At Least I’m OK

August 5, 2008

By Bob Caldwell

“Looking out for Number One” is not a new concept, but is as old as civilization. Too many people live as if this is the Golden Rule, and probably all of us have been guilty of it at one time or another. Even if the feeling is natural, God expects us to rise above our self-interest and think of others.

Hezekiah and Josiah create an interesting biblical comparison that illustrates this point. Both of these kings sought to serve God with great devotion and led the people to do likewise. One thing, however, elevates Josiah above Hezekiah.

After God granted him 15 more years of life, Hezekiah mistakenly decided to play the global political game. Envoys from Babylon came to visit him after he was healed. Hezekiah was tired of dealing with Assyrian overlords and gladly welcomed the Babylonian delegation. If he could establish good relations with Babylon, perhaps they could one day jointly throw off the yoke of Assyria. So he decided to show off. He displayed all of the treasures of his palace and the temple. He wanted to impress upon the Babylonians that he was a major player.

God was displeased. He wanted Hezekiah and the nation of Judah to trust in Him alone. So He sent the prophet Isaiah with a message: In the future, everything Hezekiah had showed the Babylonians would be carried off to Babylon.

Hezekiah did not get mad nor did he make a show of repenting. He merely said, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good” (2 Kings 20:19, NIV). It sounds humble, but the writer of Scripture lets us in on his motivation. “For he thought, ‘Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?’ ” (v. 20).

Fast-forward 70 years or so to Josiah. He was a good king and beginning to reverse the apostasy of Manasseh and Amon. His first significant act was to renovate the temple. There, one of the workman found a copy of the Law and they read it before the young king.

Josiah was distressed and tore his robes. He heard that God would punish the nation for her sins in rejecting the Lord. So he sent for a known prophetess, Huldah, for advice. She responded that, indeed, just as Josiah surmised, God would punish Judah with exile. However, God was pleased with Josiah’s heart and actions thus far and would delay His wrath during his lifetime.

Here is where Josiah shines. Rather than take the Hezekiah attitude — “At least I’m OK” — he set out to serve the Lord with fervor. He led the people in a covenant renewal. He rid Jerusalem of all foreign gods and idolatrous practices. He personally traveled through the land and directed the demolition of idols and high places. He directed the celebration of the most extensive Passover since the time of Joshua. Thus the writer of Kings says of him: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did — with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25).

Here is an example to all of us. If we understand the signs correctly, we may well be living in the last days. At the same time, we believe that God will remove us from the Earth before His wrath is poured out worldwide. So how do we react? If we take the Hezekiah attitude, we say, “At least it won’t happen to me,” and let the world go on to its own destruction. If we are captured by the same spirit that moved Josiah, however, we will want to do everything we can to reach people for Jesus in the time we have left. We will see to it that as few people are involved in those dreadful last days as we can.

Yes, there is comfort in knowing we are not destined for the same fate as those who are in rebellion against God. But that comfort should not lull us into abandoning our responsibility to do the works of God while there is still time.

— Bob Caldwell is a Ph.D. candidate at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.