Set Your House In Order

by Chris Simmons

Just as individuals sometimes unfortunately find out today after a trip to the doctor, King Hezekiah was told by Isaiah the prophet, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live" (II Kings 20:1). When faced with a short time to live, people understand the need to get their affairs in order. To "set your house in order" has many implications that we need to consider in our lives.

We should not wait for a doctor to give us the unfortunate news in order to set our house in order. We are to have our lives in order now for we don't know what tomorrow holds. None of us are promised that we will be given any type of warning concerning our remaining days upon this earth as King Hezekiah was. James writes, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (4:19). Should we not then live in a state of preparedness? Christ spoke of the need to continually have our "house set in order" in Luke 12:35, "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps alight." It is one thing to live somewhere, where earthquakes have never occurred, and be caught unprepared by one. It is another to live where we KNOW they occur and yet not be prepared. In Luke 12:47, Jesus makes this point, "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes." Christ will come again when no one knows (cf., Matthew 24:36; II Peter 3:10) or our life may be cut short at any time (James 4:19); knowing this, should we not therefore set our house in order now?

Setting our house in order means establishing new priorities. That which seems so important to us now may find itself lacking value and importance if we knew our life was to shortly end. That which we put off and procrastinated for so long may suddenly find itself at the top of our priority list. Why do we do this? The command in Matthew 6:33 to "…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…" is not reserved for those who are on their "last lap." Jesus exhorted Martha to change her priorities from social concerns to learning from Christ, NOW (Luke 10:40-42). Blessed is the man who can properly adjust his priorities without being forced to by circumstances such as King Hezekiah.

Setting our house in order most certainly includes making things right with God. What a horrible position to be in, to face such a time of crisis with sin separating us from God. It is so unfortunate that it sometimes takes someone to face their own impending death to realize that they need to be reconciled to God. Having been separated from God by our sins (Isaiah 59:1-2), Paul implores the brethren in Corinth, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (II Corinthians 5:20). The temptation is great to put off the self-examination God's word calls us to do (II Corinthians 13:5) until we know that our eternal examination from God is imminent (cf., I Thessalonians 2:4).

Setting our house in order means doing everything we can to turn others from the errors of their ways. The rich man in Luke chapter 16 desired for another opportunity to warn his brothers, but it was too late. There is a time to "warn" the wicked (Ezekiel 3:17-21) and a time to "restore" the one "caught in any trespass" (Galatians 6:1) but there will be a time when it will all be too late.

Setting our house in order means seeking to resolve conflicts we may have had with friends, family or brethren. Faced with but a short time to live, it is common to see such people seek out alienated family and friends and try to "fix" things before their departure. Christ urged us not to wait even beyond the day at hand to "fix" things between brethren. As soon as you "…remember that your brother has something against you…", we are to "…first be reconciled" before we allow time to pass and bitterness to set in (Matthew 5:23-24).

Setting our house in order often includes detaching ourselves from the physical things of life. It suddenly hits home that indeed, we can not take it with us. Arrangements are made for the handling of our financial affairs and the disposition of various assets. "Things" that we couldn't bear to part with before now become inconsequential. Whether now or later, everything of a physical nature has no lasting value or permanence. Some day, all "…the earth and its works will be burned up." Peter therefore asks the pertinent question, "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness" (II Peter 3:10-11). We can't afford to make this worlds goods our "treasure" which will certainly one day fail us (Cf., Matthew 6:19-24).

It’s noteworthy to point out that Hezekiah responded to the news that he was to set his house in order, by going to God in prayer, asking that God "remember" him and take note of his lifelong service and how that he had "walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Thy sight" (II Kings 20:3). If we were to go to God in prayer, could we pray to God as one who had been faithful and devoted to God and His word as Hezekiah did or would we find ourselves praying to a stranger?

From God's perspective, to set our house in order is not about wills and insurance and estates but rather about preparation to meet our God. Should you be given the warning today that King Hezekiah was given, what sort of changes would you begin to make?