Lets face it, we all judge! Try as we may to deny it we know its true.
Most people have their bible hero's like the great apostle Paul, forgetting that he was a murderer or Abraham who listened to his wife Sara and took advantage of young Hagar, or Noah, who indulged in alcohol. I have a list of bible zero's. The top of my list was King Hezekiah. Oh sure the bible says he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done, (2 Kings 18:3) but I couldn't get passed Chapter 20 of 2 Kings. In chapter 20 the prophet tells Hezekiah to get his house in order because his death was near. After Hezekiah pleads for his life God graciously and mercifully extends his life. And how does the grateful king respond? By showing off his household and all his possessions to the Babylonians, as if he had anything to do with his wealth. And then what really burns me and makes me despise him:
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord:
‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is
in your house,
and what your fathers have accumulated until this day,
shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.
‘And
they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you,
whom
you will beget;
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of
Babylon.’”
So Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!”
For he said,
“Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”
Because of my own personal filter I still get so angry when I read that! But as horrible as this kings complete disregard for the future of his children and his kingdom is, there are some truths that cannot be denied.
1. Hezekiah was made in the image of God.
2. The bible says he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
3. God loves Hezekiah.
4. I only have a tiny piece and limited view of Hezekiah's life.
5. God knows Hezekiah intimately and perfectly.
Those facts are kind of hard to ignore. I was fine with my judgment of Hezekiah in fact I thought I was right to despise him for his obvious failure as a father and king. I was wrong! You see I forget that if not for the grace of God I wouldn't be sane let alone a christian. I could just as easily have made the same horrible mistake that Hezekiah made if not for the documented story of his sin in the bible. For that matter I would probably have made a lot of horrible mistakes if not for the mistakes of others.
Here is that infamous bible verse we all love to quote.
"Judge not, that you be not judged. for with what judgment you judge,
you will be judged; and with the measure you use it will be measured
back to you." (Matt 7:1-2)
There's an account in Bethany as we read in Mark chapter 14 when a woman came and poured costly fragrant oil on Jesus' head in an act of worship. Something to be praised indeed and the Lord saw fit to include it in the gospel and to go so far as to bestow this immortal honor to her for all to read and reread and consider but her life up to this point hadn't been one of such honor and prestige. She was a sinner and despised by her fellow man, but not by Jesus.
God dealt with This woman the way He saw fit and He dealt with Hezekiah the way He saw fit and with grater love than he deserved. In my own weaknesses and failures don't I desire the same mercy? How many times have I pleaded with the Lord to grant me my request and I receive it only to later take it for granted? How many of my mistakes have been publicized and immortalized for all to read and reread and shake their heads at and think what a fool? I'm grateful God hasn't decided to write my sins in a book for all to read. But we would all be more than willing to be honored by the multitudes as the woman in Bethany was.
I don't know who said it first but I heard a quote that sums it up for me and maybe for you too, "The best of men are men at best."
While we can idolize and despise men through the filters of our own eyes we should ask ourselves, do I know the whole story? Am I considering God's part in this persons life? After all it is God who wills and does for His good pleasure. (Rom 9:16, Phil 2:13) He is the potter and we are the clay. (Isaiah 64:8, Jer 18:6) He makes vessels for honor and vessels for dishonor. (Rom 9:21, 2 Tim 2:20)
The greatest of men are simply men who have submitted their way to the Lord and crucified their own flesh. The worst of men are simply the men who have rejected God and sought to live unto themselves. Only, no one really lives to them self. Every choice we make affects those around us for good or evil. Every choice we make is an indicator of our decision. What will we do? We will mess up, but will we return again to our savior? Only God knows and only God can use all things for good!
So a proud king is humbled and a humble woman is exulted...The point of my ramblings...stop looking at men and fix your eyes on Jesus Christ!
