day no. 16,828: Moses vs. Hezekiah (Biblical Deathmatch)

Numbers 27:12-17

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin." And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd."

Moses' primary concern in being removed from power was the people over whom he had been given responsibility. His first request was for God to take care of those he had given his life to take care of. He did not plead for an exception to be made for his sin. He did not plead for his reputation or despair of the relinquishing of his power and authority. He looked to the people who would outlive him and begged God to provide someone to guide them in his absence.

Consider this in light of Hezekiah's response to a changing of the guard.

2 Kings 20:16-19

And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken." And he said, "Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?"

Hezekiah's first response to future calamity inside his house was relief that it was future calamity and not present destruction. His sins would be visited upon someone else and for that he counted himself blessed. 

Proverbs 13:22

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children.

The difference between a good man and a bad one is the difference between legacy-minded maneuvers and self-interested manipulation. Moses was a good, humble man who genuinely looked not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others, considering them better than himself. Hezekiah was a selfish man who looked only to his own interests and considered the suffering of others better than him suffering himself.