I. INTRODUCTION
A. How would you like to know exactly when you were going to die? How would that knowledge affect you? Would you prepare yourself to meet the Lord right away, or would you indulge every fleshly desire and wait until the last minute to seek God's favor?
B. Of course, the correct way to prepare for death is to "set your house in order."
1. In general, this phrase is used to mean arranging for the proper disposal of your property when you die, i.e., who will receive an inheritance from you, how much will each person receive, who will be in charge of your household, etc.
2. However, we also use this phrase as a figurative expression to say that a person needs to make his life right with God.
a. A person who is living in sin needs to cease from his wicked ways, seek God's forgiveness through the gospel of Christ, and turn to righteousness.
b. In this way, he will "set his house in order" so that he will be ready for the judgment when he dies.
C. Presently, let us consider two examples of men who had the opportunity to set their houses in order before death.
II. THE EXAMPLES OF HEZEKIAH AND JACOB
A. The prophet Isaiah once instructed King Hezekiah to set his house in order, but Hezekiah failed.
1. Hezekiah had been a good king for Judah.
a. He had repaired and restored the temple of God and its services (2Chron. 29).
b. He restored the worship of God in Judah (2Chron. 30-31).
c. He stood up against the mighty Assyrians through faith in God (Isa. 37).
2. It was after these things that Hezekiah became ill and Isaiah brought the message of his impending death. Notice 2Kings 20:1:
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"
3. Hezekiah appealed to God to extend his life, and God answered his prayer.
a. Consider 2Kings 20:2-6:
2Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3"Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5"Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake."'"
b. God even provided a miraculous sign to assure Hezekiah that he would live (2Ki. 20:8-11).
4. Nevertheless, it was still needful for Hezekiah to set his house in order in preparation for his death, but he did the opposite.
a. Hezekiah's later years became worse than his early years. Notice 2Chronicles 32:25:
But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.
b. Specifically, Hezekiah failed when the Babylonians came to congratulate him on his recovery from illness and success against Assyria (2Chron. 32:31).
i. In his arrogance and foolish pride, he showed them all the wealth of his palace (2Ki. 20:12-13; see 2Chron. 32:27-30 for an accounting of his wealth).
ii. As a result, God said to Hezekiah through Isaiah that all of the wealth of Jerusalem would be taken away to Babylon and some of his sons would be taken away into Babylonian captivity (2Ki. 20:14-19).
c. Thus, when Hezekiah died, his house was certainly not in order.
B. A good example of a man setting his house in preparation for death is that of Jacob (Israel) in Genesis 47:27-48:33.
1. When the time for Jacob to die drew near (Gen. 47:29) and he knew his time was short (Gen. 48:21), he summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come" (Gen. 49:1).
2. After recording the words of Jacob to his sons, the Scripture says, "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him" (Gen. 49:28).
3. This was not merely Jacob telling the fortunes of his sons, but it was Jacob passing on faithful words of wisdom for them, their descendants, and for all who would read his words in the Scriptures.
a. Jacob's "blessings" (some were good, some were not) foretold of the future destinies of his sons and the tribes that would descend from them.
b. "When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people" (Gen. 49:33).
4. Jacob truly had set his house in order. He had prepared himself and his household for his death.
III. BE PREPARED
A. In the examples of Hezekiah and Jacob, both men knew of their impending deaths, but most of us do not know when we will die. Even so, the unknown times of our deaths should have no effect upon our preparation for death.
1. We all know that we have an appointment to keep with death (Heb. 9:27), and like David, we should realize that "there is hardly a step between [us] and death" (1Sam. 20:3).
2. These are the things that we know for certain, and it is always best to prepare for what we do know rather than to guess about what we do not know.
B. Therefore, let us be ready for death always. Better still, let us think of it as being ready for the Lord always.
1. The Scriptures tell us that Christ will come as a thief in the night (1Thess. 5:2), which means that He will come at an unpredictable time.
2. Although we expect the Lord, we cannot predict the time of His coming, and so it behooves us to be ready for Him at all times (1Thess. 5:4-10; 2Pet. 3:11-14).
3. Whether it is Christ or death that comes to us first, our preparation must be the same.
a. Let us not be as the rich fool who was not ready when his soul was required of him (Luke 12:13-21).
b. Instead, let us be as Paul, who said in 2Timothy 4:6-8:
6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Both Scripture and experience teach us that life is unpredictable.
1. James 4:14 -- 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.
2. Proverbs 27:1 -- Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
B. Therefore, you must set your house in order while you can. "Behold, now is 'the acceptable time,' behold, now is 'the day of salvation'" (2Cor. 6:2).