只當將榮耀歸給神（賽39章）

於是先知以賽亞來見希西家王、問他說：「這些人說甚麼？他們從那裏來見你？」希西家說：「他們從遠方的巴比倫來見我。」以賽亞說：「他們在你家裏看見了甚麼？」希西家說：「凡我家中所有的、他們都看見了、我財寶中沒有一樣不給他們看的。」（賽 39：3-4）

這段記載希西家王在蒙神醫治、接著勝了亞述國的侵略之後，有一個新興國家巴比倫來探虛實。希西家自己說：「他們從遠方的巴比倫來見我。」表示希西家一點防衛心都沒有，既是來自遠方，表示並不熟悉，怎可毫無保留就向他們挑心掏肺？竟將家中一切所有的，包含財寶都給不認識的人看。

以賽亞先知會這麼緊張，是因為神給他希西家應有、卻沒有的敏感度。神知道人的內心，祂知道巴比倫的使者不懷好意，是殘忍的豺狼，準備吞吃列國。他們來這裡，是想知道猶大國是如何勝過超級強國亞述帝國的，好擬定侵略計畫，所以先來詳細查看。然而無知的希西家就像小孩子一樣，只知道炫富，卻沒有防備的心。希西家之所以會這樣做，也是想要依靠巴比倫，所以拉攏他的使者。

主曾說：「我差你們去、如同羊進入狼群、所以你們要靈巧像蛇、馴良像鴿子。」（太 10：16）。這裡的靈巧如蛇，就是主耶穌要我們對魔鬼保持高度警戒，要我們的聰明跟魔鬼相比，只能大於等於魔鬼，不能比魔鬼笨。面對魔鬼的詭計，一定要非常小心。

人一旦驕傲，神一定會離開。歷代志下記載：惟有一件事、就是巴比倫王差遣使者來見希西家、訪問國中所現的奇事、這件事神離開他、要試驗他、好知道他心內如何。（代下 32：31）。神不輕易離開人，但是這時為何要離開他？因為他心裡驕傲，自以為是，不知榮耀曾救他的神。

希西家的炫富行為，就是沒有要將榮耀歸給神的意思。他應該在面對巴比倫使者時，要見證神的恩典與大能是何等的偉大，即使他想要誇口，也只能誇我們的主耶穌基督，因為事實上真的是因為神的幫助才能得救，與這些財富一點關係都沒有。

正如今天我們若經歷了一場大病，在恆切禱告之後，得蒙神的醫治之後，當有人來關心我們是怎麼好的時候，應該要勇敢見證神的大能，向人見證是神的醫治才使我得以痊癒才是。如果像希西家一樣的信徒，那麼他分享的將不是神如何醫治他的，而是跟人介紹他是因為到了某大知名醫院、特別拜託某大名醫，用了什麼價格極為昂貴的名藥，經歷了千辛萬苦才得醫治。話語之間都是在強調自己的努力，最後並沒有將榮耀歸給神。

又如同有人孩子很有成就，但他卻沒有想要跟人見證神的恩典，也就是見證自己是因為建立了家庭祭壇，孩子有了自動讀經的習慣，因著孩子自己懂得依靠神，所以神賜給他們通達的道路。反倒是跟人炫耀自己是如何想盡辦法使孩子進了名校，特別拜託了全校最有名的名師，動用一切關係轉進明星的班級，一路上歷經了千辛萬苦，才使孩子有今天的成就，不歸榮耀給神。

當效法啟示錄中的24位長老，神賜給他們金冠冕，使他們得榮耀時，他們自己願意一同摘下金冠冕，放在神的面前，俯伏在地，只將榮耀歸給神。

寶座的周圍、又有二十四個座位、其上坐着二十四位長老、身穿白衣、頭上戴着金冠冕。（啟 4：4）

每逢四活物將榮耀、尊貴、感謝、歸給那坐在寶座上、活到永永遠遠者的時候、那二十四位長老、就俯伏在坐寶座的面前、敬拜那活到永永遠遠的、又把他們的冠冕放在寶座前、說：「我們的主、我們的神、你是配得榮耀尊貴權柄的．因為你創造了萬物、並且萬物是因你的旨意被創造而有的。」（啟 4：9-11）

By Isaiah Kao

Give Glory to God Alone (Isaiah 39)

May 31, 2026

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” (Isa. 39:3–4, NASB 2020)

This passage records that after King Hezekiah was healed by God and after Judah defeated the invasion of Assyria, a rising nation, Babylon, came to investigate the situation. Hezekiah himself said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” This shows that Hezekiah had no sense of caution at all. Since they came from far away, it meant they were unfamiliar people. How could he so completely open his heart to them and show them everything without reservation? He even displayed all the treasures in his house to people he did not truly know.

The prophet Isaiah was so alarmed because God had given him the sensitivity that Hezekiah should have had, but lacked. God knows the hearts of men. He knew that the Babylonian messengers had evil intentions. They were cruel wolves preparing to devour the nations. They came to find out how Judah had defeated the mighty Assyrian Empire so that they could make plans for future invasion. That is why they carefully examined everything first. Yet the ignorant Hezekiah acted like a child. He only knew how to show off his wealth, but had no heart of caution. Hezekiah also acted this way because he wanted to rely on Babylon and win favor with its messengers.

The Lord once said: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16, NASB 2020) The meaning of being “shrewd as serpents” is that the Lord Jesus wants us to stay highly alert against the devil. Our wisdom must be at least equal to the devil’s schemes, not more foolish than him. We must be extremely careful when facing the tricks of Satan.

Once a person becomes proud, God will surely depart from him. Second Chronicles records:

“Even in the matter of the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.” (2 Chr. 32:31, NASB 2020)

God does not easily leave a person, so why did He leave Hezekiah at this moment? Because his heart had become proud. He became self-satisfied and failed to recognize the God who had saved him.

Hezekiah’s act of showing off his wealth revealed that he had no intention of giving glory to God. When facing the Babylonian messengers, he should have testified about the grace and power of God. Even if he wished to boast, he should have boasted only in our Lord Jesus Christ, because in truth it was only by God’s help that he was saved. Those riches had nothing to do with it.

Likewise today, if we experience a serious illness and, through persistent prayer, receive healing from God, then when others ask how we recovered, we should boldly testify to God’s power and proclaim that it was God’s healing that restored us. But a believer like Hezekiah would not speak about how God healed him. Instead, he would talk about going to a famous hospital, specially asking for a well-known doctor, using extremely expensive medicine, and enduring many hardships before finally recovering. His words would emphasize his own efforts, while failing to give glory to God.

Another example is when someone’s child becomes very successful, yet the parents do not testify about God’s grace. They do not mention how they established a family altar, how their child developed the habit of reading the Bible daily, and how the child learned to rely on God, so that God blessed their path with success. Instead, they boast about how they did everything possible to get their child into a prestigious school, sought out the most famous teachers, used every possible connection to transfer the child into celebrity classes, and endured countless hardships before achieving success. In this way, they do not give glory to God.

We should imitate the twenty-four elders in Revelation. God gave them golden crowns and glory, yet they willingly removed their crowns, laid them before God, and fell down in worship, giving glory to God alone.

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.” (Rev. 4:4, NASB 2020)

“And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’” (Rev. 4:9–11, NASB 2020)

By Isaiah Kao