Good morning, what a lovely Saturday in Arizona. I hope you are all feeling blessed.
Today we read 2 Kings 18-20.
The obedient king
Today we look at Hezekiah. The Bible says, “there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. (v18:5). Unlike the last three righteous kings, not only did he do what was right in the eyes of the Lord (v18:3), but he also tore down all the high places, Asherah poles, and idols. (v18:4).
This proves a leader can remove all those sins from a land. By doing so, he had outstanding success (v18:7).
He will be called out by those who oppose him, like the field commander (v18:19-20).
I’m not suggesting he was perfect. Only Jesus can claim that. He sold off or give away the articles from the temple. He even handed over the gold from the doors.
But he was seeking God and trust in Him alone.
The humble king
He calls on Isaiah, who gives him guidance. With confidence, he knows the Lord will protect Judah (v18:32)
In verse 19:1, Hezekiah enters the temple dressed in torn clothing and sackcloth. He was humbling himself before the Lord.
I have seen online debates about people dressing too casually at church. There should be a reverence for God and we should bring our best.
This can be a problem, however, if people are trying to be “good enough” on their own. We can polish the outside up but still be a cesspool on the inside (see Matt 23:27).
Bringing God our best is not about appearances, but about bringing God an open and clean heart (see 1 Sam 16:7).
The human king
King Ahab left Hezekiah a mess. He did not decree that all the people shape up. Instead, he led by example and submitted himself to the Lord.
The intensity and aggression of his opponent were frightening. Sennacherib was a brutal killer. He had already conquered Israel and taken the people captive.
Israel was ten tribes, Judah only two.
Most of the towns were on hills to make them harder to attack, but Sennacherib would build siege ramps and had a large army. The people could see them approaching from far away.
Sennacherib assumed since they had destroyed all the idols, which he thought were their gods, they had no one to save them.
Hezekiah had destroyed those idols because he knew the hand of man did not make God. God was God and He could save them.
All of this will not protect Hezekiah from personal trouble. We would like to believe that, as Christians, we don’t have to deal with illness and heartache.
Jesus assures us we will have trouble in this life (see John 16:33).
Hezekiah was about to die. Isaiah had even told him this would happen (20:1).
The trusting king
When we trust in the Lord, we will have trouble, but we can turn to Him and He will carry us through those times.
Hezekiah prays, and the Lord extends his life for another fifteen years. It would be comforting to know how much time we all had left.
Making financial decisions, planning retirement, choosing career paths, would all be easier if we knew how many years we had to plan for.
God knows, if we had that knowledge, we would procrastinate before we live for Him.
This would be a waste of a life. I wish I had not lost so many years of living for my own desires. However, many days I have to live for God will not be enough.
So God, in His infinite wisdom, wants us to prepare now. None of us know how many days we have. We must use all our days to bring honor and glory to the Lord.
