The Treachery of a Full Treasury Text: 2 Chronicles 32:27-31
Introduction: The Subtle Poison of Success
We live in a time that is simultaneously obsessed with and terrified of success. Our culture idolizes the wealthy and the powerful, parading their lives before us as the pinnacle of human existence. At the same time, it is shot through with a sour, envious egalitarianism that despises anyone who rises above the mean. The world wants the fruit of success without the root of faithfulness, and it wants to tear down anyone who has been blessed, simply because they have been blessed.
But for the Christian, the problem is far more subtle and dangerous. We are not called to despise wealth or success as such. The Bible is clear that obedience to God often brings blessing in its train. Abraham was rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Solomon's wisdom brought him unparalleled wealth. And here, in our text, Hezekiah is a man whom God has made abundantly prosperous. The danger is not the blessing itself, but what the blessing does to the heart of a man who forgets where it came from. The great Puritan Cotton Mather once said that faithfulness begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother. This is the story of the church in the West, and it is the story of many a Christian man's heart.
Prosperity is a far more dangerous test than adversity. When we are afflicted, we are driven to our knees. We know we are helpless, and we cry out to God for deliverance. But when our treasuries are full, when our barns are bursting, when our reputation is secure, a subtle poison begins to work its way into our spiritual bloodstream. The poison is pride. It whispers to us that we have accomplished this by our own hand, by our own wisdom. It encourages us to take a little of the credit. And when we do, we begin to act as though we are the source of our own blessings. We forget the Creator/creature distinction, and that is the beginning of all folly.
The account of Hezekiah is a powerful case study in this very dynamic. He was a great and godly king. He had faced down the Assyrian superpower with tremendous faith. He had been miraculously healed from a fatal illness. God had blessed him beyond measure. And it was right at the pinnacle of his success that God decided to give him a final exam. God withdrew His hand for a moment, not to cause him to fall, but to reveal what was already in his heart. This passage is a solemn warning to every believer: the greatest tests often come disguised as the greatest blessings.
The Text
Now Hezekiah had abundant riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of desirable articles, storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine, and oil, stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds for the flocks. He also made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him exceedingly abundant wealth. And it was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did. Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the miraculous sign 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 Chronicles 32:27-31 LSB)
God's Lavish Blessing (vv. 27-29)
The first thing we must establish is the source of all this prosperity. The text is unambiguous.
"Now Hezekiah had abundant riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of desirable articles, storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine, and oil, stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds for the flocks. He also made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him exceedingly abundant wealth." (2 Chronicles 32:27-29)
Notice the sheer scale of this blessing. It is comprehensive. He has financial wealth, "silver, gold, precious stones." He has agricultural abundance, "grain, wine, and oil." He has vast livestock holdings, "cattle... flocks and herds in abundance." He is a master of logistics and infrastructure, building treasuries, storehouses, stalls, and even entire cities. This is not some prosperity gospel preacher's fantasy; this is Deuteronomic blessing made manifest. God had promised Israel that if they were obedient, He would bless them in the city and in the field, in their storehouses and in their livestock (Deut. 28). Hezekiah had led the nation in a great reformation, and God was honoring His covenant promises.
The text makes the source of this wealth inescapable: "for God had given him exceedingly abundant wealth." It was a gift. It was grace. Hezekiah did not conjure this out of thin air. He was a faithful steward, yes. He built, he organized, he managed. But the raw material, the increase, the success itself, was a direct grant from the sovereign hand of God. This is the fundamental truth that must govern all our thinking about wealth and success. "You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth" (Deut. 8:18). To forget this is to take the first step off a very high cliff.
We must not make the mistake of thinking that wealth is inherently evil. It is not. Money is a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for righteous or wicked ends. God is the one who gives the power to get wealth, and when He gives it as a reward for faithfulness, it is a good gift. The problem is never the stuff; the problem is the heart that receives the stuff. A humble man receives wealth with gratitude and seeks to steward it for God's glory. A proud man receives wealth and it acts like fertilizer on the weed of his arrogance.
Success in All Things (v. 30)
The blessing continues, extending even to his ambitious engineering projects.
"And it was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did." (2 Chronicles 32:30)
This verse refers to a masterful feat of engineering. In anticipation of the Assyrian siege, Hezekiah had a tunnel dug through solid rock to divert Jerusalem's primary water source, the Gihon Spring, inside the city walls. This was a brilliant strategic move that both secured water for the defenders and denied it to the besieging army. Archaeologists have discovered this tunnel, and it stands as a testament to his foresight and capability.
But the Chronicler's point is theological. "And Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did." This is the Midas touch of God's blessing. Everything he put his hand to prospered. This is a dangerous place for any man to be. When you have a long, unbroken string of successes, it is very easy to begin to believe your own press clippings. It is easy to think that you are the reason for the success. You are the man with the plan, the strategic genius, the one who makes things happen. The memory of God's grace begins to fade, and the bright glare of your own competence begins to blind you.
This is precisely the temptation that God warned Israel about in the wilderness. "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God... otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them... then your heart will become lifted up and you will forget the LORD your God... and you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth'" (Deut. 8:11-17). Hezekiah was standing on that very precipice.
The Final Exam (v. 31)
And so, at the height of his power, wealth, and success, the test comes. And it comes in a very flattering package.
"Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the miraculous sign 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 Chronicles 32:31)
The parallel account in 2 Kings 20 tells us more. The "miraculous sign" was the shadow on the sundial moving backward ten steps as a confirmation that God would heal Hezekiah and add fifteen years to his life. This was an astronomical event that would have been noticed by the Babylonians, who were keen students of the heavens. So they send a delegation, ostensibly to congratulate him on his recovery and to inquire about this sign.
This was a golden opportunity. This was a missionary opportunity of the highest order. These pagan stargazers came asking about a miracle, and Hezekiah had the chance to tell them about the God who commands the stars. He could have given all the glory to Yahweh, the God of Israel, who heals the sick and turns back time. But he did not.
Instead, as 2 Kings 20:13 tells us, "Hezekiah listened to them and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his armory and all that was found in his treasuries; there was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them." He gave them the grand tour. He showed them his wealth, his power, his military might. He was trying to impress them. He was boasting. He was acting as though he were the source of all this glory. In that moment, he forgot God.
And notice the terrifying phrase in our text: "God left him alone." God withdrew His restraining grace for a moment. Why? "To test him, that He might know all that was in his heart." This does not mean God was ignorant and needed to find out. God is omniscient. He knew exactly what was in Hezekiah's heart. The test was not for God's benefit, but for Hezekiah's. God wanted to show Hezekiah the pride that was lurking in the depths of his own soul. The greatest blessings can conceal the deepest corruptions, and sometimes God has to let us stumble to show us what is really there.
Conclusion: The Test of Every Heart
What was in Hezekiah's heart? Pride. The same sin that caused the fall of Adam and the ruin of the world. He had received grace and had begun to treat it as his own achievement. And the result was a disastrous prophecy from Isaiah that all the treasures he had boasted in would one day be carried off to Babylon by the very people he was trying to impress (2 Kings 20:17-18).
The story of Hezekiah is our story. God blesses us. He gives us jobs, families, homes, abilities, successes. And every one of these blessings is a test. Will we receive them with gratitude, acknowledging the Giver? Or will we receive them with pride, taking the credit for ourselves?
The good news is that Hezekiah's story does not end here. The previous verse, 2 Chronicles 32:26, tells us that "Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah." He repented. The test revealed the sin, and the revelation led to repentance. This is God's kindness in testing us.
But there is a greater Hezekiah who faced a greater test and did not fail. Jesus Christ possessed all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All the authority in heaven and on earth was His. Yet when Satan took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, offering them to Him, He did not boast. He did not take the bait. He rebuked the tempter and declared that worship belongs to God alone (Matthew 4:8-10).
Because of His perfect faithfulness, we who are in Him are given the true riches. We are given the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of Christ Himself, and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. And God continues to test us with earthly blessings, not to condemn us, but to sanctify us. He wants to reveal the lingering pride in our hearts so that we will repent of it and cling more tightly to the Christ who is our only true treasure. He leaves us to ourselves for a moment, only to show us our desperate need of Him every moment.