A Godly King (2 Kings 18:1-12)

A Godly King

1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan. )
5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.
9 In King Hezekiah’s fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11 The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the LORD their God, but had violated his covenant–all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.
(2 Kings 18:1-12 )

We are born into particular times: times of peace, time of war, times of prosperity, times of want. The question is not so much what time we are born into, but how we respond to that time.
There came a time when both the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah faced the powerful Assyrian Empire. The northern kingdom had a history of kings who were unfaithful to the Lord and of people worshipping false gods. As a result, when the Assyrians came against Israel, during the time of King Hoshea, they conquered the land and took its population to foreign places where they disappeared among other peoples.
The kings of Judah also had a past of unfaithful kings and of people worshipping other gods. When the Assyrians grew strong, a weak king named Ahaz was on the throne. We read that “in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 28:22)
But Ahaz had a son named Hezekiah, and this son was different. Despite his country’s past and the example of his father, Hezekiah chose to follow God. He learned the commands of God and he obeyed them, removing the high places and smashing sacred stones. The result was that “the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.” (2 Kings 18:7)
The most important difference was in Hezekiah’s heart. “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord” (2 Kings 18:5) and “held fast” in that trust (2 Kings 18:6), never ceasing to follow God. His trust guided him through the troubled years as he faced the danger from Assyria. Instead of comparing him with his father Ahaz, the Bible compares with his ancestor David saying “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.” (2 Kings 18:3)

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Prayer:
• Do you trust God? Do you trust him even when the times are bad?
Pray that God will help you remember His promise: “Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”