God knows the future! The idea of knowing the future probably seems like something that belongs in fiction to us. I’m not sure I would want to know the future even if I could, especially if I had no ability to change what would happen. In fact, it would be quite depressing to know about all of the tragedies that have not yet occurred if you had no ability to prevent them.
In Isaiah 39 we find an example of God’s knowledge of the future. King Hezekiah foolishly shows all of his wealth to a Babylonian prince, and God delivers a prophecy of things to come through Isaiah in vv. 3–7. The prophecy tells of ransacking, destruction, and captivity for Hezekiah’s descendants. I’ve always been a bit baffled by the way Hezekiah responds in v. 8. The king basically says, “That’s just fine as long as it doesn’t happen in my day.” Some people live in the past. All they seem to think about are the glory days. I’m not being unkind. I realize that as time goes by, we realize that maybe we took things for granted and we miss them once they’re gone. Some people live in the future.
When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to become a man. I thought it would be so cool to have my freedom. I wanted to drive, and have money to spend however I wanted, etc. I realize now that I should’ve cherished my childhood a little more. The fact is, though, that most of us are focused on the here and now. That was certainly Hezekiah’s view.
We must recognize tomorrow may not come. In Hezekiah’s case, God had revealed to him elements of the future. The same is not true for us. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. We don’t even know if there is a tomorrow. The Bible is very clear about this (see James 4:13-17).
In 2004, Tim McGraw released a song entitled, “Live Like You Were Dying.” The lyrics describe a man who gets diagnosed with cancer and the way that changes his lifestyle. He does more fun things. He also loves people better than he has in the past. The idea of the song isn’t so bad. It’s as likely as not that we will die the way we’re currently living. Jesus knew he was about to die, and he washed his betrayer’s dirty feet (John 13). Jesus didn’t “put on.” He had lived as a servant, and he died as one. We’ve come to expect tomorrow, yet we have no promise that it will come. Since only God knows the future, we must indeed live like we’re dying. Only then will we be ready for death no matter when it comes.
Clay Leonard
