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At that time Marduk-Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah letters and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been ill but had got well again. Marduk-Baladan was the son of Baladan. 2 Hezekiah gladly received the messengers. He showed them what was in his storerooms. He showed them the silver and gold. He took them to where the spices and the fine olive oil were kept. He showed them where he kept all his weapons. And he showed them all his treasures. In fact, he showed them everything that was in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked him, ‘What did those men say? Where did they come from?’
‘They came from a land far away,’ Hezekiah said. ‘They came to me from Babylon.’
4 Isaiah asked, ‘What did they see in your palace?’
‘They saw everything in my palace,’ Hezekiah said. ‘I showed them all my treasures.’
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to the message of the Lord who rules over all. He says, 6 “You can be sure the time will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon. Everything the kings before you have stored up until this day will be taken away. There will not be anything left,” says the Lord. 7 “Some of the members of your family line will be taken away. They will be your own flesh and blood. They will include the children who will be born into your family line. And they will serve the king of Babylon in his palace.” ’
8 ‘The message the Lord has spoken through you is good,’ Hezekiah replied. He thought, ‘There will be peace and safety while I'm still living.’
28:1–39:8 More of Isaiah's messages of judgement and hope are recorded in these chapters. These judgement messages were against the northern kingdom, the southern kingdom and other nations. The main problem was that God's people didn't have respect for the Lord. They didn't worship only God but also worshipped false gods. God wanted to be their Teacher but they didn't listen to his teachings. They made fun of God's rules instead of obeying the Mount Sinai covenant. They wanted peace and rest but didn't ask God for help when enemies attacked them. Instead they trusted other nations like Egypt to protect them. Because of all this God would allow the covenant curses to come to his people. He would use other nations to bring his judgement against them. Later he would punish those other nations for being proud. Isaiah urged God's people to return to the Lord. This meant to turn away from their sin and repent. It meant obeying God and doing what was fair and right. By doing this, God's people would find peace and rest. Peace and rest were part of the messages of hope. The messages of hope described a wonderful time in the future. God would be honoured and respected and his people would enjoy the covenant blessings. The Holy Spirit would be poured out on God's people. That described how close they would be to God. God would be present with them and everyone would see God's glory and beauty. People's bodies would be healed and made strong. They would be safe and protected. They would have everything they needed to live well. They would live as wise and holy people who had respect for God. The story about Assyria attacking Jerusalem is an example of what Isaiah's prophecies were about. This story is also recorded in 2 Kings chapters 18 to 20 and in 2 Chronicles chapter 32. Assyria was God's tool for bringing judgement against the southern kingdom. But Assyria's leaders were proud and made fun of God. King Hezekiah and Jerusalem's leaders made themselves humble. They cried out to God to save them. God saved them from the Assyrian army. The southern kingdom had peace and rest. But Isaiah's messages of hope weren't completely fulfilled at that time. Isaiah announced that one day Babylon would take control of the southern kingdom.