's glad welcome of the Babylonian ambassadors and display of his treasures and advantages, in the belief that this would give him influence with them, warns against trusting outsiders and exposing a people's resources and plans without discernment, for the ambassadors left and began planning how to take those advantages for themselves. The same unwisdom in displaying treasures and resources to Babylonians illustrates the danger of exposing an institution's private affairs to outsiders, as when opening the Sanitarium's books to public inspection for a promised donation did harm that outweighed the gift. After recovering from sickness, his welcome of the ambassadors and display of the treasures and resources of his kingdom exposed his heart when God left him to be tested, and showing the riches of the Lord's work to strangers is likewise a test of the heart.
Displaying treasures entrusted to him to visitors from Babylon exemplifies exposing the Lord's riches to strangers out of pride in human possessions and achievement, and as God's allowing Hezekiah to be tested revealed what was in his heart, so the same kind of test exposed self-exaltation and unfaithful stewardship in the case of Dr. Kellogg. By displaying all his treasures and weapons to Babylon's ambassadors he began to give himself away and tempted Babylon to plunder his possessions, warning that those who betray sacred trusts by allying themselves with unbelievers and confiding in them lose God's favor and set themselves up for harm, while their unfaithfulness also weakens their Christian example and harms others. By exposing sacred, hidden things, including the gold vessels of the temple, to enemies, an act that was heinous sin bringing a heavy curse, the verse warns against making sacred things and the weakness of God's people known to the wicked.
In welcoming the ambassadors and displaying his silver and gold and spices and precious ointment and weapons and everything in his house and kingdom, his visitors were shown his worldly wealth rather than the Lord's deliverance and goodness. That example presses upon households the question of what guests see and hear there, teaching believers to use their homes and hospitality to point others to Christ and the riches of His grace rather than chiefly to worldly possessions, entertainment, and vanity.