Generation Now
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 2 Kings 20:2
READ 2 Kings 20:1–19
“Never trust anyone over thirty,” said young
environmentalist Jack Weinberg in 1964. His comment stereotyped an
entire generation—something Weinberg later regretted. Looking back, he
said, “Something I said off the top of my head . . . became completely
distorted and misunderstood.”
Have you heard disparaging comments aimed at millennials? Or vice
versa? Ill thoughts directed from one generation toward another can cut
both ways. Surely there’s a better way.
Although he was an excellent king, Hezekiah showed a lack of concern
for another generation. When, as a young man, Hezekiah was struck with a
terminal illness (2 Kings 20:1), he cried out to God for his life (vv.
2–3). God gave him fifteen more years (v. 6).
But when Hezekiah received the terrible news that his children would
one day be taken captive, the royal tears were conspicuously absent (vv.
16–18). He thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my
lifetime?” (v. 19). It may have been that Hezekiah didn’t apply the
passion he had for his own well-being to the next generation.
God calls us to a love that dares to cross the lines dividing us. The
older generation needs the fresh idealism and creativity of the
younger, who in turn can benefit from the wisdom and experience of their
predecessors. This is no time for snarky memes and slogans but for
thoughtful exchange of ideas. We’re in this together.
By Tim Gustafson |
In what ways do you think you may have
ignored or disrespected others from a different age group? How might you
use the gifts God has given you to serve them?
Forgive me, Father, for not appreciating others in a stage of life different from mine. | | | | |
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
King Hezekiah ruled the Southern Kingdom of Judah from about 727–698 bc.
One of the few “good” kings of the south, Hezekiah drove idolatry from
the land and destroyed the “high places” where false idols were being
worshiped. Second Kings 18:3–6 bears witness to Hezekiah’s spiritual
character, asserting that “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done” (v. 3) and that “he “trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” (v. 5).
Bill Crowder
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