Good King Hezekiah

In II Kings 18, we read of a king in Judah called Hezekiah. The scriptures tell us there was no one like him before or after him of those kings of Judah. In the first month of his reign, Hezekiah begins to restore Jehovah worship. He tears down idols and idolatrous places of worship. He stands up to overwhelming forces due to his steadfast faith in the Lord. What is it, though, that really made him such a great man? Why is it that the Bible tells us no king before or after him was greater?

Factors Working Against Him

It was not his father who made him great. His father Ahaz, recorded in II Kings 16, was very wicked. In II Kings 16, Ahaz engages in child sacrifice. He shuts up the temple of the Lord. He participates in excessive idolatry, and he leads the nation of Judah into those same practices. Hezekiah is not the product of his father. Still, remember II Timothy 1:5, Proverbs 3:1, and Ephesians 6:4. God does want us to set the proper examples for our children. He does care about the responsibilities of parenthood, but Ezekiel 18:20 reminds us that children can do well despite our parents. Hezekiah was great despite his upbringing.

Unfortunately, neither was Hezekiah great because of his family legacy. In II Kings 21, we read of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, who rebuilds the idols, even placing alters to false gods in God’s temple. Manasseh restores child sacrifice to the land of Judah. Now Manasseh does repent in his old age, but his actions lead to deep personal loss on his own part. Hezekiah may have been a great king, but the legacy he left was far from great.

In II Kings 20, we see that pride does not make Hezekiah great while he shows off his great possessions to the Babylonian emissaries – people from that same nation that would eventually enslave Judah. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride precedes a fall, and Hezekiah’s pride did not please his God.

Hezekiah’s Great Stature

Despite these things, we cannot discount II Kings 18:5.

…There was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

Why? Because he sought God’s word first. II Chronicles 31:20-21 tells it all.

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

He may not have been the leader the people wanted, but he was the leader they needed. He spoke out against, and removed, evil. II Kings 18:4 records him purging idolatry from the nation, even idolatry introduced by his own father. In II Chronicles 31, we can read the details of his restoration of true Jehovah worship in Judah – to the point of inviting their rival brethren from the northern kingdom of Israel to that worship.

Hezekiah sought to know and do God’s word. He sought to restore true worship in the land and purge all forms of evil from among his people. Finally, II Kings 18:5 tells us that Hezekiah trusted in the Lord. In II Kings 19:14, when Hezekiah receives an ultimatum from an unstoppable enemy, we see the king abandon self, go to the temple, spread the letter out on the floor of the temple, and prayed.

Conclusion

That the same could be said of us! Could God claim about you or me, “There was none like him/her,” in our efforts to follow God’s word, in keeping evil from our lives, and in trusting Him in all things. Nothing can keep us from that standard – our upbringing, our culture, our flaws. We can be like Hezekiah, setting our hearts to serve the Lord. We may never be great in the world’s eyes, but we can be good and faithful servants to our Lord, great in His eyes.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Choosing Grace Over Harm

When the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant in I Samuel 5-6, disaster and misfortune follows it as they move it from one location until another, until the nation concludes they must return the Ark to its proper owners. It takes seven months for them to reach this conclusion, and death, rats, tumors, and boils follow the Ark this whole time. Why does it take them so long to decide they are finished enduring these hardships? Is it pride; stubbornness; rebellion? There is no knowing, but chances are that pride had something to do with it.

When we look into our own lives, we can recognize things that are harmful to us spiritually. We can identify things we hold onto regardless of the negative influence they have on our lives. It can take a long time to get these harmful influences out of our lives. Sometimes, we are no better than these Philistines – holding fast to something that is harming us more and more despite the damage.

Self Destructive Stubbornness
I Samuel 18 contains some of the first hints of Saul’s decline as king. He had made mistakes before this chapter, but this chapter shows a shift in Saul’s character, consumed with jealousy and bitterness. This animosity grows to the point of tearing apart his family and leaving his nation vulnerable. This hatred becomes a monster in his life, occupying his time and energy, and he allows it to grow in its destructive power rather than eliminating it from his life.

We know the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 where Abel offers God a more excellent sacrifice. In verse 5, Cain festers in anger; he allows bitterness to rot within him. God questions Cain in verse 6 regarding his bitterness and warns against the dangers of allowing these feelings to grow. He tells Cain it is within his power to rule over his rage and rid it from his life. Instead, Cain stoops to murder to fulfill his anger.

Turning Instead to Grace
The Philistines, Saul, and Cain contain three parallel events that illustrate individuals that hold onto something to their own destruction. In contrast, in II Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul speaks of an elusive thorn of the flesh. We do not know what this thorn is, whether it is a physical ailment, pangs of conscience, reminders of severed friendships; but we do know it wears on the apostle and gives him pain. He repeatedly pleads for its removal, but God responds that His power is completed in Paul’s struggle.

In times of anxiety or strain, we often draw closer to God and seek His power in our lives. Unlike Saul‘s and Cain’s circumstances, this is beyond Paul’s control, but, unlike those examples, Paul endures. Furthermore, God expresses the completion of His grace in the face of this trial. Time and again, we can see God’s grace alive in the life of Paul as well as in our own.

As a final example, we have Peter denying the Lord three times in Matthew 26:69-75. He weeps bitterly when he realizes what he has done, but Jesus has grace on Peter in John 21:15-19, and Peter does not allow this regret to eat him up. I Corinthians 15:3 records that Jesus appears to Peter even before this event. He is one of the first to Lord seeks out. What did that conversation look like? Why would Jesus seek Peter so quickly? Regardless, we know the man Peter grows into despite the pain his denial might have caused, and this is possible for Him because of Jesus’ grace.

There might be things in our lives we consider thorns. There may be things that hurt us spiritually and drag us away from God. Like Peter and Paul, though, we can press on to our goal, forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the hope laid before us. We can be perfected in God’s love and grace if we are willing to put our pasts behind us and seek a future in Him.

lesson by Tim Smelser